Motel Fraud - Continued

We've been following the plight of an ex-motel manager, Steven Francis Younger, 45, that was bailed to an Auckland address after being convicted of five fraud charges involving more than $50,000 in the New Plymouth District Court earlier this year.

It was reported that charges included changing the names on cheques paid by sports teams while managing a Taranaki motel and ripping off elderly folk.

Younger initially pleaded not guilty to 16 fraud charges, then changed his pleas to guilty midway through the trial after charges were condensed from 16 to five.

Younger seems to have some extremely passionate support, including persistent blog posters that have made bizarre comments and counter-claims in reaction to our post: HERE.

We see that Younger appeared in the New Plymouth District Court for sentencing on five fraud charges yesterday and has  dodged a likely prison sentence...for now:

"A former Stratford man could escape a jail sentence if he pays back money to the people he defrauded.

Steven Francis Younger, 45, was to have been sentenced yesterday in the New Plymouth District Court on five fraud charges.

Younger pleaded guilty mid-trial in February to the charges, most of which involved obtaining money from elderly people and failing to pay them back.

Sentencing was postponed, however, when Judge Allan Roberts asked for proof that Younger had paid $7000 into the account of one of his victims, Bruce Moore, on May 20.

"I will need to be satisfied that man [Mr Moore] has his money," Judge Roberts said.

Crown prosecutor Justin Marinovich said Younger had effectively stolen the money from three complainants who were genuine, honest and good people who had felt betrayed.

Mr Marinovich called for a jail sentence of two years.

Younger's lawyer, Jeremy Bioletti, of Auckland, said his client intended to pay the full reparation but needed to be allowed to continue to work in order to do so.

As the probation officer said, Younger was "working his bum off" on a farm in Auckland while his wife was working two jobs, Mr Bioletti said.

Younger would have the $34,000 to repay the remainder of the outstanding money in 28 days, Mr Bioletti said.

Judge Roberts said if the $34,000 was returned to both Mr Moore and Barbara Coles, Younger would escape jail.

If he defaulted on either debt, the issue of imprisonment would be addressed at the new sentencing date on June 28, Judge Roberts said."

Source: Click HERE

The "unregulated" short-stay accommodation sector

The Motel Association of NZ (MANZ), are yet again revisiting the perennial bogey of the "unregulated" short-stay residential accommodation sector.

While I personally detest amateur accommodation providers operating from residential properties, I'm unable to bring myself to support the proposition that an additional layer of regulation should be imposed, or agree with the hysterical notion that residential properties if used for short term accommodation are "death-traps".
 
The fear I have with a grouping of moteliers advocating the imposition of regulation on another accommodation sector is that this could unleash a backlash of a protectionist bureaucratic regime across all accommodation sectors. It is concerning that this abhorrent possibility has been openly pontificated by MANZ before.

While the level playing field argument used by MANZ is compelling, realistically there is no fast solution.

Advocating for less regulation and changes in the rating regime based on closing the gap between business/private household rate differentials would appear to be more worthy priorities.

Interestingly this circular debate never seems to mention what the customer wants? If there is a trend for customers to bypass motels in favour of renting short-term residential accommodation, you have to ask the question: What is the motel industry doing differently to meet the changing wants and needs of customers?

Michael Baines, CEO of the New Zealand Motel Association, talks to Larry Williams about the unfair advantage they reckon is given to bed and breakfasts and holiday homes.  

Thursday, 23 May 2013, 9:57 am
Press Release: Motel Association of New Zealand

It’s time the accommodation sector had a level playing field, with sectors such as holiday homes and Bed & Breakfasts regulated and taxed to the same extent as other commercial providers, says the Motel Association of New Zealand (MANZ).

Regulation at both a central and local government level is colluding to create the uneven playing field, with the focus on the ‘traditional’ sectors such as motels and hotels which overlooks the huge growth in the use of private dwellings as commercial accommodation.

“It’s simply unfair that if I operate a motel I’m hit by a raft of taxes, levies and regulatory obligations yet if I rent out my house for short-term accommodation I can avoid all of this,” MANZ Chief Executive Michael Baines says.

Not only is this unfair it also raises serious safety questions Mr Baines says.

“If I operate a motel there are a number of requirements I have to meet to protect the safety of my guests, and rightly so. It is important to ensure that the building is up to scratch through a certificate of fitness and a fire plan,” Mr Baines says.
“Yet if I rent out a block of apartments as holiday flats then I avoid all these obligations – the building could be a death-trap and no-one would know. Is it going to take some kind of disaster in which lives are lost before authorities take this issue seriously?”

