It’s a dispute that’s left at least 215 parties with forward bookings stranded for accommodation and collectively out of pocket for almost $100,000.
Arrowtowners Mark Samways and Ken Wimsett, who settled on Dana Hemingway’s boutique hotel on September 13, after which it stopped trading, have begun legal proceedings against the latter, alleging "multiple breaches of the sale and purchase agreement".
They also promise any remaining funds considered on settlement to be guest deposits, will be returned to the vendor on settlement of the action.
After buying the hotel, Samways and Wimsett had planned to subdivide the land and buildings and sell off individual titles.
In an email to stranded guests, their Queenstown accountant, Kenny Frisby, says his clients originally intended settling the hotel in March and then running it till the end of the ski season.
However, just weeks out, they learned Hemingway’s company, Hipzone, couldn’t provide clear title to the property due to a dispute with his family.
By September, when settlement was finally achieved, Frisby says his clients had suffered "crippling legal costs", so they decided to on-sell the property.
He alleges this delay was "a serious breach of vendor warranties and undertakings in a sale and purchase agreement". On settlement, Hemingway claimed he passed on to Samways and Wimsett’s company $40,156 in deposits for 63 forward bookings.
The latter, who originally helped out some stranded guests, stopped doing this when they say they weren’t given a full schedule of forward bookings.
They claim, however, Hemingway continued to take bookings after the hotel shut.
Samways and Wimsett have now found records of 215 forward bookings from September 13 totalling $95,872.59.
In his email, Frisby urges guests go back to the entity they paid, Hipzone, to recover funds.
Hemingway replied to Mountain Scene after this week’s deadline — we’ll publish his response next week.
‘Where’s our money gone?’
Among stranded pre-booked Arrow Hotel guests is former world triathlon champ, Auckland-based Rick Wells (right).
In August, he and his partner paid former owner Dana Hemingway $1597.50 for a five-night stay in late September to celebrate his birthday, only to get a cancellation email about four days out.
Their Queenstown holiday then became an expensive exercise when they stayed at a dearer Airbnb instead.
Wells doesn’t know whether to blame Hemingway or purchasers Mark Samways and Ken Wimsett — "what gets us, is between the three of them someone’s got that money".
He says it would be different if the case had been a receivership.
"It’s disappointing and something you don’t expect to happen in New Zealand."
