Left to right: Jucy owners and brothers Dan Alpe and Tim Alpe.
Left to right: Jucy owners and brothers Dan Alpe and Tim Alpe.
Jucy's Christchurch-based pod-style hotel is in demand ahead of its November opening.
Prime Minister John Key will today attend the opening of the Jucy site which holds close to 300 fibreglass and steel capsules that fit one person, and can be rented for $39 per night.
The Jucy Snooze hotel, based on the Japanese capsule concept, is located on a $9 million site close to Christchurch Airport and is part of an expansion of shops, office parks and hotels.
Jucy Rentals chief executive Tim Alpe said the company had seen promising signs the hotel would be busy when it officially opens to guests on November 1.
The first Jucy Snooze pod-style hotel at Christchurch Airport is set to open on November 1.
It had already received more than 600 bookings ahead of its opening.
Alpe said the short-stay pods would offer low cost accommodation close to the airport, challenge traditional accommodation and give travellers the option to stay for short periods between international flights or overnight.
"We set about challenging the traditional service model of hotels, completely redesigning it to remove the barriers guests commonly encounter," Alpe said.
Jucy Snooze will use technology to create a new concept for the tourism industry, he said.
"Our research found that hotels were inadvertently causing bottlenecks for their reception staff by forcing guests to leave at the same time," Alpe said.
"Any time when customers need to queue to pay their bill creates the potential for customer satisfaction to be diminished. We wanted the first and last impression our guests have to be one of efficiency and convenience."
The self-contained 'micro accommodation' concept feature 271 beds, storage lockers, a power supply and WiFi connectivity. It will be largely targeting backpackers and low cost travellers.
A similar hotel is under construction in Queenstown, and there are plans for a third in Auckland. The company hopes to have 11 pod hotels in New Zealand and Australia within four years.
The pod-style hotel is the first to open post Christchurch earthquake and hopes to solve a shortage of accommodation in the city.
The Jucy Snooze pod-style hotel is located on a $9 million site.
Tim Alpe and brother Dan launched Jucy in Auckland in 2001 and run a fleet of rental cars and campervans in New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
