Chris McIntosh has been awarded the top prize at Mantra Group's annual excellence awards held on August 25. McIntosh, who was recently appointed General Manager of the new Peppers Kings Square Hotel in Perth (opening in October) after excelling in his Mantra on Murray General Manager position for the past 12 months, received the General Manager of the Year award for implementing a number of strategies to improve service levels and team engagement.

Mantra Group honoured staff across its 127-strong network across Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Hawaii.

“FY2016 was another landmark year in the growth and development of Mantra Group, in terms of financial results, portfolio expansion in key destinations and ongoing product improvement,” said Mantra Group Chief Executive Officer Bob East. “The awards recognise the outstanding contribution of our team members who ensure our guests are happy and properties are looking great and performing well on a daily basis.”

The full list of 2016 Mantra Group Awards for Excellence winners are as follows:

· General Manager of the Year - Chris McIntosh, Mantra on Murray, Perth WA (now Peppers Kings Square Hotel, Perth WA)
· Region/Area of the Year - North Queensland
· Corporate Social Responsibility Region - North Queensland
· Peppers Property of the Year - Peppers Gallery Hotel, Canberra ACT
· Mantra Property of the Year - Mantra on Kent, Sydney NSW
· BreakFree Property of the Year - BreakFree on Cashel, Christchurch NZ
· Excellence in Guest Service - Peppers Parehua, Martinborough NZ
· David Brill Award (in memory of late Mantra Group team member David Brill) - Chris Dickinson, General Manager, Mantra Coolangatta Beach, Coolangatta QLD (now Mantra on Murray, Perth WA)
· Service Star of the Year - Vimmi Boni Bangari, Guest Relations Manager, Peppers Docklands, Melbourne VIC
· Food and Beverage Outlet of the Year - Home Kitchen & Bar, Mantra on Russell, Melbourne VIC
· Shared Services Department - Finance
· Shared Services Team Member - Gus Chan (International Sales Manager – Eastern) and Rachel Waters (Financial Controller)
· Profit Growth - Mantra City Central, Melbourne VIC