Recently, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) announced that following the reopening of the international border without the requirement to isolate for most travellers, hotels used as MIQ facilities would be winding up.
“By the end of June, 28 of the current 32 facilities will leave the MIQ network and return to being hotels,” Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins had said.
MIQ head Chris Bunny said while MIQ was winding down, "it will still play a role in the community and at the border."
The 28 facilities leaving the MIQ network will return to being hotels, welcoming people from across the world after a two-year hiatus. The four remaining MIQ facilities will run through to December 2022, subject to review, Bunny had confirmed. Those four hotels that will be retained beyond June 30 as managed isolation facilities are Jet Park – Auckland, Holiday Inn – Auckland, Waipuna – Auckland and Commodore – Christchurch.
Indian Weekender spoke to some of the hotels that will cease to be MIQ facilities to know how it is to be back in regular business after more than two years.
Accor NZ group, which has many hotels such as Novotel Auckland Ellerslie, Ibis Auckland Ellerslie, SO/ Auckland, Pullman, Ibis Hamilton, Tainui Ibis Rotorua and Novotel Christchurch Airport, among others that were MIQ facilities.
Gillian Millar, Senior Vice President Operations Accor NZ, said, “We are incredibly proud of our teams who have worked tirelessly over the last two years to keep our NZ communities safe and make a difference. Our teams are excited and are looking forward to welcoming all visitors, domestic and international, and having them experience our local service. We will do so with open arms. They are keen to get back to having you stay with us and creating memorable experiences.”
Millar added that considering the pandemic is not yet over; the hotels will operate to the highest health and safety standards. "We are still working through the exact dates when our hotels will re-enter the market. Those hotels returning to the market will have a period of shutdown to undergo a full deep clean and replacement of many loose furnishings where required. We have had the strictest safety and hygiene standards to operate as a MIQ – and will continue to operate to this high standard. The later part of the year is already seeing many enquiries with the news of the border reopening.”
Rydges Auckland is another hotel whose MIQ contract finishes on April 30. The hotel would reopen to the public in stages as it was refurbished, with the first rooms available on May 1. Rydges Auckland General Manager Vinicius Belotti said that the team are excited to welcome guests back into the newly refurbished hotel. “As NZers continue to explore their backyard, and as international borders open up, we are looking forward to hosting guests as they visit Tamaki Makaurau and sharing our refreshed, casual and modern style with them. Guests will enjoy refreshed rooms with new furniture including 50-inch Smart TVs and updated soft furnishings.”
Many hotels were not MIQ and were operating normally during the last two years of the pandemic. Needless to say, it has not been easy for them, and now when the MIQ hotels are back in business, it is undoubtedly going to change the dynamics of the hospitality sector.
One such hotel is Cordis Auckland, which continued its regular operation during the pandemic. Asked how they managed to survive and their expectations from the border reopening, Franz Mascarenhas, Managing Director of Cordis Auckland said, “Cordis Auckland has never been contracted to the government as a managed isolation facility (MIQ), therefore with the borders closed and long periods of lockdown over the past two years, it has been a challenging period for our business financially.
“However, we utilised this downtime to greatly enhance our asset value and position ourselves to capitalise on the inevitable boom the city will see as the international borders begin to open, building our brand new 17-storey Pinnacle Tower.”
He remained optimistic and hoped things would further improve once Auckland shifts to orange light. "It will continue to be a challenging time for all hospitality in NZ as tourism picks up again over the coming months. However, with the borders beginning to open for Australian tourists from April 12, the recovery process has commenced, which is a step in the right direction. We're now looking for a shift back to the Orange traffic light system to operate our business without any number and hospitality restrictions, as tourism slowly returns to NZ.,” Mascarenhas said.
The Hotel Britomart is another hotel that operates as a non MIQ hotel. Sharing the experience of running a non-MIQ hotel, Clinton Farley, General Manager, The Hotel Britomart, said, "It is no surprise that the past couple of years has been challenging for the tourism and hospitality industry with international borders closed and restrictions at times, around domestic travel.
“Our hotel launched late 2020, amidst Covid-19 pandemic as NZ’s first 5-Green Star rated hotel. We continued to grow business over this time with the support of the domestic market and Trans-Tasman corridor for a period in 2021. The re-introduction of MIQ hotels to the market supply will have a significant impact on the market and will, of course, need to be supported by international borders reopening as soon as possible, allowing time to remarket NZ to the world, to reconnect airline networks as well as being mindful of booking lead-times.
He signs off saying, “Our hotel is excited that our borders will soon be reopening and the opportunity that we have as a country, to showcase the beauty and Manaakitanga of our people in Aotearoa.”
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