Kiwis taking more holidays

Photo / supplied.

Good times returning to Queenstown as holiday home bookings more than double.

Holiday home bookings in some tourist spots around the country have more than doubled compared to the same time two years ago, well before the Covid pandemic paralysed the industry.

One of New Zealand's major holiday home management companies, Bachcare, says its bookings for April were up by a massive 113 per cent when measured against those it received in April 2019.

Its bookings for Queenstown, one of the destinations hardest hit by Covid-19, have also risen spectacularly and are up 111 per cent compared to the same ski period in 2019.

Hard on the heels of these increased bookings, Bachcare offers a unique "take care of it all" listing service for holiday homeowners throughout the country. Marketing manager for Bachcare homeowners Tara Toman believes this is important to owners.

Bachcare has more than 2300 holiday homes on its books throughout the country. But it also partners with other holiday home companies such as Airbnb, Holiday Houses, Bookabach and Booking.com with listings automatically showing on these other platforms at no extra cost to bach owners.

"Bachcare owners receive 64 per cent more bookings if listed on all available platforms as opposed to just one," Toman says. "This means we get our owners holiday rentals in front of as many eyes as possible – and, because we take care of it all, they don't have to juggle multiple listings.

"These (increased bookings) are some pretty impressive stats. Queenstown in particular has been struggling for some time to fill rooms and bring in tourists, but it looks from these figures like things are on the up."

"At the time we said it looked as if this was a taste of things to come and so it appears to be," she says. "Owner income has risen again in the last 12 months, with the average having increased by 26 per cent compared to last year."

Toman says Bachcare's service transforms the often chaotic business of self-managing a holiday home into a flawless and relaxed experience for owners. With a dedicated website and team for new owners, the company offers a comprehensive build of listings, professional photos, revenue management and valuable advice.

"What makes our service unique is local support across the country," she says. "This maintains the property on the owners' behalf while our guest service team, based in Auckland, manages all guest inquiries before, during and after their stay.

"Their intrinsic local knowledge coupled with an enthusiastic delivery of service sets Bachcare apart and is one of the reasons for the company's appeal to homeowners.
Because we manage the whole rental process, holiday home owners benefit from having experts look after every aspect of their rental.

"As a bach owner would you rather clean your guests' sheets or be at the beach? Bachcare is not just a listing platform; we give owners a hand with everything from cleaning to admin so they can get their weekends and evenings back and spend time doing what they love."

For more information and your free owner information pack, go to newowners.bachcare.co.nz