For a locally owned business like Relax it's Done, giving something back to the place you love is always a win-win.

The luxury accommodation and property management company, which has built a portfolio of 30 villas, holiday homes, and apartments over the past two decades since 2003, has become an Impact Partner for Love Queenstown.

Co-owner Sarah McIlwrick says the team is passionate about sharing our beautiful region with guests from around the world and know Queenstown's landscapes and environment provide more than just a stunning backdrop for a tourism experience, they are the product itself.

And the team and their families enjoy the great outdoors as much as the guests.

"It's really important for us to help protect the local environment as it isn’t just part of the experience, it is the product,” she says.

“It underpins the visitor experience - our guests hit the bike and walking trails, they enjoy the lakes and the mountains, skiing in winter and tramping in summer. That immersion in nature, that's the main reason they come here, especially the high-end guests.

"For us, as locals, it's just as important because we love our backyard. We want the waterways protected, we want more native trees and more birds in those trees, fewer pests."

Impact Partners donate 1% of their net proceeds to Love Queenstown or Love Wānaka each year. These funds are pooled for collective impact, before being on-allocated to local charitable organisations who deliver tangible environmental mahi / action in the region.

Sarah says the work of conservationists, such as the Whakatipu Wildlife Trust, which received a $9,800 grant from Love Queenstown for its Community Biodiversity Monitoring Programme in 2025, is already starting to bear fruit.

WWT is dedicated to creating a predator-free environment around Lake Whakatipu, with its passionate volunteer network removing around 13,000 predators each year.

"Everyone says there are definitely more birds in the trees than there used to be, five or ten years ago. Just the other morning, we had a call from one of our guests at 6am to say the spa pool would not stop beeping - but it turned out it was birds making the noise!"

Love Queenstown also invests 20% of everything raised into a local endowment fund, managed by the 45South Community Foundation. This fund will grow over time, enabling long-term, substantial funding opportunities to support this work long into the future.

These initiatives provide a more direct way for industry operators and the wider business community to give-back and help protect the Queenstown Lakes environment. Large businesses can opt to make a single donation of $10,000 or more per year to join the Impact Partner Programme.

Established in 2023, Love Wānaka and Love Queenstown have so far awarded over $145,000 in local impact grants, invested more than $35,000 for future impact, and planted 9,000+ native trees with industry and volunteer support.

"The endowment fund is great because, as a small business, it means we can have a bigger impact over the years, than we could making other charitable donations,” Sarah says. “We live here too, our children are growing up here, so we want that long-term vision."

Sarah says Relax it's Done will also provide information about Love Queenstown to guests and the owners of the properties the company manages, so they can all make direct donations if they also feel the love.

While short-stay accommodation often gets the blame for some social ills, guests tend to stay longer, reducing their carbon footprint, which is one of the aims of Queenstown Lakes destination management plan Travel to a Thriving Future.

The average length of stay in Relax it's Done properties is six nights, compared to 2.8 in commercial accommodation.

"They stay longer and really get to experience Queenstown at a slower pace and relax in the mountain air. They love it here as much as we do."

For Love Queenstown, partnerships like this are a vital part of building momentum across the visitor economy, Ash Bickley, Community Fund Coordinatorfor Love Queenstown and Love Wānaka, says.

“Relax it’s Done is a great example of a local business recognising that tourism and community go hand in hand,” Ash says.

“Support from Impact Partners helps us to continue backing projects that protect the environment and strengthen our community - for locals and visitors alike.”