ILT aiming for August hotel opening
The Invercargill Licensing Trust is aiming for an August opening date for its new 78-room, 4.5-star Langlands Hotel, close to 10 months after it initially hoped to be operating.
In 2017 the ILT announced its plans to develop a new hotel on the corner of Don and Dee streets in Invercargill.
The initial plan was for the hotel to be operating by October 2021. However, after the first Covid-19 lockdown hit in 2020, that was pushed back to an expected opening in March 2022.
On the back of further Covidrelated disruptions, the opening has again been delayed.
ILT chief executive Chris Ramsay said they were now looking at early August for the first stage of opening. The plan is to open the accommodation first, alongside the house bar and cafe.
The adjacent laneway bar and restaurant, as well as the rooftop bar, will then open at a later date.
The timing may end up about right given that the demand for accommodation was starting to increase again in the corporate travel market, Ramsay said.
He said there would be a handover from contracting company Leighs Construction in June. That would allow the Langlands staff time to ensure everything was ready for opening.
Whenever the ILT launches a new establishment there has a one- or two-week trial period with invited guests before the official opening. Given that it was effectively opening five new food and beverage outlets and a new hotel as part of the $50 million project, the trust would follow that same trial process but on a larger scale, Ramsay said.
The Langlands Hotel will employ about 80 people, including a mix of part-time and full-time staff, when it is up and operating.