“It seems that central and local government are happy to sit back and clip the ticket for taxes and levies for motels and let the unregulated side of the sector do whatever they like.”
“We’re calling on central and local government to ensure a fair go for motels and their owner-operators by creating a level playing field. Protect the quality and the reputation of the Kiwi accommodation sector by clamping down on these uncontrolled and potentially unsafe providers,” Mr Baines concluded.

Ends

Source: Click HERE

Fully Booked? Refer Guests To Make Money

The accommodation industry awaits the next new and disruptive service provider to enter the market....

Roomixer probably won't be delivering that next game-changing big-idea, however the new start-up business has an interesting concept that may rapidly catch on.

Roomixer provides an online platform for accommodation businesses that are fully booked to trade business they are turning away.

The unique new service is especially attractive to large, busy accommodation businesses with strong brands that can offer a unique referral service to guests that are unable to be accommodated. Giving a prospective guest an alternative solution fits-in to a good customer service dynamic and is one way to maintain a positive relationship. Clipping the ticket along the way is an added bonus.

Roomixer, will earn revenue from commissions as well as fees charged on the money made by accommodation providers from buying and selling rooms via the platform.

In the NZ motel industry this is already happening on a more personal level. Moteliers can easily make informed referrals by using publicly available online room availability and sharing this information directly with customers. The free exchange of referral business by working-in with competing local accommodation providers is unique to the motel industry.

Admittedly local referrals between motels is more stronger in some areas than others, so maybe a service like Roomixer is a heads-up for moteliers? Old-school referrals using established connections have value and shouldn't be taken for granted.

So, will this new online service catch on?

Social Media WIN!

When your Twitter account is followed by a sex-toy retailer:

Voluntary Liquidation for Check-in.com.au

Oh dear!

My advice to any motelier that cares to listen, is to make the most of mainstream OTAs (Online Travel Agents) and use their influence to expose yourself to the world...

The news that Australian accommodation website Check-in.com.au has been placed in voluntary liquidation doesn't change my view - but it does make you wary and is a heads-up that even established OTAs are volatile in an environment of rising business costs, increasingly aggressive competition and customers' rapidly changing whims.

"Popular Australian accommodation website Check-in.com.au – which claims to have taken one million bookings since it was founded in 2002 – was today placed in voluntary liquidation and is no longer processing new bookings.

An email sent to the industry said there'll be a creditor's meeting in June and told hoteliers that if they are holding "future bookings to please contact the guest to arrange direct booking and payment.
"For a refund to be issued, please advise the guest to submit a claim to their credit card provider," the email said.

"If their credit card provider is unable to assist in providing the guest with a refund, the guest should contact the liquidator, Holzman Associates for further assistance."

Liquidator Manfred Holzman said he'd been only given the job today and declined to comment on the number and nature of creditors.

Check-in.com.au was founded by Managing Director Simon Isaacs 11 years ago.
The site has historically performed well in terms of traffic with Mr Isaacs telling TravelTrends.biz in 2010 that it was attracting 450,000 unique visitors a month.

However, at the time he said rising search engine marketing costs had become a major challenge for the business.

As result, Check-in.com.au increased commission to 15% to give it the extra funds it needed to better compete with the multi-national online travel agencies.

Mr Isaacs was contacted for comment but has not yet responded."

Source: Click HERE

Yet Another New Accommodation Sector

As Kiwi accommodation businesses enter the dreaded Winter season, the majority of motels situated away from the popular ski areas are hunkering down contemplating low-demand-survival.

With an ongoing squeeze on the domestic leisure market, motel operators are becoming increasingly wary of competing with the latest consumer trend of booking private homes for overnight stays.

Well known Kiwi hero-websites that are providing a platform and legitimacy for the emerging holiday home market are AA's Bookabach and TradeMe's Holiday Houses. These sites consistently feature in the top-10 most popular Kiwi websites and attract huge traffic flows from domestic travellers contemplating alternative short-term accommodation options.

And punters are spoiled for choice with an over abundance of Ma and Pa owners of surplus residential accommodation that crave to get some short-term rental action.

The market of available short term rentals is surprisingly huge with reselling sites, Bookabach claiming to have over 6,500 listings and Holiday Houses over 8,000. Not only are these fee collecting websites very successful, they are also providing convenient happy hunting grounds for the IRD;-)

Although guest nights for short term rentals of private homes are not recorded on the Statistics NZ's official accommodation survey, we reckon that holiday rentals while operating below the radar are New Zealand's fastest growing accommodation sector.

