French set up camp at Base

By KEVIN TAYLOR

Base is the brand name for Accor's new budget-priced backpacker hotel chain.

The French hotel giant is to plough $12 million to $13 million into the backpacker accommodation market in New Zealand.

Although signalling the move early this year, Accor revealed more details yesterday, including the brand name and the cost of the venture.

The company runs hotels throughout the country under the Sofitel, Novotel, Ibis and Mecure brands.

The new brand name was revealed by Prime Minister Helen Clark at the official opening of Accor's Novotel Capital on The Terrace in Wellington yesterday.

She said the backpacker market was showing strong growth, with backpacker hostel guest nights up 12 per cent in July compared to the same month last year.

That was the sixth consecutive month in which hostel guest nights had increased by 10 per cent or more over the same months last year.

Accor is opening three backpacker hostels, offering 900 beds, in Auckland, Rotorua and Wellington. Further expansion is planned.

The company started operating its first hostel this month in Rotorua when it took over the lease of The Wall Backpackers. The 100-bed hostel will eventually be rebranded.

Accor's regional general manager for New Zealand, Neil Scanlan, said the 375-bed Base Wellington would be opened early next year in a converted heritage building on Cambridge Terrace.

By next March, a 425-bed central Auckland hostel in the former Wrights building on the corner of Fort and Commerce Sts should be open for business.

Scanlan said the backpacker market had vast potential and significance for tourism, but was not fully recognised for its contribution.

"If we continue the double-digit growth in the backpacker market there will be plenty of scope for that growth to continue."

He said Accor was the first big hotel company to invest in the backpacker market in New Zealand.

Accor also has its sights set on Christchurch and Queenstown backpacker accommodation but Scanlan would not go into details.

The company has said it is using Australia and New Zealand to test its backpacker concept.