PHOTO SUPPLIED
Kathy Guy, previous manager of the Chateau Tongariro, has lambasted previous owners KAH New Zealand for allegedly running the hotel down over many years.
KAH shut the doors and passed ownership to the Department of Conservation on Sunday, in a move the former Taupō District Councillor labelled a travesty.
“It should never have come to this – it should never have been closed. The Chateau is a big part of our history and heritage,” said Kathy, who managed the historic hotel from 1999 through till her retirement in 2018.
She expressed interest that a seismic survey of the site reportedly turned up the need for extensive earthquake strengthening of the building. The King Country News understands that that this survey, which was jointly funded by KAH New Zealand and Heritage New Zealand, is still awaiting peer review.
However, Kathy said seismic surveys of the building were done in 2011 following the Christchurch earthquakes, both for the Chateau and the Wairakei Resort in Taupō.
“There was also a geotechnical report following construction of the Chateau’s new wing in 2003 and 2004. No issues were raised in these reports,” Kathy said.
She saw a deliberate attempt by the previous owners to denigrate the hotel.
“Photos had been bandied about in the media showing peeling paint, and sort of derelict buildings at Whakapapa Village. But these are indicative of the lack of investment by the previous owners. It’s no one else’s problem – it’s theirs – and I am so disappointed that it ever got to this.”
Kathy recalled that the hotel had been well maintained right up till her departure in 2018. And up to that time the Chateau had employed a full maintenance team.
“But though we constantly budgeted for maintenance, the owners would refuse to sign that off. So, things like the painting were constantly deferred. After I left, they didn’t seem to be interested in anything – they just let it go.”
She said maintenance had been a huge part of the longevity of the historic hotel, which opened in 1929.
“You had to be maintaining it constantly. The last time it was painted was in 2000, 23 years ago, but a building like that is literally sand blasted every time there is a blizzard.
“In a harsh environment like that it should be constantly maintained and painted.
“I was just horrified when I went up recently and saw that even the grounds and gardens were in disarray. This is a world heritage park for goodness sakes – it should be a showcase for New Zealand and for international visitors.
“DOC must take some responsibility as the lessor as to why a lot of this stuff has not been done. As the landlord so to speak I wonder why DOC was not putting more pressure on the owners to undertake just general maintenance.
“Today the media is reporting that 36 staff are now losing their jobs but we employed more than 100. The majority lived on site and it was a real community.
“The hotel was not only important to tourism; it was a large employer of iwi as well. The hapu of the area was Ngati Hikairo and we employed as many (of this group) as we possibly could. And they supported everything we did at the Chateau.
Kathy also questioned aspects of the way the hotel was run commercially. She blamed KAH’s policy of demanding money up front from inbound tourism operators. The bookings concerned were being made 18 months to two years in advance, on behalf of foreign tourists, so the financial commitment was unpopular.
However, the hotel was a magnet for tourists and she expected its closure would generate negative economic consequences throughout the Central North Island, even as far as Taupo.
“What people don’t understand is that KAH New Zealand owned not only the Chateau but pretty much the entire Whakapapa Village, with the exception of Skotel and the DOC headquarters. All the rest was owned by KAH and similarly received little to no maintenance. So, we’re not only losing the Chateau; we’re losing those other Category 1 historic buildings as well, such as the garage at Whakapapa which was built in the early 1920s.
“And it’s not just closing the doors on the Chateau that upsets me it’s the whole issue around the loss of the amenities and community at Whakapapa Village. The Chateau provided (a home for) emergency services response and was the centre for search and rescue. By closing it you are actually destroying a whole community.
Kathy said she secured the Chateau’s lease from DOC before she left in 2018. It took a full year to 18 months to secure it but it was “all done and dusted”. But then KAH New Zealand would not accept the lease fee and there had to be negotiations, culminating in an arrangement which was month by month.
She had worked for the original owner of Oriental Holdings, which owned the Chateau, Mr Loh, and then for his daughter, “and both of them were passionate passed about the hotel”. But when ownership to Mr Loh’s grand-daughter things changed.
“I guess it lost its meaning over the generations.”
