Lost luggage heads home from Christchurch
A Tiffany diamond bracelet - found wrapped in a sock - and a shoe collection are among precious items returned to grateful overseas owners after being recovered from earthquake-hit Christchurch, New Zealand hotels.
Following the February 22 earthquake hundreds of visitors had to return home leaving belongings in cordoned-off hotels.
Retrieving the luggage had been a difficult and lengthy operation, but in recent weeks hotel teams had been painstakingly retrieving, bagging up and dispatching luggage around the globe, NZ Hotel Council executive officer Rachael Shadbolt said.
"Over 750 pieces of luggage have been retrieved from rooms in NZHC member hotels and returned to 37 countries around the world as well as to 200 addresses in New Zealand," said Ms Shadbolt.
Messages of thanks included one from an Australian visitor who emailed: "Perfect perfect perfect! I dreamt last night that my luggage arrived and today it’s here (a girl needs her shoes)."
Items which took some effort to locate included thousands of dollars in US and other foreign banknotes hidden in a fake drinks can, and a child’s precious teddy bear.
Carefully planned process
Scott Wallace, Millennium and Copthorne South Island operations director, said that recovering luggage had been a difficult operation.
Hotel teams liaised closely with CERA - the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority - and the process was carefully planned to ensure minimum time inside buildings.
"We used a crane for some upper storeys," said Wallace. "A window was removed at the end of each corridor. We then went through the rooms, packed what we could into suitcases and anything that didn’t fit was sealed in strong plastic bags.
"The luggage was then passed out of the window, lowered to the ground by crane and delivered to DHL couriers to return to the owners throughout the world. However in some hotels suitcases had to be carried out manually - quite a task when it was on the tenth floor."
Precious sock
One of the more unusual items recovered was a $10,000 diamond Tiffany bracelet belonging to a guest who had been part of an exclusive tour, Wallace said.
"They provided us with a list of everything that had been in the room and, a couple of weeks later, emailed again to say they had forgotten to mention the bracelet," he said.
"Sure enough, when we gained access to the room, we found it in its Tiffany box, at the bottom of the suitcase, wrapped in a sock."
Happy customers
The crane was also used to recover luggage from 120 rooms in the Heritage Hotel on Cathedral Square.
"We labelled everything up in the room before passing it on to DHL for delivery," Heritage Hotel manager Gary Jarvis said.
"People were so delighted to get their luggage back. One couple in Texas even sent us a photograph of the DHL man delivering their luggage to their home.
"We also had a message from an Australian family to say their child’s much loved Steiff teddy bear had not been among their returned belongings. We went back to the hotel room and found it hidden among the bedding."
NZHC hotels’ staff kept former guests regularly updated on developments via email and websites which had ensured considerable goodwill, Scott Wallace said.
Letters from Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker and the hotel group accompanied each consignment of returned luggage.
Christchurch update
Meanwhile, with snow falling heavily on the Southern Alps ski fields, Rugby World Cup looming, and the city in recovery mode, there is plenty to do in the region, according to Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism chief executive Tim Hunter.
Christchurch is looking forward to celebrating Rugby World Cup 2011 and a series of REAL New Zealand festival events in the weeks to come.
During the rugby tournament, Hagley Park in Christchurch will operate as a central fan zone where rugby-mad Cantabrians and visitors can gather to watch games and live entertainment.
As well as watching RWC matches live on giant screens, fans will have the chance to remember past rugby heroics in an inflatable ‘World Ruck’ dome showcasing Christchurch’s rich rugby history.
The new temporary entertainment centre will also provide a central hub for events in the tournament lead up.
Fans coming to New Zealand for Rugby World Cup should keep Canterbury on their itineraries because no other region had such a rich rugby heritage or a warmer welcome, Hunter said.
Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism says there’s accommodation available within the city and in the outlying regions.
More information