Managing director Brendan Taylor says, “While it will be a gradual restart and unfortunately does not come without COVID-19 associated talent casualties, it is nonetheless a start back to business and it is with a sense of relief and cautious excitement that we can begin the process of welcoming back our valued guests and staff.”
It is no secret that New Zealand’s tourism sector has been among the hardest hit during the global COVID-19 crisis and like much of the tourism industry, Scenic Hotel Group has also relied heavily on key international markets for business. This has meant that some of the hardest decisions in the group’s 40-year history that have seen employee reductions both in hotel and support staff. Taylor says, “It has been really tough as many of our staff have been with the Group for over a decade. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, but without making these hard decisions now, we would not have been able to sure up the future of the group and the many employees who we can continue on this journey with.”
Over the past weeks Scenic Hotel Group has been involved in a robust consultative process with all staff across all aspects of its operations where everyone has had a voice and the opportunity to contribute to our future. The result is that the majority of Scenic Hotel Group’s properties are scheduled to reopen from Level 2 with some rationalisation of capacity in centres where there are two properties or where there is a seasonal pattern of hibernation over the winter months. The first to open will be;
-
Airedale Boutique Suites (formerly Scenic Hotel Auckland in CBD)
-
Heartland Hotel Auckland Airport
-
Heartland Ambassador Hotel Hamilton
-
Scenic Hotel Te Pania, Napier
-
Scenic Hotel Marlborough
-
Scenic Hotel Southern Cross, Dunedin
-
Heartland Hotel Croydon, Gore
-
Heartland Hotel Queenstown
-
Scenic Suites Queenstown
-
Heartland Hotel Fox Glacier
-
Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier
-
Heartland Hotel Haast