Worker shortage in Te Anau
A shortage of homes to rent in Southland tourist town Te Anau is contributing to the town’s worker shortage ahead of the busy summer season, businesses say.
The Ranch Bar and Grill owner Daniel Anderson said he currently hired 17 staff but needed another 10 by Christmas and it was proving difficult to fill positions.
He had advertisements out for baristas, bar and waiting staff and a chef but after two weeks had only received a couple of replies. Anderson, who paid his workers an average wage of ‘‘above $20 an hour’’, relied heavily on working tourists and even if he found enough workers, they would need somewhere to stay.
He said Te Anau – the gateway to Milford Sound – had a housing shortage as many homes were now used for Airbnb short-term stays, for visitors passing through, instead of for long-term rentals.
‘‘Accommodation is hard to find so [potential employees] keep moving.’’
‘‘Last year we didn’t open our top bar for most of the season because we didn’t have enough workers.’’
Anderson, who has two houses he puts his workers in, said Te Anau needed some high density housing.
‘‘If Te Anau had the accommodation it would attract the workers.’’
Trevor Lyall, agent for the Harcourts real estate company in Te Anau, confirmed there was ‘‘certainly a rental shortage’’, in the town.
‘‘More and more properties are going into tourism accommodation through Airbnb.’’
He suggested people get accommodation before accepting work in the town.
Te Anau’s Distinction
Luxmore Hotel manager Paul Austin said the business could house more than half its 70 staff needed over summer, but still found it hard to get enough workers.
‘‘There’s heaps of people looking for staff [in town]. It comes back to [lack of] accommodation.’’
He said the accommodation issue in town would only be improved when Airbnb homes were required to play to the same rules as the likes of hotels and motels, such as having to provide accessible toilets for the disabled.
Many Airbnb homes would then go back to being rented, he believed.
Fresh Choice Te Anau owner Keith Cullen said they were always short of staff and could always have more.
He had a house they put some workers into which helped.
The company hired 60 staff in winter and 100 in the peak of summer.
‘‘With the summer season starting
earlier it’s becoming more difficult to get workers.’’
A lot of travellers worked at the supermarket over summer, with some living in their vans or tents.
‘‘It’s always a concern we won’t get enough workers, sometimes our wage percentage isn’t what it should be and we all have to fill the shelves. It was just part of living in a tourist town,’’ Cullen said.
‘‘There’s heaps of people looking for staff [in town]. It comes back to (lack of) accommodation.’’ Paul Austin, Distinction Luxmore Hotel manager