24th April 2020 By Shannon Williams | shannon@tourismticker.com | @tourismticker
The Lowdown on the Lockdown brings you a regular take from a tourism professional exploring new ways of working, sharing what life now looks like for them and just how much Covid-19 has changed what they do.
Wonderland Lodge near the head of Lake Wanaka
Wonderland Lodge in Makarora is located at the head of Lake Wanaka on the Haast Pass Highway between Wanaka and the West Coast. General manager Glenn O’Callahan talks about hunkering down with half-a-dozen staff, reconnecting as a family, and ensuring the business is as nimble as possible to make the most of any potential opportunities.
How have the last few weeks been for you? What was business like heading into lockdown?
Business for us was actually up in March leading into the lockdown, even with the uncertainty surrounding what would happen. Once the announcements were made around the lockdown levels, that was when we noticed our revenue dropped instantly. I think this was because the announcement of levels finally made it seem real to those who weren’t working with Covid-19 directly.
And how have you been settling into lockdown life?
The six months leading into lockdown had been the busiest six months of our lives, having just taken on the management of the lodge and moving to Makarora, so we took the first week as a time to relax and reconnect as a family.
Having this enforced opportunity to create lifelong memories for our young children has been amazing. We are so lucky to be locked down in this remote slice of paradise with paddocks to play in and native bush to explore right on our doorstep.
What are the priorities that you are focusing on right now?
Currently, I’m working closely with my board of directors to ensure we have multiple strategies in place to navigate the next 6-24 months as the landscape is constantly changing. We are ensuring our business is as nimble as possible to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise. Tourism as we knew it will never be the same, and successful businesses moving forward will be those who not only move with the market but move with speed.
How are you communicating with your team? Do you have regular conference calls, video chats?
Anyone who lives as remotely as we do will know that our copper phone lines don’t like video conferencing too much, but we have a chat group we regularly talk in, and the majority of our staff live onsite so on my daily site checks I see most everyone (at a distance of course!)
More family time has been one of the benefits for Glenn and his son Theo
And how are you keeping up morale through this difficult time?
Wonderland Lodge is the hub of our local community, so it is important that we are making sure our staff and locals are regularly contacted and spoken to. We have been working with the local community association to organise groceries and other essential supplies for the most vulnerable. Keeping our community connected and safe is really important to me and my team and keeps us busy.
Can you tell us a bit about your bubble? What do you get up to in order to keep spirits up?
My bubble consists of my wife, our two kids and our dog. We have all grown closer as a family unit throughout this time and our dog can’t believe how much time we have to take him for walks!
Have you got any personal goals that you are hoping to achieve while in lockdown?
Creating positive lifetime memories for my children and ensuring I’m doing everything possible to ensure the longevity of our business. It’s also nice to have the time that we never seem to find to get the little but important tasks done. As we all know tourism is a 24/7 business, there is no rest and never enough hours in the day….or week…month….year!!
What will business look like for you once restrictions lift?
At this stage, we just don’t know. It will depend on how restrictive the next stage is regarding people being able to move around the country freely.
Much like the rest of our industry, all we can do is plan for every scenario and hope for the best. I’m confident that gems like Makarora will be highly desirable for the domestic tourism market. The untouched, unpopulated areas were trending before Covid-19 and I have no doubt that will continue.
Have you got any messages of support for the industry that you would like to share?
We will get through this! It is another chapter to our history as an industry. We have been through many struggles over the years and this will be no different.
Stay home, save lives and get ready for the new normal.
