Rotorua tourism and hospitality businesses are working to balance their books as costs rise and staff shortages hit. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua tourism and hospitality businesses are working to balance their books as costs rise and staff shortages hit. Photo / Andrew Warner
Increasing costs and staff shortages are hitting the pockets of both tourism and hospitality businesses and their customers.
As inflation, staff wages and cost of goods increase, Rotorua businesses contend with making ends meet amid a staff shortage.
Restaurant Association of New Zealand Rotorua president Sharon Wallace said she wasaware of businesses in the city struggling to keep staff numbers up.
Businesses were advertising for staff on a "daily basis" and the impact of it meant service delivery was not up to speed and there was an increased pressure.
She said more training, and an understanding "it is an employee's market and times have changed" were needed to resolve the issue.
There were many options available to businesses, such as the wage subsidy for Kiwi staff, "which is a huge help" but it would be a "wait and see game" with Queenstown needing staff too.
As a hospitality trainer, she was asked for staff on a weekly basis, including requests from out-of-town tourist resorts.
"I don't have enough to keep meeting the demand."
She was optimistic about visitor numbers returning, however.
"The border's opening, we will get the numbers as people have been waiting to holiday here in Rotorua for two years."
The Government last week announced a number of changes to New Zealand's border, immigration and visa settings.
This included fully reopening the border in July instead of October, including to cruise ships. There were also new sector-specific agreements – including for the seasonal snow and adventure tourism sector – aimed to help industries transition from a reliance on low-wage, low-skill migrant labour.
All work visa categories, including the new Accredited Employer Work Visa, will be open for applications by July 4 and applications for student and visitor visas will reopen on July 31.
Velocity Valley general manager Debbie Guptill said the industry was struggling to find staff.
Velocity Valley general manager Debbie Guptill said the industry was struggling to find staff. Photo / Andrew Warner
"We are finding it harder than normal ... uptake has been very slow."
She said Kiwis did not apply for the jobs and it had been difficult without working holiday visa holders.
For the first time in four years, Velocity Valley had "minimally" increased its prices as it worked a "cautious balance" of absorbing increased costs and passing some on to the customer.
It was about working out the business' offering and value for money, she said.
She said some were hesitant to enter the industry, but she advised it was on its way to bouncing back.
"We've been doing this for 200 years ... it is a resilient industry and it will bounce back."
El Mexicano Zapata Express owner Eduardo Diaz knew there were issues with staff shortages and had sold his shares in his second restaurant.
He said it needed between seven and eight staff members but had been operating with a couple fewer, and several he employed already had other jobs.
"They might ring with only a few hours in advance, and say they are too tired to work. I'm having to do 50 to 60 hours a week sometimes."
He said he understood costs were rising for his staff, as they were for the restaurant: "it has been difficult".
"I'm in the same boat as everyone else. This is a worldwide problem."
It had been a hard balance figuring out what costs he could absorb and what he would need to pass on to the customer.
He said any price increase would be small.
Ambrosia Restaurant and Bar general manager Tom Lindley said finding staff had been difficult with border closures.
The industry had always been quite reliant on short-term backpackers and the student community, but he said it was lucky with the staff it did have.
In regards to minimum wage increases, he said although it was great for staff to be on a higher wage it did have the knock-on effect of slight increases on product pricing.
Rotorua Economic Development chief executive Andrew Wilson said it had heard some operators had record weekends over Easter and Anzac.
He explained its data showed visitor numbers were up more than 10 per cent compared to the year before and accommodation had been sold out.
"It's great to see that it's looking like we're heading in a similar direction for Queen's Birthday weekend."
However, as a general trend, the sectors were yet to see a significant trend upwards and he said this is likely due to the impact of event cancellations and fears around Omicron.
But numbers were expected to increase as more internationals entered the country and Omicron became less of an issue for potential travellers.
International numbers had picked up significantly and in April the average number was 300 per day compared to 100 per day in the first two months of the year.
"However, pre-Covid, our international visitor numbers were around 4000 per day in peak season so we're still a long way off those types of numbers."
Rotorua Business Chamber chief executive Bryce Heard said, on the positive side, the hospitality sector was reporting a significant lift in bookings since the move to the orange traffic light setting.
It appeared to be domestically driven, but the opening of the borders should bolster and help sustain this welcome trend, he said.
"Many tourism and hospitality businesses lost staff during the peak of the Covid-19 impact and are now re-employing."
The chamber had lost some of its own members as businesses struggled to get the staff they needed.
Heard explained this included both skilled and unskilled staff and is across a wide spectrum of businesses, not just tourism and hospitality.
"Some are looking for quite large numbers and this is both disappointing and concerning when one looks at the large number of people on jobseeker support in our city."
There was also pressure on wage rates, which seemed to stem from both the shortage of work-ready employees but also the rising cost of living.
"It is difficult to see an alternative to bringing in work-ready labour from overseas to meet the demand."
Some tourism businesses had been able to pivot and introduce new offerings, which was great to see, he said.
