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Garden setting: Huka Lodge, near Taupo, on New Zealand’s North Island

Brand of the long white cloudNew Zealand has some lessons for us in blockbuster luxury-lodge accommodation, says an impressed Roderick Eime

‘‘NEW Zealand. Show me onegood thing about it,’’ the Air NewZealand ad challenges us.

It’s a rhetorical request, giventhe background scenery andfilms such as Lord Of The Ringsand even Zena, Warrior Princessthat have catapulted New Zeal-and’s spectacular landscape on tothe world stage.

For many of us, the nationalairline, Middle Earth and the100% Pure New Zealand cam-paign are indistinguishable.

I’vemade three trips across theTasman in as many years, andone thing that sticks with me istheKiwis’ consummate expertisein service excellence.

And not just in five-star hotelsand resorts, but right down tolittle corner shops. Regular folks,it seems, will go the extramile forvisitors — something we don’talways manage in Australia.Eco-tourism, adventure tour-

ism, adrenalin jumps, luxurylodges and indigenous tourismare all putting a swagger into thestep of the New Zealand tourism

industry as they command worldattention (and premium pricing)for their products.

‘‘The fact is, times are good andhigh-end American travellersgenerally remain unflustered bylofty rates,’’ asserts AndrewHarper, editor of the salubriousHideaway Report.But just how long can they

keep it up?‘‘First of all, you must define

just what luxury is. Luxury isn’tjust a commodity; it’s a rarequality that isn’t available inabundance,’’ saysWelf J.Ebeling,executive vice-president andchief operating officer of LeadingHotels of the World.

‘‘Upscale travellers want auth-enticity and individuality whenthey travel, especially for leisure.

‘‘They’re looking for an experi-ence that matches the destinat-ion and the cultural and naturalenvironment. And, of course, thehuman touch: service.’’

New Zealand has producedsome eye-popping examples ofblockbuster locations for lodges.

Take Huka Lodge, Grasmere,Peppers on the Point and Blan-ket Bay, to name just three of itsfive-star-plus properties.

Ebeling was in this part of theworld for a reason. He was havinga darned good look at these prop-erties for his company, whichalready has nearly 500 elite estab-lishments in its portfolio. Just notenough in this part of world.

TheKiwi properties are gettingthe asking price for now, with all-inclusive tariffs for those listedabove beginning at $1000 a night.

So what does this mean forAustralia, in particular, I askedRichard Rosebery, executive dir-ectorofSelectHotels andResortsInternational.

Rosebery says New Zealand’s‘‘super lodges’’, as he calls them,have earned their prestige, posit-ion and pricing, but he concedesthere is downward pressure ontariffs generally.

‘‘Australia’s problem is thatwe’re underpriced. Traditionally,our (marketing) reaction hasbeen to discount in the event of a

crisis. We seem to be forevertrying to recover our tariffs, notgrow them.

‘‘TheKiwismayhave tomoder-ate only slightly, but their lowerdollar keeps them attractive.’’

Rosebery views the problem asmoreonour side of theditch. ‘‘Wehave the best-value upmarketlodges here, but the danger isthat they will become potentiallyunprofitable,’’ he says.

Illustratinghispoint,anequival-ent, all-inclusive package at theglorious Cape Lodge, at MargaretRiver, in Western Australia, ishalf the New Zealand rate. Yetprice hasn’t diminished Austral-ians’ interest in luxury properties.

Lynn Ireland, Asia-Pacific re-gional director for Small LuxuryHotels (SLH) of the World, saysAustralians are the second-largestmarket forNewZealand’sSLH properties, and the third-largest worldwide.Claudia Rossi Hudson, manag-

ing director ofMary Rossi Traveland a person intimately in touchwith the luxury-travel mindset,

acknowledges the growing soph-istication of the Australian high-end clientele.

But she adds: ‘‘I don’t thinkAustralia’s international market-ing is doing any favours for ourbest properties. Shrimps on bar-bies and ‘bloody hells’ aren’t rais-ing our profile in this segment.’’

Carol Brodie, chief luxury offi-cer of the Robb Report, theundisputed arbiter of luxury life-style, says: ‘‘The whole face ofluxury is changing.

‘‘Even though luxury consumershave one thing in common —namely, wealth — their desires,passions and interests are verydifferent. They’re attracted to lux-ury brands, but they want differ-ent things from each brand.’’

Sohowwill this forever shiftinglandscape affect us? Will we en-tice the growing number of nou-veau luxophiles from China andthe sub-continent, or will ourbarbies and bikini bottoms sendthem scurrying for the Kiwi al-ternative? Watch this space.

Now available at Australia Post.

APO

0042

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