How new Pullman Rotorua hotel survived Covid 19 in its first year

General manager Israel Suarez Guido talks about Pullman Rotorua's first year. Photo / Andrew Warner

When Rotorua's first five-star hotel opened in January 2020, nobody could have predicted that two months later it would be forced to close its doors.

The 16 weeks that followed were full of uncertainty and tough decisions as the entire hotel industry came to terms with its new reality - a reality that included 60 per cent of its market being locked out of the country.

But Pullman Rotorua, the newest addition to the city's well-established accommodation sector, weathered the initial storm, reopening in July with a new general manager and a new goal for the year ahead: survive.

In an exclusive anniversary interview with the Rotorua Daily Post, general manager Israel Suarez Guido said 2020 was not without its challenges but the unique circumstances also offered opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

"When you open a new hotel you have expectations of the market and seeing those expectations vanish because of Covid was a challenge.

Pullman Hotel in Rotorua opened in 2020. Photo / Tessa Chrisp

"Like every hotel in New Zealand, probably the world, we had to consider all the scenarios and decide which one would bring the best outcomes for us.

"We made the decision to open in July and we were forecasting 6.6 per cent occupancy. Everybody thought Rotorua was going to be quiet with all the international tourism gone but we finished that month on 66 per cent occupancy because, as we discovered, people were itching to get out of their bubbles and travel around the country.

"The challenge that came with that was staffing, because we were expecting 6.6 per cent occupancy so we had 6.6 per cent worth of staff."

That was one of the areas that offered an opportunity to try something a little different, Suarez Guido said.

"I was visiting a friend of mine at the hostel she managed and I noticed her international employees.

"I asked her how often they worked and she said she didn't have enough hours for them so I saw an opportunity to tackle three problems with one solution.

"My friend had these workers but not enough hours for them, these people had the time and willingness to work but needed more hours and I had the hours but not enough staff.

"So, we created a pool of workers from different hotels that we were able to pull from and it worked like a charm.

"Out-of-the-box thinking like that is not something we would have needed to do if we weren't in this situation but it has opened new doors we didn't know were there."

This ability to adapt has served Pullman well during its first year but did not make it immune to 2020's obstacles.

After a few weeks of steady occupancy and better-than-expected bounceback, a second lockdown, this time in Auckland, put an end to any premature optimism.

"Rotorua's tourism and hospitality industry had this beautiful momentum going and that second lockdown just stopped it completely in its tracks.

"We did what we had to do, we readapted and tried to get out of it but it did set the whole industry back again.

"The good thing was that everybody in the industry was talking and offering solutions. There has been so much collaboration among hoteliers because we all need to make it work and we're all in the same boat. That's what's saving us."

Pullman Rotorua occupancy rates have varied so greatly recently that forecasting had become irrelevant, general manager Israel Suarez Guido says. Photo / Tessa Chrisp

Suarez Guido said occupancy rates had gone up bit by bit since the second lockdown but it varied so greatly that forecasting had become irrelevant.

"We had one Saturday this month where we started at 45 per cent occupancy and by the end of the day we were on 83 per cent. I've never seen it jump so much in a single day before Covid."

Suarez Guido is a glass-half-full kind of guy though, and is confident the Pullman, and the wider Rotorua sector, will come out better and stronger after Covid.

"Rotorua is the mecca of Māori culture. There is so much more in that space nationwide that we could be doing to fully embrace and immerse ourselves in that culture.

"At Pullman, we want to have that full immersion with te ao Māori, have bilingual menus, highlight and explore all the talent in the Māori culture. We want to be a part of that journey."

Pullman Hotel Rotorua general manager Israel Suarez Guido. Photo / Andrew Warner

Suarez Guido, who took up the general manager position after spending the past nine years at Auckland's Sofitel, said now was the time for the hotel industry to reinvent itself.

"We're no longer in the hospitality industry, we are in the entertainment industry. We need to start enticing people to travel locally, not just because Rotorua is a place they can visit but because we have events and offerings in our hotels that make people want to travel here.

"That's the new mentality I think we should be approaching our industry with and to be honest, I think it's a great challenge for the year ahead."