Resort News, November 2019 by Multimedia AU/NZ

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Issue 279 | November 2019 | $13.75 inc. GST

The Monthly Magazine for Accommodation Industry Professionals

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Picture Point Terraces: Secluded, but no less wow

Kingscliff Accommodation Group: One and one makes six management rights • hotels • motels • resorts • holiday parks • time share • hosted We specialise in furniture for hotels, motels, serviced apartments, resorts and refurbishments.

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The legal stuff...

The views and images expressed in Resort News do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The information contained in Resort News is intended to act as a guide only, the publisher, authors and editors expressly disclaim all liability for the results of action taken or not taken on the basis of information contained herein. We recommend professional advice is sought before making important business decisions.

Inside our November issue FRONT DESK Editor's Note: Playing the long game…............................ 03

Advertising Conditions The publisher reserves the right to refuse to publish or to republish without any explanation for such action. The publisher, it’s employees and agents will endeavour to place and reproduce advertisements as requested but takes no responsibility for omission, delay, error in transmission, production deficiency, alteration of misplacement. The advertiser must notify the publisher of any errors as soon as they appear, otherwise the publisher accepts no responsibility for republishing such advertisements. If advertising copy does not arrive by the copy deadline the publisher reserves the right to repeat existing material.

Disclaimer Any mention of a product, service or supplier in editorial is not indicative of any endorsement by the author, editor or publisher. Although the publisher, editor and authors do all they can to ensure accuracy in all editorial content, readers are advised to fact check for themselves, any opinion or statement made by a reporter, editor, columnist, contributor, interviewee, supplier or any other entity involved before making judgements or decisions based on the materials contained herein. Resort News, its publisher, editor and staff, is not responsible for and does not accept liability for any damages, defamation or other consequences (including but not limited to revenue and/or profit loss) claimed to have occurred as the result of anything contained within this publication, to the extent permitted by law. Advertisers and Advertising Agents warrant to the publisher that any advertising material placed is in no way an infringement of any copyright or other right and does not breach confidence, is not defamatory, libellous or unlawful, does not slander title, does not contain anything obscene or indecent and does not infringe the Consumer Guarantees Act or other laws, regulations or statutes. Moreover, advertisers or advertising agents agree to indemnify the publisher and its’ agents against any claims, demands, proceedings, damages, costs including legal costs or other costs or expenses properly incurred, penalties, judgements, occasioned to the publisher in consequence of any breach of the above warranties. © 2019 Multimedia Pty Ltd. It is an infringement of copyright to reproduce in any way all or part of this publication without the written consent of the publisher.

INDUSTRY

News in Brief…........................................................................... 04 Person of Interest: Col Myers a quiet force.................. 08 ARAMA Report..........................................................................10 State Report................................................................................11 BCCM Report.............................................................................12 SCA Report.................................................................................13 MANAGEMENT Legal Ease….................................................................................14 By All Accounts.........................................................................15 Thinking MR................................................................................16 Motel Market..............................................................................16 Management Q&A: Trust accounts and the audit process.............................18 Manager's Missive...................................................................19 Good Governance................................................................... 20 Intonet......................................................................................... 22

Rental Review........................................................................... 23 Strata Trends..............................................................................24 Housekeeping........................................................................... 25 TOURISM Tourism Report…...................................................................... 26 Tourism International............................................................ 30 The Last Resort.........................................................................31 EVENTS & APPOINTMENTS

PO Box 1080, Noosaville BC, Queensland, Australia 4566 Phone: (07) 5440 5322 Fax: (07) 5604 1680 mail@accomnews.com.au www.accomnews.com.au

EDITOR Trish Riley, editor@accomnews.com.au STAFF WRITERS Kate Jackson

Events…........................................................................................ 32 Appointments........................................................................... 33 DEVELOPMENTS: Development News…............................................................. 34 PROPERTY

DESIGN & PRODUCTION Richard McGill, production@accomnews.com.au

AccomProperties Sales Report…...................................... 40

ADVERTISING Stewart Shimmin, advertising@accomnews.com.au

Agent Profile: Bobo Qi, Property Bridge..........................41

Agent Profile: Charles Nurse, Stratacorp....................... 40

SUBSCRIPTIONS Gavin Bill, subscriptions@accomnews.com.au

PROFILES Picture Point Terraces: Secluded, but no less wow…............................................... 44

CONTRIBUTORS Andrew Morgan, Arvo Elias, Chris Irons, Col Myers, Grant Mifsud, John Mahoney, Lynda Kypriadakis, Mike Phipps, Trevor Rawnsley, Nick Smith, Michael Mitchell, James Nickless and Jonathan Hanaghan

Kingscliff Accommodation Group: One and one makes six......................................................... 48 PREFERRED SUPPLIERS

KEY Commercially funded supplier profile or supplier case study Supplier information or content Suppliers share their views in one-off, topical pieces General editorial. Case studies and features may cite or quote suppliers, please be aware that we have a strict ‘no commercial content’ guideline for all magazine editorial, so this is not part of any commercially funded advertorial but may be included as relevant opinion. Happy reading!

58 FRONT DESK

Preferred Supplier Profile: Capitol – The Capitol difference........................................ 50 Preferred Supplier Profile: McAdam Siemon – Peace of mind from start to finish.................................................................. 58 The Preferred Suppliers Directory.................................... 62

ResortNews | November 2019

Any subscriber or regular reader of ResortNews will know that while proudly Australian now, I hail from South African stock and I’m not ashamed to say I was beyond proud to watch the ‘Bokke’ take out the honours at the Rugby World Cup 2019 held in Japan. They may have technically been the ‘underdog’ but as we have seen happen before, the English did not lose against a team, they lost against a nation. The Springboks were playing far more than a game. While preparing this issue, with one ear and eye tuned into the matches, it got me thinking about the parallels that are oft found between business and sport, and how, as with the World Cup final, it was clear from the onset that these sportsmen had developed a structure that allowed them to make smart decisions and execute them effectively on the field. And as we see in the profile on page 48, as businesses evolve and needs change, the organisational structure must be flexible enough to meet those needs and adapt for the long game. If your business is demanding an excessive amount of your time and attention, you may need to recruit some of the following winning strategies.

Simplify No matter how difficult the task

November 2019 | ResortNews

strengths and weaknesses are. Move beyond reviewing their experience to get to know how they see themselves – you may discover a talent that could support the overall results of that team.

Keep feedback channels open Trish Riley, Editor

editor@accomnews.com.au

at hand appears to be, the key to managing it is to simplify. Believing that the game of American football is too complicated for the mind to comprehend all at once, Nick Saban, football coach of LSU and Atlanta would tell his players to focus only on the next play, the next drill, on one single step of the process. When you or your team are faced with a difficult project, see whether you can pare down its components. Write out a detailed outline, delegate appropriately and zero in on what you can finish in the day or even the hour.

Play to your strengths Team sports rely on the varied characteristics and specialised abilities of their members. There is little ambiguity in terms of who has what role. In volleyball, for instance, the tallest woman may take on the position of middle blocker, since her reach would give her a distinct advantage in that place. When you are leading a team, know what your members’

Whether you’re an athlete or business owner, customer feedback is similar to watching the playback footage of your performance. While you as the manager and business owner may take on the more obvious role of coach, much of your feedback is going to be from the guests and owners. Feedback can be hard to take, particularly if it seems to undermine the hard work you’ve already put into a project. Nonetheless, the more you and your business can embrace criticism, the more successful you’ll be.

Appreciate the team Even in the solo sport of tennis (in its singles form), elite players rely on a small group of specialised experts. A tennis player’s team may consist of a coach, trainer, physiotherapist, and nutritionist, with additional support as needed. Roger Federer, widely regarded as the greatest male tennis player of all time, has received training from no fewer than seven coaches over the course of his career. Never forget about the individual contributions of your team members, no matter how small. If you feel like something is missing from your professional toolbox, take action and find the person who can fill in the

FRONT DESK

gap, even if all that’s needed is a little specialist advice.

Coordinate the team One of the most unfortunate occurrences to witness in a field game is the outfielder collision. The clash of egos and poor communication can lead to disaster, whether it’s in the arena or complex. Avoid the wastefulness of redundancy and the inefficiency of conflicting interests. When everyone has the big picture (or best for building) in mind and knows how to navigate their place in it, the business will thrive.

Prioritise consistency Consistency (and perseverance) carries over into several aspects of the business world. You want your product, results and work ethic to all be consistent. However, it begins with your work ethic. Any day could be your greatest day playing the game. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have down time, but when you are at work, remember that what you put into each business today has the potential to yield incredible results down the road. So, whether it’s a specific mentality, awareness of the overall team or set of psychological techniques, there is much to learn from the achievements of successful athletes. Reap the rewards of their accomplishments by learning their moves (end endurance) and applying them to your business. Please enjoy this issue.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Playing the long game

NEWS IN BRIEF

ATO send warning letters to Airbnb owners The ATO has been quietly gathering information on thousands of Australians — and if you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of Aussies who rent out a property on Airbnb or other platforms and haven’t declared it, the tax man is coming for you. In the coming months, the ATO will carefully double check the details of Australians who earn an income from short-term rental platforms against the income declared on their tax returns. If you’ve made the mistake of failing to report that income, you can expect a stern warning letter to come your way — or worse — as part of the tax office’s crackdown on the sharing economy. It’s part of an effort to make sure every Australian is reporting their correct income — and paying their fair share.

An ATO spokeswoman has advised the letters would be rolled out shortly. “Over the next 12 months, the ATO will issue letters to those taxpayers identified as using sharing economy accommodation platforms who haven’t declared the rental income they have received,” the spokeswoman said. “The objective is to identify and educate those individuals to ensure they include the correct amount of rental income from these sources in their returns and pay the appropriate tax. “This will ensure there is a level playing field for all people operating accommodation services in the community.” It was recently revealed Airbnb had emailed almost 200,000 Australian hosts to warn them their details would be shared with the ATO as part of the tax office’s sharing economy blitz. According to the email: “Airbnb is currently under legal notice by the

Management rights lost A Townsville management rights operator has lost their management rights because of failure to comply with the BCCM Act. In July this year, adjudicator Barry declared that body corporate committee resolutions from 2015 consenting to the transfer of management rights were void. Accordingly, the current management rights operator did not own the management rights, despite having performed the caretaking duties, and having been paid for doing so, for almost four years. The adjudicator’s decision was the latest in a line

of decisions dealing with the management rights for Allure Apartments in Townsville. In September 2018 another adjudicator had declared the letting agreement for the scheme void, from the date it had been granted four years earlier in September 2014. That was for a breach of s116 Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Act). At subsequent committee meetings the body corporate committee had authorised the transfer of the caretaking agreement and letting agreement from Allure Hotel and Apartments Pty Ltd (AHA) to Allure Townsville

©fizkes, stock.adobe.com

Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to share information concerning your hosting activity for the period from January 1 to June 30 2019” as part of an ATO data-matching program “which requires sharing economy rental platforms to share information concerning their users, including, for example: name, address and telephone number”. Those who receive the ATO letter after being caught out will have to amend their tax return

Accommodation Pty Ltd (ATA). In the 2018 adjudicator’s decision, it was found that the letting agreement had not been transferred from AHA to ATA because at the time of transfer the letting agreement was void because the letting business was being operated from a manager’s unit and a reception area that were not owned or leased by the letting agent. Crucially, neither was there a deed in place under s116 of the Act between the owner of the reception and manager’s unit and the body corporate. Most letting agreements and caretaking agreements contain provisions that if one is transferred without the other, then there is a breach of both. While the adjudicator found that was the case, adjudicator Barry’s reasons had nothing to do with s116 of the Act, or the (void) letting agreement. Instead, he took into account a number of earlier adjudicator’s decisions (from 2017) where the eligibility of the voting committee members who constituted the committee in 2015, was discussed. The adjudicator in those earlier

INDUSTRY

to include all income, which can be done online through your myGov account, or through a registered tax agent. But if an updated tax return is not received by the ATO by November 25, you could then be audited. If your 2018 tax return is audited and found to include incorrect claims, you will need to pay back the ATO — and might also face a penalty. Source: News.com.au

decisions had found that there were relationships between members of the committee (in 2015) and either AHA or ATA, and as a result, all committee members bar one had a conflict of interest and were not entitled to vote on the motion to consent to the transfer of the management rights. Because the majority of committee members had been ruled out with a conflict of interest, the committee wasn’t properly constituted to be able to pass a resolution to consent to the transfer of the management rights and as a result, adjudicator Barry declared both that the committee resolutions purporting to consent to the transfer of management rights were void and, most importantly, as a result of the resolutions being void the transfer from AHA to ATA of the caretaking agreement had no effect. In other words, because the caretaking agreement can only be transferred with the body corporate’s consent, and that consent was not properly given, the transfer never took place. ResortNews | November 2019

Holiday rental company goes bust owing $500,000 A Victorian holiday rental agency has collapsed owing some half a million dollars in unpaid bonds, deposits and rent to hundreds of clients. The bankruptcy comes less than a week after news of online travel agents Travel 2 Go and No Frills Travel leaving clients $200,000 out of pocket over dishonoured budget travel arrangements made through Facebook.

©faizzaki, stock.adobe.com

Visitor spend nudges $45 billion Visitors are taking shorter trips to Australia but spending more, new data shows. International visitors spent a record $44.6 billion during their travels to Australia in the 2018/19 financial year, according to new data released recently from Tourism Research Australia. According to the International Visitor Survey for the period ending June 2019, the figure represented a five per cent jump on the corresponding period a year earlier. In all, Australia welcomed 8.6 million foreign visitors (aged 15 and over) who collectively tallied up 273 million bed nights over the period, marking increases of three and one per cent respectively. On a domestic level for the same period, Australian travellers spent $77.5 billion over the financial year across 113.3 million overnight trips – increases of 15 percent and 12percent respectively – taking Australia’s total financial year revenue for 2018/19 to $122.1 billion. The result is a $5.5 billion

November 2019 | ResortNews

increase on the $116.6 billion recorded for the full calendar year ending December 2018.

Marshall’s Holiday Rentals, described by its founder Faye Lorraine Marshall as the largest and most professional rental specialist on the Mornington Peninsula, has operated out of Sorrento for 16 years. According to The Age, the company managed hundreds of properties ranging in price from $950 to $10,000 a week. It vacated its office on Ocean Beach Road about a year ago

Despite the increased spend by international visitors, average length of stay continues to decline, which has fallen steadily over the last six years and now sits at a still-impressive 32 nights. In this same period, average spend has grown from $129 to $163 – a 26 percent increase. Food, drink and accommodation continued to lead the way in terms of what international visitors spent their money on, with these expenses making up $13.4 billion of the overall amount. This was followed by international airfares, which climbed eight percent to $6.8 billion.

but continued to trade through its website. The newspaper reports the 65-year-old Marshall declared bankruptcy on August 20, leaving property owners thousands of dollars out of pocket and customers with lost deposits scrambling to find alternative holiday accommodation over Christmas. Australian Financial Security Authority documents show the amount owed to creditors totals more than half a million dollars. Hundreds of creditors claim they are owed money by Marshall’s after either using the firm to book a holiday home and never receiving their deposit or bond back, or after using it to rent out their home and never receiving their payment. Several clients have lodged complaints with Consumer Affairs Victoria, while Mornington police have confirmed they are investigating the matter.

TheManagement Rights Lawyers BUYING/SELLING ASSISTANCE

OFF THE PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

Fastest growing international markets were led by India (+53 percent) and followed by Canada and Indonesia (both +32 percent) and Japan (+27 percent). Holiday travel was the primary reason for visiting among three of these four markets, with visiting friends and relatives the primary reason among arrivals from India.

RENEWAL STRATEGY

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

www.mahoneys.com.au INDUSTRY

New ratings for short-term rentals shake sector Booking.com earlier this month began applying star ratings to its listings of short-term rentals. The online powerhouse is ranking properties on a one to five-star scale — where a five-star rating signals that a property has the most overall appeal. Booking’s move is bold because the travel agency giant is rating the properties itself. Until now, rentals have gone unrated. That’s put vacation homes and apartments out of sync with hotels, which third-parties and governmental organisations have long categorised by star ratings. The star ratings are separate from a property’s average score, which continues to be driven by customer reviews. “Star search is the most-used filter we have on Booking,” said Olivier Grémillon, vice president of global segments. “Before, when someone was searching

somewhat low so that they could then pleasantly surprise a guest, who will then be more likely to post a review with a higher review score. Some managers feel customer reviews are more influential with consumers.

on Booking for three-, four- or five-star, no vacation rentals were showing up. Now when they search, the vacation rentals are showing up, the conversions are going up, and everybody benefits.” Booking.com rates rentals on about 400 factors. For example, a property is more likely to get a higher rating if it has an espresso machine. Some managers have welcomed the move. “I think it’s a good step because category ratings are long overdue,”

said VTrips founder and CEO Steve Milo. Vtrips is a property management service for rental properties that manages about 1,800 in North America. “I get that we’re at the early stages and still fine-tuning,” said Milo. “But it’s very important not just to have reviews but also have ratings to help set customer expectations. But a few managers were unhappy with the ratings Booking.com had given some of their properties. Some said they preferred lower star ratings, for example. They would rather keep customer expectations

Others complained that the move would confuse some consumers. For example, Airbnb only offers ratings powered by customer reviews on a one to five-star basis. It’s tricky to be accurate with star ratings, said Jeff Hurst, chief commercial officer at Expedia Group-owned Vrbo. “When I think of my hotel experiences, I’ve stayed at fourstar hotels and not had four-star experiences,” said Hurst. Grémillon, whose job includes overseeing Booking.com’s rentals unit, said that its customers give higher review scores for vacation rentals, on average, than for hotels. The company’s new star rating system will give an additional data point to help online shoppers comparison shop, he said.

TripAdvisor blocked 1m fake reviews in 2018 Nearly five percent of traveller reviews submitted to TripAdvisor in 2018 violated the platform’s guidelines and were removed or rejected from the site, a spokesperson for the travel community said, with nearly three percent due to fraud. According to new data released by TripAdvisor, which trades heavily on its first-person user-reviews of travel products, experiences and destinations, more than 66 million firstperson reviews were submitted to the site last year alone, with 2.7 percent identified as fraudulent by advanced detection algorithms. The Review Transparency Report found 2.7 million reviews were either rejected or referred to a human content moderator for further assessment. The main cause for a review to be rejected

TripAdvisor Senior Director of Trust and Safety, Becky Foley, said the company could only police its online presence and called on Facebook and Google to join it in attempting to tackle the problem once and for all. “Ensuring that TripAdvisor is a trusted platform for our users and listed businesses is a top priority. We’ve continued to make advancements to our industryleading fraud detection efforts in recent years, but it’s a daily battle and we are far from complacent.

©Olivier Le Moal, stock.adobe.com

was for violations of TripAdvisor’s guidelines, which prohibits commercial advertising or marketing language in a review; were too long or contained other inappropriate material. Over the course of the year, nearly 35,000 businesses were subjected to a ranking

penalty – which pushes their business down in search results – for violating TripAdvisor’s terms by posting fake reviews or incentivising a guest to post a review without merit or justification. Since 2015, TripAdvisor has stopped 75 individual websites from selling reviews as a means of revenue.

INDUSTRY

“As long as other review platforms aren’t taking aggressive action, then fraudsters will continue to exploit and extort small businesses for cash,” Foley added. Less than one per cent of reviews that made it onto the site in 2018 were flagged or reported by businesses or users as potentially containing fraudulent or unjustified material. Source: Hotel Management

ResortNews | November 2019

Millennials the big spenders on accommodation This generation may be struggling to get into the housing market, but millennials are spending more on leisure accommodation than any other generation, reveals new research.

Wayne Bunz said that private rental growth within the generation X market at 27.5 percent annually posed a growing threat to traditional hotel brands. “Given that this generation currently accounted for the highest share of hotel guest nights nationally at 32 per cent,” he said.

Between 2014 and 2018, millennials spent an average of $234 per capita a year on leisure accommodation, in comparison to generation X at $231 and cashed up baby boomers at $165. The CBRE Hotels’ Australian Check-in Report says that millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, are a key market segment to hoteliers in the Australian context and should be on hoteliers’ radars. CBRE’s head of hotels research Chinmay Chitale said. “While it’s surprising to see millennials as the highest accommodation spenders, it is likely linked to the fact that many have yet to purchase a house, get married

or have children – meaning that they can prioritise travel more readily.” Post-millennials, or generation Z born from 1997 onwards, are also emerging as a key market according to the report, with accommodation expenditure rising by 6.1 percent annually over the past five years. The Check-in Report also found that post-millennials and millennials make up a

higher share of total nights spent in private rentals such as Airbnb (at 56 percent) relative to total nights spent in hotel accommodation (at 38 percent). The proliferation of home sharing platforms, such as Airbnb, have recorded strong year on year growth of private rental guest nights over the past five years. CBRE Hotels’ national director

“The immersive aspect of private accommodation coupled with Airbnb’s relatively lower pricing point provides a point of difference to typical hotel brands, meaning that hoteliers need to differentiate themselves by delivering authentic experiences tied to local cuisines, people and events,” Bunz said. “Simply providing a hotel which is designed to address a very broad market is no longer adequate.” The report notes an opportunity for “new age” luxury brands entering the market. “There is also an opportunity for dualbrand hotels to allow properties to target different.”

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INDUSTRY

PERSON OF INTEREST

Col Myers

a quiet force

“A river cuts through rock not because of its power but because of its persistence.” – Jim Watkins By Trish Riley, Editor There is an air of quiet determination about Col Myers, director and partner of Gold Coast-based legal firm Small Myers Hughes – and I’m not referring to the fact that he is a highly regarded legal practitioner who has contributed significantly to the management rights industry over the past 30 years – but rather how he created this level of impact across three states and still continues to do so. Raised in Longreach and schooled at Ipswich Grammar School, Col says he thought he was destined to be a teacher, and in fact, was even enrolled at Teachers College before realising that it really

wasn’t what he wanted to pursue. He then entered the public service as a clerk in the Superannuation Department and later transferred the Justice Department to work out of the Southport Courthouse. Observing the diversity of legal issues that he saw whilst working in the Courthouse, he remembers going home one evening and announcing to his new wife that he wanted to study law. “I was fortunate enough to secure a position with Steindl & Company in Surfers Paradise for three years while I did my articles before transferring to join Att wood Marshall and Woodward at Coolangatta, so I could be admitted in both Queensland and NSW when I

finished my five years of articles. This gave me an excellent grounding in property and commercial law in both States. It was the late 80’s, and management rights was slowly being adopted in New South Wales. There was a lot of work available in setting up agreements for developers but that came with trying to establish how the concept would fit in with different legislation and strata laws. As an Accredited Property Law Specialist (NSW), Col became involved in handling all aspects of management rights transactions, specialising in strata advice, attending and addressing body corporate meetings and strata dispute

INDUSTRY

resolution and advising developers on the creation and sale of management rights for their developments throughout Australia. Over the years he has handled an extensive range of property and business purchase/sale transactions ranging from vacant residential land to multimilliondollar commercial properties, to major management rights transactions, but none more important perhaps than the work undertaken to influence legislation reform in 2003 when the NSW government decided to bring in laws dealing with caretaking agreements and (ultimately) limiting the term of new Caretaking Agreements to a maximum of 10 years.

