Bay of Plenty Business News November/December 2017

12 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS November/December 2017
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS
Hopes hotel development
could spur others
Waikato business leaders are hoping the
expansion of the Novotel Tainui Hotel will
spur on other hotel developers to invest
in Hamilton.
By GEOFF TAYLOR
The Novotel Tainui
Hamilton hotel will
undergo a 40-room
expansion next year to serve
the hotel’s growing customer
base in the quality accommodation
market.
Waikato Chamber of
Commerce chief executive
William Durning.
Tainui Group Holdings
chief executive Chris Joblin
says the $13 million investment
will make a significant
contribution to the vitality of
the Hamilton CBD.
“With the new extension,
Novotel Tainui Hamilton will
be able to offer 217 contemporary
rooms and suites to
Hamilton & Waikato
Tourism chief executive
Jason Dawson.
guests, ensuring Hamilton has
a hotel offering of the quality
and scale to match demand as
the city grows as a business
and visitor centre over the next
few years,” Mr Joblin says.
The extension will have
four levels with ten rooms per
level, with the new rooms to
be the same size and layout
as typical rooms within the
existing hotel.
Dick Breukink, general
manager Novotel & Ibis
Tainui, says bathrooms in all
of the Novotel’s 177 existing
rooms are also currently being
renovated.
“We are excited about the
extension and the fact that
tourism is going so well.
We’ve seen the results reflected
in our hotels in the last couple
of years and there is more
potential in the market.”
Waikato Chamber of
Commerce CEO William
Durning welcomed the investment.
“It’s great that Tainui is getting
in there and further investing.
We need to be encouraging
others to back the same
visionary view.
“Without knowing at what
stage other hotel offerings are
at, if those providers out there
Auckland pressures drive
up demand at Inland Port
An artist’s impression, looking from Alma St, of the new look Novotel Tainui
Hamilton Hotel.
can see that others are recognising
there is an opportunity,
it might also encourage them
to move.”
Hamilton mayor Andrew
King says TGH’s announcement
was “fantastic”.
“We need a lot more rooms
at the top end of the market.”
“I believe there’s scope for
another 400 rooms in the city
and they will come with time.”
Hamilton & Waikato
Tourism chief executive Jason
Dawson is thrilled and says
Hamilton has a challenge to
provide enough large scale 4-5
star hotel accommodation during
busy periods.
“For example, recently in
Hamilton we had a teaching
conference of 1500 strong,
Equidays at Mystery Creek
with exhibitors, performers,
competitors, suppliers and visitors,
a burgeoning business
and leisure traveller market,
plus school holidays. All of
this creates a high demand for
quality hotel accommodation
in our city”.
“The extra 40-rooms will
help fulfil the need and will
easily be absorbed by current
market demand. It’s also great
that some of the new rooms
will provide river views which
is an iconic feature of our city
and region.”
“The additional bed inventory
for the hotel sector will
also allow us to further develop
our lucrative business
events and conference market
who demand this level of hotel
accommodation.”
“Every conference we
can secure for Hamilton and
Waikato is significant for the
region, regardless of the sector
or size. Conference delegates
are also influenced to return
for a future holiday based on
their positive Waikato experiences.”
“A delegate attending a
business event is worth twice
as much as a leisure traveller
to the region, with an average
delegate per night value of
$350 per night for international
delegates and $509 per night
for domestic delegates.”
The hotel is owned by
Waikato-Tainui through its
intergenerational investment
arm TGH.
Construction of the extra
rooms is expected to start in
mid-2018, with the extension
scheduled to open by mid-
2019, and Mr Joblin says every
effort will be made to minimise
noise and visual disruption to
guests and hotel operations.
Rukumoana Schaafhausen,
chair of Te Arataura, the executive
committee of Waikato-
Tainui says the expansion is a
statement of confidence in the
economic future of Hamilton,
Waikato and the Iwi.
Waikato-Tainui also owns
the 126 room Ibis Hamilton
Tainui hotel, and at Auckland
Airport, has a half share in the
263 room Novotel Auckland
Airport, with a fourth hotel,
Pullman Auckland Airport
– Te Arikinui – (300 rooms)
jointly under development
with Auckland International
Airport Ltd.
PRINZ Conference
coup for Hamilton
Land costs and other pressures
are pushing up
interest in Tainui Group
Holdings’ industrial land next
to its Inland Port, according
to TGH chief executive Chris
Joblin.
As TGH gains resource
consent to subdivide the
48 hectare industrial site
Mr Joblin says it is getting
strong demand particulary
from Auckland for large scale
industrial sites.
