PHOTO: Taupō, New Zealand. FILE
According to STUFF a housing and staff crisis plaguing Taupō hospitality sector might have finally met its match – a five-course dinner and homemade bread.
Restaurantuers Nora and Phillip Blackburne, who operate Embra restaurant have faced an ongoing battle to house staff in the holiday town and in frustration, offered on social media the biggest tool at their disposal – fine dining.
“We put a post up asking if anyone would want to host a German couple, and we offered a five-course meal for two, with matching wines and also my husband makes pretty good sourdough”
It was successful and the Blackburnes were able to get them accommodation for the three weeks.
They’ve used the same approach this week with more success.
“We are a 30-seat restaurant, and we don’t have the facilities to offer accommodation to our staff members. We were wanting to take on a Czech couple for three months, but when they were looking to move to Taupō there was basically nothing, to little, available,” Nora said.
Blackburne said it is hard as often the staff aren’t wanting long-term accommodation and also at the moment the town’s holiday homes are booked up or the price is out of reach.
So with the Czech couple struggling, Blackburne offered the same posting on Instagram.
“We have been inundated with offers. We were like, wow. It is quite nice that when we needed help the community responded.”
The response shows Blackburne there are the rooms out there.
“It appears people aren’t ready to rent them out or maybe with Airbnb fees people aren’t listing”
Blackburne said it is hard dealing with this while also contending with a staff shortage.
In December the Restaurant Association estimated 30,000 workers were needed for New Zealand’s restaurants, cafes and bars over the summer.
Eighty per cent of Restaurant Association members were not fully staffed, 92% had found it difficult to recruit for a mid-senior level position and 65% had found it difficult to recruit for junior level positions, said association chief executive Marisa Bidois.
This was familiar to Blackburne.
“We’ve been looking for a chef, advertising on and off for a couple of months. We’ve been able to fill the front of house because of the backpackers, but it is a temporary situation.
“We need staff but can’t provide the accommodation, so we just throw in a little bit of bread as a sweetener.”
Currently, Phillip is the chef and Nora is running front of house.
“Ultimately chefs seem to be the hardest part at the moment. We’ve been advertising for a couple of months. We’ve had a lot of interest from overseas but (applicants) are required to be sponsored so we aren’t looking at doing that at the moment.”
She said the staffing shortage has been hard.
“It’s good we have the borders open and good to get some backpackers and travellers helping.
The restaurant, which offers a “contemporary dining experience” has been open for a year.
“We aren’t the only ones in a position like this. There is the cost of living, food and staff wages we have to contend with too”
Blackburne said they have enjoyed a good summer with Taupō having been busy over the holiday period.
Blackburne has forwarded the accommodation offers to the Czech couple.
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