Chateau Marlborough expansion reflects need for more accommodation in Marlborough

Wednesday, 6 January 2016

The Chateau Marlborough expansion will almost double the number of rooms at the hotel, from left, managing director Brent Marshall, Scott Construction Marlborough manager John Tovey, and Chateau Marlborough general manager Lynley McKinnon.

An expansion to Chateau Marlborough, in Blenheim, shows the company has confidence in the future of the region, its managing director says.

The new three-storey wing, which is being constructed by Scott Construction Marlborough, will almost double the number of bedrooms at the Blenheim hotel from 45 to 80.

The expansion is being added to the southern side of the hotel, bordering Charles St, and will include a new bar, as well as increased restaurant space and expanded offices.

Managing director Brent Marshall said many threads had come together for the company to believe an expansion was viable.

'The tourism potential of Marlborough, combined with the addition of the new ASB Theatre, the expansion of the Marlborough Airport and our growing wine industry are all factors that have assisted us in making this decision,' he said.

There was a belief that the region lacked sufficient accommodation to cater for the opportunities the new theatre and growth of the Marlborough Convention Centre provided, Marshall said.

But with the expansion, which is due to be completed in October, the combined number of rooms at Chateau Marlborough and Scenic Hotel Marlborough would be 134 bedrooms.

This would help attract conferences to the region, as well as more tour buses, as both groups preferred accommodation that was large enough to cater for the entire group, Marshall said.

But conferences were not the only reason behind the expansion.

'You don't build a church just for Easter Sunday, just like you don't build a hotel for a conference that might only happen once every four years,' he said.

Following the global financial collapse and the Canterbury earthquakes, accommodation providers in Marlborough were hit with low occupancy rates, however that trend was changing, with the past two years being particularly good seasons, Marshall said.

Destination Marlborough general manager Tracy Johnston said the expansion was great news for the region.

'It is another example of a business signalling they have the confidence to invest in new infrastructure and facilities to grow their share of the increasing visitor spend in Marlborough,' she said.

Statistics from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed visitor spend was worth $294 million in the year ending March 2015, 9.1 per cent more than the previous year.

While the increase was a good thing for the region, some tourism operators believed there was not enough accommodation to deal with growing visitor numbers.

Marlborough Tour Company managing director Chris Godsiff said he had turned customers away because they could not find accommodation.

From December through to the end of March the entire region was fully booked, he said.

Because of a decline in accommodation types, such as bed and breakfast providers, Godsiff thought there were less options in Marlborough than ever before, with many visitors choosing to stay in Nelson instead.

'We spend so much time driving back and forward to Nelson because there's a greater selection of motels and other accommodation options than in Marlborough,' he said.

To fully capitalise on the growing visitor numbers, more accommodation needed to be built in Marlborough, he said.

'I've been banging the drum for years now, we need a 150-room hotel, we desperately need that here.'

However, because of the risk and expense of building a new hotel, Marshall thought the prospect was unlikely. Instead, he believed there would be more expansions similar to the one being undertaken at Chateau Marlborough.

Marlborough Motel Association president Richie Dickens said while there was massive demand during the summer period, the quiet shoulder season, between May and November, prevented many moteliers from expanding.

'The really good motels can probably sell their rooms twice over during the busy summer season,' he said.

However, the downturn during the autumn and winter, when occupancy rates typically sat at 50 to 60 per cent, meant the prospect of expanding was financially risky.

Marlborough Scenic Hotel Group area manager Adrian Clifton said the seasonality of accommodation in Marlborough was a problem that needed to be addressed.

'At the moment, all-year demand is not there to warrant an expansion,' he said.

Johnston said the challenge for Marlborough was to grow demand in the softer months of the year to maximise the accommodation that already existed in the region.