Twizel suffering Airbnb problems

Despite opening and operating a successful business in Twizel, the struggle to find long-term accommodation has led one young family to make the decision to leave after just over a year in the town.

‘‘I wanted to present authentic Indian food rather than the localised version,’’ Jainik Shah, who owns and operates Hungry Birds with his wife Riddhi Shah, said.

‘‘We decided the way to go was Twizel; we know people over here, it seems to be a booming market for food trailers, we’re passionate about food, let’s do this.’’

He said they had carved a niche in Twizel and the business has seen success.

However, Jainik and Riddhi have been unable to secure their house for a second term and have ended their Twizel business.

‘‘We’ve been chasing up a new home for five months already and there is not one suitable house. Houses are old, they’re in bad condition and still they are not affordable.’’

It took the couple more than 10 months to find their first home in Twizel, during which time they lived separately, in Glentanner and Cromwell, in single shared staff accommodation which didn’t allow children.

‘‘If you have no house you can’t live as a family,’’ Jainik said.

‘‘We had to send my daughter away to my parents back in India. We never saw her first teeth, we never saw her first crawl, we never heard her first words.’’

When they secured a suitable home in December 2018, which they were told had a waiting list of 18-19 families, they brought her back to New Zealand and Riddhi gave birth to their son last month.

Jainik said one problem is the number of holiday homes in the town which owners are renting out on sites such as Airbnb.

‘‘Businesses here are running out of steam because Airbnbs occupy houses that could otherwise be given to employees,’’ he said.

‘‘The second thing is that, because Airbnbs are here, hotels and motels are suffering.’’

He said the family have managed to find a four-year let outside of Twizel, though still in the Mackenzie, and is in discussions with council regarding permissions and exploring new markets in the Tekapo/Fairlie/ Geraldine area.

‘‘We thank all of our regular guests, customers, travellers and occasional visitors for all the support in more than a year and three months of operation,’’ they said.

Troy and Rachel Sheridan, the owners of Shawty’s Cafe in Twizel, have reopened their dinner service this week after stopping it over Christmas and New Year due to lack of staff.

One reason they cited for ongoing staffing troubles was the lack of available accommodation, a problem that led the husband and wife team to buy a house for their staff.

Troy said other businesses had done the same but the property market has grown so much people can’t pick up a cheap house.

Earlier this week, Mackenzie District mayor Graham Smith said workers in the district were struggling to find places to live due to Airbnb rentals.