Due to the latest COVID-19 disruption, Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre is now aiming to hold its first events in the lead up to Christmas. The building was on track to hold its first events in October but will now be delayed as many of the specialists necessary to complete the facility are unable to travel down from the North Island.

The Dunedin City Council’s Enterprise Dunedin has launched a new carbon measurement incentive scheme.

The Pinnacle Tower is set to open its doors at Cordis Auckland on October 1st, 2021. 

Located right in the heart of the city, the 17-storey tower houses 244 new premium rooms and signature Cordis suites, making Cordis Auckland the largest hotel in terms of room count in New Zealand with 640 rooms. 

Chief executive of Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA), Chris Roberts will be the keynote  speaker at the Maximum Occupancy accommodation industry conference in Auckland on 18 and 19 August 2021.

Imagine Hotels & Resorts Beach Road hotel is the first New Zealand property to joining three others in Australia.

Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre will open for business in late October with a solid roster of domestic and Australasian events planned for its opening months.

The Park Hyatt Auckland, is launching a brand new collection of luxury suites.

QT Hotels & Resorts’ newest property, QT Auckland, has won the 2021 Paul Davis Hotel Design Award for the Best Refurbishment in Australasia. QT Auckland opened its doors in November 2020, transforming a former office building into a design-led luxury QT Hotel.  

The Paul Davis Design Awards recognise the best-of-the-best in design and architecture in the hotel, tourism and hospitality fields in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific and celebrate exceptional projects that demonstrate design innovation, a commitment to sustainability design practices and deliver exceptional guest experience.

QT Auckland was selected from dozens of entries assessed by an esteemed panel of industry leaders in interior design, led by GHDWoodhead National Practice Leader, Leone Lorrimer; Design Assembly Principal, Paul Wiste and Scott Carver Director, Angela Biddle.

A metaphor for the inner-city building conversion, the oyster-inspired design flows through 150 rooms and suites, public spaces and meeting rooms, signature restaurant Esther and sixth-floor bar Rooftop at QT. 

No detail was spared with the oyster’s influence seen throughout the design – the weathered, rough, raw and natural textures of the shell’s exterior juxtaposed with the smooth, colourful and luxurious nature of the inside.

As a conversion project, design was expertly coordinated around the structure’s existing elements. Far from conventional, QT Auckland’s guest rooms have over 35 unique floorplans, featuring unexpected elements like curved walls, exposed concrete and asymmetrical layouts.

According to the judges, “This project certainly is proof that it is what is on the inside that counts. Taking a former commercial building and repurposing it into a hotel with 35 unique guestroom types is no easy feat. From the reception to the restaurant, to the rooftop bar, this project is so much more than what it could have been if not designed with such thoughtful consideration.”

A true collaboration, every element of the hotel was part of a detailed design process - working with Dean Duckworth, EVENT Hospitality and Entertainment Director of Project Management and Design; QT’s longstanding design collaborator Nic Graham; direction on restaurant spaces by Chef Sean Connolly; and QT Auckland’s owners Russell Property Group and Lockwood Property Group. 

“Receiving this esteemed design award is a testament to the entire team behind QT Auckland. We’re grateful to have such talented collaborators and partners, whose shared ambition, creativity and commitment resulted in this incredible achievement, making the newest QT Hotel truly best in class,” said Simon White, Event Hospitality and Entertainment General Manager Hotel Operations, NZ. 

QT Auckland was announced as the winner of the Paul Davis Hotel Design Award’s Best Refurbishment in Australasia category at Design Inn Symposium on Tuesday 4 May 2021. 

For more information about the Paul Davis Design Awards 2021, visit designinnsymposium.com/paul-davis-hotel-design-award.

For more information about QT Auckland, visit qthotels.com/auckland.

The recent announcement of an Aussie travel bubble has shown immediate results and a significant spike in online activity for New Zealand’s largest Kiwi owned and operated hotel group. 

CPG Hotels, one of New Zealand’s largest privately-owned and operated hotel groups, has announced the acquisition and reopening of the iconic Canterbury resort, Terrace Downs.

Event Hospitality & Entertainment (EVENT) has announced that Rydges Formosa Golf Resort has officially opened its doors following multi-million dollar renovations of the accommodation villas, public spaces and golf course.

Hotel general manager, Kerryann Gibbs says, “We are on time, ready to go and just cannot wait to welcome our wonderfully loyal guests back.”

EVENT has announced the opening of Atura Wellington, previously The Thorndon Hotel Wellington by Rydges, an invigorating new brand in New Zealand. 

Festival for the Future – a multi-day conference with more than 1200 delegates has been confirmed for Takina, Wellington Conference and Exhibition Centre.

QT Wellington’s award-winning Hippopotamus restaurant and cocktail bar will reopen its doors on Thursday. 

With nearly 6000 hotels across 100 countries and brands like InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Kimpton, IHG Hotels & Resorts has been a big player in world hospitality, meetings, events and travel.

Sydney’s first 25hours Hotel is set to open at the end of 2022.

Weta Workshop’s fantastical new experience Weta Workshop Unleashed will be revealed in Auckland today, promising visitors of all ages a journey through the creative process with surprises around every corner.

Otago Museum  has partnered with iD Fashion Awards to create a new event - Fashion Fwd: Disruption through Design

Construction of Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre is expected to be completed by the middle of next year. Following a commissioning period, the first events are likely to be held in the second half of 2021.

Following the extensive floods that occurred in Napier, the Scenic Hotel Te Pania has been closed due to damage received during this event.

Christchurch’s Vbase has won ‘Best Food Experience’ at the New Zealand Event Awards for its catering at TEDxChristchurch 2019:Tūrangawaewae—A Place of Belonging, at Christchurch Town Hall.

Event Hospitality and Entertainment (EVENT) has announced the addition of its first golf resort to its collection of properties, as a result of a new management agreement to operate the Rydges Formosa Golf Resort. Formerly known as Formosa Golf Resort in Beachlands, Auckland, the property is undergoing an extensive multi-million dollar renovation of the golf course and its surrounding facilities. The hotel will reopen under the EVENT family of hotels in late-November 2020 with new owners, Beachlands South Limited Partnership, a partnership between NZ Super Fund and parties associated with the Russell Property Group. 

New Zealand-owned Capstone Hotels & Resorts has been appointed as the management company for 100 Greys Avenue, formerly Amora Hotel Auckland, rebranding the property to Parkside Hotel & Apartments.

Renowned for being home to the rare, brown, ‘Rowi' kiwi, Franz Josef Glacier in the heart of Glacier Country is also home to the eco-luxe hotel, Te Waonui Forest Retreat.

Hotel Fitzroy, the new ‘five-star’ boutique hotel in Richmond Road, Ponsonby, welcomes its first guests today.  Our host will do whatever it takes to make their stay as memorable as possible, says general manager, Chris Dickinson.

New Zealand’s first Park Hyatt hotel, Park Hyatt Auckland, has opened, offering travellers and Aucklanders a new luxurious place to meet, drink and dine in a prime waterfront location.

Trocadero Restaurant and Bar welcomed chef Andreas Pfyl to lead its kitchen brigade. A recent and somewhat untimely returnee from Dubai, Andreas says he “Is thrilled to be back in the best place in the world,” and looks forward to re-opening next week.