More awards for local motels

TWO locally owned motels ended 2024 on a high note, winning the Choice Hotels Asia-Pac Gold Award for another year.

Econo Lodge Mildura and Comfort Inn Deakin Palms manager Lindsay Mammone said the recognition reflects his staff’s hard work over the years.

“Even though we’ve won several times in a row now, it’s always unexpected,” he said.

“We just enjoy what we do, but it can be tough long hours, unexpected phone calls, even at 2am.

“We’re definitely happy and we do deserve what we get sometimes and we put in the hard work and get the rewards.

“Our rating 99 per cent of the time is really positive, we’ve got good review scores, so the good review scores keep us going.”

The Gold Award recognises the top 10 per cent rated accommodations under the Choice Hotels Asia-Pac umbrella in Australia and New Zealand.

Despite the recent success, Mr Mammone said he is not slowing down and plans to continue to upgrade.

“At the moment, the hotel chain is focusing on sustainability, so we’ve put in a lot of things like solar and EV vehicle changers,” he said.

“We’ve got a recycling program for the rooms and are collecting bottles as well.”

Mr Mammone attributed the motels’ continued success to reinvesting profits into improvements rather than cashing out.

“We’re always putting money back into the business, constantly trying to improve things,” he said.

“What we make, we put back, and because of that, we get a lot of return customers.

“Maybe one day, we’ll take the profits for ourselves, but not now.”