City's motel industry survives on providing emergency accommodation

Friday, 10 July 2020

Belmont Motor Lodge owner Helen Zhang says the Porirua motel's corporate customer base has started to return after Covid-19.

Usually by midday, George Bakker will get a dozen calls from the Ministry of Social Development - asking if he has more space.

“In this time of Covid,” the Porirua motelier said. “It helps us survive.”

Stuff has spoken to the city’s moteliers after its mayor raised the spectre of an accommodation crunch, with emergency demand trumping rooms for visitors.

Nelson's Balmoral Motel is among those providing accommodation to the homeless through the Housing First initiative. Video first published in July 2020.

Of the nine accommodation businesses in Porirua identified by Stuff, only one was not taking emergency accommodation.

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The Post Hotel in central Porirua has switched to providing emergency accommodation.

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Porirua mayor Anita Baker says the city could be facing an accommodation crunch. (File photo)

The rest had either closed, were full with emergency accommodation and long-term tenants, or were taking a mix of emergency and visitor guests. Two others did not respond to inquiries.

Bakker, who has owned the AAA Mana Motel for six years, said about half his 17 rooms had MSD clients.

The Moana Lodge in Plimmerton, Porirua, has sweeping ocean views and a full house of emergency and long-term accommodation clients.

The nearby Marina Motel had closed, he said, while another – The Spinnaker – was bought by Kainga Ora for transitional accommodation.

He switched to taking emergency accommodation clients after his regular customer base dried up, thanks to Covid-19.

The Spinnaker Motel, Plimmerton, Porirua was bought by Kainga Ora to provide transitional housing in the city.

Nowadays he will get calls from MSD to find out if he has accommodation available. “Usually before 12pm I’ve had about a dozen phone calls: people are just desperate.”

Porirua mayor Anita Baker said the country was “desperately short' of housing and nobody seemed to have the solution.

The harbour at Mana and Paremata in Porirua, home to what used to be several motels.

It now appeared the demand was soaking up available rooms for visitors.

The likes of the city’s Te Rauparaha Arena was booked solid for events, but the accommodation for visitors might not meet demand, she said.

Porirua City Council chief executive Wendy Walker said the council was aware of what was a difficult issue.

Of the motels visited by Stuff, the Belmont Motor Lodge was the only one not currently providing emergency accommodation.

Business owner Helen Zhang said the motel had initially taken several MSD clients after Covid-19 struck, but was able to shift back to other customers thanks to a returning corporate client base.

“Some visitors have come to us as well, because some of the other motels are probably full with the emergency housing clients.”

The Moana Lodge in Plimmerton, with sweeping views across the Cook Strait, was one business that had been thriving before the arrival of Covid-19.

Its owner, who did not wish to be named because of the potential stigma of providing emergency accommodation, said that had changed after the pandemic.

His business had stopped almost completely, and now the lodge was full with emergency accommodation and long-term residents.

National’s housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says Porirua’s issues are a sign of a larger problem.

“I think, at the end of the day, it’s providing an excellent service for people who are in dire need.”

He said there simply was not enough customers. “When you go from full capacity to zero overnight, then something’s got to give.”

Emergency accommodation clients were good people and had an undeserved bad reputation, he said.

It would likely be three to five years before the tourism market, and accommodation demand, returned to what it had been.

The Covid-19 impact had seen the Ian Cassels-launched The Post Hotel in the city’s CBD switch to emergency accommodation during lockdown. This would continue at least till there would be enough returning visitor business to support the hotel.

Porirua City Council chief executive Wendy Walker said the council was aware it was a difficult issue.

“On the one hand we support homeless people getting the housing support they need, but we also know the motels in the city are used by visitors to attend local events at Te Rauparaha Arena and elsewhere.”

Porirua Chamber of Commerce chairman Hamish Mexted, said he understood why moteliers were taking on emergency accommodation clients.

With tourism numbers down due to coronavirus, housing those in need of emergency accommodation stopped the businesses being “mothballed.”

Porirua’s tourism sector was larger than people gave it credit for, but a large portion was people visiting friends and family who did not need to stay at a motel.

He believed the group most affected by limited accommodation options were businesses travellers, and in the current climate he did not know how many people that would account for.

National’s housing spokesperson, Nicola Willis, said Porirua’s situation was a sign of a bigger problem, which was the lack of permanent housing options across New Zealand.

Housing people in motels was “not good for communities”, as it was difficult, for example, to raise a child while living without permanent housing.

In the quarter ending March 2020, $54.1 million was given out in emergency housing grants, which are given to temporarily house people while a transitional housing placement can be found.

A Kainga Ora spokesman said the agency had not “at this stage” bought any further motels in Porirua since The Spinnaker Motel.

The motel would be used for transitional housing – a place for families to stay while a permanent home was found, he said.

As of May 2020, 3116 people were living in transitional housing across New Zealand.

Rough sleepers had been provided emergency accommodation when the country locked down and, at June 26, 1127 were living in motels.

The Housing Minister has been approached for comment.

MOTEL NUMBERS

Stuff identified 11 accommodation businesses in Porirua. One had closed down, three were full with emergency accommodation or long-term accommodation clients. One was bought by Kainga Ora, two had a mix , two did not respond to inquiries, one was only for wedding guests at a convention centre, and one motel had no emergency accommodation.