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Major tourism operators in Queenstown are reportedly buying empty hotels to house staff, combating the chronic housing shortage in��New Zealand’s adventure capital.��

The Queenstown Community Housing Trust has confirmed its accommodation waiting list has crossed more than 1300 eligible families this month.��

The independent community-owned organisation seeks to provide residents in the district “an opportunity to secure an affordable place to call home”.��

Tourism operators are buying hotels to accommodate staff. Photo / James Allan��

Chief executive Julie Scott said the situation is at “crisis point” for those struggling to find a suitable roof over their heads in the tourist town, and the list has gone up “literally by hundreds of households in the last year or so”.��

She said some big tour operators have purchased empty hotels and hostels for housing workers in, while others have leased existing properties.��

“It’s been really positive that we’ve seen businesses stepping into that space and looking after their employees.”��

Scott said those sorts of initiatives were relatively commonplace “20, 30, even 40 years ago”, and are now making their way back.��

Mayor Glyn Lewers said the wait list “just goes to show the cost-of-living pressures are quite acute” in Queenstown.��

He said when he first took office the trust’s list was around 850 families, so “there’s been a fair bit of growth in the last 18 months”.��

While some may assume seasonal workers are the ones struggling most to find accommodation in peak snow season, Scott said that is not necessarily the case.��

It's not just seasonal workers struggling to find affordable housing. Long term residents are feeling the squeeze too. Photo / Mark Mitchell��

She said those on the trust’s list are New Zealand residents or citizens “who are here long-term and are seeking to stay and work in the district”.��

Scott said they are families who do not already own property and fit within the trust’s caps of “around $130,000” maximum gross household income annually.��

She said many of those people are currently living in rental accommodation, with weekly bills that simply “don’t stack up”.��

Anecdotal examples included a three-bedroom home in Lake Hayes which has been rented out for $1100 a week – something Scott described as “absolutely phenomenal”.��

Scott said it spoke to a major issue in Queenstown, in which the rental properties that are available are simply unaffordable to the average Kiwi.��

The situation is forcing many families into “overcrowding situations”.��

Scott believed it reflects New Zealand’s population growth, which is “going through the roof”, with the Queenstown Lakes area significantly higher than other parts of the country.��

She acknowledged while there is “no one silver bullet” to tackle the situation, there are several levers that can be pulled to alleviate it.��

That includes increasing the amount of land available for housing development, which Scott noted the Government is working on.��

The downside to that, however, is what needs to follow – infrastructure.��

“Our council and ratepayers simply don’t have the capacity to be paying for the necessary infrastructure to support all the new homes that we need.”��

Scott said that would require the Government or another party to come to the table with suitable funding.��

Lewers said it is a long-term, ongoing issue.��

“I can pull out articles from the 1970s talking about this exact thing”.��

He said tackling Queenstown’s housing woes requires a medium-to-long-term focus.��

Lewers said it would be a “bit of a hard ask” to build homes quickly in the current market conditions and construction capacity.��

He also acknowledged the current Government is “on the right track” in its attempts to incentivise build-to-rent and make it easier to plan and build homes.��

However, Lewers made clear his desire for the district council to have “a little bit more say in when that land gets developed” to avoid out-of-sequence planning, “especially if the infrastructure is not there”.��

Lewers also noted it would like to weigh in on the typology, mix and density of housing developments.��

“Because if you have a look at that waitlist ... the odd thing is that one- and two-bedroom apartments and studios are in demand, compared to your standalone 3-to-4-bedroom house.”��

It is seemingly a better housing situation for this year’s seasonal workers, who’ve secured work for the tourist town’s peak-snow season.��

The situation proved to be dire last year, with reports that many short-term employees were forced to sleep in their cars due to the chronic housing shortage.��

But Lewers said it is a different story this winter.��

He said elevated pricing is still an issue, but overall availability is “picking up on both sides of the hill in Queenstown and Wanaka”.��

Scott agreed and believed that it is partly down to major operators in the town who took it upon themselves to ensure their staff had a roof over their heads.��

Lewers said those businesses are usually the town’s major tourism players and is pleased to see “the big boys step up”.��

Although he acknowledged continued staffing difficulties the smaller “mum and dad” operators face, who do not have the resources or capital to undertake such initiatives.��

He said it is a “swings and roundabouts” situation, as the major players are trying to do right by their own workers, but “obviously take resource out of the market”.��

“I commend what they’ve done, but I have heard of some workers that get priced out when looking for rental accommodation because a business has taken the lease”, Lewers said.��

The Queenstown Lakes District Council has also pushed its community Manaaki programme this winter, encouraging locals with a spare room and a desire to earn extra cash to rent it out to a seasonal worker in need.��

Scott was full of praise for the initiative, which has the full backing of the trust.��

“Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s had quite the pickup that that was desired or envisaged ... but every new room available helps.”��

Lewers said it is impossible to tell exactly how many locals have taken the Manaaki approach on board, but website traffic numbers paint a promising picture.��

While Queenstown’s housing woes are a long-term issue, community leaders are hopeful the situation will eventually make like the town’s winter snow ... and settle.��

Blake Benny is a Christchurch-based reporter with a focus on tourism and social issues, along with general news.��

Blake joined ��һ�ǿ�����talk ZB in 2022, having previously studied Broadcast Journalism at the New Zealand Broadcasting School.��

You can contact Blake at��[email protected].��