Shared local infrastructure
Support for the systems, facilities and public amenities that residents, workers and visitors all depend on.
A practical way for visitor accommodation to contribute back to the place that makes every stay possible.
Lake Tekapo gives a lot to tourism. We believe tourism should give something back. So every Ohana Tekapo reservation includes a Community Infrastructure Contribution, collected to support the local community and the infrastructure visitors rely on.
Every Ohana Tekapo stay includes a contribution that goes back into the local community.
for local community and infrastructure support, with the total continuing to grow as people stay with Ohana.
We don't think the right answer is to pretend short-stay accommodation has no impact. The better answer is to contribute.
Lake Tekapo is a small community welcoming a very large number of visitors. Every stay relies on local roads, water and wastewater systems, public spaces, rubbish services, local businesses and the people who keep the town running.
That creates a simple responsibility. If we benefit from operating here, we should help support the place we operate in. The Community Infrastructure Contribution is one practical part of that commitment.
This isn't a donation prompt at checkout and it isn't something guests have to remember to opt into. The contribution is part of every Ohana Tekapo reservation.
Each Ohana Tekapo reservation starts the process automatically.
The Community Infrastructure Contribution is added to the reservation.
Thousands of small contributions become something meaningful at community scale.
The purpose is practical support for Tekapo's community, infrastructure and local needs.
Short-stay accommodation is part of Tekapo's visitor economy, and that comes with both benefits and pressures. Our position is straightforward: professional operators should be willing to be accountable, meet appropriate standards and make a fair contribution to the communities they operate in.
The Community Infrastructure Contribution sits alongside the rates and applicable council contributions connected with the properties and developments we own. It is an extra step we have chosen to build into the guest experience.
More visitors create more demand. Responsible tourism starts by acknowledging that.
Turn the principle into a mechanism that happens on every single reservation.
Work constructively with the community, council and local operators as Tekapo evolves.
The fund exists to help turn visitor activity into tangible support for the place hosting that activity. The priorities can evolve as the needs of Tekapo change.
Support for the systems, facilities and public amenities that residents, workers and visitors all depend on.
Practical community support where a relatively small contribution can make a useful local difference.
Housing pressure is a real issue. We want our wider community work to include support for the local workforce and urgent accommodation needs where we can help.
Current contribution: $5 on every Ohana Tekapo reservation.
Collected to date: $50,000+ and counting.
It's easy to talk about being part of a community. We think the more useful question is what that means in practice.
For us, it means recognising that visitor accommodation uses local infrastructure, making contribution automatic rather than optional, and being open to sensible conversations about how commercial short-stay operators can support Tekapo sustainably over the long term.
The Tekapo contribution is one part of a wider Ohana approach: use the accommodation network, local presence and resources we already have to help where they can be genuinely useful.
Ohana has a local operating presence in Lake Tekapo, with a growing managed portfolio and people working in the community every day.
We support practical solutions around workforce housing and have publicly signalled a willingness to work constructively with council and other operators.
Across the wider Ohana network, we also partner with One Mother to Another to provide complimentary accommodation to families navigating difficult circumstances.
No complicated language. Just the practical details behind the contribution.
No. A $5 Community Infrastructure Contribution is included with every Ohana Tekapo reservation. It is designed to make contributing back part of the booking itself, rather than relying on optional donations.
No. This is an Ohana initiative. It is separate from council rates, development contributions and any other statutory charges that may apply to properties or developments.
More than $50,000+ has been collected so far for local community and infrastructure support, and the amount continues to grow with each reservation.
Tekapo is one of Ohana's most important short-stay markets, but more importantly it is a small community carrying the infrastructure and workforce demands of a major visitor destination. We believe that makes local contribution especially important.
We think there is a constructive conversation to be had about how professional visitor accommodation can contribute fairly to the communities it operates in. We are focused first on doing our part and sharing a model that is simple, practical and transparent.
When you stay with Ohana in Lake Tekapo, the Community Infrastructure Contribution is already part of your reservation.