Rydges Hotel Rotorua celebrates Audrey Savage’s 50th anniversary

Rydges Rotorua has gone through many changes since 1973. Its driveway has turned into a luxurious buffet and foyer. Guests from Robert Muldoon to MasterChef competition judges have walked through its doors. The name on the building has changed too, bearing names like the Continental and the Holiday Inn before the Rydges brand put its sign on the front.

And Audrey Savage has seen it all.

“When I started, I was 23,” Savage told the Rotorua Daily Post.

“Now I’m 73. One of my daughters was telling me I’ve been at the hotel as long as she’s been alive.”

Savage remembers first getting the call, 50 years ago.

“In those days you wrote your name down and they called you if they had work. I’d forgotten I even put my name down.”

Savage’s first job was as a part-time night-shift cleaner.

“The night shift started at 11 at night and finished at 7.30 in the morning,” Savage said.

“I did those hours because I had a young family. Rather than pay astronomical babysitting fees for four children, I decided to work at night.

“So I’d go home, get them to school and then I’d have a sleep and then I’d wake up before they got home from school, welcome them, do the dinner thing and then go back to bed and start up again.”

Audrey Savage says she gets a thrill from introducing visitors to Rotorua and showing them what the city and the hotel have to offer. Photo / Andrew Warner

Savage didn’t remember much about her first day.

“It was just business as usual. Got straight into it. You didn’t need much training.

“Wherever and whenever there was work, I came in and did those hours.”

The next year, Savage was given fulltime work but she stayed on the night shift for 12 years, until her youngest son turned 9.

“I enjoyed it so I stayed,” Savage said.

“It’s still what I want to do.”

These days, if you walk into the Rydges you’ll see Savage at the reception desk, checking guests in.

“The best part of the day is meeting everybody. Just generally being able to help people enjoy their stay.”

Savage said she got a thrill from introducing visitors to Rotorua and showing them what the city and the hotel had to offer.

“The families are my favourite people,” Savage said.

“They come because they want a break. They just love it. They come here and it’s a great place for kids. The pool is like an aquatic centre and we have a kids’ play zone.”

Rydges Rotorua general manager Kent Breeze (left) with Audrey Savage on her 50th year of working at the hotel. Photo / Supplied

In her 50 years at the hotel, Savage said the biggest change had been the building.

“[But] it’s still a neat place to work.

“This [entrance] does not look anything like it did 50 years ago. It is totally different to what it was.”

And Audrey, too, has changed.

“I think I’m more relaxed than I used to be. I was a perfectionist so I needed to learn to relax. I’m quite a bit different.

“I’m pretty happy. Nothing ever goes smoothly every day but I love the challenges as well.”

Savage didn’t share any plans for retirement, but she said she did enjoy her part-time hours.

“It’s awesome. I can relax a little bit. I have a bit of time for myself, for my family and I’ve travelled a bit too in the last few years.”

Savage said she did want to keep travelling, she just needed to work out where trips could fit.

Rydges Rotorua general manager Kent Breeze said he and Savage had been discussing how to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her work for “a couple of years now”.

“It’s amazing to have someone who’s so experienced and super-reliable and is able to guide and mentor our younger staff as well,” Breeze said.

“She’s seen everything so we can ask her questions.”

Breeze said Savage had the respect of everyone in the building.

Maryana Garcia is a regional reporter writing for the Rotorua Daily Post and the Bay of Plenty Times. She covers local issues, health and crime.