Demand for bach bookings for summer holidays heavy

Demand for bach bookings for summer holidays heavy already

The demand to rent lakeside, coastal and mountain baches for the summer holidays is stronger than this time last year, leading holiday operator Bachcare said today.

Holiday-makers have been booking for summer and in another month and it will be very difficult to secure bookings over Christmas – New Year, Leslie Preston of Bachcare said today.

``Renters looking for accommodation over New Year’s are probably too late to secure a booking. Bookings are already strong for summer, not just the key weeks, but all through January to Waitangi weekend.

``We have certainly noticed a significant increase in interest and bookings for the summer season over the last two weeks. It’s much busier than last year.

``We are also seeing a shift in holiday patterns to be more dispersed from the end of school term around December 20 through to Waitangi Weekend. We are noticing more people choosing to go away throughout January, rather than just those two weeks of Xmas and New Year’s.’’

Preston said bookings throughout January were very heavy. Bachcare has also noticed an increased trend in single family bookings. “While we still have many bookings for multi-party group bookings, such as two or three families, or large groups of friends, we have noticed that more families are planning to go away on their own for the upcoming summer season.”

Beach areas are still popular for summer but there is an increasing interest in the Rotorua Lakes areas and also Queenstown.

``Hayley Purdon, our bach manager in the southern lakes area, has been very busy booking baches around Queenstown, Arrowtown and Wanaka. Haley has noticed a trend for increased bookings from family members attending weddings in January, February, and March. Wedding demand remains very strong in Lake Hayes and Arrowtown. The family members come down and are increasingly staying as a group in a holiday home.”

Preston also indicated that Bachcare has noticed an increasing interest in Golden Bay, Tasman Bay, Nelson and Marlborough areas.’’

Preston said holiday homes were playing a bigger part in the national and international tourism market.

``More and more people are asking for holiday homes. Clearly, we are at the forefront of a very exciting trend and change in the tourism market,’’ Preston said.

``Holiday home owners will soon see a growing market in domestic and overseas tourists.’’

Overseas tourists wanted to rest up in homes and houses by the coast rather than just hotels in the city. But Preston said New Zealanders need to uphold the traditional Kiwi bach experience.

Summer holidays in holiday homes were part of the fabric of NZ society and shouldn’t be destroyed, she said.

Preston last year won the NZ Sales and Marketing Institute’s entrepreneur marketer of the year.

The institute said her creation of a total bach care service for owners and renters had hit a chord with holiday-makers nationwide.

Bachcare was also a finalist in the New Zealand Tourism Awards 2006. Bachcare manages more than 300 holiday homes all over New Zealand. The company has doubled in volume in the last 12 months.

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