Paihia backpackers hostel reinvented for Covid era's 'new reality'

Owner Andy Larsen and partner Lynne Plant at Bay of Islands Lodge, formerly YHA Paihia, on Kings Rd. Photo / Peter de Graaf

What does a backpacker hostel do when backpackers stop coming?

That's a question budget accommodation providers are grappling with across Northland.

Hostels were already under pressure from a boom in freedom camping vans — though their days may now be numbered due to a looming law change — when the Covid pandemic closed New Zealand's borders.

The loss of the youth travel market was felt most acutely on Kings Rd in Paihia, long the backpacker capital of Northland.

Since the pandemic began three of the bigger hostels have been converted into temporary housing, one is being turned back into a private dwelling, and at least two are on the market.

For the former YHA (Youth Hostel Association) Paihia it's been a double whammy.

Not only have backpackers vanished but just before Christmas YHA New Zealand shut its doors for good and put its 11 hostels up for sale, saying it couldn't survive another summer without international visitors.

While the Paihia hostel was a franchise rather than owned by the YHA, it still relied on the national organisation for its marketing, booking site and many of its customers.

Andy Larsen, who has owned the Paihia YHA since 2013, said it was the end of an era.

''The brand's been going since 1933 so it's quite a momentous thing. It's really sad.''

Even before the YHA's exit Larsen had started re-inventing the business.

Like many Bay of Islands accommodation providers, Larsen's first summer under Covid was a good one with international visitors replaced by Kiwis ticking off their travel bucket lists.

But when the Auckland border closed, effectively turning Northland into an island, business dried up completely.

''We had to try something new. We couldn't just sit there. We had to reinvent ourselves for the new reality that's out there,'' he said.

During the first lockdown Larsen and partner Lynne Plant started converting eight-bed dorms into family rooms by pulling out four bunks and putting in a double bed instead, ''just to see how it would go''.

Bay of Islands Lodge owner Andy Larsen in a former hostel bunk room converted into a family room. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Soon they started getting bookings from families in Whangārei and Kaitaia, who found they could have an affordable holiday by booking a single family room instead of a couple of rooms at a motel.

They could also use the hostel's communal kitchen to prepare their own meals.

''The backpacker market, and the whole idea of sharing a room with people you don't know, has pretty much gone,'' Larsen said.

''It might come back but not in the short to medium term. We find people want to mix and mingle but then go back to their own rooms.''

Larsen then converted the smaller bunk rooms into rooms for singles and couples, while the demise of the YHA forced him to rebrand — it's now Bay of Islands Lodge — and set up his own website and booking system.

During Christmas many of his guests were ''new New Zealanders'' seizing their chance to explore the country, often with three generations in tow.

His real success, however, had come from allowing groups to rent out the entire lodge.

So far they had included staff of a Whangārei-based trust on a team-building retreat, a hen's party, a 21st and family reunions. He's also had interest from school groups planning to visit Waitangi instead of travelling overseas.

''It's much more affordable than booking 10 rooms in a hotel, especially when they can also make their own meals.''

While the tourism landscape has changed — possibly forever — Larsen said people would still want to visit Paihia and try its multitude of activities.

''I still believe in the future of the Bay of Islands is good,'' he said.