While Auckland Council’s decision to put a hold on the Auckland Provider Targeted Rate until March 2021 is welcomed, it does not go far enough to help our decimated hotel sector.
The New Zealand Hotel Owners Association has been lobbying Auckland Council for relief of APTR and commends the Council’s decision which includes waiving the fourth quarter APTR installment and putting the targeted rate on hold until March 31, 2021.
"We welcome this financial relief which recognises the huge strain hotels are under as they manage the impacts of COVID-19. However, with a full recovery likely to take up to five years the APTR will continue to be significant burden if it is reinstated next year," New Zealand Hotel Owners Association executive director Amy Robens says.
"Many Auckland hotels are currently closed. Hotel occupancy fell 33 per cent in March compared to the same time last year, with RevPAR down 40 per cent. Those numbers will keep falling with the remainder of the year effectively a write off," she said. "We need to focus on rebuilding. Tourism will come back but it will be a very slow market recovery and with local council rates the single biggest financial burden facing hoteliers, the APTR is just not sustainable," Amy says.
NZHOA will continue to advocate for the APTR to be removed indefinitely as part of Auckland Council’s 20/21 Annual Plan consultation process.
"We’re also seeking central government assistance in the form of a ‘Hotel Local Government Rates Grant’ for hoteliers nationwide. The Grant would apply in full for all local body rates for hotels which are closed, and would work on a pro-rata basis for hotels open dependent on the revenue they receive and the rates they’re able to contribute to," she says.
