Motel wins 4th consecutive TripAdvisor Award

CentrePoint on Colombo Motel has been awarded the 2014 Trip Advisor Travellers’ Choice Award in the Exceptional Service category, ranking highly in 2 geographic locations.

In 2014, CentrePoint on Colombo Motel has been ranked 7th of Top Hotels with Exceptional Service – New Zealand, and 10th of Top Hotels with Exceptional Service - South Pacific.  This success follows 3 previous years in which CentrePoint on Colombo Motel was awarded the Best Service Award, the first being in 2011.

Owners Jeff and Naomi Peters now look forward to adding the 4th celebratory plaque to the motel reception wall.  The plaques take pride of place in the office, recognising the many travellers who have ranked the motel on Trip Advisor over the years.

Jeff and Naomi are proud of each and every award and take special pride in being able to maintain the level of service despite the many and varied challenges thrown at them by the ongoing quake related issues in Christchurch.  They first operated behind the army cordon and under a 6pm to 6am curfew.  Next they spent over 2 years in a virtual culdesac bordering the central city Red Zone, and even when the fences were taken down they were in a part of the city largely levelled by the quakes.  They also operated thru 6 months of motel earthquake repairs and then endured 2 ½ months of sewer replacement road works on Colombo St. in front of the motel. 

They believe their secret to 4 consecutive years of success is the effort they have put into continually refining the service and information they provide to guests.  “After the quakes destroyed most of the city centre we had to find a way to ensure people still felt as though they could enjoy their visit to the city – it was challenging but we did it,” said Jeff.

This year’s award comes after what appeared to be initial disappointment earlier in the year.  When the 2014 Travelers’ Choice Awards were announced, the Best Service category was unusually absent.  We have recently learnt from an official Trip Advisor press release in Japan that; “Until last year the award had been announced as a part of "Travelers' Choice ™ Hotel Awards", but in order to provide accolades of greater clarity to accommodation providers who present “hospitality” to a level such that it remains in the hearts of guests, this year it was decided to announce the service category individually. (taken from a Trip Advisor press release dated 15 April 2014 and translated by Jeff)

This is the 12th year of the awards and the second year that New Zealand has had its own category. The first 2 Best Service awards CentrePoint on Colombo Motel was awarded in 2011 and 2012 were in the South Pacific Category, and last year the motel was ranked No. 8 in New Zealand.  This year the motel has improved its ranking in New Zealand as well as ranking in the top ten in the South Pacific category which includes all of Australia.

Jeff says “We’re once again elated and humbled but before we give ourselves a well-deserved pat on the back, we’ll say thanks to all our guests who took the time to review us on Trip Advisor.  We also look forward to continuing to provide Exceptional Service to visitors to Christchurch as the city continues to recover from the effects of the earthquakes, and who knows, maybe a 5th award next year.”