- A former backpackers hostel in Freemans Bay is for sale for the first time in 22 years.
- Owners Seema and Suresh Chatly converted it into a boarding house during the Covid pandemic.
- The property, with a CV of $3.15 million, is zoned for development and has attracted buyer interest.
A former backpackers hostel in one of Auckland's wealthiest suburbs has come up for sale for the first time in 22 years.
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Vendors Seema and Suresh Chatly, who own several accommodation businesses across Auckland, bought 65 Wellington Street, in Freemans Bay, at the end of 2002 for $610,000 and turned what had been a bed and breakfast joint into a popular hub for backpackers.
"We had middle-aged people from Germany, from France. They would want to sit and talk and have breakfast. It had beautiful vibes, and it was fully booked at that time," Seema told OneRoof.
The property has a 2021 CV $3.15m. Much of the value is tied up in the 546sqm section it sits on. The site is zoned for development. Photo / Supplied
“But we ended up buying another backpacker lodge and I felt a backpacker lodge was less work than a bed and breakfast.
“Backpackers are the easiest ones to deal with. You just tell the rules, and they listen. They won't come and argue with you. You don't have to prepare breakfast [for them] in the morning.”
Seema said the Freemans Backpackers Lodge was a hit with visitors. "It was a top-rated hostel in New Zealand. In the Lonely Planet, we were very, very famous. We kept it very clean and very safe - the two things backpackers need.”
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Some guests stayed for longer than others, and those with working holiday visas often got jobs locally and stayed on, Seema said.
Like many in the tourism industry, the couple struggled during the Covid pandemic. They ended up turning the Freemans Backpackers Hostel into a boarding house.
“Because there were no backpackers coming and a shortage of staff, when we opened it again, we ended up making it into a boarding house,” she said. “We got the people who wanted to stay for long-term accommodation, rather than keeping it empty.”
The current boarding house tenants pay weekly rents, and the building can be sold as a going concern with tenants or without, Seema told OneRoof.
"If you ask me, I would want to make it a backpacker lodge. In Ponsonby, there used to be five backpacker lodges. Now there's only one left.”
The property features a mix of single and double rooms. It has been listed for sale several times over the last three years. Photo / Supplied
Seema said the couple were selling the property, which has a CV of $3.15 million, because of a change in business strategy. “This was our first place, from where we started. We have moved on. It is very close to my heart. I would be happy to make it a backpacker lodge again and run it by myself. But I've got other commitments.”
Barfoot & Thompson agent Luke Dallow, who formerly owned and managed several hospitality businesses in the area, told OneRoof many of his staff had started their New Zealand adventures at the Freemans Backpackers Lodge.
“They're full of colourful people,” he said. “All my staff used to live in these boarding houses and backpackers before finding their own flat.
"The location's fantastic and unfortunately with Covid, they took a hit. But now that the backpackers are coming back, I see it as a promising business going forward."
The boarding house was on average 85% full, so the return on investment was good, Dallow said. “It's a bit of gold that needs to be polished up because it provides great income, it has multiple rooms, and has so many options. You can redevelop it if you want or keep it as it is. It’s a real nugget.”
The property is zoned for development and sits in the THAB zone, which meant a new owner could bowl the lodge and build three townhouses on the 546sqm site.
Dallow said the property had attracted interest from buyers looking to keep it as an accommodation business. "No developers yet, but good interest.”
He joked: “It needs a bit of loving. I'd stay the night there, but I wouldn't do two, and I wouldn't take my girlfriend there."
He said the small corner of Freemans Bay where the backpackers is situated had a “rich and colourful history”. “There used to be all the opium dens, and so forth in that area. And the police weren’t allowed to go there in twos, in the 1950s and 60s. They had to go down there in eights.”
- 65 Wellington Street, Freemans Bay, Auckland, is for sale by negotiation