ResortNews | November 2019

In 2001 and 2002 there were a number of stories appearing in the press relating to significant disputes between caretaker managers and bodies corporate in NSW. The Regis Towers buildings in Sydney in particular created a lot of bad press for the management rights industry. As a result, the government of the day called for a comprehensive review of the strata legislation with the very real possibility of limiting caretaking agreement terms to a maximum of three years. Understanding the significant impact the reforms could have on the industry, Col became an activist, getting into his car and literally going door-to-door of every potential management rights property from Tweed to Sydney south speaking to managers, cautioning them about the impending legislation change and urging them to contact their local member and policy makers in the Office of Fair Trading. Together with other industry stakeholders, he was instrumental in appointing Bailey Compton, an established policy writer, to develop a proposal to government based on a 15-year caretaking cap (which was ultimately approved at 10 years). Many years earlier at Col’s bequest, Bailey (when working at the Office of Fair Trading) assisted the industry by creating a restricted November 2019 | ResortNews

letting licence in NSW for management rights operators. In addition to developing a database of management rights operators that hadn’t existed before, Col’s crusade was responsible for the establishment of the early chapters of the Management Rights Association (now ARAMA) in Byron Bay, Port Macquarie, Newcastle and Sydney. “There’s nothing quite like a crisis to get things going,” says Col, and 16 years down the line we’re needing to do it again in NSW.” When asked about the challenges currently facing the management rights industry generally, Col says: “We’re seeing a lot more attention on legislation and the need for higher standards across the industry. There are a lot more developers of big buildings adopting the model all around Australia and it’s important to reach them early and to educate them about establishing the correct structure and ensuring they make proper disclosures to proposed unit buyers". “For incoming operators, bodies corporate are understandably insisting on greater levels of protection – in the form of the assignment process and specialised training for new entrants, and the onus is on industry entrants to understand what they have

bought and to ensure that they sufficiently equip themselves with the skills to perform those duties satisfactorily." “And that’s not where it ends,” adds Col. “Top ups are becoming increasingly more difficult to achieve. Managers have to actively demonstrate to owners that they are getting value for money, and that the services they are paying for are being delivered. At a time when unit values have been static for a few years and investor revenue has plateaued, or even decreased, there is a scenario that’s ripe for conflict. To ensure that management rights remains relevant, and valuable from an owners’ perspective, managers need to be asking ‘how can I show the owners the benefit of having an onsite manager'. If the job is done well, in the best interest of all owners, the management rights business will continue to grow.” “So many managers are doing an excellent job but they don’t tell anyone. They should do what they are supposed to under their caretaking agreements, ensure that they have a good record of having done the work and then ensure that the owners are updated and communicated with on a regular basis – remembering that when it comes to a “top up” vote at a general meeting, the threshold is only 51 percent."

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Col has practiced exclusively as a property lawyer since his admission in 1981 and regularly travels across the country to visit developers and his clients at their complexes and his extensive expertise means he can proactively advise when and how to best handle management rights to work effectively for individual scenarios. He is a Fellow of the Australian College of Strata Lawyers and other than those already detailed, his past accomplishments include being engaged by the Estate Agents Authority of Hong Kong to provide a summary of the NSW Property and Titling Laws as part of a worldwide review to its introduction of new property legislation. Col is also a director and legal advisor of ARAMA National Inc, and a regular columnist on strata issues in publications such as ResortNews and Informer magazine. "Management Rights is an industry I am passionate about,” says Col. “I highly value my relationship with my clients and other key industry professionals and feel fortunate to have been able to be involved.” Unquestionably, Col has inspired, mentored and educated several generations of property professionals and shows no signs relinquishing his role.

ARAMA REPORT

How does your marketing plan stack up? From discussing renovation plans with a unit owner that will improve their unit’s letting potential to overseeing the contractor undertaking preventative maintenance on every air conditioner in the complex before summer arrives, and then preparing for new guests about to check in for the school holidays, a day in the life of a management rights operator is busy and diverse. It certainly makes it easy to understand why in the midst of tackling the list of tasks – most of which are planned but some unexpected – marketing activities can often fall to the wayside. However, with the overwhelming amount of

Trevor Rawnsley, CEO, ARAMA

competition in the tourism industry, marketing is one of the single most important functions for accommodation operators. With the summer about to break and Christmas ahead of us, there is no better time than now to re-evaluate your marketing plan and map out a calendar of strategies and tactics to ensure a steady stream of both new and repeat bookings. Australia has no shortage of unique

destinations and experiences and holidaymakers are faced with an enormous amount of choice. So, from traditional referral marketing through to embracing chatbots, what can you be doing to entice people to stay with you – and what sorts of things should you avoid?

Incentivise them to visit again, or offer discounts if they stay mid week or for extra nights. Guests are marketing gold if you can convert them into repeat visitors and referrers and encourage them to book direct via your website,” Sandra says.

ARAMA works closely with specialist organisations to offer relevant and useful information to help educate members on how to improve the marketing of their property. Most recently we delivered the popular webinar “How to beat Airbnb at their own game” featuring Sandra Swatton, managing director of Hospitality Associates and Graeme Hollands, an experienced management rights operator and the founder of JumpOn.online.

“An annual promotional calendar based on data such as revenue, occupancy, rates, trends and local events is a good place to start – with activities for all communications channels. If you have low occupancy on Sundays and Mondays, for example, how can you encourage more bookings or extend the stays.”

The event focused on how to drive bookings direct to your website and revealed some of the common mistakes that operators make. “In an effort to build their online presence to entice guests to book direct, operators often populate channels such as Facebook with over-personalised images and content that just doesn’t resonate with guests – you have to ask how this is enticing them to stay,” Sandra says. “It’s probably a lack of understanding really, particularly when you look at a resort’s website. It is the most commonly visited communication touch point and a critical sales tool, yet often has a complicated design with too many photos, or bad ones, and poor functionality around room types.” “Websites should have a high conversion process similar to an online travel agent where you can book in a matter of a couple of clicks and see the best price if they book direct.”

Australian Resident Accommodation Managers Association is the peak industry body representing the interests of people who are involved in management rights.

For membership enquiries:

While time is a limited resource and you simply can’t do it all, there are some marketing fundamentals every accommodation operator should consider.

national@arama.com.au | www.arama.com.au 1300 ARAMA Q (1300 27 26 27)

“If a guest has enjoyed their stay, why not make them a guest for life? Create incentives to help them promote or refer other guests via shares or feedback on platforms like Trip Advisor.

INDUSTRY

Modern accommodation operators are also looking to global marketing trends embraced by big banks and international consumer brands to enhance customer experience. “Customers are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages daily and finding cut-through is becoming increasingly difficult. Most accommodation operators currently base much of their marketing on email campaigns, but ‘open-rates’ of these universally are low and declining.” “One trend drastically changing the customer relationship is the use of Facebook Messenger as a communication tool which offers a much higher open rate than email as well as the ability to respond to customer enquiries at a quicker rate.” “Marketers are also using chatbots to automate customer interaction. If someone lands on your website, they can have a question answered instantly. The important thing here is ensuring the chatbot comes across as relevant and human – if done poorly you might never hear from them again.” You will notice that even ARAMA is enthusiastic about embracing emerging marketing trends, so next time you have spare moment (ha!) check us out on Facebook and LinkedIn and let us know what you think. We may not be perfect, but we are giving it a go to enhance the way we communicate with you and that’s what it’s all about… giving it a go. ResortNews | November 2019

STATE REPORT

Resident managers:

An urgent call to action If you own management rights in NSW or if you are looking at joining the management rights industry in NSW, then this is something you need to know; and there is something that you urgently need to do. On 23 March 2020, proposed changes to the NSW real estate licensing laws will almost certainly kill off the goodwill value of your business, and every manager is being urged to contact their local MP right now and tell him/her how the proposed legislation changes will impact on your business and the industry as a whole.

The issue Commencing in March next year, the Property Stock and Business Agents legislation will be amended so that the current onsite residential property managers licence will no longer exist. This licence allows onsite managers to carry on a letting business in their complex, without having to upgrade to a full real estate agent’s licence. Moving forward, there will only be three classes of licence issued by the Office of Fair Trading: Certificate of Registration (Assistant agent); Class 2 licence (Licensed agent); Class 1 licence (Licensee in charge). Assistant agents will perform entry level roles only while they obtain the qualifications and experience necessary to become a fully licensed agent (ie a Class 2 licensee). For example, they will not be permitted to enter into a contract or transaction on behalf of any party (except for a residential tenancy agreement) and they must be November 2019 | ResortNews

business moving forward will be existing real estate agents who hold a Class 1 licence or the bigger operators like Accor and Oaks that have access to Class 1 licensees.

The “Merimbula” exemption When these changes were first muted, the management rights operators in Merimbula (south of Sydney) were quick to contact their local member and policy makers in the Office of Fair Trading and were successful in obtaining a complete exemption from the operation of the Act in circumstances where there are no more than 20 lots in a complex. In Merimbula, the average management rights complex varies between six and 12 lots.

Col Myers, Small Myers Hughes

appropriately supervised by a licensee in charge (with a Class 1 licence) when carrying out those functions. Assistant agents must have at least one year’s practical training (plus complete the required training/educational modules) before progressing to a Class 2 licensed agent. A Class 2 licence is the equivalent to the current full agent’s licence, except a Class 2 agent cannot be a licensee in charge of a business or operate a trust account.

So under this exemption, any manager of a residential complex that has no more than 20 lots will no longer be required to hold any form of real estate licence (nor will they be required to operate a trust account) to conduct a short-term or long-term letting business.

To become a Class 1 licensee in charge, a person must have held a Class 2 licence for at least two years. In addition, further training/modules are required to be completed.

But why 20 you may ask? Why not 50 or 100?

Existing licences will be “grandfathered” and licensees will transition to the equivalent licence under the amended Act.

The problem will be with new entrants to the industry They will now have a three-year transition period before they can run their own business and operate a trust account (ie one year working as an assistant agent and a further two years working as a Class 2 agent).

Where are the buyers of your business going to come from? In reality, the only potential buyers for a management rights

The NSW Government apparently takes the view that complexes with a small number of units in the letting pool do not represent a risk to the public. From enquires I and others have made, we can find next to no cases where onsite residential property managers have been convicted of stealing from their trust account. In an effort to address the impending changes, ARAMA (the peak body for the management rights industry) has made submissions to the NSW Government and continues to meet with the key Government policy advisors to push the industry’s concerns about the devastating effect this proposed legislation will

INDUSTRY

have on the management rights industry in NSW. ARAMA’s first and foremost position has been that the onsite residential property managers licence should remain. Why change something that works perfectly well? However, if the legislation changes are too far advanced and this cannot happen, ARAMA’s fall-back position is that the exemption from the licensing requirements of the Act for complexes with no more than 20 lots should be changed so that the exemption extends to onsite residential property managers who hold caretaking and/or letting agreements with the owners corporation. In other words, the number of units in the complex should be irrelevant. The key question should be – does the onsite manager have authorisation from the owners corporation to carry on caretaking and/or letting in the complex and, if so, the manager is exempted from any requirement to hold a licence.

So where to from here? Unless the Government listens to the industry and makes the appropriate changes before Christmas this year, the legislation will roll out in its current proposed format in March 2020. Existing managers in NSW need to urgently contact their local MP and arrange a face-to-face meeting to explain to their MP how this proposed legislation is going to completely kill the saleability of their business – which in many cases is everything they and their family have accumulated over their working years! Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. Disclaimer – This article is provided for information purposes only and should not be regarded as legal advice.

BCCM REPORT

should be given as to how the agent is going to advise visitors how to get to the lot.

It’s a sign Most of my articles focus on rights and responsibilities for owners of lots in a community titles scheme. On the other side of the coin however, what about the implications regarding the sale or potential sale of a lot in a scheme? Firstly, there’s no requirement under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 for a lot owner to have to seek the approval of the body corporate to sell their lot or to put their lot up for sale. There is also no obligation for the owner to inform the body corporate or manager of their intention to do so. Naturally if a lot is up for sale it might be the case that the real estate agent handling the sale might want to put up some signs and conduct an open house. We get regular enquiries about the placement of signs relating to the sale of a lot, and while the Act and its Regulation Modules do not specifically discuss signage, it might typically be a by-law issue. Remember, the body corporate has a responsibility to maintain common property and also an obligation to enforce by-laws. The body corporate may well have an obligation to regulate how “for sale” or “open house” signs are placed on common property. If there is a registered by-law

check if the signs are being placed on local council land, which is not the responsibility of the body corporate. All of these considerations apply to “open house” signs as well. On the topic of an open house, one of the possible issues this raises is the access to scheme land by invitees (i.e. the people attending the open house).

Chris Irons,

Commissioner, Body Corporate & Community Management

stating that any signage on common property must have body corporate approval, then an owner selling their lot would need to seek that approval prior to the placement of the sign. As is the case with any by-law related issue, the body corporate should not unreasonably withhold the permission. Each case will always be considered on its merits. For example, a body corporate might have to consider whether the placement of “for sale” signs interfere with the use and enjoyment of common property. Following this through to its logical conclusion, if a “for sale” sign is blocking or restricting access to common property, then it might be quite reasonable for the body corporate to refuse permission. Bear in mind that we are only talking about the placement of signs as they relate to common property. If the signs in question are intended to be placed outside of the boundaries of common property then the seller of the lot might need to

This may not be much of an issue if the scheme land is openly accessible from the street, but if the scheme is only accessible by a locked entrance, such as a gate or electronic locking system, there may be valid concerns about non-occupiers of the scheme gaining access. In the first instance I’d be suggesting early and open communication between the seller of the lot, the agent hosting the open house and the committee (and onsite manager if applicable). Communicate early about the intent to hold an open house, on what days and on what times. Regardless of whether a by-law requires this, it is common courtesy to make it clear, as it may have an impact on the other occupiers of the scheme. Then, suggest some workable options. Rather than keeping a secure door propped open, for example, the agent might be better placed waiting at the door to let people in and escorting them to the lot. The agent might also be able to buzz people in via intercom, if there is one, although consideration

INDUSTRY

A further consideration is for when visitors to the open house want to inspect common property. Visitors may, for example, want to look at the pool or car park once they finished their inspection of the lot. The seller of the lot and the agent would be best advised to have a plan for this. Ideally, someone would escort visitors around common property. If this sounds too onerous, then consider it from the perspective of occupiers – be they owners or tenants – in the scheme who might encounter strangers walking around the property. Naturally, it might raise some concerns. Providing some notice and exercising some control over how visitors conduct themselves would go a long way towards overcoming those concerns. This information is being provided solely from a body corporate perspective. My office does not regulate the conduct of real estate agents and concerns in this regard should be addressed to the Office of Fair Trading. Once the sale is completed, that is usually the end of that owner’s involvement in the scheme. I say “usually” because the owner could of course have some further involvement in other ways – there is, for example, no restriction on a former owner being appointed proxy or power of attorney for another owner, or they may own another lot. Also, a former owner may, in some circumstances, continue to have an interest in a dispute resolution application with my office, even after they cease to be registered owner. Adjudicators have made orders about signage. Examples include Noosa Glades Two [2000] QBCCMCmr 566 (6 November 2000) and Kookaburra Park Eco Village [2008] QBCCMCmr 467 (16 December 2008). You can find adjudicators’ orders at www.austlii.edu.au. For further information please contact the Information and Community Engagement Unit of my office on 1800 060 119 or visit our website www.qld. gov.au/bodycorporate. ResortNews | November 2019

After seven years as SCA (Qld) President, Simon Barnard has oﬃcially stepped down from the position. He has overseen great organisational change during his tenure and his experience and wisdom will be sorely missed. As SCA (Qld) Vice President since 2017, I’ve witnessed Simon’s professionalism and industry understanding firsthand. While his diplomacy and negotiation skills will be hard to replace, he leaves SCA (Qld) in an enviable position with engaged members, strong finances, and industry respect. It’s been an honour and a privilege to work closely with him and, thankfully, he will be available to assist SCA (Qld) in a consultancy role during the transition period. Our October AGM saw the addition of four new Board members, bringing fresh skills and experience to the leadership group. Together we will vote for a new executive and continue enhancing the SCA (Qld) value proposition. It’s an exciting time as the end of the year provides an opportunity to plan for the long-term and to strategise new advocacy efforts, which is particularly important with the impending 2020 Queensland state election. It’s pleasing to see the genuine cooperation of a diverse group of people from various sectors of the strata industry with the single focus of making the strata industry better for all stakeholders. We have some seriously talented people on the board, who volunteer their time to advance the whole industry without their personal of professional interest clouding their contribution. In industry news, SCA (Qld) has continually advocated for property law reform during the last decade, so it has been encouraging to see recent movement on this front. SCA November 2019 | ResortNews

We are now starting to see the benefit of all the hard work that has been put in by volunteers on boards and committees over the past 30 plus years James Nickless, President, SCA, Qld

We are now starting to see the benefit of all the hard work that has been put in by volunteers on boards and committees over the past 30 plus years. We now have a voice in the media and with government that has great influence, based upon the strong combined expertise of all our members who regularly share their knowledge and experience on issues that matter in strata.

(Qld) has submitted responses to the draft modules that were released for consultation and we look forward to the regulation’s implementation, which should be mid-late next year. These new modules promise to streamline and modernise body corporate procedures, reduce costs, and enhance protections for lot owners and strata schemes. SCA (Qld) applauds the intent behind the proposed changes and has offered our considered submissions in relation to better aligning the regulations with that intent.

I know I can speak for the Board when I say that we hope to build upon this already strong reputation for advocacy and drive the legislative changes for which we have been calling. A member-driven focus is also a top priority, with aims to achieve even greater engagement and collaboration from the entire property sector, of which strata makes up a significant and increasingly more important part.

James Nickless, SCA (Qld) President

Alongside the election and the impending law reform, is the ongoing combustible cladding audit. The first deadline of Stage 3 - engaging and registering a fire engineer - has now passed, but there is still plenty of work to do by those affected schemes. Whether they are unsure of the type of cladding they have, or if they know that combustible materials exist on their facades, bodies corporate should work quickly to establish safe environments for their residents. We still believe that owners should not be forced to pay for mistakes that were not their fault and will continue to petition the government for a workable solution.

Following the retirement of President Simon Barnard, the SCA Board elected James Nickless to the role of President. James has served on the legislation committee for six years, has been a director since 2016, and was elected vice president in 2017. James Nickless specialises in all aspects of Strata Law and is a valued member of the MaxSoft team. He is passionate about advancing the strata industry and regularly presents seminars on various aspects of Strata Law and professional development to clients, industry groups and Universities. James hopes to build upon SCA (Qld)'s already strong reputation for advocacy and drive the legislative changes for which we have been calling. He also hopes to achieve greater engagement and collaboration from the entire property sector, of which strata makes up a significant and increasingly more important part.

QLD - NSW - VIC - WA

It is very fortunate for our organisation that our growing membership base provides a wealth of knowledge and experience from which to draw upon at this opportune time in relation to some crucial issues for the strata industry. INDUSTRY

SCA REPORT

A new strata future awaits

LEGAL EASE

reading this article! Many managers wrongly think that topping up their agreements has the effect of exercising an existing option and somehow automatically extending the term. This is not so

Instead, go and check the option exercise dates in your management rights agreements and deeds of variation where you or a previous manager may have added a further option/s to the agreements. I have, in many previous articles, reported instances of managers failing to exercise options in their management rights agreements. Unfortunately, we are still seeing more and more instances of this occurring. I suspect it has much to do with many new

John Mahoney, Mahoney's

managers not appreciating the importance of their agreements generally and more specifically not understanding how the options in agreements work.

PROGRAMME

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Archer Gowland Brisbane PMA Group BEDSPREADS & BED COVERING PRODUCTS HotelHome BODY CORPORATE MANAGERS Body Corporate Services (Noosa) COMPUTER SOFTWARE REI Master Pty Ltd FINANCE ANZ Bank Mike Phipps Finance MANAGEMENT RIGHTS AGENTS QTHB PEST CONTROL Target Pest & Termite Control SOLICITORS Mahoneys All Preferred Suppliers have been recommended by other accommodation properties for their service and have qualified for inclusion in the programme. The next time you need to use a new supplier, why not make life easier and use a Preferred Supplier.

To find a Preferred Supplier see the directory in the back of this issue

(07) 5440 5322

Many managers wrongly think that topping up their agreements (the term the industry uses for amending an agreement to add another option) has the effect of exercising an existing option and somehow automatically extending the term. That is not so. Very few options are “automatic”. Many require the option to be exercised by giving written notice before the end of the current term but many give a window of opportunity within which to exercise the option – typically between six and three months from the end of the term. So I encourage all managers to go and look carefully at exactly what their agreements and deeds specify. Check to see what if anything your lawyer told you when you purchased. Check to see how the notice must be given – most agreement will require written notice actually sent by post of hand delivery to the body corporate manager or secretary. Email may not be enough. Consult a lawyer now if you are in any doubt at all. Diarise the date/s and some earlier reminder dates in your calendar, mobile phone or wherever you can. The consequences of not exercising an option by the due date can be dire. If an option is not exercised in accordance with the terms of the agreements, the agreements will expire at the end of the term, in which case the manager no longer has the right to conduct the caretaking and letting business for the scheme. In such a situation the

MANAGEMENT

only solution generally is for the manager to request the body corporate to enter into new agreements. However, depending on timing, it may be possible to adopt a simpler process at a general meeting. We have successfully devised and used a simpler procedure at the general meeting resulting in a lot less expense for the manager but the opportunities to do so are rare. Problems can arise if, after the manager forgets to exercise an option, the body corporate exploits the opportunity and seeks to impose changes to the agreements against the manager’s interests. Even worse, if there has been real conflict in the complex, the body corporate might seek to tender for and engage another contractor to conduct the business or do away with management rights altogether. We have seen this happen more than once in recent times. To avoid this from happening, as suggested above managers should ensure that they diarise all of the option extension dates to ensure that they do not lose the opportunity to renew the agreements. At the time of exercising an option, managers should ensure that the extension of the agreements is properly recorded in a document executed by the manager and the body corporate, as the documenting of the option being properly exercised and the body corporate’s acknowledgment of that is something a subsequent buyer will want to see. ResortNews | November 2019

– the oft forgotten tax With the festive season looming I thought I would discuss some of the fringe benefits tax implications for Christmas parties and staff gifts and also review some of the common fringe benefits associated with the accommodation industry generally. If you provide certain benefits to your staff, or their associates, you may be up for fringe benefits tax (FBT). It is important to note that the benefit must be as a result of employment and not business ownership, for example, a benefit provided to a shareholder of a private company who is not and never has been an employee or officeholder does not constitute a benefit for fringe benefits tax purposes. This tax is separate to income tax, and is based on a 'taxable value' of the benefits provided, which is calculated according to the categories the benefits fall into. The tax office has even given FBT its own tax year, from April 1 to March 31. The upside for your staff is that they do not then have to pay income tax on the value of the benefits, and payment of the FBT is tax deductible to the employer.

Entertainment and gift fringe benefits

•

Jonathan Hanaghan, Jonathan Grant Accountants

accept that different benefits provided (eg. gift and Christmas party) at the same time are not added together when applying the threshold. Essentially this means that both the gift and Christmas party entertainment may be exempt from FBT even if provided at the same time, as long as each costs less than $300.

For fringe benefits tax (FBT) purposes, a car is any of the following: •

a sedan or station wagon

•

any other goods-carrying vehicle with a carrying capacity of less than one tonne, for example a panel

the car and also the expected business use percentage.

any other passenger-carrying vehicle designed to carry fewer than nine passengers.

