Motel homeless ‘suffocate’ tourism
Moteliers say they’re caught in the housing crisis and can’t turn away emergency housing clients when reservations are made via third-party websites. Benn Bathgate reports.
It’s a pattern repeating itself across Rotorua.
A motel receives an online reservation through a website like Expedia, and when the guest arrives they disclose that they’re a client of the Ministry of Social Development (MSD).
They provide their MSD case number, and tell the motel’s receptionist to call their case manager to arrange direct payment from the ministry.
Many of the motels have made it clear they do not want to host emergency housing clients, but feel they have no option to turn them away when they arrive via a third-party booking website.
If the motels do refuse the reservations on arrival, they face financial penalties from online booking giants such as Expedia.
One operator said they were initially offered $2000 a week to accept MSD clients; an offer that was declined.
A Rotorua family, booked through an online service, later arrived with ‘‘three carloads of furniture; everything, but the kitchen sink,’’ the motelier said.
A number of motel owners and managers confirmed the practice, but declined to be named, citing the huge power wielded by the booking sites.
Asked whether MSD was using booking websites to place people in motels, regional director Kim Going said in an email: ‘‘It is not our standard practice to use booking systems like Expedia to book emergency accommodation’’.
A former MSD case worker, who requested anonymity as a condition of discussing the ministry’s internal workings, said most emergency housing clients were instructed to find their own temporary accommodation.
They said it was commonplace for MSD clients to locate a suitable motel vacancy themselves, after which, if approved by the ministry, payment would be made directly to the motel.
The former case worker acknowledged such reservations could be made via sites such as Expedia, although they said it was highly unlikely that MSD itself was recommending such a practice to its clients.
‘‘We tried as much as possible to maintain good relationships with motels, and wouldn’t place clients with venues that had advised they did not want to do business with MSD,’’ they said.
Asked if MSD had been instructing people to use booking sites, Going said: ‘‘We are not aware of any suggestions made to clients around using online booking tools’’.
The former case worker said a more plausible scenario was that word had travelled fast among those seeking emergency housing that motel bookings were more likely to be successful when made via a third party website.
It was common for such tips to be shared on social media.
A number of moteliers told the Sunday Star-Times they were penalised if they relocated an MSD guest who booked via such sites.
While emergency housing cases provided steady income through the Covid-induced tourism drought, moteliers said there were social issues that came with having large numbers of MSD clients housed in one area.
They said motels were being hit by increased noise, alcohol and drug abuse, and a gang presence, just as the trans-Tasman bubble opened.
Mike Raynes, the owner of the Palm Court Motel, was one of the few moteliers the Star-Times spoke to who agreed to be named.
He said other potential guests were being put off.
‘‘One of the first questions people ask is ‘do you take MSD clients’,’’ Raynes said.
It’s a question Mike Gallagher, the chair of the Rotorua Association of Motels, has heard so often he created an online list of Rotorua motels that do not take MSD clients.
The Star-Times asked the ministry how many Rotorua motels it used, and for a breakdown of the number of people living in emergency accommodation nationwide in each region.
A spokesperson said the request would be considered under the Official Information Act, giving the ministry 20 working days to respond.
While MSD did not provide figures, National MP Todd McClay, who represents the electorate, said he believed as many as 45 motels were being used for emergency housing in Rotorua.
McClay said negative stories around MSD guests were creating fears of damage to Rotorua’s reputation as a tourist destination.
The president of the Bay of Plenty branch of the Hospitality Association, Reg Hennessy, said Rotorua was ‘‘absolutely hurting’’ because of the motel situation.
He said staff at his Hennessy’s Irish Bar had to deal with abusive individuals, and a rep who called recently told him he checked out of his Rotorua motel after finding it full of gang members.
‘‘It’s suffocating Rotorua, sucking the life out of us.’’
Court charge sheets backed up what police earlier described as a ‘‘perception’’ of rising crime in the area.
Alleged offences that could be tracked back to motel addresses included assault with a tyre iron, theft, driving while disqualified, resisting arrest and possession of forged banknotes.
Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick said the ‘‘potential’’ for reputational damage was concerning and that Rotorua Economic Development, the councilcontrolled organisation responsible for promoting the city, was ‘‘working to address perception issues through marketing campaigns that are under way both in New Zealand and Australia’’.
She also denied tourists were being squeezed out of the accommodation market, citing the lack of non-Australian overseas visitors.
Rotorua resident and Labour list MP Tamati Coffey said he believed the city had capacity to welcome tourists ‘‘while showing that same manaakitanga to families and children in need of a warm, secure dry home during a global pandemic’’.
‘‘If Australians choose not to
‘‘If Australians choose not to come here, it will be because of incorrect information that some of our community leaders are promoting, and just plain negativity.’’
Tamati Coffey Rotorua resident and Labour list MP
come here, it will be because of incorrect information that some of our community leaders are promoting, and just plain negativity.’’
No-one the Star-Times spoke to criticised the initial use of motels to house homeless people and families, and acknowledged that without the practice the motels might not have survived the Covid lockdown.
‘‘If there was no MSD in Rotorua most of the motels would have gone broke,’’ said Gallagher.
‘‘It just needs to be done better now.’’