Seasonal lodging a mixed bag

Amy Collins
Amy Collins
The winter accommodation market is in full swing in Wanaka as seasonal workers begin to arrive for the ski season.

In previous years, there has been intense competition for rooms but this year, worldwide economic factors mean there does not seem to be so much early demand, according to Amy Collins (27), who has been sourcing flats for Christian skiers and snowboarders from overseas who regularly come to Wanaka.

"Last year, we had 13 boys in a four-bedroom house, which was nuts. We didn't want that to happen again. So I volunteered to organise it.

"But as it turns out, most of the people are staying at The Lighthouse [Church] and I will only be organising houses for the busiest time of July and August.

"It is because of the US dollar this year, which is not so great," Miss Collins, a real estate company receptionist, said.

Wanaka Reservations manager Annette Barrow paints a slightly different picture.

Visitors from England, Europe and Canada began arriving shortly after Easter to get better rental rates and find pre-season jobs on vineyards or in restaurants.

Mrs Barrow said her company had signed up all the houses they had available for rent from now until the end of the season in October, and short-term ski season bookings (for example, the school holidays) were filling up very quickly.

"Our houses were filled early this year. We would usually have 10 houses still available now," Mrs Barrow said.

Miss Collins said the Lighthouse Church in Riverbank Rd had several bunkrooms and could accommodate 15 people at any one time.

Other churchgoers find accommodation elsewhere. Usually, about 50 churchgoers could be expected each winter, so in April Miss Collins advertised for additional short-term winter accommodation.

Miss Collins received several replies from landlords, but then found she had to turn down all but one flat because fewer Lighthouse churchgoers were coming.

She also found many of her contacts were reluctant to commit to dates because they did not know how long they would stay.

Many people had offered rooms for boarders, but Miss Collins said her contacts were young adults and preferred to live in self-contained accommodation.

The Lighthouse Church in Wanaka is part of an international network of churches founded by skiers and snowboarders from the Mammoth skifield in California.

 

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