“Land costs and usage pressures
in South Auckland have
been driving inquiry south and
we are in talks with a number
of major manufacturers and
distributors seeking large scale
sites to future proof their operations,”
Mr Joblin says.
These industrial resource
consents mean TGH can provide
potential industrial tenants
with time certainty about
relocating their operations.
Being adjacent to the inland
port, these early movers will
be best placed to get the full
benefits of the wider 480 hectare
precinct.
“We are experiencing a
high level of customer and
tenant inquiries particularly
from major warehousing and
distribution businesses looking
to relocate outside Auckland
including significant players
in construction equipment and
materials, food and drink processing,
and from within the
dairy, forestry, horticulture and
retailing sectors.
“Our potential tenants and
customers can now be assured
in their own planning for warehouses,
distribution sites, pack
houses or other facilities to
take advantage of sites which
are well connected by road
and rail and offer port neutrality
between Auckland and
Tauranga. That certainty will
be appreciated by businesses
taking a long-term view of
their own growth as well as
growth in the golden triangle,”
Mr Joblin says.
With direct connection to
the future Waikato Expressway,
the industrial zoning opens up
opportunities for a wide range
of development options.
Mr Joblin says the 48ha
site, with its easy access to
prime productive regions,
lends itself to export activities,
such as packing facilities
or horticultural exports.
Importers are also suited as
two million people live within
140km, lending itself towards
North Island or regional distribution
centres for food products
or retail merchandise.”
Leasing inquiries for the
wider Ruakura precinct are
being managed by leading
industrial leasing specialists
JLL.
Sam Smith, head of
Industrial for JLL, confirms
that inquiry levels are strong
for large footprint sites in
Waikato.
“New distribution-based
business models requiring more
scale, efficiencies and connectivity
are driving a significant
number of businesses to consolidate
smaller, older and fragmented
sites into larger, well
connected central developments,”
says Mr Smith.
Meanwhile leading civil
engineering and resources
company Fulton Hogan is
well advanced with the initial
works covering the first six
hectares of what will eventually
be a 31 hectare inland port
with the capacity to handle
around one million TEUs (20
foot container equivalents) per
year when fully built. TGH,
along with its JV partner LINX
Cargo Care Group Ltd expects
to commence initial operations
at the inland port in the first
half of 2019.
Some of New Zealand’s
top public relations
specialists are heading
to Hamilton and Waikato
following the announcement
that the Public Relations
Institute of New Zealand
(PRINZ) will be holding
its annual conference in the
region in 2018.
Held at Hamilton’s
Claudelands Event Centre
on May 30-31, the conference
is expecting more than
150 delegates, with a visit
to Hobbiton Movie Set and
other Waikato experiences
on the programme.
PRINZ chief executive
Elaine Koller said the ease
of Hamilton’s location, the
strength of the membership
and active Waikato branch
committee influenced the
decision to come to the
region.
“This is the first time
that the annual conference
has been held in Waikato
in PRINZ’s 63-year history.
The decision to come
to Waikato is testimony to
the strong support of our
Waikato members and local
committee, plus the fact that
Waikato is just a couple of
hours’ drive for many of
our PRINZ members in the
Central North Island, or a
short flight for those further
afield,” Elaine said.
Heather Claycomb,
director of Hamilton-based
HMC Communications
and Waikato regional representative
on the PRINZ
National Council, said the
conference was a great
chance for PR industry colleagues
to come together
to learn, network and have
some fun.
“We have a strong
community of public relations
professionals here in
Waikato and collectively
we are excited about showcasing
Hamilton and the
wider region to members of
PRINZ.”
“As the country’s leading
communicators, PRINZ
members are continually
looking to upskill and stay
on the cutting edge of the
public relations profession.
Participating in our annual
conference is a great way to
stay on top.”
Hamilton & Waikato
Tourism CEO Jason Dawson
said the PRINZ conference
was a great win for the destination,
with many influential
people attending the
conference.
“We have some of the
most experienced and
emerging talent within the
public relations and communications
industry in our
country coming to our great
region.
“These delegates work
across all industries, are
well-connected, utilise social
and mainstream media and
aren’t shy to tell others about
their experiences,” Jason says.
“Our central location,
fantastic conference spaces,
easy travel times and
great options for activities
and dining are just some of
the reasons why Hamilton
and Waikato are now the
third largest region behind
Auckland and Wellington for
conventions, meetings and
business events (year ending
June 2017), based on delegate
days and number of
business events.”
“We look forward to
hosting them in the Mighty
Waikato and showcasing the
best we have to offer” he
added.