|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
January, 2011 Queenstown's newest backpacker hostel aims to take advantage of a worldwide trend of older, middle-class, travel-savvy tourists using backpacker accommodation.Adventure Queenstown Hostel and Chalets majority shareholder Brett Duncan said the Queenstown hostel market was busy, but far from saturated, and any new venture needed a point of difference to be successful. "We've done our homework. Queenstown has the highest hostel occupancy rates in the country," he said. "But there's no use competing with (large hostels) Base and Nomads, because they've got the 18 to 22-year-old party-hard market locked down. We're aiming for the middle-class independent travellers market that see staying in hostels as a valid alternative to staying in hotels which is a growing world-wide trend." The 13-room, 50-capacity hostel on the second and third storey of Lakeland House on the corner of Camp and Beach streets will open by the end of the month. A further option to boost capacity to 64 will be available pending a Queenstown Lakes District Council dispensation because the building does not have a lift. The decision to open a hostel came when Mr Duncan, a well-travelled civil engineer originally from Brisbane, left London to travel after the global economic crisis. "The economic collapse hit everyone hard. I was travelling after that, and decided opening a hostel would be a great lifestyle choice." When it came to a decision on where to open that hostel, Queenstown was his only consideration. "I love snowboarding, and mixing the idea of opening a hostel where I could snowboard was key so Queenstown was the obvious choice." Giving the hostel a homely feel has been part of the fit-out. "Our kitchen, bathrooms and common room look and feel like they could be in someone's house. It's all on a larger scale." Source: The Southland Times
|
||
|
Queenstown Property Limited |
||
