Waikato Business News January/February 2020

8 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS January/February 2020
Business flourishing
as Jet Park Hamilton
gains four stars
From page 7
It’s about trying to
create an area where
companies can
best synergise their
meetings.”
be held without interruption.
The area also now includes an
operating cafe.
Their conference business
is building, and drawing interest
locally and throughout
New Zealand. “When we first
came and saw the property, the
potential to increase that conference
business stood out,”
says Lawson.
Location is a huge advantage.
Herrmann points to the
appeal of their conferencing’s
one-stop nature, with companies
able to fly staff in. Meanwhile,
the facility is within
driving distance of Auckland,
Tauranga and Rotorua.
“The good thing is we’re
outside the city. As much as
the airport is busy, it’s still
quiet,” says hotel manager
David Latu. There are three
main conference rooms. Hudson
1 and Hudson 2 are each
100sq m, and can be combined
Liz Herrmann and Nicole Lawson
into one. Harvard is 200sq m
and can take up to 200 people
theatre-style. Each room
has plenty of natural light, and
there are extensive outdoor
green spaces for guests during
breaks. There is also a boardroom
available for hire.
“It’s about trying to create
an area where companies can
best synergise their meetings,”
Latu says.
Meanwhile, the hotel
rooms, which are generous
in size but were getting tired
after more than two decades of
use, have been given complete
makeovers, and in a nice touch
two of them are pet friendly.
Their floors are tiled, and
pet-loving visitors can bring
their dog, cat or even bird.
Herrmann says the petfriendly
rooms at their Auckland
hotel have been very popular.
“It’s wonderful if people
are in the middle of moving
and it makes a safe, comfortable
space for them.”
The extensive range of
rooms includes family suites,
executive suites, and single
and double configurations.
As they refurbish rooms,
they are donating furniture and
beds to Waikato Women’s Refuge,
and are also involved with
SPCA and Waikato Hospice.
Lawson says it was important
for them to quickly embed
in the local community. “It’s
very very important to us. All
our philosophy is around care
and caring for our staff, our
people, our community. That’s
why we want to look local as
much as possible.”
This year will see a joint
collaboration with a local
Boys’ High School to create an
outdoor wall mural at the hotel.
“It’s just about saying, here we
are, we’re new, we love being
here, we want to get to know
you, we want you to get to
know us,” Lawson says.
Art is important to Jet Park,
and the complex showcases a
tui sculpture made from corten
steel in the front carpark and
large silhouette corten steel
trees elsewhere, created by
New Zealand sculptor James
Wright. Leading Māori artist
Rex Homan, who recently won
the Supreme Award at the 2019
Te Waka Toi Awards, is currently
completing artworks for
the hotel.
Meanwhile, in a further creative
flourish, an old Hawker
Hind wooden propeller from
the previous owner takes
pride of place on a wall of the
renamed Propeller Restaurant
and Bar. Much of the food
they serve at the restaurant
is sourced locally and Good
George is on tap. The hightech
kitchen has been refurbished,
and Propeller, which is
open daily from 11am-6pm, is
available for airport visitors -
with free parking. They can sit
with a coffee, a meal or a drink
while waiting to pick someone
up from a flight.
Lawson says Jet Park have
been delighted by their reception.
“When we first announced
we were coming, everybody
was so supportive, even other
hotel brands. They were very
welcoming, very excited to
see another quality brand
enter the market, because what
it does for the region is lift
everybody.”
It’s fair to say Jet Park
have had a happy landing in
Waikato. “We’re on a long journey
and this is part of our journey,
which is very exciting,”
Herrmann says.
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