While we applaud any free market that brings willing sellers and buyers together, we have to wonder if the minimal rentals received by private property owners is worth the numerous risks of allowing the general public loose, unsupervised for a short-stay. For many property owners, the appeal of a quick-buck from short-term rental is soon tarnished after cleaning up after self-entitled-fee-paying-customers, shelling out for damage, increased wear-and-tear and the hassle of accounting for GST and other tax obligations - they pay tax don't they? 

Generally, short-term residential rentals aren't covered by commercial insurance, commercial WOF requirements and the public require a leap in faith when dealing with folksy residential building owners that apply varying degrees of contract agreement commitment, quality and cleaning standards.

As a motel operator, I struggle to understand, why some consumers would wish to negotiate around the landmines prevalent in the alternative accommodation sector that includes Guest Houses, B and Bs AND privately owned holiday homes.

Some time ago, I tripped across a new spin on alternative accommodation that has bewildered me with its apparent success. This involves the concept of renting out spare bedrooms within private residences - Ewww!

The new "rent-my-spare-room" accommodation sector seems to be a clarion call for crazy old ladies to invite strangers into their musty homes to show off their ballooning cat collection!

San Francisco based, Airbnb has been around since 2008 and has been the main innovator of this new subset of the alternative accommodation sector by providing an online service that commoditises spare rooms and other potentially dodgy short-term lodging for sale to a growing consumer base.

Airbnb claim to have over 300,000 listings in 33,000 cities and 192 countries. There is an embedded social aspect that gives this accommodation reselling platform a point of difference with mainstream accommodation sites. All listings are associated with a host (usually the occupier) whose profile includes recommendations by other users, reviews by previous guests, as well as a response rating and private messaging system.

So just how popular is Airbnb in New Zealand?

Go to their mobile/desktop website or download their easy to use app and you may be surprised at the motley swarm of empty bedrooms, sleep-outs etc available for rent in residential locations near you...

More Motel Discrimination

We've been closely following the evolving story of GK, the sex worker from the Gold Coast that habitually uses motels to conduct her trade.

In a landmark legal decision earlier this year, it was determined that motel operators across Australia, could find themselves in breach of the anti-discrimination laws that exist in every state if they try to turn away prostitutes.

The decision in GK's favour was based upon the simple premise that sex workers using a motel bed to conduct trade should be treated no differently from other guests (ie sales reps etc) that may conduct business in a motel room by using the telephone or internet.

In (hopefully) the last chapter of this story, the beleaguered operators of the Drovers Rest Motel at Moranbah have finally won their landmark case, overturning last year's tribunal decision.

Although the decision was greatly assisted by a rushed amendment to Queenland's Anti-Discrimination Act, it is pleasing that this supports "business owners' ability to decide about what does or does not occur on their premises."

Although discrimination laws in Australia and New Zealand are based on a similar premise, it would probably be a long-shot if a sex worker plying trade from a motel guest room in this country could successfully claim discrimination after being asked to leave. It would take very good legal representation acting for a "victimised sex worker to squeeze a result from our well established Human Rights Act.

It has to be kept in mind that when hurt feelings, entitlement and legal aid is involved, it's not inconceivable that any "undesirable" motel guest could construct case against a hapless Kiwi motel after enduring the humiliation of being refused entry or being tossed out. It's not unknown for courts and tribunals to interpret laws for the benefit of the individual over businesses.

Moteliers in order to protect their business and the peaceful enjoyment of the majority of their guests are required to turn away trade from time to time. Generally the best way for moteliers to manage this is to set tariff at a reasonable level in order to detract an undesirable element.

Although there are legal remidies that the public can persue for alledged discriminatory practices by accommodaqtion providers, probably the biggest consequence is the exposure from trial by media.

We've posted before about the "outrage" that followed the story in the media about accommodation providers in Myrtle Beach South Carolina, that have a location-based "discriminatory" policy of not accepting locals at their establishments. From an accommodation providers' point of view, we can see a sound logic to this policy.

Probably the most memorable local story of  discrimination based on location was the media frenzy that followed  the hapless Palmerston North motelier that directed his wrath upon all residents of Wainuiomata by announcing a ban upon anyone from the town that attempted to to stay at his motel. While the blanket ban was bizarre, extreme and probably bad for business, we defended the motelier's right to operate his business under this policy.

