With Golf holding the mantle as the highest participation sport in the country with over 482,000 Kiwis* playing the game, Choice Hotels Australasia (Choice) is driving into 2015 as the official accommodation provider of New Zealand Golf (NZ Golf).

New Zealand
Golf, the governing body of golf in New Zealand, represents 395 clubs across
the country and runs over 20 national golf events with a total of 2,800 event
participants and over 130,000 registered members.

The new
partnership will enable Choice Hotels to provide exclusive accommodation offers
to the golfing community and really cements Choice Hotels as the golfing
industry’s accommodation partner across Australasia, following last year’s
resigning with the PGA of Australia.

One of the
programs that will be available for golfing clubs all across the country to tap
into is Choice Hotels Choice Sports programme. Choice Sports provides up to a
15 per cent discount off the best available accommodation rate to numerous
sporting clubs across New Zealand whilst also providing a seven per cent rebate
that goes directly back to the club each time a member or associate of the club
stays at a Choice Hotel. This helps raise important funds for the club and
supports their continual growth and success.

For keen golfer
and Choice CEO Trent Fraser, the opportunity to align the 34 hotels in New Zealand
across its Econo Lodge, Comfort, Quality and Clarion brands made sense given
the geography of the hotels and the sheer number of golf enthusiasts travelling
to play.

"We’re really
excited about the opportunities to work with Golf NZ as we found a number of
our properties were located in close proximity to the country’s top courses."

"With over 8
million rounds of golf being played on New Zealand soil per year we are really
excited to provide an accommodation offer that enables all levels of players and
supporters to access the game nationwide."

In addition to
the 20 national golf events that includes the competitive Charles Tour, there
will be 36 district events that will also benefit from the two-year
partnership.

New Zealand Golf
CEO Dean Murphy notes the partnership reflects the body’s vision, and will
benefit each of the 395 affiliated clubs by providing accessible, reputable and
valuable accommodation offers to players and spectators alike.

"We are
committed to growing the game of golf both recreationally and professionally
and are looking forward to the partnership with Choice Hotels that will assist
our goal of providing more value for our golf club members."

As part of this
year’s partnership launch, Choice Hotels Marketing Manager Matt Taylor also
announced that golf enthusiasts across the country will have the opportunity to
enter a draw to win the golf trip of a lifetime to play at the World Cup golf
course in Mission Hills, Shenzen, China.

"This is an
amazing opportunity for an avid golfing enthusiast to experience one of the
most amazing golfing resorts in the world. We will have some exciting
announcements and more details on this over the coming weeks."

Choice has over
34 hotels dotted across New Zealand. Conveniently located in city centres,
metropolitan areas and regional centres, Choice offers a variety of options
ranging from the entry-level Econo Lodge, to the convenient Comfort,
full-service Quality and the premium Clarion brand

*Highest formal
participation sport in New Zealand with players over the age of 18.