Says Alison Mills, e-commerce manager for Tsogo Sun, “Tsogo Sun strives to ensure that every guest experience is memorable, not only in all of our hotel, gaming and entertainment properties in South Africa and further afield, but also at every point of guest interaction, whether by phone, social media, or on our website. Tremendous effort was put into developing the website to meet the standards of excellence that the group has set for itself – and we are proud and delighted that these efforts have been recognised by prestigious international award organisations.”

The website was launched on Wednesday, 16 December 2015. Tsogo Sun partnered with New York-based HeBS Digital, a full-service digital agency that specialises in the hospitality industry. The website consists of a single domain incorporating a total of over 150 individual property desktop, tablet, and mobile sites – which include one corporate website, over 95 hotel sites, 14 casinos, Sandton Convention Centre, and select restaurant and bar properties.

With over 800 000 visitors per month, the objectives for the new website included the need to ensure a seamless user experience, online bookings for hotels and events, search engine optimisation, a content management system that is accessible to individual properties, allowing content to be shared across multiple properties, cross-browser compatibility, and much more.

In April, the website was selected as an Official Honoree in the 20th annual Webby Awards in the Advertising: Tourism & Leisure category. The Webby Awards is the leading international awards programme, honouring excellence on the Internet, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) nominates, selects and presents the awards. Websites that win Official Honouree Awards are in the top 20% of close on 13 000 entries received annually.

In September, the website won a Gold Travel Weekly Magellan Award, which Mills acknowledges as “a tremendous achievement” as they honour the best in design, marketing, and services in the travel industry.

In September, the website won the Best Hotel and Lodging Website category at the Web Awards. Entries were judged on design, copywriting, innovation, content, interactivity, navigation, and use of technology.

The most recent award for the website came in the form of a Best-in-Class at the Interactive Media Awards (IMA) in the Hotel/Resort category in October. These awards recognise the highest standards of excellence in website design and development and honour individuals and organisations for their outstanding achievement.

“Although strategically we will always put the customer experience first, winning awards, especially such coveted international ones, is certainly a highlight for us as they reflect the tremendous effort we put into ensuring excellence in all we do. We are honoured by the global recognition and we look forward to setting and achieving higher standards for Tsogo Sun in the future,” says Noëleen Bruton, director of marketing for the Tsogo Sun Group.

For more information, visit www.tsogosun.com. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.