Housing fringe benefits

A car is taken to be available for the private use of an employee if the place of business and residence are the same, as with a standard management rights business.

A housing fringe benefit may arise when you provide accommodation to your employee rent-free or at a reduced rent where that accommodation is their usual place of residence.

There are some circumstances where the use of the car is exempt from FBT. For example, an employee’s private use of a taxi, panel van or utility designed to carry less than one tonne, is exempt from FBT if the private use is limited to:

A unit of accommodation includes any of the following:

•

travel between home and work

•

incidental travel in the course of performing employment-related travel

•

non-work-related use that is minor, infrequent and irregular (for example, occasional use of the vehicle to remove domestic rubbish).

Car fringe benefits If you make a car you own or lease available for the private use of your employee, you may provide a car fringe benefit.

van or utility (including four-wheel drive vehicles)

The most important consideration when trying to reduce any potential car FBT is to seek advice from your accountant to see whether it is worth while completing a log book for at least 12 concurrent weeks. This will depend on the value of

This is a common benefit provided for the typical work Christmas party usually by way of food, drink or recreation. Generally, the more elaborate the meal and the inclusion of alcohol the more likely the meal becomes entertainment. Also, where the food or drink is provided also affects the classification. Provision of the meals and drink off your business premises – for example at a restaurant, is more likely to be entertainment and subject to fringe benefits tax.

a house, flat or home unit

•

accommodation in a hotel, motel, guesthouse, bunkhouse or other living quarters

•

a caravan or mobile home

•

accommodation on a ship or other floating structure.

This is a common benefit provided to managers within the accommodation industry, and in particular to businesses that are operated through modern corporate partnerships. It is clear the ATO do not care that the accommodation may be attached to a busy office that is open seven days a week with the managers being on call 24-hours a day. The ATO still have an opinion that a housing benefit is being provided. Generally speaking the benefit will be calculated at 75 percent of the market rental for the dwelling in question. ie if a manager’s unit would ordinarily rent for $400 per week then the annual benefit is calculated at $400 x 52 x 75 percent = $15,600. This amount can be reduced by payments made to the employer by the employee or associate for use of the accommodation. In summary if you are providing any benefits to employees it is important to seek advice from your accountant as the ATO are reviewing more of these arrangements every year, and as the saying goes…”there is no such thing as a free lunch”.

One major consideration is the “less than $300” minor benefit exemption and the now recognised fact that the ATO will November 2019 | ResortNews

•

MANAGEMENT

BY ALL ACCOUNTS

Fringe benefits tax

THINKING MR

The physiology of tenure Congratulations. You have read the title of this month’s missive and you are still with us. Well done. A less engaged reader would have switched off immediately and grabbed a copy of Who Weekly. Surely more entertaining to learn that Brad and Angelina are splitting, and Prince Harry is in fact an alien. You couldn’t make that stuff up… But I digress. Back in the day I worked for a bank and from time to time had the dubious pleasure of

with one’s performance judged more or less on how much money you could lend and how many other bank products you could flog in the process.

Mike Phipps, Director, Mike Phipps Finance

managing teams of people. I also had the even more dubious pleasure of being managed by a range of more senior but, in some cases, no more competent senior managers. In those less troubled times sales targets were all the rage

The idea was that those who could sell the most made the most money and could look forward to at least a year’s worth of job security, until the next annual performance review. The poor souls who couldn’t sell to save themselves were placed on performance management. This process was meant to help them focus on the task at hand and achieve the results expected of them. That is, sell more product. In many cases the senior manager overseeing the process couldn’t sell water to a dying man and as a result was of no

mentoring benefit whatsoever. The result in most cases was that the employee was placed in a highly stressful situation and feared for their job security. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that people who are stressed out of their minds and facing the prospect of losing their livelihood don’t always perform particularly well. The end result was often the self-fulfilling prophecy. Performance under the performance management model deteriorated and no one had a win. The staff member leaves (or is asked to leave) and the organisations loses a person they have invested heavily in. The ripple effect on other staff is poisonous in terms of morale and loyalty.

MOTEL MARKET

Selling in a challenging market Markets ﬂuctuate up and down all the time and the number of variables that play a role in them are far too many to cover. Added to this, some markets are more liquid or ﬂuid than others, again for different reasons. The stock market is an example of one of the most fluid markets and, as many will bear witness, can change in seconds on the back of a single company announcement. Shares can be bought and sold in seconds depending on the price and the circumstance.

lists for sale, and it may take days, weeks or even months to sell depending on the aforesaid variables - such as the strength of the market, access to finance, price etc. And the commercial property market and the businesses market are a little less fluid again, with the market taking even longer to react and thereby the selling times can be even more protracted.

Andrew Morgan,

Queensland Tourism and Hospitality Brokers

Fortunately, the residential property market is not as fluid and takes a little longer to react. There may or may not be a buyer in the market as the property

So, what has the market got to do with me, I hear you ask? One needs to understand what type of market you are in when you consider putting your motel or accommodation business up for sale. Price expectations

MANAGEMENT

are very dependent on how you, as the seller and your advisers understand the market to be tracking, and whether informed decisions are then made accordingly. Everyone wants to sell in a strong market, however, life doesn’t always allow for this to happen. One can only prepare and do the best given the circumstances of where in the cycle the market is when the time comes to sell. And as with anything, being armed with as much information as possible, is key. Preparation is paramount and the sale of any type of business requires no less. ResortNews | November 2019

This whole experience had led me to question the competing merits of competitive stress versus job security. On the one hand there are those who will argue that having to meet targets annually or lose your job leads to high performance. Others will say that offering job security first is the more likely driver of positive outcomes for both employees and organisations. A large and growing body of research suggests that high pressure cut-throat organisational cultures result in lower productivity and that a positive work environment and security of tenure are key contributors to improved outcomes and bottom line results. Research undertaken by the Queens School of Business and the Gallup Organisation reflects quite startling falls in productivity and profitability in organisations with low job security and employee engagement. A key statistic is the fall in loyalty that results from an insecure workplace. The University of Warwick found that happy employees result in a 12 percent spike in productivity. My personal experience is that staff with a strong sense of job security, a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities and a positive relationship with management simply perform better than those on the “only as good as your last 12 months” treadmill. Here’s the mystery for me. The

Let’s look at the four key elements of this preparation: Financial statements - Too often a quality motel business and property will not sell due to the financial statements not being prepared correctly. Perhaps not inaccurate, but poorly presented. I was very happy recently to hear a solicitor advising their motel client that their financial statements did not look professional enough to expect a strong sale price to be achieved. Despite not being their area of expertise, they simply put themselves in the shoes of a prospective buyer and felt the presentation would not pass the “pub test”. They were advised by both he and I that they needed to have November 2019 | ResortNews

Security of tenure, combined with clear performance expectations (and clear remedies), together with a positive management relationship leads to better outcomes

research confirms that security of tenure, combined with clear performance expectations (and clear remedies), together with a positive management relationship leads to better outcomes. So why do some bodies corporate seem so determined to create the opposite dynamic. Yes, I know resident managers are contractors but that’s just semantics. Ultimately an employee/employer relation exists in all but name and the same lessons apply. Want your resident manager to be stressed, inefficient and distracted? What them to charge for every little thing they can get away with? Want them to feel financial pressure from their bankers? Simple. Just say no to that next top up request and the ugly outcomes will take care of themselves.

their accountant prepare a professional and accurate set of financial statements before offering the motel to the market. The seller was confident that his management accounts were accurate, and they would satisfy a due diligence, but how would he be able to convince anyone else? Presentation plays a big role, especially when the market is soft and there are fewer genuine buyers seeking a motel investment. Property - Physical presentation must be at its best. Buyers in a soft market are looking at everything with a magnifying glass. Why? Because they can. They have more choice and less pressure to act with less risk of the property being sold out from under them.

And it gets better… as the agreement term drops the business value follows suit and the business becomes less appealing to high performing managers. Only the fringe dwellers and vultures will be interested so once the manager’s nervous breakdown takes hold the business will doubtless be sold with a few years left on the agreements and a new manager in a hurry to recoup capital will take over. Sounds like a great plan. Here’s a better idea. Set expectations from the outset, ensure the agreements have appropriate remedies for poor performance and give your manager some long-term job security. Yes, you will add value to the business if you approve a term extension and there are certainly people out there who will vote No just out of spite.

I’d like to think those owners are in the minority and most would have the business nous to understand the value-add that a manager with security of tenure provides to a scheme. It’s a two-way street. So, in closing, a word of advice to resident managers. When I worked for the bank, I would occasionally raise the courage to ask for a pay rise. I always made sure I was shooting the lights out in terms of my performance and attitude before making the approach and I made that performance a consistent behaviour. If you are going to ask for an agreement top up may I suggest you do the same. Too many managers report that a top up has been declined because they didn’t try hard enough to lobby owners. In my mind the lobby process is ongoing and should be reflected in everything you do, every day. I’ll leave you with this quote from Ha-Joon Chang, a South Korean economist who is well worth looking up for his insightful observations on the relationship between economics and self-worth. “The feeling of insecurity is inimical to our sense of wellbeing, as it causes anxiety and stress, which harms our physical and mental health. It is no surprise then that, according to some surveys, workers across the world value job security more highly than wages.”

Repairs and maintenance and cleanliness must be in order. Potential buyers will simply move onto the next one if they are not happy with poor maintenance practices including poor bedding, badly painted surfaces, rusty old box air conditioners, wear and tear that has not been rectified, and so on. Any attempt to “pass on problems” to the next, will not be acceptable in such a market.

And finally, marketing – the promotion and marketing of the accommodation business and/ or property needs to be directed to the target market, and be able to demonstrate a reasonable return on investment. Marketing funds can be wasted very easily when not placed correctly so sellers/managers should seek advice from professionals as this can be a bottomless pit if it’s not hitting the mark.

Legal – Sellers should also have all contracts, agreements and statutory requirements tidied up so there are no outstanding issues that will scare a potential buyer away, either early on when they start looking into the business, or well down the track when an issue may cause a ‘Contract of Sale’ to collapse.

As mentioned previously, in a strong market all of the abovementioned items will garner a little more leeway, but in a soft market the importance of each area is that much more heightened and potential buyers will demand this and potentially a whole lot more – be prepared.

MANAGEMENT

MANAGEMENT Q&A

Q&A In keeping with our philosophy of providing information and advice to resident managers, property managers, licensees and real estate agents in our busy Industry, I spoke to Paul Gaffney of The MBA Partnership about the ‘ins-and-outs’ of trust accounts and auditing. As you may be aware, in Queensland there are laws to protect how money is received by property agents and management rights licensees, and these agents must maintain their trust account in accordance with the following Acts and Regulations: •

Property Occupations Act 2014

•

Agents financial Administration Act 2014

•

Agents Financial Administration Regulation 2014

Paul admits to being asked these recurring questions on a regular basis:

Q: What is trust money? Rental payments received on behalf of another person or deposits received on behalf of another person for the sale of a property.

Q: Who can operate a trust account? A resident letting agent or a principal agent of a business who holds a full real estate licence. This licence is issued by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Q: What words must be included in the name of the trust account? You must include the words “Trust Account” in the account name.

Paul Gaffney, The MBA Partnership

Q: Who must notify the Office of Fair Trading of the opening or closure of a trust account? Within two months (60 days) of the opening or closure of a trust account the agent must complete an Agents Financial Administration (Form 5) and lodge it with the OFT. Your auditor may also do this on your behalf.

Q: Do you have to appoint an auditor after the opening a trust account? The agent must give written notice of the appointment of an auditor within one month (30 days) of the opening of the trust account. The notice must include the auditor’s name and address and provide evidence that the auditor has accepted the appointment.

Q: If an agent’s auditor resigns or the agent ends the appointment of the auditor what must be done? Both the agent and the auditor must give written notice to the OFT immediately and the agent must engage a new auditor if the trust account is still operational.

Trust accounts and the audit process

Q: When should the end of month cash book reconciliation be completed?

Q: When should rental bonds be lodged with the Residential Tenancy Authority (RTA)?

At the end of each calendar month, the agent must reconcile their trust account cash book with their trust ledger and a bank statement from their financial institution. They must complete this within five days after the end of the month using the bank balance of the financial institution as at the end of the previous month.

Bonds must be receipted and lodged with the RTA within 10 days from date of receipt. RTA bonds can now be lodged online.

Q: Who is responsible for lodgement of the audit report with the OFT? The agent is responsible for the lodgement of their audit report however, auditors can lodge audit reports on an agent’s behalf. This process can be completed online.

Q: Who is responsible to ensure the trust account has had the two unannounced examinations by the auditor in the audit period? It is the agent’s responsibility to ensure the trust account is audited in line with legislation.

Q: Does my auditor have to visit the site to complete my trust account examination? No, legislation states the two unannounced examinations can be done remotely away from your office. The auditor is only required to be onsite for the final audit examination of your audit period.

Q: How long must trust records be retained? Agents must keep hard copies of the trust account ledger, completed cash book reconciliations and audit reports for five years.

MANAGEMENT

Q: What experience should I look for when appointing my auditor? An experienced auditor with a background (and preferably their own experience) in real estate and management rights is paramount when looking for an auditor for your business. An experienced auditor will identify and help you rectify any regulatory breaches before they become serious issues. It is an investment to protect the value you have bult up in your licence and your buisness.

Q: Does NSW have different rules and legislation for trust accounts? Yes. In NSW, agents must maintain their trust account in accordance with the Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002. We look after many NSW agents and licensees so please contact our office for further specific information about the NSW requirements.

Q: Can my auditor help me with other things I need, like getting my tax, BAS and bookkeeping done? In some cases, yes. Most taxation and accounting organisations are able to offer you a range of services including trust account auditing, accounting and taxation, verifications, bookkeeping, data and telephony solutions and wealth management. ResortNews | November 2019

While ResortNews is aimed at the greater leisure accom industries of hotels, motels, resorts, holiday parks and time share, there is no denying that it has more than a strong bent towards management rights – and yet to date, we have not had a dedicated page for resident manager input or advice… until now. It seems pertinent that for the first of these ‘Manager’s Advice’ pages that we should go to Michael Mitchell of Moda Melton and winner of the inaugural ARAMA Manager of the Year (Long Stay) Award for 2019, and despite him saying that he was “hopeless at essays in school and that this exercise felt like a bad English assignment”, Michael has provided his thoughts on a couple of items to consider when starting out that he believes are crucial and yet so often overlooked, and then the cause of many problems for managers and bodies corporate.

Hand over and induction We’ve all heard the saying “Start as you mean to continue” – but the activities required to protect your management rights business begin even before you’re given the keys… Leading up to settlement you want to start thinking about protecting your business for later on, usually when the honeymoon period of ‘a new manager’ ends and the short memories of committee members surface. This is particularly prevalent November 2019 | ResortNews

Protect your business for when the honeymoon period of ‘a new manager’ ends and the short memories of committee members surface Michael Mitchell, Moda Melton

for older buildings that have pre-existing maintenance issues and neglect that have arisen due to a general lack of routine and periodical works, or even the disinterest that settles in after a sale... These items are often an easy target to be blamed on new and green managers. Requesting a dilapidation survey, a process that effectively captures the state of the common property and its assets at a particular point in time – such as at the time of hand over, is an invaluable tool for any manager to protect their interests by not allowing unscrupulous committees and/ or bodies corporate to pressure them into spending their own money to improve areas with ailing standards, as opposed to simply maintaining them (at a minimum) in line with their agreements, or worse still, trying to performance manage them out over pre-existing issues. Classic examples of this include foyers with decade-old mop stains along the apron line, filthy tiles which have never been deep cleaned, stairwells with marks and scuffs from numerous removalist trips that may need extensive, labour-intensive cleaning or repainting, landscaping features that have overgrown their beds

and design, lawns in serious need of renovation, and so on. Consider including a dilapidation survey in your first building manager’s report that goes out to all owners and is recorded in the body corporate minutes so you can easily refer back to it, and it’s on the record from day dot – no one can say they weren’t aware and everyone is on notice about the way the building actually is.

Building maintenance plan “Failing to plan is planning to fail” and if managers don’t have a building management plan they are always going to be on the back foot. A building management plan is a documented quality asset and risk management system, specifically tailored to the maintenance and servicing requirement of the common property of the scheme land for the full life cycle of the building. It is a “live document” requiring rigorous establishment and constant review, editing, updating and modification to ensure that it adapts to changes within the scheme and to stay current. The programmed and preventative maintenance schedules (calendars) are

MANAGEMENT

undoubtedly the most important tool to help managers consistently and effectively manage and run the day-to-day operations of their scheme. The maintenance calendars are created from the various asset registers that capture all of the essential and non-essential infrastructure installations within the scheme and also of the duty schedules relating to soft services, including cleaning and gardening for example. When populated and actively used they are an impressive tool and make it easy to explain various workings to the lay person such as committee members and owners. In an ideal situation the body corporate will create and implement the building management plan which instructs how the building is to be managed, and this is then provided to the manager. In practice however, this rarely happens and all parties operate under assumptions and expectations until it comes to a head. Going forward it is hoped that the focus on compliance will make this step a given – but for now it is well-advised for every manager to have their own building management plan.

MANAGER'S MISSIVE

Get the basics right

Just as the board of directors of a publiclylisted company is the interface between the shareholders and the operational side of a business, the committee for a community-title scheme is the interface between the lot owners (body corporate) and the resident manager and/or body corporate manager. And in keeping with this theme, the “operational” side of the “business” is all about maintaining the common property and the structural integrity of the buildings for the full life of the body corporate and scheme. This comparison is pertinent in more ways than one – never before has the question of compliance and regulation adherence received as much attention as is being done currently; major businesses – and in particular, the banking sector – are being accused of questionable business ethics and have found themselves the subject of public scrutiny, with leadership styles and corporate governance systems being forced under the microscope. Today, and this is expected to intensify as new body corporate laws role out in Queensland (expected in 2020), there is a growing national focus on construction compliance and

procedures and strategies of the committee for the body corporate in a formal ‘Facilities Management Plan’ (FMP) is a great way to enable confidence in decision making – no matter who the current committee members are.

Lynda Kypriadakis, Diverse FMX

defective building work. So how would your body corporate and committee perform under compliance scrutiny around the maintenance of your common property? What is corporate governance, and just how does it apply to the hierarchy contained within management rights? Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws and institutions affecting the way a corporation is directed, administered or controlled, and in the community-titles sector, corporate governance is applied to the way we manage our administration and sinking funds, our reporting and voting protocols and the way we maintain the assets and infrastructure owned by all lot owners - the common property. Being aware of the pillars of good corporate governance provides all stakeholders to the maintenance of common property with a framework for management and decision making, and documenting the philosophies, policies,

The FMP is a documented management system that details stakeholder governance over repairs, maintenance and compliance for the full life of the common property. As every business has a strategic plan, so every committee for a body corporate should have a “business plan” or FMP for the maintenance of common property and ideally that plan will encompass the eight pillars of good corporate governance for the maintenance of common property: 1.

Law and compliance – Optimising the process of implementing all relevant laws for the long-term best interests of the body corporate

Accountability – Understanding duties and obligations and being responsible for your part

Moral integrity – Encouraging and participating in a culture of honesty, sincerity, respect and transparency with focus on the best long-term interests of the body corporate

MANAGEMENT

Participation – Resisting the temptation to allow apathy to take over

Purpose

Security

Transparency

Effectiveness

Participation

Moral Integrity

Accountability

of effective governance Law & Compliance

GOOD GOVERNANCE

The eight pillars

Effectiveness – Utilising the body corporate resources diligently and efficiently

Transparency – Building trust with all stakeholders through inclusivity and disclosure

Security – Protecting commercial-in confidences and corporate property

Purpose – Have the determination to deliver 100 percent compliance for the best long-term interests of the body corporate in all dealings

So, how do these pillars fit into the Facilities Management Plan? Law and compliance – The FMP must deal with all relevant statutes, codes of practice and Australian Standards imposing duties and obligations on bodies corporate and their resident managers for the repairs and maintenance of common property. The FMP is sitespecific and will therefore detail the relevant standards affecting the common property. A quality FMP will come with hand-over training and will require an annual audit review to ensure continuity. Formal assessment, auditing and reviewing is fundamental to continuing compliance with changing legislation. Accountability – Lot owners must hold committee members and resident managers to account. Failure to maintain common property to the objective standard - and in accordance with regulatory compliance requirements - is usually the result ResortNews | November 2019

of ongoing under-performance that accumulates over time. Annual review audits of the FMP will challenge management stakeholders and ensure compliance objectives are upheld.

adopt a policy of external auditing to determine potential breaches, coupled with low tolerance for ineffective and/or underperforming members and/or service providers. Transparency – The FMP should provide opportunities for all stakeholders and interested parties to review the compliance history and standards at any reasonable time. A culture encouraging transparent working processes at the committee level – particularly when dealing with major contracts such as capital upgrade works and/or the Caretaking Agreement – is important.

Moral integrity – A positive safety culture and “best for building” focus is fundamental to the compliance performance of the body corporate as a whole. There can be no compromise on prioritising regulatory compliance and the structural integrity of the scheme buildings. Participation – Committee members, resident managers and body corporate/strata managers should assess their own performance regularly and assess the balance of skills around the table at the committee meetings. Am I adding value here? Do we need further training? Do we need specialist or expert consulting to support 100 percent compliance? Are we fully implementing the FMP in our scheme?

Security – Proper tendering of contracts via closed “commercial in confidence” principled project management standards, as well as the elimination of reliance on conflicted revenue streams (e.g. commissions paid services, etc.) will improve the integrity of outcomes for the body corporate. Purpose – The committee must be the custodian of the body corporate “purpose”, but obviously, this “purpose” must first be defined. The committee (and the resident manager and body corporate/ strata manager) are there to

Effectiveness – Are we using the body corporate funds and resources effectively and efficiently to ensure a fully compliant result? Lot owners and their elected committees should

provide analysis, operational and scheme knowledge, research and thinking and they will probably make recommendations to the lot owners, but it is the body corporate that must ultimately approve the committee purpose, philosophy and strategy. So, knowing all this, what is the worst thing you can do? Doing nothing is the worse thing a body corporate committee can do when it comes to compliance. Apathy is defined as a lack of interest, concern or enthusiasm, and in terms of implementing an FMP, apathy is a disease. Poor corporate governance, regulatory non-conformance and poor caretaking delivery standards are the symptoms of that disease. Apathetic (or ignorant) committee members may lack the knowledge or motivation and willingness to act and are often unaware of the effect they are having on others that don’t share their disinterest. They can be indifferent to compliance requirements and treat them with suspicion, inadvertently creating an unlawful situation (for example, refusing to approve rectification of a faulty carpark exhaust system because

its “too expensive”). Success for bodies corporate however, relies on effective leadership at the committee level and a plan that steers the control and management of body corporate assets in the best possible way. The benefits of good corporate governance and a wellmanaged FMP are obvious: •

Improved decision making at committee and body corporate (general meeting) level

•

Attraction of competent and energetic committee member(s) and service contractors

•

Reduction in sinking fund and recurrent maintenance costs

•

Better long-term planning

•

And last but not least, a FMP survives individuals, so it doesn’t matter who the committee members are, or who the resident manager is.

