Rotorua motels lay off 100 staff

Rotorua moteliers are feeling the pinch with low occupancy rates forcing them to lay off 100 staff over the past three years.
It has been so tough that several moteliers have sold up, says Rotorua Moteliers Association chairman Glenn Stafford.
Figures released by Statistics New Zealand show that the total number of guest nights in Rotorua last December was down 6.7 per cent from December 2009.
Guest nights at the city motels were also down 6.7 per cent from 54,449 in December 2009 to 50,300 last December.
Mr Stafford, who owns ASURE Palm Court Motor Inn, said a third of the 300 staff at the city's 44 motels employed three years ago had had to be laid off.
"Rotorua is doing very badly."
Rotorua moteliers were having to do more of the work themselves, including washing, repairs and maintenance.
Mr Stafford said he and his wife Toni had to work at the weekends and were able to be away from their motel for only 35 days this year, instead of the usual 70 days.
He said the occupancy rate at his motel for the past three years had been 58 per cent, leading to a 60 per cent drop in profit. Before then his motel was 72 per cent full.
He expected motels would face another tough time this year.
Mr Stafford made a submission to a mayoral forum in Rotorua this month in which he told Rotorua Mayor Kevin Winters and Rotorua District Council chief executive Peter Guerin the city needed to focus on economic development, instead of tourism.
He said there were areas being overlooked that had a real potential to bring growth to the city. An assessment needed to be made to see if there were any opportunities for economic growth within the justice and police sectors, citing the possibility of a prison being built here.
He said opportunities could also be looked at within the education and health sectors, as well as farming and forestry.
"The city has been fortunate with developments at the hospital and with the Youth Justice Facility. Both developments have already brought new people to the city."
Mr Stafford said there needed to be more focus on events.
"People need to have a reason to come to the city instead of just lakes, skiing or whatever else a city may have ... The largest loss of people visiting Rotorua during this recession of over three years is Kiwis. Let us give them events to come here for."
Mr Stafford said work needed to be done with clubs and groups to help grow events, which should also be promoted in Sydney.
Destination Rotorua Economic Development general manager Grant Kilby agreed events were an economic driver for the city and more work needed to be done to keep people in Rotorua for longer than just the event they were here for.
He said work was being done to provide a plethora of events in Rotorua and the wider Bay of Plenty during the Rugby World Cup to draw visitors back to the region between games and after the cup.
Chamber of Commerce chief executive Roger Gordon said work was being done to grow businesses in the Rotorua region, including the setting up of the regional partner network scheme in the Bay of Plenty - a partnership created by Rotorua Chamber of Commerce, Tauranga Chamber of Commerce, Eastern Bay Chamber of Commerce, EMA and Export NZ BOP, Destination Rotorua Economic Development and a similar department from Whakatane.
From that scheme, four business advisers had been engaged to help businesses identify the support they need to grow.
Mr Gordon said Rotorua's council and the economic development unit came up with a vision statement last year. The next step was to have a meeting with business representatives, councillors and council representatives to develop an overall economic strategy and an action plan which could lead to economic growth.