And we have also more recently posted on the lodge owners in Whangarei that exposed their naive bigotry tendencies by insisting that gay couples sleep twin beds. Clearly these zealots are in the wrong business!

Within the accommodation industry, sometimes it is necessary to discriminate in order to maximise returns and ensure happy returning guests. And by discrimination I don't mean turning business away based on race, religion, marital status, religious beliefs, sexual orientation etc - This type of discrimination is clearly a no-go zone!

However for good reason, some accommodation providers may have a policy of not accepting reservations from guests that: only want one-night over a long weekend, sports groups, wedding parties, school ball attendees, stag parties, working girls, locals etc. And this is acceptable...

Accommodation providers that have legitimate discriminatory guest policies should NEVER communicate these with the public. The public have an antenna for any perceived inequity and are quick to play victim with media that are more than willing to ramp up the angst. They will never understand why they could be denied and will always believe that they have a god-given "entitlement" to your services - They do not!

Motel Car Pool

There is something inherently funny about a car that ends up in a swimming pool - particually a motel swimming pool.

The Camry’s driver, who suffered injuries that were possibly life-threatening - not so funny...

Check out the dramatic incident caught on cam.

Patel-No-Tell-Motel

Taking yet another trip over on the dark side of motel-world, we came across, The California Inn. Located in Modesto California, nestled between a busy freeway and a baron industrial park, the motel seems to be typical example of a Patel-No-Tell-Motel that has seen better days.

A  fly-over using Google Maps reveals a classic U-shaped motel with a swimming pool that has been boarded-up, an unsightly shipping container strategically placed near the motel entrance and unkempt grounds.

  TripAdvisor pulls no punches:

This week, the motel has appeared on Fox News after a 14 day voyeuristic investigation into prostitution that is openly sold from the motel's guest rooms, Amsterdam style.

This is a sad indictment and reinforces the stereotype of seedy motels in America.

There are many reasons why New Zealand's motel industry isn't going down this pathway to Hell. Motels in this country offer relatively good value and quality standards. Our economic environment simply dictates that offering seedy, unkempt accommodation facilities is unsustainable (Housing New Zealand seems to have this covered;-)).

And maybe more liberal laws in this country such as legalising prostitution is another reason why The California Inn wouldn't last long in New Zealand.

It is gratifying that we need to look overseas in order to get our regular fix of the dark side of motelling ;-)

Motel Granny Flats?

Here's something a little different...

Generally a motel that is past its best use is demolished to make way for a new-use development that can pay its way and make good of well located land.

Before this occurs, often the motel owners will bide their time and rent the guest rooms on a weekly basis to locals, while others push this theme a little further and unit-title the guest rooms to individually flog them off.

The transition of a motel providing overnight accommodation to the travelling public, to a commercial housing development that accommodates permanent residents is a rocky road that often doesn't turn out well. Unless a lot of money is tipped into the project, a converted motel accommodating permanent residents has a tendency to quickly turn into a ghetto of social rejects.

I see that the Kiwi Motel in Alexandra after falling on tough times, have refurbished their motel in bold funky tones and are planning to market the guest rooms to the local aged community as permanent rentals.

I wonder how that will work out?

"Mature Alexandra residents struggling to find suitable housing could soon have some relief.

Kiwi Motel owners Janet and Philip Lucas have applied to the Central Otago District Council to have the motel's land-use consent changed to allow the units at the motel to become permanent rentals.
There were seven units in total, three with two bedrooms and four with one bedroom, which were used for travellers' accommodation.

However, because of a shift in the motel industry in Alexandra with other businesses expanding and clientele bases being lost, it was proving uneconomical to run a motel with fewer then 12 units, Mrs Lucas said.

''This is the time of the year when occupancy drops and everyone is scrabbling to fill their places,'' she said.

After speaking with real estate agents she found there was a ''gap in the market'' for mature people's accommodation and realised the units would be prefect for someone looking to down-size and not have the responsibility of maintenance.

About 25 per cent of Alexandra's population were over the age of 65, higher than the national average.

The units, which had undergone a stylish upgrade during the past 18 months, were fully self-contained, apart from a shared laundry; fully furnished; had managed grounds, and were close to amenities.

Council planning team leader Ann Rodgers said in the district plan a multi-unit development needed to have 250sqm per residential unit.

Kiwi Motels were over that code.

Council was considering the application"