The Great New Zealand Road Trip: From hotel dishwasher to boss - the young superstar of Rotorua tourism

NZ Herald editor-at-large Shayne Currie is on a two-week road trip to gauge the mood of the nation and meet everyday and notable Kiwis making a difference in their communities and wider world. He speaks today to the young manager of Rotorua’s biggest hotel - who started out washing the dishes less than 10 years ago. We also have Nine Questions With... top wedding dress designer Trish Peng, and Tauranga woman Frances Denz speaks to reporter Megan Wilson about being an “Unfortunate Experiment” patient.

As a school-leaver, Awatere Douglas was washing dishes at Rotorua’s biggest hotel. Less than a decade later, he’s the boss, leading a team of 75 staff.

At the same time, the 28-year-old is involved in a remarkable turnaround for the city’s tourism industry, which took a hit last year over revelations of an emergency housing crisis that had overwhelmed many of the motels on the city’s ‘Golden Mile’ of Fenton St.

Now the tourists are returning in force, and Douglas (Te Arawa and Ngāti Porou) - the general manager of the 242-room Sudima Hotel on the city’s lakefront - is playing a critical, public-facing role.

That was further emphasised this week when he was named emerging leader of the year at the Rotorua Business Awards.

“All our tour operators and a combination of providers are very optimistic about what the future holds - we’re in a better position compared to this time last year,” says Douglas.

“I’m telling everyone that at the moment. We’re thriving and ready to go.”

Douglas loves his role and acknowledges he’s come a long way, with the support of whanau and colleagues, in a short time.

“As a school leaver, I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to pursue as a job or as a career. Sudima Hotel, alongside our local iwi, created a scholarship to help entice our young people into hotels.

“Part of that scholarship was a year of internship work here at the property, getting to understand all aspects of the operation. That was my very first job in the summertime - working in the kitchen as a kitchenhand for a few months before moving to other departments.”

Following his year-long internship, he studied for a Bachelor in Tourism and Hospitality Management majoring in te reo Māori at Waikato University.

Upon graduation, he returned to Rotorua and worked as a junior manager at Sudima for a year, before relocating to Christchurch and working for the business there for three years, helping open the company’s first five-star hotel.

Eighteen months ago, he returned to the Rotorua hotel again, and was appointed manager earlier this year.

Rotorua's Sudima Hotel manager Awatere Douglas. Photo / Andrew Warner

“I didn’t really know what to expect of the role, but I’m really enjoying it, it’s really rewarding. Business has been very good and things are looking good for the summer.”

Douglas’ first language is te reo, having attended the full immersion Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu for his primary, intermediate and high school years.

He only started learning and speaking English when he was of primary age.

“My dad and my mum were influential in that aspect of my life. I’ve never spoken English to my dad.”

That cultural influence spreads beyond language.

He applies Maori tikanga and manaakitanga to his role, taking on board what he has learned from kura and the marae: “You welcome the manuhiri [visitors/guests], you feed the manuhiri, and then on the marae you get mattresses out for your guests,” he told the Herald last year.

He said yesterday: “We call Rotorua the cultural heartland, so to speak, of New Zealand. So it certainly helps with understanding those aspects of Māori culture and specifically here in Rotorua. We use that as a framework of how we do business, and how we treat our guests.

“It’s really at the forefront of how we look after our guests,” says Douglas, who also acts as cultural adviser for the company and its executive.

He has played an important role over the years as an adviser and iwi relationship manager for the likes of the construction of a new Sudima hotel in Christchurch.

He says Sudima Lake Rotorua had a big influx of Chinese tourists last month, along with healthy numbers of Australians, and visitors from USA, Korea, and India.

“People are looking for a lot more meaningful experiences that are in line with what they believe in sustainably and culturally.”

Rotorua bouncing back

As the Daily Post’s Kelly Makiha reported last month, Rotorua tourism is bouncing back.

“In 2019, visitors from New Zealand put $288 million through Rotorua tills. In the 12 months to July 2023, it was $303m thanks to visitors from Waikato, Wellington and most other parts of New Zealand, while the Auckland market dropped,” Makiha wrote.

“The international spending tally was up more than $1m in the same timeframes to $415m, with American big spenders partially offsetting drop-offs from China, Germany and Britain.”

Day 11: Taupo to Rotorua

Thursday marked the shortest travelling day of the Great New Zealand Road Trip - an 80km dash in the Volkswagen ID.5 across the volcanic plateau.

Rotorua’s Fenton St was gleaming in the spring sun; the motels certainly looked much tidier.

In the inner-city, hotels such as the Millennium catered for a full house of visitors the previous night.

Michael Dewhirst of Tauranga was in town with his Dunedin-based parents, showing them around on their mini holiday. He kindly took the moodboard and had the word: ‘Relaxed’.

Michael Dewhirst of Tauranga made his feelings known in Rotorua yesterday.

Friday marks the penultimate day of the road trip - Rotorua to Hamilton via Tauranga and then on to Auckland, and home.

The Great NZ Road Trip heads from Rotorua to Hamilton, via Tauranga, today.