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MIQ with a stranger, home for Xmas?

Brianna Mcilraith

Quarantining with a stranger to have a better chance at getting an MIQ spot may be a reality for many Kiwis desperate to get home this Christmas.

MIQhelpers, a third-party operator that charged people for help making bookings under the previous MIQ system, has been working with specialised travel agents to launch a pilot of MIQbuddies.

According to the website, the service allows people who would usually quarantine alone, to do it with someone else to have a better chance at gaining a spot.

Since each passport-holder in a multi-person travel group is able to register for room release events separately, when anyone in the multi-person group gets to the front of the ‘‘virtual queue’’ and obtains an MIQ reservation, the whole group gets to travel.

Individuals who register for the same event and travel alone don’t have the same chance.

The move will also save homebound travellers money as MIQbuddies can share the cost and pay $2025 each. The first occupant of the room is charged $3100 but a second occupant is charged only $950.

MIQhelpers found 70 per cent of customers were individuals who occupied a double room while quarantining.

If this was the same percentage across the entire MIQ system, then the facilities are under-used by about 50 per cent, it said,

‘‘Theoretically, an additional 90,000-plus people might have been able to make it to New Zealand over this past year.’’

A network of travel agents will team clients up with other travellers based on target arrival dates, gender and country from which they started their journey to New Zealand.

The site is run by Aaron Athfield, who also owns Ceefa Software.

In July, MIQhelpers came under fire and had a Commerce Commission complaint laid against it after charging customers up to $2300 to secure a place in MIQ.

At the time Athfield, said it had a real-time pricing engine which stepped in to slow down or speed up the rate at which new applications arrive by adjusting its success fee.

Taking part in the MIQbuddies pilot is currently free, the only cost being quarantine.

Athfield has been contacted for comment.

MBIE spokesman Simon Lambourne directed questions about the system to the MBIE website. ‘‘In general, people are able to book rooms with friends or colleagues by using the group registration,’’ the website said.

Business

en-nz

2021-10-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

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