Miss Felde won and Miss Castro was runner-up in the Southern branch competition, held in Novotel, by the Association of Rooms Division Executives of New Zealand (Ardenz), on Friday.
"It's the first time St Moritz have been competing and the first time I have competed in a while. It feels really, really great. It hasn't really sunk in," Miss Felde said.
The duo competed against six other receptionists - Jayne Stewart and Daniela Mayagoitia Rodriguez, both of Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa, Jolanta Goik, of Peppers Beacon, Brad Cavanagh, of BreakFree The Waterfront, Jo van Lent, of Crowne Plaza Queenstown, and Todd Felton, of Novotel.
Role-playing with two actors tested how they coped with demanding guests in different scenarios.
The panel of judges consisted of Ardenz president Terry Johnston, of Christchurch, Hospitality Standards Institute regional training adviser Andrea Gibson, of Cromwell, The Rees general manager Mark Rose, Novotel human resources manager Catherine Monaghan and Crowne Plaza front of house manager Guy Robinson.
Miss Felde and Miss Castro will take on the winners and runners-up of Capital (Wellington) and Central (Rotorua-Taupo) branches in the national competition in Christchurch. The national winner will represent New Zealand in the international final in Prague, Czech Republic, in January.
New Zealand has been represented five times since 1995, winning once and being first runner-up twice.
Novotel front office manager and competition hostess Lauren Sall said there were eight contestants this year, up from six last year and five in 2009.
"The Otago branch of Ardenz is quite small, but we are hoping to bring awareness to the event to get other hotels in the area involved in future.
"The whole process is more for experience and career development and the opportunity to travel."
