‘We’re taking a gamble’

A further 21 roles at the Hermitage Hotel may be off the chopping block as a result of the Government extending its wage subsidy scheme.

Aoraki/Mt Cook Alpine Village Limited, which owns the hotel, planned to axe 157 of its 178 staff in its efforts to stay afloat amid Covid-19 — but company director Peter Carnahan told Stuff the eight-week wage subsidy extension gave them a chance to save more jobs.

‘‘Essentially, 21 people have had their previously-announced termination date [June 24] extended to the end of August to see what sort of activity we can generate in that time,’’ Carnahan said.

‘‘We’re taking a gamble, but we’re prepared to do that to grow the business in future and help more people.’’

Accommodation is available at the hotel from September 24, ahead of the school holidays. Meanwhile, the company’s Mt Cook Lodge and Motels is set to reopen on August 1.

The number of bookings they draw over the next few months will determine how many of those extra 21 roles can be retained beyond the wage subsidy period, Carnahan said.

‘‘This will also give us extra

staff to look after the lodge in the meantime. All staff will potentially move between both properties, depending on demand,’’ he said.

‘‘We’ll be watching the books daily to see what comes in.

‘‘It’s been relatively slow so far, but it’s still early as bookings only opened a week ago. We hope to see an uptake in the next

month or so.’’

Carnahan said it was ‘‘good’’ to have this chance to retain more staff but acknowledged ‘‘it doesn’t satisfy everybody’’.

The company’s original redundancy proposal, given to Stuff by a hotel staff member, saved only eight roles — but its final decision threw a lifeline to 13 extra employees, largely by deciding to test the domestic market by reopening the lodge.

Carnahan said bringing staff numbers down to 42 at this time of year was ‘‘not dissimilar’’ to what happened in previous years, when parts of the hotel were closed for winter and only about 60 staff members worked through the colder months.

‘‘That hasn’t been the case the last couple of years because things have been more buoyant,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s not back to normal, but back to a normal.’’

The original Hermitage Hotel was built in 1884. Floods and a fire led to several rebuilds, with the latest building erected in 1958 and extended several times.

It’s been relatively slow so far, but it’s still early as bookings only opened a week ago. Peter Carnahan Aoraki/Mt Cook Alpine Village Limited director