Albion Hotel lost 'thousands of dollars' from SkyCity fire

The Albion, photographed on Wednesday, has been closed since Tuesday afternoon and is unsure when it will be open to the public. Photo / Supplied

Business has resumed as normal for most in Auckland's CBD but one of the city's oldest establishments estimates it has lost at least $20,000 from the fire that engulfed SkyCity's new convention centre.

Hotel, restaurant and sports bar The Albion, located on Hobson St - just metres away from the New Zealand International Convention Centre that went up in flames on Tuesday afternoon - has been closed since then, and is unsure when it will re-open.

The business that had been gearing up for a booming weekend with the Rugby World Cup's All Blacks vs England game on Saturday, and Wales vs South Africa on Sunday, fears it will not be able to meet its costs following three-and-a-half-days of forced closure.

The Albion has suffered no fire or water damage, but in the last few days has lost "thousands of dollars" in revenue from its restaurant and bar, and international hotel guests who had seen the news and cancelled their bookings. It has also had to rebook existing and upcoming guests into nearby accommodation - at its own expense.

Yesterday the Albion relocated eight guests to an alternative hotel, and will do the same for six others today. The small operation employs eight full-time staff, all who have been unable to work following the closure.

"This is the fourth day. No trade whatsoever; it's a lot for a small business," said Paul Murtagh, general manager of the Albion, which has been trading for 146 years.

"It's worrying," said Murtagh, who has been working at the Albion for six years.

"We've been up here every morning talking to [fire crews]. We were fortunate to be let in yesterday just so we could grab our paperwork for our guests, and certain guests that we had relocated had left their luggage behind so we had to get that together and get it down to them. But other than that, no one's allowed on site, no one's allowed in."

Murtagh said he and Albion owner Nick McIntyre, along with other staff, were "in limbo" waiting for the all-clear to re-open. They have been awaiting instructions from the fire chief but had not been told or given any indication of when they would be allowed back in.

"The building is still smouldering. There are still fire trucks everywhere, cranes coming in, the area itself is dangerous for the public."

Neighbouring businesses had since re-opened but due to the Albion's close proximity to the convention centre it was unlikely it would be able to do so anytime soon.

Inside the Albion, prior to the fire at SkyCity's new convention centre which has forced the business to temporarily close its doors. Photo / Supplied

Murtagh said there had been no talk of compensation from any parties involved to cover lost revenue from the fire, and it was too soon to make an insurance claim. He hopes to clawback lost revenue, and be able to re-open over the weekend.

"It's Rugby World Cup Saturday night - one of the biggest nights of the week, and we don't even know if we're going to be open for that.

"It's always busy for rugby, particularly when the All Blacks are playing."

The 22-room Albion is typically fully booked on the weekend. He said the number of people in its property swells by between 50 and 70 people when an All Blacks game is on.

"Tourist season is starting, which means it stays busy all the time, which is what we're excited for, but at the moment we're at a halt."

Paul Murtagh (right), general manager of the Albion, says the business has lost thousands of dollars since the convention centre fire. Photo / Aimee Shaw

Murtaugh saw firefighters swarm Hobson St on Tuesday shortly after lunchtime. It was not until he went outside and saw flames engulfing the roof of $700 million convention centre and the "cloud of smoke" that he realised the seriousness of the situation.

At 5pm, the Albion evacuated its guests as the fire spread from one side of the convention centre to the other.

Many businesses in and around SkyCity's Auckland site, including those on Victoria, Hobson, Queen, Albert, Wyndham and Shortland streets, had closed in the days after the fire broke out due to smoke pollution and the lack of foot traffic in the area, though many have re-opened today.

SkyCity closed its Auckland casino, dining and entertainment complex, along with the Sky Tower, shortly after the fire broke out - the first time in the NZX-listed company's 23-year history that it has done this. The complex began re-opening last night.

"We're the only ones still closed," said Murtagh.

He said the Albion had been eagerly awaiting the opening of the NZICC, which had forecast would triple the number of its hotel guests and people in its restaurant and bar.

SkyCity's new convention centre was scheduled to open in 2020 in time for the APEC conference, which had already been booked. It is not known how long the fire has set back the opening.