LUXURY HOTELS

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29908, 23 August 1962, Page 14

LUXURY HOTELS

£6OOO A Bed To Build (N.Z. Press Association) DUNEDIN, Aug. 22. The New Zealand economy could not afford luxury hotels which were costing up to £6OOO a bed to build. With an average of 150 beds the cost of each hotel could be ‘‘fantastic,” the president of the New Zealand Travel and Holidays Association, Mr J. L. Chapman, said at a meeting of the Dunedin branch today.

"We could possibly afford them at the main tourist traffic dispersal points— Auckland and Christchurch—but certainly not in other centres.”

Mr Chapman advocated more motel-hotel accommodation at “strategic points” throughout the country. These strategic points, he said, included towns and cities which were stoppingoff places for tourists before they entered scenic areas. “The motel-hotel accommodation would have all the facilities tourists required. They are not interested in luxurious surroundings. As long as they have clean living conditions with a shower and toilet they will be satisfied."

The cost of building the large hotels was a problem. There seemed to be some disparity somewhere, he said. An investigation should be made as soon as possible to determine where the high cost arose. He suggested the Dunedin branch appoint a sub-committee to make inquiries and also to investigate alternatives to the luxury hotels.