RotoruaNZ expects the city to have a "very busy summer". Photo: Supplied / RotoruaNZ
Rotorua's regional tourism organisation has launched a new tool to help would-be visitors avoid mixed-use emergency housing motels.
RotoruaNZ, formerly known as Rotorua Economic Development or Destination Rotorua, has created a dashboard, available on its website that provides an overview of different types of commercial accommodation available in Rotorua.
It comes as the agency reported a life in visitor numbers in the district, averaging about 10,000 visitors a day throughout August - an increase from 7000 a day at the same time last year. There were about 700 international visitors a day in August.
RotoruaNZ research and insights manager Justin Kimberley said the status of facilities had become more important with the advent of mixed-use accommodation, where visitors may share facilities with those staying for emergency housing.
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"We wanted to give potential visitors the ability to find out which accommodation providers were visitor economy only and which were emergency housing after hearing feedback from customers that they had been caught out.
"This information provides visitors with the ability to be confident the accommodation they are booking isn't a mixed-use provider.
"We want visitors to have the best possible experience in Rotorua and believe mixed use motels do not deliver this," said Kimberley.
"We try to keep this data as up-to-date as possible based on our information sources."
RotoruaNZ research and insights manager Justin Kimberley. Photo: Supplied / RotoruaNZ
He said as things were "fluid" in the emergency housing area, the agency welcomed feedback on data that may not be accurate.
The dashboard, which was completed in partnership with tourism data specialists AIC, also provides information on pricing, star ratings and operating status, as well as an estimate of the number of rooms available in the city.
Kimberley said the capacity information was important for those organising events in the district, and providing an easily accessible one-stop resource on capacity was one of the main reasons for creating the dashboard.
"We are also working on a version to include Airbnb and Bookabach properties to get a complete overview of all accommodation options in Rotorua. This will be released in the coming weeks."
The dashboard is available on the RotoruaNZ website under the "insights" section, and a "simpler" list had also been created, which Kimberley said was "a bit easier to navigate".
He said the dashboard was best viewed on a computer.
Polynesian Spa is one of the city's many tourism offerings. Photo: Supplied / RotoruaNZ
Kimberley said RotoruaNZ's data, based on accommodation bookings and a "packed event calendar", as well as the continued return of international visitors, suggested it would be "a very busy summer for Rotorua".
RotoruaNZ is a Rotorua Lakes Council-controlled organisation and is both a regional tourism organisation and a regional economic development agency.
Online reviews of mixed-use motels spoke of "terrible" and "nightmare" experiences, including police visits, alleged drug users and facilities unsafe for families to use.
One review alleged someone knocking on their door late at night wishing to "score" drugs.
Others said they had not discovered the accommodation was a mixed-use facility until arrival. They said they planned on checking the use of motels before booking accommodation in New Zealand.
Local Democracy Reporting is public interest journalism funded by NZ On Air.