Events give local motels good boost

Wanganui's entertainment calendar is a pretty full one and local moteliers indicate they're benefiting from the bonus those events bring.

David Gill, co-manager of 151 on London, said bookings were generally running more than 50 per cent from Christmas Day onward.

"It's not chock-a-block, but they're handy numbers," Mr Gill said. "But things will certainly pick up at Masters Games time the first week of February.

"We've warned our corporate customers about that and told them we only have a few places held over."

Noel Buckman, lessee of Sienna Motor Lodge, said numbers were steadily building and they were already fully booked for Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

"They are customers who are here for the motorcycle races," Mr Buckman said.

But he said they had not been inundated with bookings for the Masters Games yet.

"Others around the city are telling me they have been but that's not the case with us just yet anyway," he said.

However, he said from February onwards company reps were back on the road and bookings became more solid.

"They're our bread and butter, so we want to keep space available for them.

"We don't want them staying in another city or going somewhere else," he said.

Sunny Teki, owner of Aotea Motor Lodge, said bookings were solid over the Christmas-New Year period and he was confident there would be some spin off from the Masters Games.

"We're really a motel that attracts sports teams because we can't accommodate four or six to a room," Mr Teki said. The good news had been the customers who had stayed through this year.

"In the five years we've been open this has been our best year yet.

"We're just wanting that to continue."