Good corporate governance in bodies corporate promotes a positive compliance culture that supports the success of the FMP for the full life of the scheme.

Manage your Caretaking and Building Management.

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November 2019 | ResortNews

MANAGEMENT

INTONET

Have you been finger-printed? The Pink Panther, Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes would have been lost without them… fingerprints. They seem to stick to everything – these days mostly to mobile phone screens. Their use as signatures dates back to Babylonian times, in 1860 they entered the world of criminology and the first Britishrecorded conviction based on fingerprints left on billiard balls was recorded in 1902. Fast forward to the twenty-first century and these pesky, almost invisible imprints are now being collected via your web browsers by sites that run a pile of code allowing the tracking of your and my activities for incorporation into large data. Have you ever heard of browser fingerprinting? It’s okay if you have not, since almost nobody has ever heard of it. Browser fingerprinting is an incredibly accurate method of identifying unique browsers and tracking online activity. And if there is one lesson to learn about digital privacy, it is that we must never grow complacent. Even if we secure our data so that we are not tracked online, the "ad tech" industry will find ways to monitor our digital activity. And so it is with the rise of so-called fingerprinting that security researchers are calling a nextgeneration tracking technology. So what exactly is it? Fingerprinting involves looking at the many characteristics of your mobile device or computer, like the screen resolution, operating system and model, and triangulating this information to pinpoint

Arvo Elias, Cybercons and follow you as you browse the web and use apps. Once enough device characteristics are known, the theory goes, the data can be assembled into a profile that helps identify you the way a fingerprint would. And as is usual it is all bad news: The technique happens invisibly in the background in apps and websites. That makes it tougher to detect and combat than its predecessor, the web cookie, which was a tracker stored on our devices. The solutions to blocking fingerprinting are also limited. The biggest give-away is how websites are coded these days. We now use a new version of html: namely HTML5 which is the latest permutation of the web's computer language. The newest method to obtain browser information is called “Canvas Fingerprinting.” Simply put, websites are written in HTML5 code, and inside that code, there is a little piece of code that takes your browser’s fingerprint. So, how are websites doing that, exactly? Let me explain in the simplest language I can. The tracking method that websites employ to obtain your browser fingerprint is enabled by new coding features in HTML5 and HTML5 is the coding language used to build websites. It is the core

The concept of this type of tracking provides several methods of directing advertising at you. A simple example would be the case of you searching health issues and viewing a number of sites...

fundamental of every website. Within the HTML5 coding language, there’s an element which is called “canvas.” And just as the name suggests it is what an artist would use. Originally the HTML coding of <canvas> element was used to draw graphics on a web page. In plain English, what this means is that the HTML5 canvas element generates certain data, such as the font size and active background colour settings of the visitor’s browser, on the visited website, and this information

MANAGEMENT

serves as the unique fingerprint of every visitor. In contrast to how cookies work, canvas fingerprinting does not load anything onto your computer, so you can’t detect it and can’t delete any data since it is not stored on your computer or device, but elsewhere. Security researchers discovered fingerprinting as a tracking method about seven years ago, but it was rarely discussed until recently. Only about 3.5 percent of the most popular ResortNews | November 2019

websites use it today for tracking, but that’s up from about 1.6 percent in 2016, according to Mozilla. And an unknown number of mobile apps also use fingerprinting. A study by Princeton University of one million site measurements in January 2016, observe over 90 million requests and nearly 300 million JavaScript calls to gather some of the ninety plus metric points that forms your digital web-based fingerprint. It turns out that browser fingerprinting is an incredibly accurate method of identifying unique browsers and tracking online activity. Tracking methods and data collection is extremely valuable because it allows advertising businesses to create a profile based on your data. The more data these businesses have, the more accurately they can target you with advertisements, which, indirectly, means higher revenue for the company. The concept of this type of tracking provides several methods of directing advertising at you. A simple example would be the case of you searching health issues and viewing a number of sites that deal with what you are searching for. By sharing either cookies data or the interchanging of fingerprint results, you could then receive advertising from health insurance funds without ever having accessed any of their sites. And sometimes this data gathering can turn nasty. You could be looking for chest pain online; a website sells your search history to a health insurance company, and that health insurance company infers that you are at risk of heart disease and cancels your policy or increases your premiums. Fortunately, it’s not all bad. Browser fingerprinting is also used to identify the characteristics of botnets, because the connections of botnets are established by a different device every time. Such analysis could lead to the identification of fraudsters and other suspicious activities

November 2019 | ResortNews

that require investigation. Banks use this method to identify potential fraud cases. If an account is showing questionable online behaviour, for example, a bank’s security system is able to identify that the account is being accessed from multiple, different locations during a short period of time by analysing unique fingerprinting. By doing so, the hacker who logged into the account using a device that had never accessed the account before can potentially be identified. All of these signs suggest potential fraud, and usually trigger further investigation or the preventative freezing of an account. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to wipe some of your fingerprints from the internet. Using the browser extensions I wrote about last month will give you a good start, and by using an extension called ‘Canvas Defender’ one can prevent canvas fingerprinting on your browser. The thing that is special about this extension is that instead of completely blocking canvas fingerprinting it hides your original fingerprint and replaces it with spoof data. To see this tool in action you can go to, https://browserleaks. com/canvas and check current uniqueness and signature of your browser. Now install the extension and hit the ‘Canvas Defender’ icon and click ‘Generate New Noise’. Refresh the page to see the changes in your fingerprint. To see if you are unique visit https://amiunique.org/ fp and then you can try https://panopticlick.eff.org I tested my "uniqueness" on https://amiunique.org/fp to discover that out of a sample of 1,331,432 fingerprints in their data base mine was unique. Only one browser out of the 1,331,511 observed browsers, which equates to less than 0.01 percent had exactly the same fingerprint as mine. Finally, you may wish to have your site designed to provide you with your client information in this manner and do some targeted advertising; just make sure your pockets are deep enough.

Rental offenders put on notice The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) has continued its compliance drive over the past 12 months, completing over 1,150 investigations in the 2018-19 financial year, closing six court prosecutions with guilty pleas in all cases, issuing more than 50 penalty infringement notices and educating more than 430 people. CEO Jennifer Smith said the RTA’s authority to investigate and prosecute offences under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodatin Act 2008 (RTRA Act) was essential to making renting work for Queenslanders. “With more than one third of Queensland households renting, the RTA’s role as an independent regulator is critical to protect everyone involved in the sector,” Ms Smith said. “Everyone should be aware that breaking Queensland’s tenancy laws can result in convictions and fines.” “If you’re doing the wrong thing, whether that’s failing to lodge a tenant’s bond with the RTA or interfering with the right to quiet enjoyment of their home, then the RTA will take action.” Almost half of investigations finalised by the RTA in the past 12 months related to non-lodgement of rental bond within the required 10-day period, and over 25 percent related to unlawful entry. “The RTA actively engages with parties involved in an investigation, to educate them with the aim of reducing the likelihood of repeated breaches and offences,” Ms Smith said. “In cases where it is in the public interest, or where there are repeat offenders or serious offences, we will look at issuing

MANAGEMENT

a penalty infringement notice or proceeding to prosecution. “There is no excuse for not knowing your rental rights and responsibilities.” The RTA also collaborates with other agencies including the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Queensland Police Service (QPS) where investigations uncover evidence of unlawful behaviour outside of the RTRA Act – such as fraud. RTA prosecutions in 2018-19 included the case of Gympie landlord Jack Green, of Forest Glen, where the tenants arrived home to discover a bulldozer onsite, with part of the acreage property stripped of all vegetation. No entry notice had been issued prior and the property had been significantly altered without their knowledge or consent. Gympie Magistrate’s Court, Magistrate Callaghan imposed a $3000 fine on Mr Green and ordered that half the fine be paid to the tenants, after noting that the works “very significantly interfered with the peaceful enjoyment they were paying for”. Southport real estate agent Marilyn Martin and her son Brendon Martin were convicted and jailed for fraudulently obtaining $107,000 from Ms Martin’s business trust account. Ms Martin was also prosecuted for another 16 counts of failing to lodge rental bonds and failing to issue receipts for bonds received. Both were sentenced to four years imprisonment, to be suspended after serving six months in prison. This case was the result of collaboration between the RTA, OFT and QPS. In Cairns, director of crisis accommodation provider Three Sista’s, Stuart Wright was prosecuted for 17 offences under the RTRA Act in a joint investigation with OFT. Offences included using the wrong tenancy agreements, unlawful eviction and falsifying documents. Convictions were recorded with a $16,000 fine and costs of $2350 handed down.

STRATA TRENDS

Where there is smoke… Time is quickly running out for property owners in Queensland communitytitle/strata schemes to ensure their units are compliant with the State Government’s current smoke alarm rules that require all dwellings to have interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms installed. The legislation was developed following recommendations handed down after the fatal 2011 house fire at Slacks Creek in Brisbane South, which claimed 11 lives, including eight children. All Queensland dwellings leased and sold are now required to have interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms in all bedrooms and hallways that connect bedrooms with the rest of the dwelling, and on every level. While the estimated 550,000

51 Percent of Queensland landlords are unaware of their smoke alarm obligations landlords were unaware of their smoke alarm obligations.

Grant Mifsud, Archers rental properties in Queensland must meet the new smoke alarm rules by January 1, 2022, there are already concerns from suppliers and the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) about the lack of awareness of the deadline, and that many property owners may take action too late to complete the process for replacing all smoke alarms, which can often be lengthy in strata. A recent QFES survey found that 51 percent of Queensland

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Property owners, committees and body’s corporate are being encouraged to co-ordinate the upgrade of their smoke alarms as soon as possible to avoid what could be a late rush to meet the deadline. If people wait until close to the compliance date there is a risk that there may be insufficient time to coordinate a group upgrade to reduce costs, or enough tradespeople available to install the alarms meaning prices will rise. Despite the replacement cost being the owner’s responsibility when alarms are not connected to a QFES monitored system, as the body corporate is responsible for compliance if audited by the QFES, committees should consider undertaking ‘blanket’ replacement for all units as a group project to not only ensure the entire apartment complex is compliant but to also reduce replacement costs overall for individual owners. There is already one scheme arranging to upgrade the smoke alarms in all 140 apartments in the complex, and to do this they are seeking quotes for the estimated total cost and provisioning for funding by increasing levies to the sinking fund over the next

MANAGEMENT

two years. While pro-active, even this approach is lengthy and complex as the body corporate must seek agreement from each owner for them to do the work on the owners’ behalf who will then pay the cost proportionate to their share via levies. The committee and body corporate then need to approve supply, funding and works agreements at a general meeting to ensure the project is performed. One can understand therefore why there is a need for forward planning to ensure there is a strategy in place to upgrade the smoke alarms in time. A potential issue, and certainly one that resident managers need to be across, is that if all alarms have not been upgraded, and there are individual units that are not compliant, this will put the entire building at risk and those units will not be able to be let. Complying with the new smoke alarm regulations will be a major undertaking for strata communities but a vitally important one. Fire safety is a deadly serious issue in strata communities and procedures need to be in place to ensure residents are protected at all times. ResortNews | November 2019

HOUSEKEEPING

Clean tech:

Laundry-free linens Richard Ferrell, founder and president of Pürlin, LLC, wasn’t especially tuned into water issues when he lived in Florida. In fact, it wasn’t until the long-time hotelier was in California during a severe drought that he became aware of the critical need to conserve this natural resource. “Because I felt the need to do something for the environment, I sold the company I built to my partners to use my hospitality industry experience to do something good for the planet,” he recounts. Ferrell describes how and why he created his Pürlin LaundryFree Linens, which enable businesses with communal laundry—primarily healthcare and hospitality—to provide guests and patients with safe, clean, unused linens while also protecting the environment. While gathering research on the challenge of water conservation, Ferrell recalls attending a National Geographic conference. “I was struck by a slide showing a queen-sized bedsheet. The question beneath it was, ‘How many litres of water does it take to make one queen size bed sheet?’ And the answer was a whopping 10,500 litres.” Ferrell knew bed linen was generally 60 percent cotton and 40 percent polyester, November 2019 | ResortNews

Ferrell explains how his system can be easily incorporated into traditional hotel operations. “After the beds are stripped, the bed linens are placed in bags and collected by our PolyPro partners. The fabric is melted into a liquid, and the fibres can be re-extruded back into a fabric again, yielding a product that is hypoallergenic, super soft, and white— one that has never been slept on before.”

To provide a sense of how much water is saved, Ferrell says a typical 300-room facility uses 3.7-4.9 million litres of water a year washing just sheets and pillowcases. and that growing the cotton and cleaning the sheets and pillowcases made from it not only used enormous amounts of water, it also required using a whole host of toxic chemicals to protect crops from disease and animals, and still other harsh treatments to sanitize the resulting linens Further, the annual cost of replacing linens had risen in recent decades—from 10 to 15 percent to 25 to 35 percent, he observes, noting that this is partly due to theft and resistant stains. He mentions, too, the ‘catch-22’ involved in providing the hypoallergenic bedding for the growing number of healthconscious guests who request

it: “That requires laundering with treatments that may not remove the ‘evidence’ that linens have been used by others.” In his quest for a solution, Ferrell says he was looking for a product that could simulate cotton but also save water and avoid the use of toxic chemicals. Polyester, which has been vastly improved in recent years, was an obvious choice. For the basic fibres, they used the now long proven- safe material originally developed for diapers. The result, he says, was soft, comfortable, unblemished linen that was also hypoallergenic. “They’re melted at over 510 degrees, after which a brand-new sheet is created.”

MANAGEMENT

Ferrell says, when those true costs are factored in, the cost of his system is equal to or lower than what hoteliers are already spending, while also benefiting the planet, including, as he explains, marine life. “The linens created use a non-woven technology, so there are no microfiber threads to leach out of the material and into the waste stream.” Ferrell stresses that the linens, which can be used for up to two weeks, are 100 percent recyclable, not disposable, and they are strictly for communal— not residential— laundry, like hospitals, hotels, cruise ships, and in the military. The product is being tested and used in multiple markets now. “We expect this to revolutionise the industry in laundry because eventually guests will demand it; they will refuse to go to a hotel, hospital, or cruise ship that has sheets that someone else has slept on.” Source: Lodging

Wineries support strategy to build wine tourism Queensland wineries are behind a new fiveyear strategy to develop high-quality wine tourism experiences and attract more international tourists to Queensland’s wine regions. Developed with Australian and state government funding, the Queensland Wine Industry Association (QWIA) strategy signals an exciting new era for Queensland wine and tourism businesses. Queensland Minister

resilience and competitiveness of Queensland’s wine sector and growing its contribution to the state’s economy.” Wine tourism visitors to Queensland spend more than $800 million on average each year, which is 3 percent of the state’s total visitor expenditure. for Agriculture Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie advised: “Australia produces fantastic wine, and we want to share that with the world. Our wineries are set amongst idyllic landscapes with friendly communities ready to roll out the red carpet. “This strategy will help boost tourism

Continued strong growth in domestic visitation and visitor nights in Australia shows 12 percent growth in capital city visitor nights and 5.6 percent growth in regional visitor nights The domestic figures demonstrated strong growth in visitor nights for the purpose of business (15.9 percent) and holiday (9.2 percent), a factor of the weak

Australian dollar, investment in marketing and events and an unprecedented wave of investment in new hotel openings and refurbishments. While the international market has softened, key markets such as the USA and Japan are showing good growth. The USA market growth is being attributed to the continued impact of last year’s ‘Crocodile Dundee’ campaign, as well as economic and trade factors. It is expected that growth from Japan will continue to be sustained by initiatives such as the new ANA flights to Perth, and the federal government announcement in early September, of expanded air services arrangements between Australia and Japan from March 2020. Source: Australian Leisure Management

Wine Australia chief executive Andreas Clark added: “I look forward to seeing local wine businesses embrace this strategy, which is focused on building the

New data shows tourists spent a record $12.24 million in the local economy at this year’s 60th anniversary Mount Isa Mines Rodeo – $500,000 more than in 2018. Queensland Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said the overall attendance figure had surpassed 2018’s previous record, with attendance of 39,933 over the four-day event, generating more than 64,000 visitor nights in Queensland. Minister Jones noted: “To see this event attract record crowds and break visitor expenditure records is a great coup. “Earlier this year the Premier declared 2019 the Year of Outback Tourism. This was proof of the government’s focus to grow outback tourism. The fact that we’ve seen strong growth in this sector in 2019 is a testament to the fact that the government's strategy is working.” Mount Isa Mines chief executive Natalie Flecker said the Isa Rodeo was committed to delivering a world-class experience in Outback Queensland: “It has been a very challenging year for our region and of course, for many other parts of Australia. “We are thrilled to not only maintain the 20 percent increase in attendance for the past two consecutive years, but also to achieve an increase in 2019, our 60th year.

Implementing the strategy is the next step in QWIA’s International Wine Tourism State Grants project, which is supported by $230,000 in funding from the Australian Government and $230,000 in matching funds through the Queensland Government and QWIA.

$12.24 million in record spend at 2019 Isa Rodeo

Domestic market sustaining tourism performance Continued strong growth in domestic visitation and visitor nights is sustaining Australian tourism according to the latest National Visitor Survey (NVS) and International Visitor Survey (IVS) results from Tourism Research Australia.

throughout our wine regions, while also promoting Australian wine to international tourists.”

TOURISM

“We are already working on the 2020 rodeo and would love to welcome even more visitors to Outback Queensland for this truly iconic event.” Flecker added that the support of Tourism and Events Queensland, naming rights sponsor Mount Isa Mines and other loyal sponsors was instrumental to the event’s continued success. “We are very proud to have directly donated more than $5 million back to our community plus provided the major fundraising platform for many local community groups and charities over the years.” Mount Isa Mines general manager of Health, Safety, Environment and Community Maryann Wipaki said the rodeo provided significant economic benefits for local businesses and community groups. In 2019, more than 35 local community groups benefitted from the opportunity to provide services at the rodeo, providing for selfsustaining community fundraising, enterprise development and industry diversification. ResortNews | November 2019

Hotel Interiors scoop a win

at global tourism innovation awards Gold Coast based interior design and fit-out company ‘Hotel Interiors’, recently took out the award for ‘Most Outstanding Refurbishment and Fit-out Exponent for Australia in 2018’, hosted at this year’s prestigious Global Tourism Innovation Awards night. The Global Tourism Innovation Awards assembled by the 9AM General Managers Daily News are presented across a number of categories and judged by industry professionals. This year’s awards ceremony was held at the London Courthouse Hotel in Soho, London on the 20th June. The awards paid tribute to those who have lifted and enhanced the industry through innovation and customer experience and heralded those

Dennis Clark, Founder and CEO of Hotel Interiors

who continue to push boundaries and challenge the status quo. Hotel Interiors is one of the largest hotel and hospitality interior fit-out and refurbishment specialists in Australasia and the South Pacific rim. The group won the award following the fit-out of a number of prestigious hotels and properties in Australia.

We specialise in furniture for hotels, motels, serviced apartments, resorts and refurbishments.

November 2019 | ResortNews

The evaluation methodology required the Global Awards Secretariat to apply the following test to the final selected candidate in each category, “Is this claimant the best performed, most innovative and most courageous in the category?”

Fit-out Exponent in Australia for 2018’. “We are really pleased that the hard work everyone at Hotel Interiors contributes has been recognised on an international platform” commented Dennis Clark, Founder and CEO of Hotel Interiors.

“Hotel Interiors is the innovative hotel interior designer in Australia and New Zealand” said the Chair of the Global Awards Secretariat Mr John Petrie-Smythe.

Mr Clark said whilst being called to receive an award in the presence of industry peers, the most satisfying part is passing the honour onto our valued clients and the pride they take in the finished product is extremely rewarding and speaks volumes.

Hotel Interiors is over the moon to be awarded ‘The Most Outstanding Refurbishment and

Call Dennis Clark now on 0421 384 212 212 Or Mark Flintoff on 0426 646 822 hotelinteriors.com.au • 1300 130 876 055

TOURISM

Aus residents now need visas for NZ

It was never meant to be climbed

A new rule introduced by the New Zealand government means that starting from October 1, Australian permanent residents are required to take an electronic visa to visit the neighbouring country.

Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) or a visitor visa – unless you are an Australian citizen”, the New Zealand government immigration website states. There will also be a tourist tax of NZ$35 along with this. New Zealand authorities have said that it could take up to 72 hours for granting the document, but could be as little as 10 minutes.

Uluru was never meant to be climbed — but one can still experience its grandeur from the ground.

Until last month Australian citizens and permanent residents were allowed to enter New Zealand with an on-arrival visa but with the new regulation announced by the New Zealand government recently, permanent residents no longer have parity with their fellow Australians who hold citizenship. Australian citizens continue to be exempt and can travel to New Zealand without the need of a visa in advance.

News website stuff.co.nz reports that it is part of an immigration rule change affecting people from 60 countries. “From October 1 about 1.5 million travellers from 60 countries who previously did not need visitor visas will now have to declare any criminal history before departure,” the website reports.

“If you come to New Zealand on holiday, you will need to get either a New Zealand

They will also have to pass a health test, character test and must have genuine intentions also in order to get a NZeTA, the immigration department website states. Source: SBS

A spellbinding red mound of rock towering 1,142 feet above the surrounding Outback, Uluru is a singular site to behold. To the Anangu people — who have inhabited the region for 30,000 years — it’s not just stunning scenery. It’s sacred. Ever since the establishment of a chain handhold route in 1964 visitors here have been scaling the formation, against the wishes of its traditional owners. And so, one of Australia’s biggest tourist destinations also became one of its most controversial. But that all changed recently when the climbing route closed, permanently. While some are lamenting the ban, the National Park Board wants guests to know that it’s actually

a cause for celebration. "We are excited about the closure because it will draw attention to the spiritual nature of the place and will rid Uluru of its reputation as just another monolith to conquer,” explains Clive Scollay, general manager of Maruku Arts, an Aboriginal-owned artists’ collective based at the site. “Apart from the wonderful walks around the Rock and at nearby Kata Tjuta there are many activities to occupy people’s time including our own cultural tours and experiences.” It wasn’t always this way. The modern era of tourism at Uluru began in the 1950s with the construction of a small airstrip just north of the park. Separated from Alice Springs — the nearest population centre — by some 270 miles of pavement, this desolate section of the Northern Territory was now

TripAdvisor draws a line in the water… TripAdvisor has announced that they will no longer advertise or sell tickets to attractions breeding or importing captive dolphins, whales or porpoises. The popular online travel company is the world’s largest and serves 490 million people a month with its listings and sales of accommodation and tourist services. The company announced recently that attractions found to be in violation of the rule will be removed from its website over the next few months, with the policy to take full effect by the end of 2019. Marine biologists, zoologists and conservationists were consulted before TripAdvisor came to the decision. "The extensive evidence presented to us by experts is compelling," Dermot Halpin, president of TripAdvisor Experiences and Rentals. "Whales and dolphins do not thrive in limited captive environments, and we hope to see a future where they live as they should – free

living environment" for rescued captured marine animals are exempt from the new policy.

The sanctions come as an extension of TripAdvisor's 2016 animal welfare policy. Said policy had already banned the sale of tickets to events that allow visitors to come into contact with captive animals or have animals perform tricks under duress or via the use of drugs for public entertainment.

