Empty beds defy the hype

By Chris Daniels

Don't believe the hype ... There is still room at the inn, say Auckland moteliers.

Apec has caused domestic and international travellers to abandon any thought of staying in Auckland this week, complains the Motel Association of New Zealand.

Its Auckland president, Judith Noda, said motels throughout the region were suffering because politicians and officials had been telling travellers for two years to stay away during the Apec summit.

People saw areas such as the North Shore, Henderson, Howick, and Pukekohe as part of Auckland, yet they would not be providing any Apec accommodation.

Judith Noda said she had five rooms out of 16 vacant at her Herne Bay motel, despite its location close to the city.

Only hotels in the central city were affected by Apec, yet national and overseas travellers were being told to stay away from the whole city as accommodation would be scarce.

Business travellers and holidaymakers were all staying away from Auckland because of Apec.

"No effort was made to re-educate the public," said Judith Noda.

Fewer delegates coming to Apec also meant hard times for many hoteliers.

"Late cancellation or non-takeup of rooms originally booked by the Apec office some 12 months ago has created a surplus of accommodation," she said.

A spokesman for the Apec Taskforce, Brad Tattersfield, said he agreed with some of Judith Noda's comments.

But the taskforce had always stressed that the demand would be on inner-city accommodation.

About 1200 rooms, mostly in motels, were released by accommodation organisers two months ago, when delegations began confirming how many rooms they would be needing.

The withdrawal of the Indonesian delegation from the Apec leaders' summit has freed about 50 rooms in the Heritage Hotel.