Hostels & Backpackers

The country’s major political parties are making ambiguous tourism promises but Labour’s fixation on ‘high value’ could be detrimental to the youth and hostel sector, writes BYATA chair Haydn Marriner.

LyLo has opened the doors to its revamped Christchurch and Queenstown accommodations.

New Zealand’s backpacker industry is making a steady recovery from the pandemic with some operators managing to hit pre-Covid levels but significant challenges remain.

The creators behind LyLo Auckland have been nominated as a finalist in three categories at the Designers Institute of New Zealand’s Best Design Awards.

Happy Travels chief executive Eddy Brown and ROADY founder Roscoe Price Moor will be among the speakers at the Backpacker and Youth Adventure Tourism Association 2023 conference in Christchurch.

Industry leaders lay out their wish lists for today’s announcement.

LyLo Auckland has won Best Hotel of the Year in the conversion category at the Australasia-Pacific Hotel Design Awards.

The race is on to attract backpackers and boost occupancy from late summer through to autumn.

The association’s Brian Westwood and Chris Sperring say young travellers are an “incredibly valuable” segment for NZ.

Hotel guest nights across New Zealand in October 2022 surpassed the million mark for the first time since the pandemic started.

The operator says it is seeing “huge demand” for the lifestyle budget accommodation experience in Australia and expects New Zealand to follow.

The Backpacker Youth Adventure Travel Association (BYATA) of New Zealand is asking major banks why they are preventing international working holidaymakers from receiving bank accounts.

But cost pressures and corporate competition could shape the recovery for operators.

International guest nights across NZ increased 135% in July, with southern regions benefitting.

Youth travellers spend more on average than Australian visitors and it is their lifetime value that is the real benefit.

More than 100 people are expected at the conference in Auckland next week, which is based on the theme of embracing high-value youth within the rebuild of tourism.

The Backpacker Youth Adventure Tourism Association conference has welcomed back Tomahawk as its gold sponsor for its 2022 conference.

The operator reopens its hostels tomorrow, with strong demand and new patterns of bookings coming through.

New Zealand tourism needs to step up and fight for overseas markets, says the association’s inaugural president.

Cardrona and Treble Cone have teamed up with Wānaka Backpackers Bothy to provide mountain staff accommodation for the 2022 winter ski season.

Despite the WHV scheme being back on the table, it will still be a rough year ahead for the hostel and youth sector, warns NZHA chair Brett Duncan.

Almost 20k of the visas were approved before the borders shut and allowing them in could help alleviate worker shortages.

Accommodation with shared facilities will not be permitted to host visitors once the border eases.

There has been good interest among both domestic and international parties for the group of YHA-managed hostels that closed doors in December, says the agent charged with selling the properties.

The first significant impact on the labour problem within the tourist industry could be provided by the return of working holiday makers from 13 March.

The Backpacking Youth Travel Association of New Zealand says it wants sweeping changes to the government’s recently announced plans to reopen New Zealand to the world.

More than a third of businesses have shut with another 22% hibernating, says the New Zealand Hostels Association.

The occupancy rate for the year to October was 39%, with 94% coming from domestic guest nights.

How tourism businesses operate under the traffic light settings in the Covid-19 Protection Framework depends on the specific industry.

In a “sad day for YHA and for tourism in NZ” the closures will end 89 years of operations.

The country’s biggest hotel group calls for legal cover to allow operators to act.

Occupancy rates in September at accommodation types nationwide were down to 21.2% for the month despite a move to level 2 outside Auckland, marking another record low since the Accommodation Data Programme (ADP) began in mid-2020.

An iconic Taupō tourist attraction selected less than a year ago by the government as a strategic asset worthy of a $500,000 grant is now on the market.

Hotels recorded occupancy for the month of just 38% – the best of all accommodation types.

The Jucy co-founder is back at the helm of the accommodation business after EVENT Hospitality takes full control.

Drifter Hospitality Group plans to target the premium millennial market with hybrid hotels across Asia Pacific.

But average occupancy in the year to July 2021 across all commercial accommodation types was only 42%.

A move from survival mode to recovery and new industry partnerships have been highlighted at the Backpacker, Youth and Adventure Tourism Association’s 2021 update.

Around 11% of core tourism accommodation properties were closed or had no guests during June due to a combination of seasonal closures and the effects of Covid-19 on guest numbers.

West Coast hostel Bazil’s Backpackers and Surf School suffers major damage after a fire broke out overnight.

Fiordland recorded the lowest occupancy nationally, with 16.8%, down from 27.8% in April.

Villa has 14 rooms and was formerly used as a maternity hospital.

Accommodation spending for the year to March 2021 fell to $3.41bn, down 25.5% on the previous 12 month period, says Stats NZ.

The value of building consents issued for hotels, motels and other short term accommodation in March 2021 was $27m, down 55% for the same month in 2020, according to Stats NZ.

Hotel guest nights beat holiday parks and campgrounds for the first time in several months.

New hostel portfolio owner Wolf Herwegh Vonk on his $30m deal with YHA.

Manawatū was the top performer for the month seeing occupancy rise to 60%.

Sale and leaseback offers a way to unlock capital for accommodation operators but deals remain rare.

Campgrounds helped drive occupancy up across the country, according to the Accommodation Data Programme.

Blenheim-based Diamond Hostel Limited has gone into liquidation.