Media release July 24, 2011

Strong Demand For Cut Price
Rooms In New Auckland Waterfront
Hotel As Rugby World Cup Looms

Demand for luxury rooms in Auckland’s newest hotel is taking off as visitors learn of the huge discrepancy between its room rates, starting at $99 a night, compared to paying hundreds of dollars a night at other waterfront hotels.

Hotel Viaduct Harbour opened for business a fortnight ago in the same building which houses the five star Westin operation on the waterfront, and already controls over two thirds of the rooms in the luxury hotel.

Experienced hotel owner and manager Graham Wilkinson, who has been appointed by 116 room owners to manage their rooms in the new Hotel Viaduct Harbour operation, says it is possible more room owners will choose to have their rooms managed by Hotel Viaduct Harbour, as they see the growing success and profit potential of the of the lean new operation.

“Hotel Viaduct Harbour was set up because most of the room owners were exhausted by trying to reach a commercial agreement with the Receivers appointed by the Bank of Scotland a year ago. Now that the Bank of Scotland has sold its debt to an Asian investor, and new Receivers have been appointed, we may see further change and a more commercially realistic approach.

˜We have already told the new Receiver that our room owners would be happy to go to arbitration to establish a fair, commercial value as the basis for a transaction, but frankly we are not waiting around, as we are going from strength to strength.

“We expect to do major business during the Rugby World Cup period. We will be asking higher rates for our rooms during this period, but they will still be about half the rates being asked by other waterfront hotels.”

Wilkinson says there is a reason for the cut price room rate. His guests cannot access all the services offered by the Westin operation, which has only about a third of the rooms in the building which the two hotels now share, such as full room service, porter service and valet parking. “But guests don’t necessarily value those things significantly, and they really value our high speed check-in and check-out facilities, even if they have to carry their own bags.”

Hotel Viaduct Harbour is rapidly opening up its 116 rooms in line with mushrooming demand and has converted one room to a lounge area with water views for guests to use. Guests are learning about the cut-price luxury rooms from the media, from word- of- mouth recommendation and from the internet (www.hotelviaduct.co.nz), and he is rushed off his feet taking bookings.

Wilkinson has just hired well known Jan Hunt, who was previous General Manager of Sky City and Sky City Grand, as well as Millbrook and other well known properties, to help with running the growing hotel operation.

“We are getting along just fine with the Westin people,” he says.” This seems to be the first time in the world that two hotels, with intermingled rooms, have operated out of the same building, but we all have to get along and keep things pleasant and efficient for all the guests, no matter which reception desk they are checking in at.”

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