Back to the future for Methven ihub?

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

There will be an investigation into Methven’s ihub returning to booking agency services, the same activity that wasn't working and had the town's i-site shut three years ago.

The Ashburton District Council has accepted a request from the the Mt Hutt Memorial Board, where the ihub is situated, to investigate the Methven ihub becoming a booking agent, with the council to weigh up the economic benefit.

Chief executive Hamish Riach reminded councillors that the i-site in Ashburton was closed and Methven’s restructured in 2017 due a decline in revenue for bookings before the Methven i-site then closed in 2020, only to be reborn as the Methven ihub, an information centre without online booking services.

“The i-site lost money and was closed to form the ihub,” Riach said.

There may have been a shift in demand which was worth investigating he said, and there will be upfront costs in setting up as a booking agent to consider, as part of the investigation.

Deputy mayor Liz McMillan, who attended the board meeting, said the request had come from the people working at the ihub who were receiving a number of booking inquiries, particularly for the Ōpuke Thermal Pools.

Currently, the ihub is only able to pass on information to visitors.

“They still feel there is an element of visitors that would benefit from using a service where they could call up a motel and make the booking on their behalf for example,” democracy and engagement group manager Toni Durham, said.

“They don’t have that ability at this stage, they just pass on contact details.”

As a booking agent they would receive income from making the bookings.

“There would be a little bit of income but there would be a cost as well so we would need to go away and understand what those numbers look like before we decided to go that way or not.”

Once the investigation is complete, a report will go before the council for a decision.

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