Press Room

A fresh, collborative, community-led approach has breathed life into a new Tourism Concept.

The concept is a fusion between traditional hotels and cloud-based software.

It provides singles, couples and small groups with a clean, safe and more regenerative way to travel.

Jemma and Philip McDonald welcomed the Holiday Season with an extra special gift under the Christmas Tree this year.

They were winners of the Major Raffle Prize for The Festival in the Gardens fundraising event presented by the Zonta Club of Rotorua, held at Palmers in late 2020.

The prize draw was sponsored by local Accommodation and Events company Look After Me. 

When it comes to looking after her guests, Viv Cooper is a pro. For 14 years she's run a bed and breakfast in Rotorua.

Accommodation around New Zealand has taken a major hit in the wake of Covid-19. But revealing new statistics suggest that bed and breakfast providers like Viv may stand to benefit from a new wave of travellers.

The Queen's High Tea was was one of many 'Keep Calm and Carry On' Events held around the country at Queen's Birthday Weekend.

It was aimed at bringing support to local tourism operators and cafe owners following the lockdown.

A Rotorua event manager is using the power of technology to host a Queen's Birthday high tea party nationwide.

The initiative called Keep Calm and Carry On aims to hold virtual and real tea party events in Dunedin and Rotorua.

Once NZ moves to a lower alert level, 62% of New Zealanders are ‘extremely likely’ to travel nationally.

Cleanliness is now the number one factor that will influence guests buying decisions, nudging ahead of price. Location, comfort and wi-fi were also considerations.

We hosted a debate on the possible Bed Tax that may be applied across the industry. It was open to home-owners, hoteliers, local businesses, government officials, and anyone interested in bettering New Zealand.

Tourism Ticker talked to Look After Me’s founder and tech entrepreneur, Julia Anne (formerly Charity), on establishing New Zealand’s largest homestay network.

They also discussed expanding to include Creative Events and Educational Festivals and navigating some of the difficulties involved with pioneering the shared access economy in New Zealand.

 Dr Julia Charity was interviewed on the Podcast series, Not A Real Job, and explained how her Digital Hotel Business has become a full time job for her. 

Despite an estimated 60,000 people expected to visit Dunedin during Easter, plenty of accommodation is still available in the city, providers say.

Otago Motel Association executive member Michael Young, who owns 858 on George Street, said accommodation was still available at the city’s motels over the weekend, as many people had booked before they secured concert tickets and ended up changing their bookings.

The evening of Thursday 8 February saw Dunedin’s heritage listed Penthouse on Stafford street, staging the launch of the world’s first completely digital hotel.

Entrepreneur, Dr Julia Charity, launched her new digital hotel, with the help of the Mayor of Dunedin, His Worship Dave Cull, and actress Rebecca Gibney. Homeowners can now take advantage of a new web-based platform, to offer their spare rooms and the comfort of their homes for hire.

Dunedin Entrepreneur Dr Julia Charity was interviewed by Jeff Harford on the Oarsome Morning Show about her Digital Hotel business.

Julia tells us about the story behind Look After Me and her latest intitiative in Dunedin. 

Dunedin entrepreneur Julia Charity has come up with the novel concept of a "pop-up" digital 1000-bed hotel in the city to cope with the influx of visitors during major events.

Dr Charity is now looking for at least 400 homeowners willing to host guests for summer events, such as the Ed Sheeran concerts, and beyond.

A Dunedin entrepreneur is launching a campaign to increase the city’s accommodation capacity for major concerts and sporting events by giving homeowners a slice of the action.

Dr Julia Charity, a scientist, entrepreneur and recent arrival in the city, is launching a “Sharin’ for Sheeran” campaign, creating a digital hotel under the umbrella of her nationwide Look After Me accommodation network.

Rotorua-founded business, Look After Me, has announced the appointment of a new Director with effect from 1 August 2017.

With over 55 years experience in New Zealand’s tourism industry, Mike Johnson brings a wealth of experience, including twenty-five years owning an international tourism marketing company and involvement with national tourism bodies.

By Monica Lewis

Traveling incites some wonderful sayings. One of my favourite quotes is this;

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

I couldn’t agree more and personally I’d like to read all the pages and see the greenest of grass on the other side. But even if you have retired we may have the time to travel, there is the sordid question of the 'means'.

When one grows-up, intrepid travel does seem less romantic. Sleeping in a tent or in bunk beds in a dormitory loses its appeal for some of us and understandably so. There are the physical restrictions once the bones have gone weary. 

For each of the five candles on her technology start-up company’s birthday cake, founder Dr Julia Charity has a reason to celebrate.

Charity’s company, ‘Look After Me’ launched in July 2011, ahead of the Rugby World Cup. It is an on-line market place that sells accommodation for short-term stays all over New Zealand.

HomeExchange and Look After Me announced a partnership that enables Look After Me members to register with HomeExchange and swap homes with 65,000 listings around the world.

Look After Me customers can now create an account on HomeExchange with their existing User email and Password and become active members of the international community. A badge on their profile shows guests and hosts that they are also a member of the world’s largest home exchange network.

Look After Me - online accommodation market place has been judged as one of New Zealand's Innovative companies, securing a place as Finalist in the Marketing and Communications Category.