Company Replies

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30965, 22 January 1966, Page 14

Company Replies

The managing director of j Group Travel (Mr E. J. John-; ston) was invited to reply to Professor Adler’s and Dr. Adler’s complaints. He said that having successfully conducted Group Travel coach tours for more than 20 years, with only the odd complaint, and hundreds of letters of commendation, he was quite prepared to let the public decide the matter for themselves. When asked if two complaints to the newspapers this month from persons who had been mi Group Travel tours was unusual, Mr Johnston said: “We have never struck it before. We think the first complaint triggered off the second one. It conditions them more to making complaints. “There was also a letter in the paper from a person complaining about the Otematata hotel “I am quite sure that that person would never have written to the paper, if the report had not gone in. It induces people to have a ‘crack’.” Itinerary Outlined Mr Johnston said the itinerary for the South Island tour which Professor and Mrs Adler travelled on was outlined on page seven of the tours booklet, which was distributed throughout New Zealand, Australia and other overseas countries. A footnote on this page, he said, stated that some stopovers varied slightly from the basic itinerary outlined. In this case it meant that the party spent one night at the Otematata Hotel and would therefore have reached the Hermitage about 11 a.m. the following morning, in ample time to connect with the 2 p.m. glacier excursion or to do any “flightseeing” or other side trips. It was explained to Professor Adler that rooms were not available at the Heritage for both nights when the tour was planned over 12 months ago due to the demand for accommodation in January, and Otematata was therefore the best alternative accommodation available.

“We even showed him the names of the other groups that precluded our securing the accommodation we wanted," said Mr Johnston. "The itinerary given in our booklet leaves no doubt that the Mt. Cook accommodation is in either Tasman Lodge or Sefton Lodge and I am quite certain that the Government Tourist Bureau staff in Melbourne, who are all experienced travel officers from New Zealand, would well know that rooms with private bath are only available in the main building at the Hermitage. “The higher priced accommodation with private bathroom is booked for Group Travel tour parties whenever available at the Hermitage, but preference is given by the Tourist Hotel Corporation to parties organised from the United States, Australia or England for these rooms with facilities. “We have protested about this for some years, because of the high percentage of overseas travellers we carry, but have not been able to get any change in Government policy. Corporation Hotels “It is stated in the tours booklet that the quality tours stay at Tourist Hotel Corporation hotels or the best accom-

modation available. For this particular tour, Corporation Hotels were used at Franz Josef Glacier, Lake Wanaka, Milford Sound, Queenstown and Mt. Cook. “Accommodation was also booked at Hotel Te Anau, another Tourist Hotel Corporation hotel, but the booking had to be transferred to Gore after the fire which destroyed the majority of the accommodation at Hotel Te Anau. All but seven members of the party had rooms with private facilities at the new Croydon Lodge Hotel in Gore. Similarly the best accommodation possible was booked in Westport. “We have used the same hotel there for many years. “This 11-day tour is the only one on the market offering clients the opportunity of seeing the beauties of the Buller gorge and one of the best coastal drives in New Zealand past the Blowhole and Pancake rocks at Punakaiki. Westport is therefore an essential stopover. There is not another hotel on the West Coast north of the Franz Josef glacier which can yet provide rooms with baths for a reasonably sized group. Slat Frame Bed “The report I have from the courier-driver with the party is that the bed allotted to one woman in the party at Otematata did have a slat frame but that there definitely was a rubber mattress on it. “The report of the Licensing Control Commission dated June 15, 1965, refers to the Otematata Hotel as follows: “ "The owner is to be commended on the provision of accommodation greatly in excess of the commission’s original requirement. There were 9006 guests last year, and it was estimated that this figure would be greatly exceeded during this year because of the increase in tourists to the area.’

“None of the sightseeing mentioned in the itinerary was missed, although with the alteration from Te Anau to Gore because of the fire at the former hotel, it meant that the launch trip to Milford Sound was done in the morning instead of the afternoon. Actually additional side trips at both Queenstown and Mount Cook were included because of the tariff differential for the Gore and Otematata accommodation. “It is correct that Professor Adler asked for a refund of £lO a person for each member of the tour when he returned to Christchurch on Wednesday.

“He explained, however, that failure on the part of the company to meet this demand would mean that the widest possible publicity would be given. He has obviously embarked upon this, as this is the second press report today I have been invited to comment on.

“Any member of the public will find it a simple matter to collect one of our tour booklets from any tourist bureau or travel agent and decide for themselves whether or not we have promised private bathroom accommodation throughout any tour. “We have operated tours successfully for more than 20 years, the only change being to progressively improve the standard of accommodation booked whenever possible. Few complaints have been received .although we hold literally hundreds of letters of commendation from satisfied clients, Mr Johnston concluded.