"Seaside sanctuaries have enormous potential, but they need more backing from the tourism industry," he added. "As long as facilities with captive whales and dolphins continue to profit from keeping these animals in smaller, cheaper and less natural living environments, then they don't have enough incentive to adopt serious change. We hope our announcement today can help turn the tide." Facilities accredited by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums that have publicly committed to ending capturing, breeding and importation of captive cetaceans for public display are exempt as well. And special dispensation will also be granted to commercial and non-profit facilities that have made a public commitment to developing sanctuary environments for captive animals.

Halpin indicated that sanctuaries that provide a "permanent seaside

A spokesperson for the Gold Coastbased Sea World says the decision

and in the wild. "We believe the current generation of whales and dolphins in captivity should be the last, and we look forward to seeing this position adopted more widely throughout the travel industry."

TOURISM

is extremely disappointing, considering the theme park’s “longterm and ongoing commitment to assisting marine animals. “Sea World contributes millions of dollars to research and rescue each year and is not constricted by a budget, when an animal is in need, we do everything we can to assist. “Throughout our history, we have conducted rescue operations on animals in need all over Australia, and while the goal with every rescue is to rehabilitate and release, this is not always the case and Sea World is a sanctuary for rescued animals. “As part of these operations, we have and will continue to invest heavily in designing specialist rescue equipment, internal and external training and the purchase of stateof-the-art veterinary equipment.” The new policy has been lauded by animal rights organisation PETA, who's also calling on other tourism-oriented companies to follow suit. Source: Travel + Leisure

ResortNews | November 2019

equipped to receive a steady stream of guests. But simply staring at this geologic wonder apparently wasn’t enough. Indeed, the vast majority of them saw the site as some sort of climbers’ conquest. When the Australian government returned the land to the Anangu in 1985, it included a 99-year lease to continue operations within the park in exchange for an eventual closure of the climbing route. “Anangu have always been concerned for the safety of climbers and have felt great grief when people have died during the climb,” says Scollay. “This grief is amplified because Anangu feel responsibility is forced upon them to look after the souls of the dead."

prohibition. So, a compromise was reached: plans would be made to shore up infrastructure and heritage sites around Uluru, with the aim of developing alternative recreation in and around the park. When the annual percentage of climbers dropped to less than 20 percent of total visitors, the closure would be triggered.

Still, the government balked at a specific date for the ban. As many as 80 percent of visitors to Uluru were coming expressly for the climb. It didn’t help in 1983, when Prince Charles and Princess Diana made the trek to the top with much fanfare. Australian officials worried that tourism would collapse if they announced an overnight

The ensuing decades saw the construction of bike paths, cultural centres, art installations and other unobtrusive ways to interact with the hallowed ground. Finally in 2015, the 20 percent benchmark was cleared. And even then the government dragged their feet, eventually landing on a date in late 2019 — 34 years to the day

after officially reinstating the land to its traditional owners. “Ayers Rock Resort, which supports visitors to the National Park, has worked tirelessly to develop and promote a wide range of experiences, events, and activities,” says Grant Hunt, CEO of Voyages Indigenous Tourism. “It’s all designed to make the place attractive, contemporary and revenant from a cultural point of view. While the closure of the climb removes one small adventure component for the destination, it does so much more to strengthen its cultural authenticity.” Hunt recommends visiting the Field of Light, a massive

installation of shimmering orbs conceived by British artist Bruce Munro. Located just beyond the resort, the international attraction features 20,000 sculpted bulbs, which slowly shift in colour as you walk through them. It runs through the end of 2020. “No matter what your attitude may be to the closure of the climb, nothing can prepare you for the awe you will feel when you first lay your eyes on this majestic monolith rising from the surrounding plain,” adds Scollay. “Uluru truly is a ‘Puli Pulka’: A very grand rock, worthy of its place as a geographic wonder of the world.” Source: Travel + Leisure

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November 2019 | ResortNews

TOURISM

Australian island named as one of world’s must-visit destinations Perched 600km off the east coast of Australia, an exclusive island has been lauded as one of the world’s top five travel destinations for 2020.

even online communities about their favourite destinations.

Hidden off the coast of NSW, Lord Howe Island ranked fifth in the world’s top 10 regions list in Lonely Planet’s Best In Travel 2020 book.

“Parked in the middle of nowhere off the Australian coast, this visually stunning island makes an instant impact on the senses with its jaw-dropping World Heritagelisted beauty,” Lonely Planet wrote.

For the 15th year in a row, Lonely Planet narrowed down the list after speaking with writers, editors, authors and

Sitting east of Port Macquarie in the Tasman Sea, the tiny island allows just 400 people to visit at any one time.

“Two soaring green mountains overlook a perfect lagoon and

the world’s southernmost coral reef; perfect crescents of beach and splendid hiking trails through the lush forest add to brilliant outdoors possibilities.” Minister for Tourism Stuart Ayres said the recognition is a massive win for Australia, and NSW in particular, and would boost the island’s profile among international travellers. “There’s something special about Lord Howe Island and it’s fantastic that Lonely Planet’s spotlight will encourage the rest of the

world to discover this beautiful place too,” Mr Ayres said. “The natural beauty and charming remoteness of the island make Lord Howe a ‘mustvisit’ destination for all kinds of travellers including luxury seekers and nature lovers. Topping the list for Lonely Planet’s top 10 regions 2020 was the Central Asian Silk Road, followed by Le Marche in Italy, Tōhoku in Japan, and Maine in the United States. Source: News.com.au

Rugby World Cup serves as tourism warm-up for Japan’s 2020 Olympics push There is no shortage of reasons for tourists to want to visit Japan but using international sports events as a way to signal that Japan is growing more accessible has certainly helped broaden its appeal to those less adventurous travellers. When you think of the sport of rugby, Japan is generally not the first nation that comes to mind, but by serving as the first Asian host nation of a Rugby World Cup tournament, changing perceptions is exactly what Japan aims to do. The World Cup, which will culminate in Yokohama in November, is the first of a slew of massive world events in the coming months and years — the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the World Masters Games in 2021, and the World Expo 2025 — which are intended to help broaden the appeal of Japan’s tourism offering and serve as an invitation to the world. In 2016, the nation set a target to welcome 40 million visitors in 2020, an achievement that would mean doubling its 2015 arrivals level in just five years and in August, before the Rugby World Cup

which means Japan will benefit not only from increased footfall during these events but crucially an increased awareness of destinations all around Japan — not just Tokyo and Kyoto.

began, Japan had welcomed 22 million visitors thus far in 2019. Of course, it’s not as though there haven’t always been travellers keen to visit Japan, but it is a destination that’s historically felt out of reach for some travellers, be it for financial, geographical, or language-related reasons. This is particularly true for Western markets, said Matthew Joslin, head of UK marketing and communications for the Japanese National Tourism Organisation, the nation’s government-funded tourism board. He explained the aforementioned events are part of a broader push in the past four to five years to widen Japan’s

appeal and shed the image of a place that’s perhaps been intimidating for some travellers. “Historically the challenges for Japan, specifically within our [European] market, have been that it is perceived as difficult and expensive and far removed from other easier-to-reach destinations,” said Joslin, “But what’s happening around Rugby World Cup and the Olympics and Paralympics is that it’s being debunked.” That rugby appeals to some of Japan’s key markets — the UK and Ireland for example, are Japan’s largest European market — is no accident. Joslin notes that there is a helpful amount of organic PR,

TOURISM

In addition to perceptions, Joslin cited some key infrastructural and cultural changes that have been made. English signage and announcements have increased in train stations across Japan, making it easier for visitors to get around. In addition, he said there’s been a push for small hotels and accommodation providers that don’t employ English speakers to have vocabulary boards that help both parties “smooth over communication.” Visa policies have been relaxed for some regions, and Airbnb has also made a considerable investment into succeeding in Japan — even complying with regulations they have chosen to fight in other regions — which is a boon for travellers with lower budgets. A target of 60 million visitors has been announced to follow 2020’s goal. “We’re setting ourselves that target so the world knows that … Japan as a destination has come of age and is ready and willing to welcome people.” ResortNews | November 2019

If you’ve ever felt the need to escape – and I mean really escape – to a world of expansive and breathtaking views, unique plants, birds and animals, and very little else, then the PurePods of New Zealand are the ideal breakaway for you. Developed out of a deep love for nature combined with a desire to share that love in a way that is memorable for guests, the luxurious PurePods offer an intensely personal, deep immersion into unspoilt New Zealand, and all it has to offer, from a number of secret pockets of incredible natural beauty. Designed to ensure that you experience nature’s daily show in all its glory, the PurePods are compact eco-glass cabins – that’s right, walls, roof and floor too – completely surrounded by the environment. At night you sleep with the Southern Cross and millions of other stars above, and by day you are surrounded by dramatic natural landscapes. Deliberately isolated and private, the unique PurePod experience ensures that you are safe, warm and dry, yet totally immersed in the surrounds. Watching the rain fall onto the roof or gazing in wonder at the Milky Way, the

November 2019 | ResortNews

returning the water to the local area just as clean as it came to us. Rainwater that falls on the roof is returned under the floor to water the native plants and waste is cleaned naturally eco-friendly cleaners are used exclusively. Bio-fuel capable heaters are used to power the heating system and to top up the hot water when there isn’t a lot of solar power available and the glass floor is toughened, laminated (10mm + 8mm) safety glass and all other glass is double- or triple-glazed. experience is yours alone. The effect is incredible. The stresses of day-to-day life disappear and nature’s power and subtlety reconnects you with yourself – and your partner – to nature in such a way that even when the doors are shut, you are not shut out. On a hot day you can pull back the sliding doors on all three glassed sides, turn up the shade on the ceiling blinds and indulge in the privacy. If it’s cold you are totally insulated, the bio-fuel heating keeps you warm but you can watch the rain or snow falling around you. In keeping with the unique eco experience, each PurePod is located up to one kilometre from a secure car park. Checking in is simply a matter of locking your car (remember it is safe to leave your luggage in the car, so you only need to take a small overnight bag with you) and

walking to the PurePod. The walk to the cabin introduces you to the local environment and reinforces the privacy and isolation you will experience. Located in Pohue, Greystone, Korimako, Atatu, Manakau and Kahutara, each PurePod offers unique views of rolling hills or magnificent rocky outcrops, native bush or paddocks and meadows, coastline and ocean views or vast river scapes and stunning mountain peaks. Conservation and reclamation of the natural environment is an integral part of PurePods, but building the world’s most environmentally transparent building takes more than simply using glass for roofing, flooring and walls. The innovative properties use sustainable energy, minimising the use of non-renewable energy sources, using local water and

TOURISM

Completely self-contained with all the luxury mod-cons of a five-star hotel, the PurePods also offer a cooking hob and outdoor barbeque for cooking but an excellent dinner and breakfast food package is available if desired. There is no TV, wifi or hairdryers (by design) and there are no power plugs; but there is a USB charger for devices if they need charging and there is a bluetooth speaker if you want to take your own music. And judging from the reviews, the bed is one of the most comfortable ever found! The owners have ensured that their building practices are as minimally invasive as they can be while building safely and imaginatively, and all commercial returns enables them to expand their conservation activities through the extension of nature covenants and the reduction of stock grazing sensitive areas.

THE LAST RESORT

New Zealand: How does one define

Jump on and Stay launch in style

State’s best honoured for a top job Hotels from the length, breadth and every corner of Queensland were acknowledged for a year of excellence and achievement recently as the Queensland Hotels Association hosted its 2019 awards gala. From ambitious and talented individuals just starting out in the industry to those with a lifetime of experience, the industry as a whole recognised its leaders and acknowledged the collective effort of driving tourism in Queensland over the night, with winners named across dozens of categories. The evening also served to honour industry stalwart Bernie Power for a lifetime devoted to the industry. Power is known to many as one of the key elements in the foundation of the Brisbane Broncos NRL franchise and a driver behind the success of Power Brewing. “The Awards celebrate those wonderful businesses throughout the state that breathe life into the ‘Beautiful one day, Perfect the Next!’ slogan each and every day,” said Queensland Hotels Association CEO, Bernie Hogan. Key winners of the 2019 Queensland Hotels Association Awards are:

Best Boutique Accommodation: Spicers Balfour Hotel Best Deluxe Accommodation: Ovolo, The Valley Best Marketed Hotel – 100 Employees: Riley, A Crystalbrook Collection Resort, Cairns Best Marketed Hotel – 1-99 Employees: The Island, Gold Coast Best Mid-Range Accommodation: Sandstone Point Hotel Best Pub-Style Accommodation: Halifax Hotel Best Suite/Apartment Accommodation: Meriton Suites, Southport Best Superior Accommodation: Pacific Hotel, Cairns Outstanding Community Service & Achievement – 100 Employees: Hilton, Surfers Paradise Outstanding Community Service & Achievement – 1-99 Employees: Commercial Hotel, Tara

The oﬃcial launch party of Australia’s newest online travel platform JumpOn.online was held recently at Gold Coast’s Home of the Arts (HOTA) and attended by leading travel, tourism and business leaders.

Hosted by media personality Charli Robinson and packed with entertainment, exciting news, the event delivered a revolutionary milestone announcement for the travel industry.

Management rights: Dispute mitigation seminars The high interest and attendance of a combined industry forum on Dispute Mitigation held recently could potentially be seen as an indicator of what the management rights industry appears to be facing currently. Co-presented by Lynda Kypriadakis of ABMA, Mike O’Farrell of MLR Services, Michelle Lee of Mahoneys and Cameron Wicking of Mike Phipps Finance, the forum covered the vital need for objective standards, self-regulation and cross-sectorial collaboration with regard to compliance, and the pitfalls being experienced due to generic agreements and vague duty schedules. Attendees, irrespective of whether they were managers or body corporate representatives were also urged to upskill, embrace

the industry training now available and to know their rights as per the BCCM Act. Particular mention was made of the need for a ‘top up’ strategy and the implications for managers with regard to financial institutions when schemes are in dispute. For more information about future seminars please contact Mike O’Farrell on mikeof@mlrservices.com.au

Workplace Health & Safety Award: Rydges, South Bank Hotelier of the Year: Matthew Coorey – Boardwalk Tavern, Gold Coast Hotel of the Year: The Glen Hotel, Eight Mile Plains

EVENTS & APPOINTMENTS

ResortNews | November 2019

2019 Queensland Tourism Awards Operating for 35 years, and scheduled for early November at the Novotel Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast, the Queensland Tourism Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of the state's tourism industry, including individuals, businesses (industry operators) and events.

The Awards are a submission and inspection-based program and provide the opportunity to publicly acknowledge and showcase Queensland's finest tourism operators. The Awards cover 30 categories ranging from attractions, events, tour and transport, accommodation, restaurants, culture, marketing and more. Watch this space for the results!

Book early for the last LIM lunch of 2019 The October ‘Ladies in Management’ luncheon was held recently at Vecchia Roma Italian in Burleigh and the room was packed to capacity, including a lot of new faces. Instead of having a speaker this month, Marisa Millane

organised a charity drive for ‘Support the Girls’ and was thrilled to be able to hand over a very generous donation of bras and women’s essentials to the charity. The last luncheon of the year is going to be held on Wednesday, November 20 at The Island Rooftop Bar. For more information please contact Marisa Millane on 0403764247.

The Gold Coast’s new event entity has named its inaugural CEO, revealing Jan McCormick will take the role. Ms McCormick is currently the CEO of the Broadbeach Alliance, the group responsible for the extremely successful Blues on Broadbeach Festival and the Groundwater Country Music Festival. The new Major Events Gold Coast body (MEGC) will eventually take over from Broadbeach Alliance, Surfers Paradise Alliance and Connecting Southern Gold Coast. November 2019 | ResortNews

Jan McCormick

The big merge is set to officially occur in time for the next financial year, with all major events to come under MEGC, while smaller events – such as Surfers Paradise Kids Event will go to the City Events unit.

Speaking of the announcement, Jan McCormick said that the MEGC’s main focus will be to drive visitor nights.

Premier gains invaluable NQ experience

“We will be out there looking for new festivals, we’ll be looking at funding, people coming into the city doing events – clearly we want to do that.

North Queensland veteran sales broker Geoff Ellis has joined the Premier Business Sales team. With more than ten years specialising in management rights and a further 20 selling tourism accommodation, Geoff’s career includes training and service in government tourist bureaux, senior management and ownership of tourism companies and property development resulting in several prestigious national awards from tourism and civic bodies.

“We’ll be looking at driving events that can take advantage of the wonderful facilities we have post Commonwealth Games. Above all, Jan McCormick says she’s really looking forward to finally working together with the other event bodies in a more streamlined approach.

EVENTS & APPOINTMENTS

APPOINTMENTS

Jan McCormick awarded top job for new events body

Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley set to adopt solar power Dunk Island to be revitalised with new five-star eco-resort One-hundred percent of the electricity requirements of Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley and a number of adjacent venues will soon be powered by solar as the final stages of preparation are made to a new $8.5 million solar farm next door. The 5,000-megawatt farm, consisting of 13,350 power generating panels, is the initiative of hotel owner and environmentalist Dr Jerry Schwartz, who has long been an advocate for green energy, sustainability and heavily reduced reliance on fossil fuels and traditional energy sources. The farm has been set up on land adjacent to the resort also owned by Dr Schwartz and will be used to power the resort, the Hunter Valley Conference & Events Centre and Sydney Brewery, all located on-site. Energy will begin to be generated by the solar panels from next month, after work began on the associated systems in February this year. Two inverters are in operation on-site and a dedicated electrical and battery storage room has been constructed. High-voltage cabling, power poles and switching gear is currently

being installed to hook up the farm to the Ausgrid system. Cessnock City Council approved the construction of the solar farm soon after its conception in 2016 following the submission of an environmental effects statement and vegetation management plan. The new farm builds on the existing solar panels on top of the Crowne Plaza. Soon, the entire site will become selfsufficient, but will remain connected to mains power as a backup source if needed. Dr Schwartz said it was important to be the catalyst and set examples of renewable energy in an area still known for its long history of coal mining. “Tourism is the sustainable industry of the future for the Hunter Valley, and to make the hotel, convention centre and brewery 100 percent renewable is an important initiative.” The newest solar farm is one part in a co-generation plan also being developed and which sees the use of gas to produce electricity and heat for the resort, including heating the resort’s water supply, the swimming pools, producing potable water and powering the Lovedale Brewery production process. Source: Hotel Management

Purchase contracts have been signed by an Australian property developer to restore Dunk Island as a premier destination along the Great Barrier Reef coastline via a brand new technologydriven eco-resort. Property Bay Pty Ltd, headed by co-founder Tim Sommers, has unveiled the Dunk Island Revitalisation Plan. Its centrepiece will be a ‘carbon positive’, fivestar, low-rise 160-room resort with multiple restaurants, swimming pools, a day spa and many other modern amenities including a championship golf course and conference centre. In addition, the island’s real estate offering will include luxury villas, up to 500 beachfront eco-suites and apartments featuring solar panels and water tanks. The existing airstrip will be extended to cater to direct flights from Cairns and Townsville as well as Brisbane and Sydney. The island will also feature a 730-hectare environmental protection precinct – of which three-quarters will be protected in perpetuity. Beginning with a US$110 million (AU$155m) capital raising – partly funded through cryptocurrencies – the island’s new developers are aiming to clear the island and begin construction in the first quarter of 2019. According to the developers, Dunk Island will be highly technologically driven and eco-friendly upon its reopening, operating on its own green-themed economy. Plans

DEVELOPMENTS

call for a zero-emission property with integrated water-sensitive management plan where rooftop water can be harvested as well as drawn from constructed wetlands and grassed swales, with buffers to protect nearby marine zones. Among the technology available will be self-driving buggies to transport guests around. Artificial intelligence will also feature heavily via a number of fully automated and self-service systems. A Blockchain-managed “utility token model” will operate as the island’s economy, with guests exchanging tokens for goods and services. Good “green” behaviour such as recycling, turning off lights and reusing linens will see guests rewarded for their positive energy footprint. “Dunk Island, and surrounding palm-fringed Mission Beach is an incredibly idyllic area, where rainforest meets reef – with this project we intend to bring significant tourism, and in turn jobs, to the local community,” Sommers said. Dunk Island is located around 4kms off the Queensland coast near Mission Beach and around two hours’ drive south of Cairns. Following a direct hit by Tropical Cyclone Yasi way back in 2011, Dunk Island was eventually abandoned and left to ruin by its former owners, management and staff. According to a new official website, the new project aims to “re-establish the tropical island as a luxurious, world-class domestic and international tourist destination.” Source: Hotel Management

ResortNews | November 2019

Pro-invest commits to clean energy in all new hotels Hotel ownership and management firm Proinvest has initialised a new equity investment fund in an effort to incorporate energy-saving and sustainable technologies as part of its minimum criteria for all new and under-construction hotels. To launch the fund, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has invested $50 million, monies which will be directed towards sustainability initiatives at two Holiday Inn Express hotels in Parramatta and the Sunshine Coast. Its purpose is to see all new Pro-invest developments and properties under construction set a minimum 25 percent energy saving requirement and a significant reduction in energy costs and emission levels of another 15 in various stages of construction across Australia. Properties drawing on the funds must be aiming for a five-star rating

its Carbon Neutral 2030 strategy. Around 15 forthcoming Holiday Inn Express properties will benefit from the funds, including Holiday Inn Express Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast and Holiday Inn Express Parramatta.

under the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS), Pro-invest said. Further qualifying criteria for the new CEFC funds include dedicated clean energy plans on all hotels and the latest in green initiatives including low-carbon construction materials and techniques such as cross-laminated timber, efficient heating and cooling equipment and energy-efficient building management protocols. As the name of the fund suggests, the fund is the second time Pro-

invest has initiated a clean energy fund, with the first drawing on debt finance from CEFC to incorporate low-emission technologies into the Holiday Inn Express Melbourne Southbank, which is on track to open in December 2019. This investment has seen highperformance window glazing, aircooled chillers, condensing boilers, rooftop solar and regenerative lift drives installed in the newbuild. Along with the second fund, Pro-invest says it will purchase green power as well as implement carbon offset schemes as part of

Pro-invest CEO, Ronald Barrott, said the lessons learned from the first fund would be applied into the second and will show investors that sizeable returns are possible from investing in energy-efficient initiatives. “There is a misconception that energy efficiency is not economical. But as we have seen through our first Fund, investing in sustainability measures is value accretive and will drive investor returns. “Walking the extra mile today on energy efficiency, by designing and developing our assets in the most environmentally friendly manner, means additional rewards later, including lower costs and higher guest satisfaction and employee engagement,” Barrott added.

Star Entertainment Group wants some quid pro quo Star Entertainment Group is pledging to spend $68.31 million to renovate the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort along Australia’s Gold Coast, but there’s a catch: the company wants politicians there to grant it a monopoly over casino gaming in the region. The Australian company is pitching renovations to the Convention Centre and Sheraton as part of a broader $6.14 billion expansion effort in Queensland. This is an investment that could have the project commence immediately after an agreement is reached,” said Star Entertainment Group Chairman John O’Neill in a presentation to investors earlier this week. “It’s not work that might be somewhere down November 2019 | ResortNews

Entertainment supports efforts to boost tourism to the Gold Coast, but that the market is too small to support more than one casino.

the track. It’s real and we’re ready to commit here and now.” O’Neill believes his company’s commitment to the area cannot be questioned, but he takes issue with the government’s desire to add a second integrated resort to the region. Star Entertainment describes its Star Gold Coast property as “a city icon of more than 30 years.” The casino there is home to more than 70 table games and over 1,600 electronic gaming machines.

