Ann-Marie Johnson: Bed and Breakfast Association President on the busiest summer ever for some Kiwi hosts

This summer has served up the busiest summer ever for some Kiwi bed and breakfast hosts. 

Modern accommodation has taken off in recent years, with the likes of Airbnb promising ease and comfort to customers. But Bed and Breakfast Association President Ann-Marie Johnson says traditional is the way to go. 

"It's an opportunity to meet real Kiwi's, learn more about our way of life and customs," she said. 

What have tourists said about New Zealand's b&b's this summer? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bed and breakfasts of the traditional type of taking off. Apparently,
it's been the busiest summer ever. And this is exactly
the type of music I imagine they would play when
you walk into a bed and breakfast accompanying some good chat,
hearty chat. Anyway, it's been the busiest summer ever, apparently,
according to some of those operating the boutique at home
experiences here in New Zealand, and hosts are already seeing

(00:20):
bookings for twenty twenty six.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Am.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Marie Johnson is a Bed and Breakfast Association president. He's
with us this morning. Emory, Good morning, Marianna, thanks for
being with me. First of all, are you, I'm assuming
you own an air a bed and breakfast yourself.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well, actually, Ryan, I don't. I was brought on to
the board as a representative of the wider tourism industry.
I was working for industry altro or at the time,
and so I bring a different set of skills to
the board.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Okay, but you're obviously.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Very happy to talk about b and bs.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
You're in charge, So convince me why should I book
a B and B when I can book any Airbnb
and have no one in the house.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Well, I think that's the whole point, Ryan, is that
you have the opportunity to stay with people in their
own homes to actually for especially for our international visitors,
it's an opportunity to meet real keyws, learn more about
our way of life and our customs. And of course,
when you're new into the country, you can not necessarily

(01:22):
know all the best things to do, and so our
hosts are able to offer that really personalized, unique experience
of being able to tell visitors what they can do
in the local area and be able to really really
tailor that experience to their own interests.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
And people are doing this more and more. You had
a good year this year last year.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Rather, yes, we did. A lot of our members are
telling us it's they're having their best season ever and
that's even from pre COVID, So that really shows that
there is demand for this type of personalized, unique experience.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
So the Airbnb thing is that making your life easier
or harder? Are you getting more business because you can
book bmb's through Airbnb as well, or are they stealing
cutting your lunch?

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Well, it's a bit of both. Actually, many of our
members actually do market their properties on those platforms like
Airbnb or the other platforms that are out there. But
it also does create a bit of confusion around what
customers are booking if it's not absolutely clear whether it's

(02:33):
a hosted experience or an unhosted property.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
All right, nice one, Emory, Thank you very much for that,
Emory Johnson, Bed and Breakfast Association President. For more from
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