HOTEL & SPA WITH HEART
AN INNOVATIVE CHRISTCHURCH BOUTIQUE HOTEL IS WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS
Once a month, staff from a luxurious new Christchurch spa pack up their beauty tools and head to a local retirement village.
It is an outing three Moss Spa employees relish at least as much as the elderly residents who receive free hand massages and nail trims, a little pampering and plenty of friendly chatter.
“Why do it? Because we can and because it brings happiness,” says Maree Welgus, who heads the spa and its sister businesses, Sudima Christchurch City hotel and Vices & Virtues restaurant.
“We contribute a few hours’ wages for my three staff and a little spa product, and it gives such genuine pleasure to everyone involved that I expect we’ll be doing it for many years to come.”
Most spa customers will never hear about this small kindness, anymore than they will realize the central city spa, eatery and hotel have considered everything from carbon emissions to compostable dental floss, braille to workplace diversity.
The $40-million five-star boutique hotel, which opened in June, is the first hotel to be built in Christchurch since the earthquakes and it strives to be a poster child for social and environmental responsibility. Suppliers - whether for drinks or linen - are selected for their sustainability commitment. The restaurant relies heavily on produce grown in Canterbury, while the spa favours New Zealand-made products.
In all 86 hotel rooms, housekeeping staff use chemical-free cleaning products and supply shower caps made from biodegradable corn starch. Single-use plastics will be phased out by 2020, so guests utilize larger refillable soap and shampoo bottles rather than throwaway miniatures. Then there are the slippers.
“They’re fully biodegradable, made from bamboo, and so nice to wear that guests take them home and keep using them,” says Maree.
“No other hotel in New Zealand is doing this. They’re five times the price of the standard ones people usually wear once then throw away, which means it costs us a lot more to do the right thing for our planet. But how can we not?”
Maree says this kind of progressive attitude comes from the top, courtesy of Sudima Hotels group owner and chief executive Sudesh Jhunjhnuwala. “Sudesh promotes a culture of caring. Real caring, not lip service, which is why our staff turnover is three times less than the industry average.”
In October 2019, the chief executive was hailed for his “visionary” approach when Sudima Hotels won the supreme award at the annual New Zealand Tourism Awards.
The hotel Maree runs is the newest of the New Zealand-owned Sudima Hotels stable and all four of its current properties aim to measure, reduce and offset their carbon footprint. These are the only CarboNZeroaccredited hotels in New Zealand.
Across the group, all employees are paid
above industry standards, including 25 people with identified access needs.
“Some have sight impairment and, in Auckland, we have a couple of people who are deaf working in housekeeping. The team all learned how to sign so they can communicate - actually have a conversation, not just say ‘what time’s lunch?’
“In our Christchurch city hotel, I employ 35 staff who speak 22 languages, and one of our most recent employees is a Middle Eastern refugee who spent more than five years in exile. I see enormous benefit in having a diverse workforce. It creates great conversations and great awareness. It opens minds.”
The Sudima Hotels group is one of the most accessible in New Zealand and the Christchurch hotel was designed with this in mind.
“Before we opened I took my friend, who’s in a wheelchair, into our restaurant and rooms to check if she can reach the hairdryer. Is there enough space between chairs in the dining room? A braille dinner menu is next on my wishlist, and we hope to be carbon neutral by April next year.
“Because our industry is changing, it’s no longer enough to strive for five-star guest luxury. The future lies with beautiful, truly sustainable modern hotels that also earn five-star environmental ratings and make the world a bit better.”
“The future lies with beautiful, truly sustainable modern hotels that also earn five-star environmental ratings... ”