Coachman changes hands
A distinctive stone-clad Palmerston North hotel has been bought by a national chain.
The Hotel Coachman was built on Fitzherbert Ave by the Macpherson Family in 1979, and for the past 12 years has been owned by Palmerston North city councillor Leonie Hapeta, her husband Brendan Hapeta, and sister Ali Mclean.
The hotel was bought by Distinction Hotels this week, after the trio decided it was time to try a new venture, Leonie Hapeta said.
‘‘The thing we’re going to miss most is our 85 loyal staff. It was hard telling them about it this morning.’’
Distinction Hotels will take over The Coachman in February, adding to a stable of 11 hotels nationwide, including the Distinction Palmerston North on Cuba St. Neither party wished to comment on the final sales price, but Colliers Real Estate had advertised the hotel with an asking price of $8.6 million.
Distinction Hotels chief executive Duncan Fletcher said he hoped every staff member would be willing to stay on under the new management.
‘‘It’s a great, well-run hotel. So, it’ll be pretty much the status quo [going forward].’’
Brendon Hapeta said they were proud of the work they put in to further improve the hotel during the past 12 years, but it was time to cash in on their investment. They had originally planned to sell the hotel after 10 years.
The Hapetas said they were also pleased to have turned some of the hotel’s profits to supporting the community and sponsored various groups, sports teams and awards.
One particular proud moment came in 2016, when the suburb of Cloverlea was in lockdown. Many people and families were cut-off from their homes overnight when police blocked off the entire suburb during the hunt for fugitive gunman Caleb Kovaleski.
The Coachman offered its rooms free-of-charge to give Cloverlea residents somewhere to sleep and wash-up.
‘‘It was something we could do to help, and we’re very proud of that.’’
Leonie Hapeta said the trio will consider what they will do next over the next three months.
‘‘But we’ll probably be looking for a smaller business to run this time.’’