Letters to the editor: Rotorua needs more motel rooms available for tourists

The Rotorua visitor centre and i-Site. Photo / Andrew Warner

OPINION

It is wonderful to hear the city is once again a thriving tourist destination and I am sure local businesses are pleased with the numbers in town.

However, it is not a good look for our city if guests are unable to find accommodation, and are even asking to sleep on floors (News, April 15).

The Rotorua Lakes Council, which is so far doing a great job, now needs to take back our city — or at least some more of it — from the Government, and ask that more of the motels and hotels being used as emergency housing are returned to the market.

As reported in Saturday’s article in the Rotorua Daily Post, the Government needs to stop funding so many motels now that the number of people needing them as emergency accommodation has dropped.

There are still 13 being government-funded so several of those could be returned to tourism.

Mike Bryant, Ministry of Social Development Bay of Plenty regional commissioner, said: “Our policy continues to be that we require a valid and clear reason before any emergency housing support is provided for people to relocate from outside of their region.’’

So, the number of people needing emergency housing should be declining and fewer motels needed.

We obviously need more accommodation for visitors, so here’s the remedy: halve the number of emergency motels.

Viv Radley

Rotorua

Trolley solution could be shared

If those retailers that have their trollies hijacked are not prepared to fit them with wheel locks that kick in when they are taken outside their carparks, here is plan B.

Instead of those businesses involved sitting back passively and waiting for the council to collect and return their property to them, I suggest they get together and employ a person to do it.

They could even come up with a jointly owned app whereby sending in the location of an abandoned trolley would be easy.

Trollies cost hundreds of dollars. When one is stolen, is it covered by insurance? Is it written off?

Is its value absorbed by the customer in the price of goods?

Just asking.

Lesley Haddon

Rotorua

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