While the region’s government appears intent on adding another gaming venue, the list of interested parties appears murky or unknown. Caesars Entertainment was previously interested in adding a property in Queensland, but the company scuttled those plans just weeks before Eldorado Resorts in June announced a $17.3 billion takeover bid for the Caesars Palace operator. O’Neill believes his company’s position has long been clear: Star

DEVELOPMENTS

As part of a $1.36 billion expansion plan, the Star Gold Coast would have new hotel towers added, two of which are already under construction. On its web site, the company says it has already broken ground on a $400 million mixed used hotel and residential tower in Southeast Queensland. For his part, Star Entertainment’s O’Neill sees the government’s efforts to woo bidders as a costly waste of time that has hampered his company’s stock price. “The process has yielded nothing but considerable cost – tens of millions of dollars – to Governments and proponents, and is impacting our business, weighing on our share price,” he told investors. Source: Casino.org

Sydney's high-rise site sales tumble Sales of residential development sites in Sydney plummeted in the 2019 financial year, dampened by funding diďŹ&#x192;culties, weakened demand, and construction issues, according to Knight Frank's latest Australian Residential Development Review. There was a 38 percent slump in residential development site sales over the year to $5.1bn, led by the declines in Greater Sydney. The region, where most sites are for high-rise developments, recorded a 50 percent fall in sales to $1.97bn. Sales volume fell in all other mainland states except in South Australia, driving the national figures to decline by 38 percent. The downturn could be attributed to the lack of interest amongst major banks to lend developers and the growing national crisis

While Sydney appeared to have lost the interest of foreign investors, Melbourne and Brisbane witnessed renewed demand from offshore buyers. Overseas developers and buyers made up 42 percent of total sales volume in Melbourne and 18 percent in Brisbane. Brisbane has become the go-to place for many well-capitalised private groups looking for larger-scale development opportunities, said Knight Frank's Queensland head of investment on flammable cladding spurred by the events at Olympic Park's Opal Tower. Furthermore, the residential development sector faced fierce competition against alternate asset classes, including office, hotels, aged care, and student accommodation for most of the year, said Knight Frank head of residential research Michelle Ciesielski.

Ciesielski feared that the fewer construction starts would not be able to support the population growth in major Australian cities. "The strict lending criteria for buyers has now been loosened, but access to traditional finance is still difficult for many local and offshore developers, which has resulted in many projects put on hold," she said.

sales Christian Sandstrom. "In particular, offshore buyers from the main Asian markets of Singapore, Malaysia and China/ Hong Kong have re-emerged seeking premium opportunities mainly aimed at the higher quality investor and owneroccupier product," he said. Source: Your Investment Property

QBCC 15009294

DEVELOPMENTS

ResortNews | November 2019

Why join AccomProperties? AccomProperties actively seeks qualified Resident Managers wanting to sell/rent & fill vacancies within their respective accommodation complex. AccomProperties offers support, expertise and access to extensive agency resources.

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QUITE SIMPLY, THE BEST OF THE BEST IN NEW SOUTH WALES. EXCLUSIVE LISTINGS

WINGEN, NSW

WAGGA WAGGA, NSW

TA M W O R T H , N S W

HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL CARAVAN PARK

POPULAR MOTEL IN QUIET LOCATION

THE BEST RESTAURANT & MOTEL IN TAMWORTH

• Prime exposure on main highway in town • Easily maintained • High 17% ROI

• 30 spacious rooms • Easy walk to CBD and river • Strong performance, easy management

• Fully staffed with great business model • DA for more units • Expansion plans drafted

Net: $158,951 Price: $950K

Net: $354,769 Price: $1.15M

Net: $1,024,476 Price: $5.2M

C O N TA C T J A C F E AT H E R B Y

C O N TA C T J A S O N P O R T E O U S

C O N TA C T J A S O N V O G L E R

0424 497 056 | jacqueline@resortbrokers.com.au

0414 726 085 | jason@resortbrokers.com.au

0427 431 213 | jasonv@resortbrokers.com.au

EDEN, NSW

YAMBA, NSW

BROULEE, NSW

STRONG & CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE

IDEALLY POSITIONED WITH DREAM LIFESTYLE

AWARD WINNING TOURISM BUSINESS

• 26 spacious ground-floor suites • 2 acres of landscaped grounds • Repeat diversified clientele

• Forecast to be the next Byron Bay • Consistent year-on-year growth • Ongoing annual refurbishment

• 5 luxury villas with DA for 61 more units • Zoning Eco-Tourism approved (106 acres) • DA for subdivision and major expansion

Net: $253K approx. Price: $2.485M

Net: $361,317 Price: $3.3M

Expressions of Interest

C O N TA C T R U S S E L L R O G E R S

C O N TA C T G R E G J A M E S

C O N TA C T R U S S E L L R O G E R S

0416 166 909 | russell@resortbrokers.com.au

0416 247 068 | greg@resortbrokers.com.au

0416 166 909 | russell@resortbrokers.com.au

MANAGEMENT RIGHTS RESORTS VE

I LUS EXC

SPRING HILL

SURFERS PARADISE

OPTION TO LIVE OFF SITE

OPULENCE ON MAIN RIVER

Upmarket apartments well positioned in popular inner Brisbane suburb and only 15 minutes walk to Brisbane’s CBD. One and two bedroom units offer resort like facilities and secure basement car parking. This permanent letting business has a solid letting pool with strong demand, coupled with a Body Corporate salary of $92,000 and 23 years remaining on management agreements. Two bedroom unit of over 150 sqm, inclusive of office and reception on title.

Exclusive Residential Only permanent high-rise with serene riverfront location. Outstanding facilities including infinity pool, gym, residents lounge and marina this much-admired architectural masterpiece befits the most fastidious buyer. Brand new 25 year Agreements, no set hours, generous remuneration. High-end letting apartments attract the preferred tenants every landlord seeks. Superb 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom manager’s riverfront apartment.

NETT $161,000 PRICE $1,437,000

NETT $142,000 PRICE $1,420,000

Bobo Qi 0438 027 771 bobo@propertybridge.com.au

Rhonda Perkins 0418 767 115 rhonda@propertybridge.com.au

VE USI L C EX

TINGALPA

VARSITY LAKES

GREAT SALARY

CARETAKING ONLY

This Brisbane suburban management rights business for sale has an enviable manager’s renumeration of $133,000 and represents a sizeable proportion of total net income. A gated townhouse complex in the popular suburb of Tingalpa this business has no set office hours, with office on title, and is close to all that the family needs. The three bedroom townhouses on offer to tenants are very popular and the shared facilities include a BBQ and swimming pool only.

Motivated seller. Can be operated by one person with the option to take on a small letting pool should you choose to do so. Boutique, compact and modern complex of 25 townhouses. 19 years remaining on Agreements. A gated complex with a comfortable and spacious manager’s townhouse featuring 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. The sought after suburb of Varsity Lakes, is extremely popular as a lifestyle choice and has so much more to offer!

NETT $181,000 PRICE $1,303,000

NETT $37,000 PRICE $619,000

Jim Lowe 0403 418 115 jim@propertybridge.com.au

Jenny Zheng 0413 922 580 jenny@propertybridge.com.au

propertybridge.com.au | 1800 888 518

Sales Report MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

MOTELS & OTHER Queensland

Gold Coast The Bay Apartments

Jenny Gillespie & Darryl Doherty

Coolangatta

TMR

Samarinda Jewel By The Sea

B & A Stubberfield

Point Lookout

MRS

The Jefferson

Belinda & Stephen Pickwell

Palm Beach

WLK Management P/L

Runcorn

Asserina Grove

Jaelen Wan

Wynnum West

Villas on Falso

J&K Watson Management P/L

Doolandella

Villas on Crossacres

J&K Watson Management P/L

Doolandella

Sunshine Coast / Wide Bay / Fraser Coast

Brisbane Toowoomba Mackay Atherton

TB TB RB RB

Grafton Bathurst Nambucca Heads Culburra Beach Yamba

TB RB RB RB RB

Bellarine Imports P/L

Ceduna

J&P Brendan du Kamp Yaari Enterprises Pty Ltd L & Z International Trade Pty Ltd

Halls Gap Echuca Ararat Lilydale

TB RB RB RB

Grafton Lodge Motel Bathurst Goldfields Peter Coyle Destiny Motor Inn Aaron Rowe Culburra Beach Motel Tim & Maureen Moretti Pegasus Motel Aaron Rowe

South Australia Ceduna Motel East-West

Hinley Apartments

Infinity Block P/L

Maroochydore

TMR

Caribbean Apartments

Woggle Management P/L

Kawana Island

Riverliving Group P/L

Palm Cove

North Queensland Villa Paradiso

M&M Wilkinson D&T McCloud Trinity Accomodation John & Laura Napier

New South Wales

Brisbane Persse Villas

City Palms Altitude Motel Mackay Marina Hotel Atherton Hinterland Motel

CBMR

Victoria Grampian View Quest Echuca Ararat Motor Inn Yarra Valley Motel

Note: Agent/Broker involved in the sale is listed last. Agent - KEY: RMS - Resort Management Sales; CBMR - Calvin Bailey Management Rights; CRE - CRE Brokers; MRS - MR Sales; QTHB - Queensland Tourism & Hospitality Brokers; RB - Resort Brokers Australia; RS - Resort Sales; TO - Tom Offermann; TB - Tourism Brokers; TMR - Think Management Rights; SC - Stratacorp; WCH - Ward Commercial Hotels. * In conjunction

The trusted source for buying Management Rights, Motels and Caravan Parks from all the leading brokers.

www.accomproperties.com.au

Agent Profile: Charles Nurse, Stratacorp

Introducing... Charles Nurse – Stratacorp Charles Nurse continues to breathe new life into the Management Rights industry with a an approach that will maximise every investment opportunity. He developed a super-efficient techsmart system to help sellers, buyers and developers earn millions in additional cash returns through the sale of their asset. “Through many years of selling existing and implementing new Management Rights, we have made the process simple,” said Charles. “The key to our success is outstanding communication, creating outstanding opportunities, and following every deal through to the end.” Over the last eight years, Charles has acted successfully for a large number of Management Rights operators and developers. Building on this success, Charles’ company Stratacorp (established in 2016) is developing markets across Australia and New Zealand.

Stratacorp specialises in both established and new off-the-plan sales. They understand the challenges and obstacles involved in negotiating and establishing a Management Rights deal, and are committed to exceeding the expectations of everyone involved. “Having the right team is vital to our success,” said Charles. “When structuring Management Rights for sale, we always keep in mind the qualities that are attractive to prospective buyers.” Stratacorp will help sell your Short or Long-Term Management Rights business. Their specialised area of expertise is complexes greater than 80 units and net incomes above $300,000. “We are in regular touch with experienced operators looking for new opportunities,” said Charles. PROPERTY

Name: Charles Nurse Mobile: 0477 826 666 Agency: Stratacorp Area of Service: Nationwide Web: www.stratacorp.com Email: charles@stratacorp.com ResortNews | November 2019

Agent Profile: Bobo Qi, Property Bridge

Introducing... Bobo Qi – Property Bridge As co-founder and Sales Director of Property Bridge, Bobo’s tireless efforts to establish and support a vast network of sellers and buyers has been rewarded with outstanding success as a high achieving, well respected and prominent Management Rights broker in the Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne markets. With many years experience in the Management Rights industry, including previous co-ownership of a permanent complex on the Gold Coast, Bobo’s warmth, boundless energy, enthusiasm and dedication has endeared her to management rights operators, buyers and industry professionals.

Always seeking to contribute to the growth, stability and knowledge base of the Management Rights industry, Bobo maintains membership of the REIQ and Gold Coast Tourism. Her recent re-election for a second term as Board Member of the Australian Resident Accommodation Manager’s Association (ARAMA) is reflective of the high regard she is held for her professionalism, integrity and dynamic work ethic. “We would like to let you know how happy we were with the exceptional service we received from Bobo Qi during the recent sale of our Management Rights at Seacrest Apartments, Surfers Paradise." – Diane & Trudy McIntosh

Name: Bobo Qi Mobile: 0438 027 771 Agency: Property Bridge Area of Service: Nationwide Web: www.propertybridge.com.au Email: bobo@propertybridge.com.au

The pearl on the beach ‘Northcliffe Residences’ It is rare to find a brand new luxurious high rise building with absolute beach frontage here on the Gold Coast.

Rights business in the heart of Surfers Paradise. The sales process was a pleasure and we are pleased to have successfully brokered the sale to Song Properties, a property management company specialising in offthe-plan Management Letting rights.

Perfectly positioned on an exclusive stretch of Surfers Paradise real estate, internationally respected property developers, Qingjian Group, created the masterpiece which is now ‘Northcliffe Residences’. Representing a rare calibre of design and bold architectural dimension to the skyline, the building encompasses 25 levels featuring one, two and three-bedroom high-end apartments in addition to whole-floor subpenthouses and a hugely impressive penthouse. Residents have exclusive use of the mezzanine-level Beach Club featuring infinity

November 2019 | ResortNews

This sale has seen a quality business now purchased and overseen by an equally qualified and capable Management Rights team. Situated in such a premier position with outstanding coastal and hinterland views, this Gold Coast icon has all the facilities and management team in place to ensure residents enjoy a healthy and happy lifestyle. pool, sauna, steam rooms, gym, yoga rooms, lounge area, private dining room and surfboard storage.

We are proud to be responsible for the sale of this stunning boutique off-the-plan Management

PROPERTY

The sale of ‘Northcliffe Residences’ was brokered by Property Bridge’s, Sales Director, Bobo Qi.

ID 8405

SERENITY IN TIN CAN BAY

• All 12 units in the letting pool • No requirement to live onsite • Quiet position, easily managed

• Ideal launching place to Fraser Island • Great lifestyle business • Make the call today!

NETT PROFIT:

$99,310

EXCLUSIVE AGENT:

Tony Johnson – 0433 335 679

ID 7997

ID 8428

ASKING PRICE:

$820,000

WHAT A WAY TO LIVE!

• NSW holiday management rights • Tweed Coast location • Walk to beach, shops and restaurants

NETT PROFIT:

$133,050

ASKING PRICE:

$920,000

EXCLUSIVE AGENTS: Tony Johnson – 0433 335 679

ID 8951

MAIN BEACH PERMANENT

• 9 in the letting pool • Long standing managers retiring • Well maintained facilities

NETT PROFIT:

ASKING PRICE:

EXCLUSIVE AGENTS: Phil Trimble – 0418 478 966

$755,000

$201,473

• All major works recently completed • Fantastic 2 bed, 2 bath residence • Secure your future today

ASKING PRICE:

$1,350,000

Tilley – 0424 428 489 EXCLUSIVE AGENTS: Deborah & Ian Forbes – 0432 988 625

RIVERFRONT MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

• Well presented holiday building • Surfers Paradise location • 15 x 2 bed units in the letting pool

• Great family resort • Good agreements, just topped up • No set office hours

NETT PROFIT:

$162,000

EXCLUSIVE AGENT:

Warren Oliver – 0416 216 625

ID 8215

• Excellent Body Corporate & committee • Handy Main Beach location • Arrange your inspection

$65,200

• Desirable mixed Management Rights • High quality complex • Exceptional facilities & gardens

ID 8479

• 19 units in the letting pool • Tidy 2 bed manager’s residence • All the hard work has been done

HEART OF SURFERS PARADISE

ASKING PRICE:

$1,195,000

GREAT PRICE, GREAT LOCATION, GREAT BUY

• Holiday highrise • Great Burleigh Heads location • All major works now complete

• Long term owners retiring • 3.99 multiple • Be quick – priced to sell

NETT PROFIT:

$216,877

EXCLUSIVE AGENT:

Gerard Dixon – 0433 617 515

MR Sales have an extensive range of listings Australia wide Visit www.mrsales.com.au to view them now or Phone: 1300 928 556 | Email: sales@mrsales.com.au

www.mrsales.com.au

ASKING PRICE:

$1,495,000

EXCLUSIVE MANAGEMENT RIGHTS PURCHASE OPPORTUNITIES ROBINA • • • • •

Substanital “Permanent Complex” perfect for a syndicate purchase Joint total realestate $615,000 (Including 2 Offices) Joint total units is 185 with 104 units in letting pool Complex one 3 bed/2 bath/ 3 carpark & Complex two Large office only Centrally located in the best permanenet of the Gold Coast

NETT PROFIT $502,056

TOTAL $3,555,000

BURLEIGH HEADS • • • • •

Beachfront in the best suburb on the Gold Coast Outstanding 2 bed / 2 bath managers unit with completely seperated office Excellent growth opportunity to incerease occupancy and tarriffs Substantial recent renovations and upgrades to the building Great complex amenities and features

NETT PROFIT $366,426

TOTAL $2,595,000

SURFERS PARADISE • • • • •

Supurb Surfers Paradise central location Large 3 Bed / 2 Bath “Full Renovated” managers unit Excellent growth opportunity with low occupancy and room to grow letting pool 25 Year accomidation module with 19 years to run Extremely tidy and recently renovated pool and reception area

NETT PROFIT $412,098

TOTAL $2,890,000

MIAMI • • • • •

Miami Beachfront location 25 Year accommodation module, 22 years remaining No office hours on agreement 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom managers unit with Ocean Views $47,182 Body Corporate Remuneration

NETT PROFIT $150,066

CHARLES NURSE

DUSTIN ALLEN

M: 0477 826 666 E: charles@stratacorp.com

M: 0424 104 310 E: dustin@stratacorp.com

WWW.STRATACORP.COM

If you are looking to buy or sell, contact us!

TOTAL $1,320,000

1800 111 622

Secluded, but no less wow By Trish Riley, Editor

When one thinks of Noosa, one immediately visualises the eclectic designer boutiques and eateries interlaced with trendy cafés and bars along leafy Hastings Street – what we don’t know however, is that nestled purposefully up against the hillside, just three minutes from the mini-mecca is Picture Point Terraces – Noosa’s premier, resort-style holiday accommodation.

Tucked among lush tropical rainforest but taking full advantage of its elevated position, Picture Point Terraces features twelve luxury two- and three-bedroom short-term apartments and a four-bedroom penthouse, all with captivating views of the ocean, Noosa National Park, Laguna Bay, North Shore, Noosa River and beyond. The spacious and well-appointed apartments are light-filled and modern, featuring open-plan living, dining and kitchen areas flowing out onto wide balconies replete with jacuzzis or spas, barbecues and stylish outdoor furnishings. Kitchens and laundries are self-contained

Robyn Roberts and Bob James

and additional features include ample storage space, a safe, two flat-screen televisions with DVD/CD Players, free wifi and complimentary beach towels. Every apartment is air-conditioned and includes secure undercover parking. According to resident managers Bob James and Robyn Roberts, “It’s very seldom that we don’t get a resounding “wow” when we show guests around the complex and to their accommodation. Picture Point Terraces, or PPT as it is affectionately referred to in its glowing reviews, also offers leisure facilities include an outdoor barbecue

area adjacent to the sparking swimming pool, sun loungers, a full gymnasium and sauna. And if lounging around in luxury gets to be too much, Noosa itself offers expansive beaches and turquoise waters boasting point and beach breaks intermingled with sheltered bays and coastline surrounded by pandanus trees. Guests can explore the retail and culinary delights of Noosa Heads, the Noosa North Shore, Noosaville, Tewantin, Peregian Beach or simply appreciate the natural and cultural attractions of Noosa’s National Park teeming with wildlife, before returning to the tranquillity of this hidden paradise.

The Stand Out Hospitality Performer Mainlinen are proud to supply Picture Point Terraces with all of their quality commercial bedding needs.

mainlinen e sales@mainlinen.com p 07 5437 8544

PROFILES

ResortNews | November 2019

Belying its age, the 30-year old complex remains stylish and highly sought after – and it is obvious that Bob and Robyn are very particular about how it is presented and managed. Hailing from a previous life of banking in New Zealand, Bob says that he became aware of the management rights sector many years ago, and kept an eye on developments through good friends and owners of management rights in

Mooloolaba. He finally made the big move and in August 2007 he purchased Raﬄes in Mooloolaba. Robyn’s prior experience in property management at a number of luxury properties in Noosa, including First Point units, and her uncanny ability to manage and multi-task has also stood them in good stead. The fact that this dynamic duo have two successful properties indicates their experience and passion for the industry.

GRIFFITHS PARRY LAWYERS & NOTARY

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Sunshine Coast Brochure Display The regions’ original and leading brochure service and provider of information displays

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CALL US FOR A FREE INTERVIEW Use an Industry Expert

Phone: 07 5499 6222 Email: info@SunshineCoastBrochureDisplay.com.au

www.SunshineCoastBrochureDisplay.com.au November 2019 | ResortNews

PROFILES

“Management rights is a multilayered hospitality platform,” says Bob. “Managers are answerable to the owners, the guests and the body corporate committee, so you have to be a ‘people person’. Robyn and I love interacting with the owners and all the people who choose to stay at PPT, and because we have such a high number of return guests, we have developed a great rapport, and even friendships, with many of them. “We appreciate that there should be some kind of hierarchy in terms of care and attention,” says Bob, “but we like to think that we treat everyone – all stakeholders – with the same level of respect and attention. That goes for the building too. “We have made considerable changes to the property since taking it on in May 2017. Robyn is a keen gardener and has worked extremely hard on the beautiful gardens to create a lush tropical ambiance – we have even placed pot plants throughout the resort – and we regularly receive comments that the property has never looked so good. “More importantly however, we have managed to increase owner returns quite considerably year-on-year,” adds Bob, “and we aim to continue doing that going forward.”

So what is their secret, and what advice do they have for other managers?

– good and bad, and then try to address any problems that occur as quickly as possible.

“Robyn and I pride ourselves on three key elements in our business – presentation, service and communication.

“We also prepare and distribute a monthly newsletter to all owners to let them know what is going on in the resort and the general area,” says Robyn. “The owners are appreciative of being kept informed and we believe it goes a long way to protecting the business from outside agents.

“PPT caters to a luxury market, and because we like to maintain a very high standard we have our own cleaners and handyman on staff,” says Bob. “And while it might sound odd coming from a property that is as ‘tucked away’ as we are, proactive marketing is essential. We have a very good website and the majority of our bookings and/ or referrals come through that. Robyn and I respond personally to every single review we get

“In terms of advice – well, anyone considering management rights needs to know that you have to be able to deal (patiently) with people – of every type – and be able to handle complaints and criticism constructively. “And despite what you get told, management rights is not a

PROFILES

“lifestyle”. If you’re doing it right, managers work long hours and very hard. You’re ‘on call’ all the time, and there are days that it gets to you but the returns are rewarding and it is a great industry to be involved in. “Last but not least,” says Bob, “join ARAMA – the peak industry body that represents the interests of people involved in management rights and is actively fighting for the industry behind the scenes.” It’s little wonder when I ask Bob and Robyn what the future holds for them and they laughingly say “retirement”, that I don’t quite believe them – at least not for a good while yet.

