Higher Charges At Greymouth Graded Hotels

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 May 1949, Page 4

Higher Charges At Greymouth Graded Hotels

Price Order No 1000 is now* in force. That may not mean much to tfie average citizen, except about once a year, but it does mean a lot to the travelling public, as with the gazetting of the new order hotel tariffs throughout the Dominion have risen sharply in many instances. The price order governing hotel tariffs was gazetted on May 12 and the Greymouth hotels, in common with others affected brought their new scale of charges into force on Monday. The local increases as far as the four graded hotels are concerned range from Is a day to 4s a day, with an additional 2s as a bed linen laundry charge for one-night guests. Division Of Tariff The highest graded Greymouth hotel is Revingtons, a four-star house, and its daily tariff is now 26s 6d a day, as compared with 22s 6d prior to the gazetting of the price order. This tariff is “split” as follows: —bed, 12s 6d; breakfast 4s, dinner 6s, lunch 4s. Next on the list is the Albion Hotel, a three-star-plus house, with a new daily tariff of 255, as compared with the pre-order price of 22s 6d. In the case of this hotel, a bed, breakfast and dinner are all sixpence cheaper than the next highest graded hotel, but there is no reduction for lunch. The Albion was originally graded as a three-star house, but after a further inspection by officers of the Automobile Association, advice was received froh the Price Investigation Tribunal that the “plus” certificate had been granted. Third on the list of Greymouth’s graded hotels is the Duke of Edinburgh, and as a two-star house its tariff has risen from 18s to £1 per day. The charge for a bed is 9s 6d, for breakfast and lunch 3s each, and for dinner 4s 6d. As far as the Club Hotel is concerned, the full daily tariff is, at the moment, of academic interest only as the hotel is not offering full board. As a one-star house, its daily tariff has risen from 17s to 18s a day, but owing to staffing and other difficulties it is now offering bed and breakfast only, at a cost of 12s 6d. Grading Challenged It is claimed by the proprietor of this hotel that the house was graded by the Automobile Association’s inspector as a two-star hotel, but when the association’s booklet was printed, only one star was shown. On taking the matter up with the association, he was informed that a typographical error had occurred, but he points out that the “mistake” has been perpetuated with the gradings accepted by the Price Tribunal.

It was stated by the manager of one graded hotel today that the only concession allowed on the scale of charges was a reduction of 10 per cent, for bona fide commercial travellers and members of the Public Service Association, but it would only be granted on the production of membership cards, as it was feared that there had been attempts at imposition by some members of the travelling public.