Tourism Industry Aotearoa has strongly refuted claims made by Phil Goff to the New Zealand Herald. In justifying his revised targeted rates proposal, Goff accused hotels of exploiting participants in the World Masters Games.
TIA chief executive Chris Roberts said that the aggressive approach being adopted by the Mayor to anyone who disagrees with him is unhelpful, and that his accusations are untrue.
“The Mayor continues to make wild claims that are not based on the facts.”
Auckland hotel occupancy and room rates in April both declined from the previous month. In March 2017, the occupancy level was 94% with an average room rate of $232. In April 2017, the occupancy level was 88% and the average room rate fell to $207. “In other words, hotels made better returns in March, before the Games, than they did in April with the Games,” explained Roberts. He put this down to a number of participants staying in a range of accommodation, including hotels, motels, Airbnb and private homes.
“We know that only 16% of the annual visitors to Auckland stay in hotels and only 26% in some form of commercial accommodation. If the Mayor’s aim is to tax every visitor to Auckland, he is missing three-quarters of them with this rates proposal.”