ResortNews | November 2019

Kingscliff Accommodation Group:

One and one makes By Trish Riley, Editor

Sound business acumen and many years of experience in the financial sector were obvious, and abundant, when I sat down to speak with Janene Lund and Dale Ambler, co-owners of the Kingscliff Accommodation Group comprising four management rights, caretaking agreements, three independent rentroll businesses and a team of 30 staff. The enterprising duo effectively manage Sunrise Cove, Paradiso Resort, Marine Boutique, Pacific Royale, Corporate Boardies and two independent rent rolls; and I get the distinct impression they’re not done yet. This well-oiled machine has however, taken years to build and fine-tune, and Janene recalls that their foray into property management happened quite by accident. “I was looking for a bigger apartment to live in and found one in Kingscliff that I loved,” says Janene, “the only thing is that there was something called

management rights attached to it. I had no idea what that was so I ‘googled’ it. One thing led to another, and after running the financials by an aunt and uncle who lived in Victoria and involved in the industry, we decided to buy.”

moving back into their properties, so Janene and Dale decided to spread the risk and diversify, and it wasn’t too long before an opportunity came up to purchase the management rights for Paradiso Resort – also in Kingscliff.

are being run efficiently.

That was Sunrise Cove, a complex of 28 spacious, two- and threebedroom apartments with water frontage on the tranquil Cudgen Creek and private access to the waterfront boardwalk.

With sweeping views of the ocean, nestled amongst the high-quality eateries, Paradiso Resort boasts 50 well-appointed units (40 of which are in the letting pool) and is the premier holiday destination for families and couples in this relatively unknown coastal paradise.

“We’ve actually taken it to a different level,” laughs Janene, “and have a head cleaner, cleaning teams and a dedicated ‘fluffer’ (yes, this was a first for me too) who inspects every apartment prior to guests’ arrival to do a holistic overview and ensure that nothing has been overlooked.

“Paradiso Resort offered a whole new set of challenges,” says Janene, “and obviously the work and management role more than doubled. But by then we knew that the secret was to develop sound relationships with owners and the body corporate, and to implement systems that ensure the properties

“With Paradiso we worked hard to get the committee to invest in the grounds, and even conducted a comprehensive refurbishment of the property entry and reception area as a gift to owners, and to demonstrate our commitment to the scheme.”

“At the time of purchase, Sunrise Cove was fairly run-down,” says Janene. “The average occupancy was 36 percent so, with Dale still working in the bank, I set about learning and implementing everything I could to turn things around.” The hard work paid off but the market was turning and there were more owner occupiers

PROFILES

“We learnt early on that housekeeping is critical; if an apartment is clean then guests will forgive minor mishaps if they occur.

ResortNews | November 2019

Janene and Dale have a blended family with six children between them and all kids have worked in the business, and a couple still do. Not resting on their laurels however, the couple then went on to purchase the management rights for Marine Boutique, a beach-front complex positioned centrally on the vibrant Marine Parade dining strip and offering six one-, twoor three-bedroom units with a retail precinct at ground level. Janene and Dales’ pride in Kingscliff is obvious. For 12 years they have monitored and participated in the development and investment undertaken by the Tweed Shire Council so when the management rights and caretaking portfolio for Pacific Royale became available, they took on another 15 units. Their experience and reputation as savvy property managers and caretakers has also invited organic growth with private property lets being added to the portfolio until they developed Corporate Boardies – a platform that specialises in luxurious and modern holiday accommodation including high end, standalone houses, penthouses and beach-front mansions. The addition of two rent rolls recently have gone on to provide a new level of growth for the group but Janene is emphatic that each business is managed with the same stringent attention to detail. Each scheme has its own branding, and each building its idiosyncrasies, but they have all been amalgamated under one umbrella body to streamline operations and maximise outcomes. It seems like a daunting task, but now that Dale has left the corporate world and joined the business, they have clearly defined areas of responsibility that works November 2019 | ResortNews

well. Dale is quick to say that Janene is the face of the business. “Janene deals with the owners and the strata, and I manage operations and staff – staff, obviously being a key area for the successful management of all the businesses. “We are black and white about our service expectations,” says Dale. “But we invest heavily in the development and training of our staff and therefore get a higher buy in. We also offer incentives based on guest reviews and bookings.” Incorporating strategies from their corporate backgrounds, Janene and Dale have weekly meetings to review booking forecasts and income projections. Together, with a dedicated staff member who reviews pricing, they are able to respond quickly to the market and if a room looks like it’s falling short it is quickly identified (literally green/red) and they focus on ensuring that they direct bookings into that unit.

control, try to look at it from a different perspective. At one stage we all thought it would be the death of the industry. We decided to embrace it – every one of our apartments is listed and it’s working for us and our owners. “Be open to ideas and suggestions, change what you need to change – and steal with glee. If someone is doing something really well, then copy it, there is no point in recreating the wheel.” So what is their secret I ask? “It’s simple,” says Janene. “We never lose sight of who is number one – our owners. We answer the phone when they call and call them when they email. We

speak to them regularly. We look after them when they stay – we will spring clean prior to arrival and leave a hamper or bottle of champagne in the fridge for them with some cheese and crackers together with a hand-written note. We may even grab a coffee or lunch together with them if they have the time; it doesn’t cost a lot but our owners feel like we have made an effort and have a genuine interest in them. “Our business is built around their asset, and they need to know that we appreciate them and their trust. For some owners the asset we manage for them is their biggest investment outside of their family home.”

“The owners must win,” says Dale, “they are the reason we have a business at all. When we take on a property, it’s all about net return – net growth; we try and surpass owner returns monthon-month, and year-on-year.” And while theirs is not the standard management rights operation that I usually cover, I ask what advice they would share with other managers. “It really doesn’t matter how big or small the operation is,” says Dale, “You can’t do everything yourself; you can’t grow a business while you’re in the trenches – you need to forward plan, think for all and there’s no room for complacence. “As my mother always said, “your jacket should never fit” – there should always be room to be better, to self-educate, to evolve and to improve, and when there are things that seem out of your

NT OU S C EW DIS % SORT Nhen 0 1 RE s w t* f o r eader direc r ked boo

*Subject to availability

PH O N E 0 2 6 6 7 4 5 7 4 4 E M A I L re s e rv a t i ons @p a ra d i s ore s ort . c om.a u 7 8 -8 0 Ma ri ne Pa ra de , K i ngs c l i ff, N S W 2 4 8 7 W W W. PA R A D I S O R E S O R T. C O M . A U PROFILES

The Capitol difference Capitol is passionate about being a leading force in body corporate management in Queensland. Established in Brisbane in 1995, Capitol has built its business around creating strong relationships within the community and they provide a professional and innovative approach to community relationship management by working with committees, owners, resident managers and developers. They deliver this to their clients through constant contact, expert advice and proactive management. Body corporate management can be complex and confusing. Many lot owners question the need for a professional body corporate manager and wonder whether it might not be better to self-manage and save themselves the cost of an external manager. However, this may end up costing owners more in the long run, both financially and in terms of stress levels, lifestyle and time. Body corporate management is an involved field, and when you’re dealing with an expensive

area. They provide guidance on committee instructions, training and the day-to-day running of the complex. Capitol also maintains a close working relationship with the Australian Resident Accommodation Managers Association (ARAMA) and their CEO, Trevor Rawnsley, recently joined an expert panel of speakers for a Q and A forum hosted by Capitol across Brisbane, Gold Coast and Redcliffe.

asset such as a building, it’s something most owners can’t afford to get wrong. The upshot is that every strata complex in Australia needs some form of body corporate and body corporate manager. While owners can certainly choose to self-manage their complex, most bodies corporate choose an expert body corporate management firm to ensure their scheme runs smoothly, safely and efficiently. That’s where Capitol is making a significant impact in the body corporate landscape. For more than 24 years, Capitol has

provided clients with help, advice and practical support in a wide range of strata management issues. They provide an extensive range of expert body corporate management services that streamline the management process for their clients, and most importantly, provide clients with peace of mind that their biggest asset is being managed with utmost care. It’s important for body corporate management firms to have experience and a genuine interest in working with resident managers and caretakers and Capitol certainly has a great track record in this

PREFERRED SUPPLIER PROFILES

Without a professional and experienced body corporate manager, strata schemes run the risk of falling into one of the many pitfalls that can trip up the unwary and inexperienced lot owner. Poor body corporate management can leave a scheme exposed to considerable legal and financial risk. Choosing an effective, efficient and responsive body corporate manager is the key to a satisfying experience with strata living.

The Capitol difference Capitol adeptly helps clients transition from a stressed to a successful community living experience, and does so in a timely and responsive manner. ResortNews | November 2019

2019 WINNER

Excellence in Workplace Diversity and Inclusion

2019 WINNER

Excellence in Workplace Diversity and Inclusion

continually embrace learning and education.

Once clients engage Capitol to manage their scheme, they can relax, knowing that everything will be taken care of for them. From repairing damage, to dealing with unpaid fees, chasing paperwork, finding contractors, maintaining the building or managing latenight emergencies, there’s a great deal of work involved in keeping a body corporate running smoothly. When clients leave all that worry and hassle to Capitol, they quickly find life easier and more enjoyable for all the residents of their building. A professionally managed body corporate should provide long term savings, a huge reduction in risk, lower stress levels and

greater lifestyle benefits, and Capitol focuses on making strata buildings a pleasant – and efficient – place to live. Capitol community relationship managers each hold relevant qualifications and membership with the peak industry body, Strata Community Association (QLD). Together, the team has over 300 years of combined collective relative experience. They apply their experience to every situation, with a tailored approach when working with committees and owners to achieve the best outcome every time. To make sure they stay at the top of their game, Capitol invests in ongoing training

and development for their entire team, including the managers and directors. Capitol’s managing director, Ian D’Arcy, says, “As the business continues to grow, so does our wonderful team. We have welcomed on board some fantastic and experienced new managers and support team members, who assist us in delivering a positive experience to our owners and committees. The team demonstrates entrepreneurial spirit, business acumen and innovative ideas on a daily basis. They have the industry knowledge and skills to support the relationship between the body corporate manager, committee and resident managers. We take a holistic approach to community living and are extremely proud of our extraordinary team and what they have achieved.”

Creating satisfied clients Capitol’s values outline how they treat and interact with their clients and extended community, including resident managers and caretakers. Capitol is:

•

Professional – paying attention to detail, while being reliable and focused.

•

Expert – skilled in their field; however, they don’t rest on their laurels, but

PREFERRED SUPPLIER PROFILES

•

Transparent – combining integrity and honesty with loyalty.

•

Effective communicators – making sure you feel heard and understood.

•

Real – dealing with the everyday issues and having empathy for others.

•

Innovative – bringing a ‘can-do’ attitude to everything they do.

Each and every client has direct access to their own community relationship manager (CRM). Capitol doesn’t believe in call centres, as this runs counter to their focus on responsive, personal service. Whether their client is a single owner, a committee or group, Capitol employs a personalised approach based on frequent contact, practical advice and proactive management. They build strong relationships with each client and scheme, so that their CRMs get to know the unique requirements of each lot, scheme and property.

Creating happy, healthy and harmonious body corporate communities Ian D’Arcy explained the ethos behind Capitol’s success. “We feel strongly about building happy, healthy and harmonious communities, which is why this is our vision for the business and has been for many years. As a leader in the body corporate industry, we continue to work on ways to deliver the best experience and provide the greatest value to our clients. Capitol does this by...

Taking care of body corporate schemes In an unlicensed industry, Capitol prides itself on having managers that are certified, to provide the most current and relevant knowledge and build trust with clients and communities. Capitol delivers the best advice and guidance to their communities and are always looking for ways to further improve the running of their clients’ schemes. p56 ResortNews | November 2019

Meter 2 Cash Solutions, powered by multi-utility company Flow Systems, is prepared for the potential upcoming changes in the embedded energy space. A leading government policy advisory body, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC), has put forward recommendations to the Council of Australian Governments that would introduce new regulatory controls requiring bodies corporate and landowners to appoint an authorised electricity retailer to on-sell electricity in their buildings. “Improving consumer protections and ensuring our clients can continue to operate normally has been our top priority, we are excited about these developments,” said Meter 2 Cash Senior Energy Consultant, Richard Claus. “For over ten years, Meter 2 Cash Solutions have been able to offer a

simple, cost-effective utility billing administration service to the Body Corporate sector. Now that we are part of Flow Systems, we can offer much more to our customers and the industry as a whole.” These recommendations could soon see the on-supply of electricity and gas limited to authorised retailers by terminating the retail exemption schemes permitting the onsupply of electricity within private Embedded Networks. These powerful recommendations recognise the benefits of Embedded Networks but find that consumer choice and protections can be limited. Potential changes in the law would

mean that bodies corporate and most landowners will need to appoint an authorised retailer to provide services on their behalf. Flow Systems, as an authorised electricity retailer since 2017, stands with Meter 2 Cash Solutions. They enhance our offering and by operating under this authorisation, the Body Corporate will no longer be liable for the gate meter electricity costs or compliance breach penalties imposed by the AER. “Additionally, we will indemnify the Body Corporate against residential energy debts due to non-payment. These reforms are far-reaching and impact the vast majority of the clients we serve,” added Richard.

Our team is standing by to assist you further should you have any queries. If you would like to know more contact us today on 0438 623 633 or visit our website www.m2cs.com.au / www.ﬂowutilities.com.au.

“Proud to be a Preferred Energy Management Solutions Provider to Capitol Body Corporate Administration and support the same charity, Act for Kids”

Meter 2 Cash Solutions is now powered by Flow Systems to ensure continuity of services in a post-reform world. Flow Systems is a regulatory approved authorised electricity retailer. By joining forces with Meter 2 Cash, bodies corporate and landowners can continue to on-supply energy into the future while improving consumer protections and allowing customers to access the highly competitive retail market.

November 2019 | ResortNews

Richard Claus

Angela Falbo

Drew McKillican

Richard is an industry expert with over 20 years of experience in energy and embedded energy networks across Australia and the UK. He believes in building secure, long-lasting connections with strata and bodies corporate.

Angela is an experienced utility professional with over ten years in the electricity and natural gas industries in Canada and Australia. She is committed to maximising value for our clients. She ensures that our business continues to adapt and grow to serve our clients better.

Drew has worked in utilities for twenty years and strongly believes in the post centralised utility era, the needs of clients and the importance of localised, bespoke customer-centric services.

PREFERRED SUPPLIER PROFILES

“I have worked with our Capitol manager for the past 18 months and have found them to be very knowledgeable. Our manager maintains a working knowledge of all aspects of the management of our property, both physical and financial. Our manager is cooperative and easy to deal with, is prompt in responding to queries and quickly produces meeting minutes. They readily provide advice on the selection of external agencies, such as insurers, specialist contractors and the like. We look forward to continuing our positive relationship with Capitol.”

“During the past 25 years I have been involved with several body corporate management companies, of which Capitol has been the most professional. Capitol have impressed me as a progressive company who embrace technology to benefit their clients and keep them informed by way of online access to accounts and newsletters.”

– Owner (previously Chairperson and Secretary), Bayview Shores

– Jean, Owner

The Capitol team are organised, diligent, efficient, skilled and knowledgeable, and go the extra mile to be effective problem-solvers, negotiators and communicators. They look after all the issues involved with running a body corporate scheme so that their clients don’t have to.

pursue ongoing learning on body corporate matters. The best communities are the ones who are the most informed.”

Looking to the future

Fostering relationships Capitol is about putting people first, and their aim is to make everyone they deal with feel like they really matter. No matter how big or small the scheme, each client’s feedback and opinions are vitally important. Capitol lives and breathes communication and relationships. In fact, Capitol sees this as so important that they don’t employ “body corporate managers” but instead engage “community relationship managers”. Everything Capitol does revolves around building, developing and growing their communities and the relationships within them. Over the years Capitol have built a strong and loyal community of clients, and they take care of their people. With a client retention rate of above 99

percent, Capitol prides itself on having happy customers who stay with them.

Educating and informing One of the many ways Capitol works to help their body corporate communities has been the development of client webinars and online training, which educates both internally and externally. The topics have been chosen to appeal to clients, from those new to body corporate right through to seasoned committee members. As Ian D’Arcy says, “We have enjoyed delivering a number of webinars that have received positive feedback and a strong

response, along with our popular owner seminar series held in Redcliffe, Brisbane and on the Gold Coast. And there’s always more to look forward to, with some exciting topics to cover over the coming months. Our recent live Q and A forums with the commissioner were a great success, with Mark Mellick from Active Law and Trevor Rawnsley from ARAMA joining the commissioner and myself as panel speakers. We opened the invitation up to the public and engaged in robust and quality conversations with our audiences. We are definitely going to offer this again in 2020. We encourage clients, resident managers and developers to

PREFERRED SUPPLIER PROFILES

Capitol strives to always be at the forefront of the industry in terms of service and technology, as well as in terms of ethics and leadership. They encourage their clients to “follow the leader” as they develop effective and efficient body corporate communities right throughout Queensland. “It’s been a very busy year in the body corporate industry, with many changes and reviews taking place,” says Ian D’Arcy. “Capitol has delivered some wonderful achievements in the first half of this year. In particular, our cladding team has worked hard on the new legislation and the restrictive time frames to ensure our bodies corporate are compliant. We’ve also worked extremely hard on our growth strategy as a company and have driven a raft of new opportunities in 2019. We look forward to an even bigger and better 2020 in terms of growth for our company and successful outcomes for our clients.” ResortNews | November 2019

Meet the leadership team Ian D’Arcy

Managing Director Ian practised as a solicitor for 19 years mainly in the areas of commercial and property law before starting as a body corporate manager with Capitol’s founder Josephine Falco in 1998. Ian became a member of Strata Community Association Qld in 1998 (SCA). He was first elected to the SCA Qld board in 2004 and he has served as a director continuously since then, also service as company secretary of SCA Qld since 2010. During his time on the board of SCA Qld, Ian has served on a number of committees, having chaired the Professional Standards Committee for a few years. In that capacity, he is also currently the Qld member of the SCA National Professional Standards and Membership Advisory Board. In 2017, Ian was nominated by SCA Qld and subsequently elected as a director of the national body SCA Limited. He continues as a national director currently.

Josephine Falco Founding Director

Josephine is the founding director of Capitol. In 1995, she recognised an opportunity to bring her knowledge of the construction industry together with her passion for people to the body corporate industry. Josephine has been instrumental in growing the support services team at Capitol and has been heavily involved in internal projects to ensure her team are innovating and delivering positive customer experiences.

BOOTH ENGINEERS Have been providing Expert Structural Engineering services for the Body Corporate industry for over 20 years Inspections reports and designs Cracking and movement investigations Underpinning and retaining wall designs Project Assistance and Coordination for rectification projects

Ashley Wood Director

Expert Witness and Specialist Forensic

Ashley joined Capitol in 1999 and is passionate about the workplace culture at Capitol and ensuring Capitol is a great place to work. She also enjoys working with developers to assist during the initial set up stages of a body corporate. Ashley has recently taken on a leadership role within the fundraising committee to engage with key community stakeholders to deliver on Capitol’s vision of happy, healthy and harmonious communities.

investigations RPEQ, NER, CPEng, IEAust qualified Engineering professionals

QBCC 15009294

November 2019 | ResortNews

PREFERRED SUPPLIER PROFILES

Rebecca Hamilton

Jenny Phillips

Julie MacCarthy

Team Leader and Community Relationship Manager

Rebecca has extensive experience as a body corporate manager, having entered the industry in 2005. As a result, she has developed a wide range of strategies to streamline her work process, as well as a can-do attitude and strong organisational skills. She holds qualifications as a Certified Strata Community Manager with a Certificate IV in Property Services (Operations). Rebecca is an innovative manager who communicates openly with owners and committees. Excellence is important to Rebecca, and she adeptly handles challenging situations with a strong sense of fairness and justice. She has the ability to see the positive in situations, and always acts to get the best result for her clients.

As a Certified Strata community manager with a Certificate IV in Body Corporate Management, Jenny is well qualified to expertly carry out her role.

Julie has more than 13 years’ experience in body corporate management and is a Certified Strata Community Manager with a Diploma in Accounting and Certificate IV in Property Services (Operations).

Ongoing training for the team is really important to Jenny and she heads up the internal professional development program to ensure the team keep their skills current and are the best at what they do. Expanding on her love for education, Jenny is a member of the SCA Qld Education Advisory Committee.

Julie leads her team by example and keeps her focus on outcomes and moving forward.

Georgia Janas

Katie Todd

Christine Murray

Team Leader Support Services

Team Leader and Community Relationship Manager

Team Leader and Accounts Manager

Georgia has been with Capitol since 2011 and she now heads up the Support Services team. Georgia’s career extends to over 15 years in property management and office management. She has a natural leadership style that enables her team to deliver outstanding support to the business as a whole, which in turn creates a positive experience for our customers. Georgia regularly goes above and beyond to help others and can be relied upon to accurately and efficiently carry out all tasks. She has seen fantastic improvement in the standard of service and levels of confidence as a result of the work she has put in to training team members.

She is a practical manager, with a hands-on approach in effective problem solving for her owners and committees. Jenny strives for customer service excellence in all her dealings.

Katie brings a wealth of knowledge to Capitol from working in the real estate industry for several years and then transitioning to body corporate management in 2002. Katie has worked with several large schemes and complex matters and continues to build great relationships with committees and owners. Heading up the Gold Coast team, Katie’s positive leadership style assists her team to deliver the best for clients. Katie shows great empathy for clients which goes a long way in helping to resolve situations quickly and effectively. PREFERRED SUPPLIER PROFILES

It is this experience that allows Julie to be an innovative manager, combining her passions for people and real estate to make a real difference in the schemes she manages.

She endeavours to work hard, listen effectively and show initiative to solve problems quickly and efficiently. Julie draws on her extensive experience to understand the many facets of body corporate life.

Christine is an experienced Accounts Manager and 2015 saw her mark 10 years at Capitol. With a Diploma in Business Management, you can rely on Christine to guide her team to provide you with excellent service. She regularly goes above and beyond to get the best out of her team, both personally and to assist our clients. Efficiency is a big focus of Christine’s and she rigorously examines processes and systems so that day-to-day operations can be streamlined and improved. Christine’s love of efficiency has great benefits for Capitol, with both team members and clients being able to operate more effectively due to her efforts. ResortNews | November 2019

In the community

Human beings have an innate need to contribute to people around us. Whether it’s helping a friend or family member in a time of need, or contributing financially to a worthwhile cause, the importance of giving to others can’t be underestimated. Capitol delights in using their business for cultural and community activities beyond body corporate management. Being able to better the lives of people in our community is one of the great privileges the team at Capitol get to experience, and they draw a great sense of joy and fulfillment from contributing to the world around them. In 2018 alone, Capitol (through its directors, owners, team members,

seminars for owners where they encourage attendees to make a small donation to Act for Kids in lieu of an admission fee. Capitol then matches these donations dollar for dollar. The Capitol team are very grateful for the generosity of their owners.

fundraising committee, suppliers and contractors) managed to raise $30,000 for Act for Kids, a not-for-profit organisation providing a wide range of support services to Australian children and their families. The goal of Act for Kids is for all Australian children to have the safe, happy childhood they deserve. Act for Kids provides a range of support for families under pressure and at risk of child abuse and neglect, and intensive therapy for children and young people who have experienced the trauma of abuse.

•

The team at Capitol volunteers at many Capitol

fundraising events and contributes financially through their workplace giving program to further support Act for Kids. •

Capitol host an annual trivia night where they invite suppliers and contractors to attend with their teams and this is their biggest fundraiser each year.

The team at Capitol are passionate about supporting this charity which does such vital work with Australian children: •

Capitol funds specific programs such as the ‘Sing and Grow’ program, which helps children express themselves through music therapy. It aims to improve children’s overall motor skills, social skills, quality of life and emotional development.

