Hostels & Backpackers

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.

A Christmas bump saw Hawke’s Bay regional tourism organisation area top occupancy across all accommodation types in December, knocking Wellington from the top of the table.

YHA sells five hostels in what it says is a reflection of the distressed nature of the tourism industry.

Hostels are shutting their doors or being put up for sale as the market struggles without international visitors.

Stats NZ domestic card spending data for December reveals a sluggish start to summer for the accommodation sector.

Hospitality New Zealand is re-establishing the Accommodation Association New Zealand to provide the accommodation sector with a united voice as it worked through the challenges of the Covid-19 crisis.

The Wellington, Manawatu and Waikato regional tourism organisation areas topped occupancy across all accommodation types in October, according to the latest Accommodation Data Programme figures.

YHA says Nash’s focus on high value tourism would put New Zealand’s $1.5bn youth tourism industry under threat.

Hospitality New Zealand has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Backpacker Youth and Adventure Tourism Association.

One of the hardest-hit parts of tourism is holding on for a quick rebound when international travel resumes.

The Wellington regional tourism organisation area topped occupancy across all accommodation types in September for the second month in a row, according to the latest Accommodation Data Programme figures.

Youth travel is going to be vitally important to the recovery, says TNZ director of commercial Rene de Monchy.

YHA New Zealand is committing to retain its national network of hostels despite suffering significant financial pain following border closures and Covid-19 lockdown, says chief executive Mark Wells.

New Zealand needs to build up a good mix of visitors in the recovery so the sector is less dependent on any single segment, says Tourism New Zealand chief executive Stephen England-Hall.

The guidelines provide advice to accommodation suppliers taking self-isolation guests or essential workers.

Arrivals required to stand down are providing “a reasonable amount of business” for some companies.

Following the signing of a joint venture with EVENT, JUCY’s CEO tells the Ticker what his plans are for the new entity.

The Alpe family’s JUCY group has sold a 50% stake in its pod-hotel business to Australian-listed EVENT Hospitality & Entertainment to kick-start expansion across “New Zealand, Australia and beyond.”

The old Māori trade training hostel, Te Kooti te Rato, located at Rehua Marae in Christchurch will soon be repurposed into six modern apartments for local Christchurch whānau.

Stray New Zealand, Haka Tours and Go Orange were amongst the winners at the 2019 Adventure Tourism Awards that took place 14 November on the Gold Coast.

Ryan Sanders’ Haka Tourism Group has added an eighth property to its accommodation portfolio with the opening of Haka Lodge Ponsonby.

Summer accommodation will be made available at the former YHA Opoutere, which has been handed over to the Wharekawa Adventure Education Trust by YHA New Zealand.

A strong silver dollar economy contrasted with a weakening youth market in the latest Quarterly Tourism Report, with growth in international visitor arrivals skewed towards older age brackets in the year to June 2019.

Dive! Tutukaka and YHA NZ have been recognised for their business and energy sustainability work.

Lake Tekapo’s new $9m YHA has reported 85% occupancy in its first two weeks of trade.

The evolution of the backpacker market and where it might go next is the backbone for discussion at this year’s annual Backpacker Youth & Adventure Tourism Association conference.

The youth-oriented tour operator has pitched into the 50+ demographic to help cope with a softening backpacker market.

Haka Tourism Group has succeeded in its multi-million dollar bid to take ownership of its Auckland lodge.

Cristine Angus’s software development company, getsmart, has signed a global partnership agreement to provide tailored customer insight solutions for the International Youth Hostels Federation.

YHA’s manager of hostel operations, Simon Cartwright, has been elected the new board chair of the   Backpacker Youth & Adventure Tourism Association.

TNZ has refocused its backpacker strategy on the direct UK and German markets.