•

Capitol runs free catered

Make the change to Capitol. Contact us today. team@capitolbca.com.au | 1300 55 10 19 | www.capitolbca.com.au November 2019 | ResortNews

PREFERRED SUPPLIER PROFILES

McAdam Siemon:

Peace of mind

from start to finish ©nateejindakum, stock.adobe.com

By Trish Riley, Editor

Choosing an accountant is like choosing a new business partner. The right accountant will become a trusted colleague you can depend on, someone who offers advice and guidance and adds value to your business right from the start. And if you expect your company to grow, it's a good idea to hire a professional accountant at the beginning rather than later on. It’s even better if they've worked extensively in same industry as yours as that helps them understand the unique needs of your business. Having started in Noosa in 1996 – in the foothills of management rights – McAdam

Siemon are recognised as management rights and motel industry specialists, and have been entrusted by hundreds of clients to handle their business advisory, taxation, accounting and financial goals for more than 20 years.

“At McAdam Siemon we place emphasis on simplicity, continuity and personal attention by combining the experience and proficiency of a large organisation with the accessibility of a personal advisor.

The growing team understand the complexities of the management rights and community titles sector, and in addition to offering a broad range of general accounting services including business structuring for asset protection and tax, they understand the minutiae of the rules and regulations and are able to look at things differently.

“We offer clients a comprehensive and personalised service, from start to finish, on all aspects of the business staring with the potential purchase, valuations and due diligence and the initial meetings to discuss structures, tax advice, borrowings and contracts; and when entering into a contract we are able to assist with the preparation of a verification report for the client and their financial institution. We will also visit the complex, review all records and evaluate the results.

As one of the original partners, and with over 28 years in public practice, Rob McAdam said: “One of the biggest challenges facing businesses now is

Rob McAdam

the pace of change and the introduction of technology that business owners must embrace to stay competitive. The need for real time information so that the right decisions can be made in time is critical.

PREFERRED SUPPLIER PROFILES

ResortNews | November 2019

“Following the purchase – and understanding that many managers come from unrelated industries – we are able to assist with the set up and training of personnel on cloud-based accounting software that will monitor performance in real time and help grow the business. We also ensure they meet their trust account obligations for the Office of Fair Trading. “Our systematic approach to the financial management of the business and the specialist experience of our staff ensures accurate figures and ongoing management advice, and for those considering the sale of a business, we can also manage the complex preparation of the profit and loss (P&L) for sale. Specialised skills in this sector ensures that both the client and the potential purchaser are fully informed of all facets of the business.

“In addition to offering a broad range of general accounting services including business structuring for asset protection and tax, the team understand the minutiae of the rules and regulations and are able to look at things differently “More importantly,” adds Rob, “At McAdam Siemon, we offer clients complete transparency and peace of mind with regard to fees. After a discussion with our team, and having identified what the client is likely to need, we are able to accurately set the monthly or annual rate so that they know upfront whether that fits into their budget. We are focused on helping to grow their business the right way, and removing the uncertainty of unexpected costs is one of our strategies.

TAX DEPRECIATION AND COST PLANNING EXPERTS S Y D N E Y M E L B O U R N E B R I S B A N E A D E L A I D E C A N B E R R A N E W C A S T L E

November 2019 | ResortNews

INDUSTRY EXPERTISE & UNDERSTANDING IS ABSOLUTELY VITAL. “The niche Management Rights sector demands specialist accounting knowhow and advice. McAdam Siemon are widely recognised as experts in the accommodation industry.” TRUDY CROOKS, MANAGING DIRECTOR

GET IN CONTACT

1300 795 170

1300 665 966

contact@mcgqs.com.au www.mcgqs.com.au

PREFERRED SUPPLIER PROFILES

©yurolaitsalbert, stock.adobe.com

relationship, there's a good reason for that - your accountant will become intimately involved with the operation of your company (and livelihood) so it’s not a decision to be taken lightly. You need to work with people you can trust, and who has the necessary experience and who will be there when you need them.

“Trust is the foundation of everything we do and earning a client’s trust is critical to building a long-term relationship and helping them to achieve their goals,” he said. Managing the highly qualified team of accounting professionals for this sector is Sam Hodgetts, partner at McAdam Siemon since 2010. He has extensive experience in management rights, business services, taxation and superannuation and is also a management rights trust account auditor. Sam has worked with a wide range of clients and entity structures and is committed to providing a proactive and prompt service to deliver tailored solutions to match client’s individual needs.

help you get to where you wish to go financially.”

Testimonal:

“We’ve worked hard to build a talented group of professionals who are not only great at what they do, but also genuinely care about our clients,” he said.

“Good accountants help companies grow by managing complex financial work and offering advice on practical business issues,” adds Sam. “They are guaranteed to save you money in the short and long term, and the best ones will be your partner in all but name.

“We are new to the resident management rights industry and purchased our first rights last year. McAdam Siemon came highly recommended and they have helped us right from startup. The accounting side could not have gone any smoother. The staff are professional, courteous and always willing to help. It is daunting to have to learn so many things but having them onside has made it much easier. What more could you want. Thanks Guys.”

If all of this sounds more like a marriage than a business

“Wherever your business is today, McAdam Siemon can

– Chris Crause, Akama Resort, Harvey Bay, Qld

Sam Hodgetts

We are proud of our association with the team at McAdam Siemon and look forward to providing successful outcomes for our mutual clients into the future. Award Winning Management Rights Finance Specialists

When it comes to securing finance for your business, you only get one chance to get it right. Our team of experienced Management Rights Finance Specialists will provide: • An overview of your maximum borrowing capabilities with a range of lenders • An overview of cost effective loan structuring, repayments and set-up costs • A key negotiator on your side - we’ll find you the most competitive package from a range of banks and secure lenders • Advice on your purchase price • Assistance in arranging valuations • The completion and packaging of your finance application for the lender • Assistance with the set-up of everyday deposit and trust accounts • Assistance with transaction and cash flow management • Quality contacts for Management Rights specialists in the Accounting and Legal industries

Integrity. Trust. Honesty. That’s what we’re about.

Dedicated to Property With experience dealing in a diverse range of transaction and non-transaction based property work, we want to guide you through the activities that you undertake in the marketplace to achieve the optimal outcome.

For information on better finance options available, contact us today. p: 07 3899 2866

e: info@greenfinancegroup.com.au w: greenfinancegroup.com.au 109 James St, New Farm QLD 4005

PREFERRED SUPPLIER PROFILES

ResortNews | November 2019

Benefits •

Direct access to the largest real estate websites in Australia

•

Direct access to Realworks Approved real estate forms

•

Direct access to 1Form Online rental applications

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Direct access to Pricefinder Rental and sales database

•

Direct access to Tica

Tenancy applicant screening service ($20 inc GST per tenant search applies)

Unit Rentals Unlimited Listings

$440 p.a.

(Additional Fees: Realestate.com.au $20 inc GST per rental listing)

Unit Sales & Rental Listings

$1,100 p.a.

(Aditional Fees: Realestate.com.au $120 inc GST per unit sales listing, $20 inc GST per rental listing )

Unit 5, 53 Gateway Drive, Noosaville, Queensland

Phone: 07 5440 5322

mail@accomproperties.com.au

www.accomproperties.com.au

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Verification Reports Structure & Taxation Advice Trust Account Auditing Risk & Superannuation

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phone 07 5575 9649 | mobile 0411 841 868 erikathomas@bigpond.com www.managementrightsauditor.com.au

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Paul Shannon

“YOUR GUIDING LIGHT ON MANAGEMENT RIGHTS”

Management Rights Specialist

Be like Bob!

07 5538 0999

info@crestaccountants.com.au

www.crestaccountants.com.au

Your Sunshine Coast

Management Rights Specialists FOR OVER 20 YEARS

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Call today (07) 5493 4150 and get excited !

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Specialist Accountants & Business Advisors to the Accommodation Industry • Management Rights • Motels Including: Business Plans Verification Reports P & L for Sale Trust Account Audits Industry Specific Bookkeeping All engagements are fixed price Brisbane:

Experienced Management Rights Accountants • P&L for Sale • Bank Financials • All Tax Compliance • Purchaser Due Diligence

Fixed Price Available

(07) 5343 1000

Ask for David at the Mooloolaba Oﬃce or Ask for Angela at the Noosa Oﬃce

managementrights@ascendia.com.au

Greg Kamp FCPA FTI

155 Varsity Pde, Varsity Lakes, Qld 4227 t : (07) 5630 6559 m : 0402 943 549 e : peter@pmag.com.au

info@kampba.com.au

Due Diligence Auditing Taxation Business Advice 07 5557 8700

07 5474 8955

- NORTH QUEENSLAND -

mail@mbapartnership.com.au mail@mbapartn

www.mbapartnership.com.au www.mbapartn www.managementrightsaustralia.net

Email: jhanaghan@jonathangrant.com.au

Specialist Advisers to the Accommodation & Hospitality Industry

Audits ~ Taxation Feasibilities ~ Due Diligence Reports

www.mcadamsiemon.com.au

Phone 07 5534 4333

AIR CONDITIONING When your Business Needs a Tune or a Service

• Bookkeeping • Marketing • Business Management • Human Resources

Where Value & Service are No.1!

www.businessmechanic.com.au (02) 6583 8386

Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors Specialist Advisors to the Accommodation Industry

Specialist Business Advisors to the Management and Letting Industry • Due Diligence Reports • Trust Account Audits • Structure Advice & Tax Compliance Brisbane Level 4, 97 Creek St, Brisbane Gold Coast Level 3, Southport Central 3, 9 Lawson St, Southport

P: 5456 4018

Eagle_Dad_Print.pdf 1 31/03/ E: renee@rcbaccounting.com.au W: rcbaccounting.com.au

Structuring  Income Verification  Audit K Accounting/Taxation  SMSF  Estate Planning

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Accounting & Taxation Trust Account Audits Tax Planning & Structures

CMY

07 5631 6900

Look for the sign of an Industry Specialist

www.kampba.com.au

Paul Gaffney

www.ascendia.com.au

shodgetts@mcadamsiemon.com.au Rmcadam@mcadamsiemon.com.au (Motels)

porielley@mcadamsiemon.com.au

07 5443 7789

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www.pmag.com.au

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Smiljan Jankovic 0423 595 910 SmiljanJ@archergowland.com.au

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PREFERRED SUPPLIER DIRECTORY

ResortNews | November 2019

/15

Hi-Rise Air Conditioning New name... Bigger range... service

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Supplying the Gold Coast, Southern Brisbane and Northern New South Wales regions with quality air conditioning services since 1977.

Call 07 5522 1044

manufacturers of quality bedding QUALITY WITHOUT COMPROMISE

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strata title consultants & body corporate managers

1800 425 903

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Risk or Repair?

Sunshine Coast (07) 5446 7541 Cairns (07) 4032 5133 www.themattresscompany.com.au

ASSET MAINTENANCE Get a free body corporate assessment for your property

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enquiries@climatecontrol.net.au

www.climatecontrol.net.au

P:07 5443 3138

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CARPET & FURNITURE CLEANING/PROTECTION

Sunshine Coast Brochure Display The regions’ original and leading brochure service and provider of information displays

07 5499 6222 info@SunshineCoastBrochureDisplay.com.au

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BUILDING MAINTENANCE SERVICES

• We clean carpets, tiles, mattresses and upholstery • Professional maintenance and emergency cleans • Water extraction and flood restoration

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CLEANING CONTRACTORS

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November 2019 | ResortNews

Whatever, Wherever, Whenever! www.accomnews.com.au/ business-directory PREFERRED SUPPLIER DIRECTORY

Look for the sign of an Industry Specialist Whatever, Wherever, Whenever! www.accomnews.com.au/business-directory

FINANCE

COMPUTER SOFTWARE

Management Rights Specialists

Management Rights Finance Specialists

Brisbane: 07 3252 2219 • Gold Coast: 07 5576 7059 enquiries@pcsfinance.com.au

www.pcsfinance.com.au

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Gold Coast Paul Geary

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0411 023 531

FURNITURE

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Townsville Brett Sievers

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Port Douglas Patrick Brown

are attended to within 20 mins

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www.accomnews.com.au/business-directory

1800 671 179

www.reimaster.com.au * Contact us for the T&C’s

0422 009 731

Cairns / Northern Beaches Patrick Brown 0401 141 276

Specialising in furniture for hotels, motels, serviced apartments, resorts and refurbishments

0401 141 276

ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES

Quality Electrical Appliances

d an d o io ad m er lo de ial p wn tr do a vi

New name... Bigger range...

1300 876 055 dennis@hotelinteriors.com.au www.hotelinteriors.com.au

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FURNITURE - OUTDOOR

ACL (364 314)

with the same great

service

Reservations and Trust Accounting Daily Reconciliation – Systematic Distribution Year 2+ $599

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Year 1 $990

Year 2+ $440

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Motels, caravan parks etc. from $220 to $330 p.a.

www.pumasoftware.com.au

SEE THE SPECIALISTS IN L.E.D. REPLACEMENT LIGHTING

fresh finance... Repairs - Maintenance - Installations Testing & Repairs of Emergency Lighting Appliance Repairs

(07) 5591 9191 Expert Advice • Great Range Friendly Service • Quick Turn Around

QLD LIC. 9107 NSW LIC. EC29426

office@emerlite.com.au www.emerlite.com.au

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www.accomnews.com.au/ business-directory

• New Chairs • Tables • Sun Lounges • Umbrellas • Cushions & Accessories • Prompt Service Guaranteed REPAIRS - RESLINGS AND SUPPLY OF REPLACEMENT SLINGS TO P.V.C AND ALUMINIUM OUTDOOR FURNITURE

ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS

Phone (07) 5446 2135

CURTAINS & CURTAIN FABRIC

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Gold Coast: (07) 5592 0266 w w w. L M g o l d s t a r. c o m . a u

QUALITY, COST EFFECTIVE UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE & BILLING ADMINISTRATION

• • • • •

Bill Presentment Debt Collection Tariff Review Meter Provider Payments

• • • • •

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Mike Phipps

0448 813 090

mike@mikephippsfinance.com.au

0418 765 257

www.casualfurniture.com.au

coastalcasualoutdoors@gmail.com VISIT OUR SHOWROOM AT: Unit 4, No. 2 Cnr Captain Cook Drive and Kendor St, Arundel, QLD

Paul Grant 0448 417 754 paul@mikephippsfinance.com.au Cameron Wicking

0477 776 859

cameron@mikephippsfinance.com.au 4/31 Mary Street, Noosaville, Qld - 07 5470 2194

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Red

F I N A N C E

Professional & friendly service Over 30 years finance experience Accommodation funding specialists

W I D E

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A U S T R A L I A

Holiday

Commercial Specialist Direct Importers Sales, Service & Repairs ¾LARGEST RANGE¾FURNITURE ¾UMBRELLAS¾SUN LOUNGES Cnr Main Drive & Nicklin Way, Warana, Qld 4575 | Ph 07 5493 4277 Acres Centre, 1/37 Gibson Rd Noosaville 4566 | Ph 07 5449 9336

www.daydreamleisure.com.au sales@daydreamleisure.com.au

Nick Smith - 0450 179 677 www.redtenfinance.com.au nick@redtenfinance.com.au

PREFERRED SUPPLIER DIRECTORY

Whatever, Wherever, Whenever! www.accomnews.com.au/business-directory

ResortNews | November 2019

INSURANCE Australia wide service supplying all types of furniture

Management Rights Insurance Specialists stry e indu Leading h t o t r e k o insurance br

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GUEST ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS

In All Areas... Whether buying or selling we have you covered

Professional Indemnity Public Liability Loss of fee income Home & Office contents Landlords ...and more

www.managementrightscover.com.au

Call 1800 688 820

AFSLN 246986 ABN 31 009 179 640

RUGECU009-190402

Discount for ARAMA members

• Gold Coast • Brisbane • Sunshine Coast • Townsville • Cairns ... & Beyond

Phone 07 55 930 007 www.raas.com.au

LINEN &/OR LINEN GOODS

Australia’s Leading Hotel Bedding Suppliers

07 5437 8544 info@mainlinen.com

GLASS INSTALLATION/REPAIRS

We get results. Pure & simple. Management Rights, Motel, Hotel and Caravan Park sales.

MAIL BOXES

1300 665 966

Quality Aust Products to meet All Building & Government Standards

DELIVERIES QLD WIDE – INSTALLATION & SERVICE IN SE QLD

P: (07) 5596 1440 E: info@sunni.com.au

Look for the sign of an Industry Specialist YOUR PARTNERS IN SUCCESS

…When you need us most!

GYMNASIUM EQUIPMENT

MGA was founded in 1975 and has since opened up 38 offices around Australia, offering Insurance products for:  Business  Strata  Landlord Protection With quick quote turnaround and hassle-free claims service Call us today on (07) 3720 6000 or email: quotes.brisbane@mga.com

Need assurance when looking for insurance?

Make the search simple... www.accomnews.com.au/business-directory

November 2019 | ResortNews

MANAGEMENT RIGHTS AGENTS

Property Bridge MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

RESORTS

 Discreet Silent Listings  Free Market Appraisals

“Always passionate, committed and professional, you can trust the team at Property Bridge.” info@propertybridge.com.au propertybridge.com.au 1800 888 518

PREFERRED SUPPLIER DIRECTORY

Calvin Bailey LREA

0414 889 593 calvin@cbmr.com.au

Alex Barker-Re LREA 0414 835 128 alex@cbmr.com.au

CALVINBAILEYMANAGEMENTRIGHTS.COM.AU

Specialists in management rights Off the plan sales qld & victoria Buying or selling best advice Rod Askew 0411 758 236 (QLD & VIC) Eric Brizuela 0413 060 683 (QLD) Philip Robison 0410 663 111 (VIC) Nationwide: 07 3554 0040 Email: sales@rcabb.com.au

www.rcabusinessbrokers.com.au

The Management Rights Specialists

• Painting • Grounds Maintenance & Landscaping

ASBESTOS REMOVAL QUEENSLAND WIDE

FREE CALL

1800 766 366

HIRISE

• Signage & Branding SUNSHINE COAST

Matt Campbell 0410 343 219 Barry Davies 0438 554 995 Lindsay Petty 0407 029 138 contact@managementrights.com

www.managementrights.com

MOTELS, CARAVAN PARKS, HOTELS & MHE’S NATIONAL COVERAGE sales@tourismbrokers.com.au 1300 512 566 www.tourismbrokers.com.au

Specialising in Motel & Resort Sales Qld wide

• Electrical Services • Audio Visual • Data Communications • Sustainability

Call 1800 620 911 or 07 3718 1600

MAINTENANCE PTY LTD HIGH RISE/COMMERCIAL RE-PAINT, ABSEIL ACCESS INSTALLATION & CERTIFICATION, WINDOW CLEANING, ALL ROPE ACCESS MAINTENANCE

07 5539 0828

www.hirisemaintenance.com.au info@hirisemaintenance.com.au

PEST CONTROL Servicing Brisbane & Gold Coast

PEST

programmed.com.au

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FREE QUOTES &ADVICE

PEST-NETT SERVICES

CALL TODAY TO GET YOUR PEST PROBLEMS SOLVED

Residential &Commercial

Call Now 07 3206 6721 www.terminett.com

www.accomnews.com.au/business-directory

Supporting and servicing the needs of both buyers and sellers of management rights throughout Tropical North Queensland PO Box 1037 Gordonvale 4865 • P 07 4056 6366

info@resortsales.com • www.resortsales.com

MANAGEMENT

RIGHTS AND MOTEL

EXPERTS EXPERIENCE COUNTS We have the largest team of specialists across Queensland and New South Wales, covering management rights and motels businesses.

GET THE RIGHT ADVICE Don’t put your accommodation industry investment at risk. Our industry knowledge is second to none.

Andrew Morgan m 0417 608 041 p 07 4953 1611 | w qthb.com.au

Find them online Wherever, Whenever!

SOLICITORS

Specialising in:  Hi-Rise Repaints  Large Complexes  Interior and Exterior  Hi-Pressure Cleaning  Concrete Spalling Repair (Concrete Cancer)  Waterproofing & Roof Membranes LOCALLY-OWNED FOR OVER 25 YEARS

Ph 5520 1256

NEED PEST CONTROL?

Professional Pest Control services specialising in commercial and residential pest management

Property Managers will receive a complimentary general pest treatment of the internal area of the Managers unit - yes, free of charge, no catches!

business, property, tenants & guests! Myour0456 565 148 | targetpest.net.au 1300 638 938 Professional Pest Control services specialising in commercial and residential pest management and available now.

Your business is not an 8:00am – 5:00pm business, Mon-Fri, neither is mine, so call me if I can help protect your business. We only use branded products and we are prompt and reliable, backed by a ‘no questions asked’ warranty.

Owner Operator | Fully Licensed | Fully Insured Quality Service | Care & Safety

SHEET METAL

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www.anppainting.com.au QBCC Lic No 1050861 NSW Lic No 179886C

SPECIALIST AGENTS COMMITTED TO MAKING EVERY DEAL A SUCCESS

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1800 111 622 WWW.STRATACORP.COM

PAINTERS & DECORATORS

Visit hyneslegal.com.au/subscribe or call +61 7 3193 0500 info@hyneslegal.com.au www.hyneslegal.com.au

Ph 07 5593 4183 Fx 07 5593 4194 | M 0413 432 294 adrian@sheetmetalimprovements.com.au

COOLANGATTA TO BEENLEIGH

SIGNS

Experienced Management Rights Lawyers • Purchase or Sale Fixed Price Available

(07) 5343 1000 Ask for Natalie

managementrights@ascendia.com.au

www.ascendialawyers.com.au

Look for the sign of an Industry Specialist www.amalgamatedgroup.com.au info@amalgamatedgroup.com.au

Whatever, Wherever, Whenever! www.accomnews.com.au/business-directory

PREFERRED SUPPLIER DIRECTORY

ResortNews | November 2019

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT Flood Legal offers all the experience & expertise of a big firm while delivering accessible, personal & affordable service that comes with dealing with a small firm Call Sharon Flood, Director - 0459 070 871 or 02 6674 5118 sharon.flood@floodlegal.com.au - www.floodlegal.com.au

SWIMMING POOL SUPPLIES/REPAIRS

Classes from Coolangatta to Cairns TRAINED BY THE EXPERTS

RELAX… AND LET US TAKE CARE OF ALL YOUR POOL NEEDS.

◆ DEDICATED ACCOUNT MANAGER for Orders, Installs, Service and Sales ◆ COMPLIMENTARY equipment assessment – why not get a 2nd opinion

1800 080 349 www.propertytraining.edu.au

◆ YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED ◆ PRICE IS IMPORTANT, but so is SERVICE AND SUPPORT

TV & VIDEO HIRE/REPAIRS

9/99 LOWER WEST BURLEIGH ROAD, BURLEIGH HEADS, QUEENSLAND 4220

PHONE: 07 5535 6161

EMAIL: POOLGEAR@BIGPOND.COM

Appliance Rentals

WWW.POOLGEARAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

New name... Bigger range...

BRISBANE: 07 3007 3777 GOLD COAST: 07 5562 2959

We deliver

info@mahoneys.com.au

strategic solutions in management rights Buying or selling Renewing or reviewing Negotiation and dispute resolution

Michael Kleinschmidt Legal Practitioner Director

www.stratumlegal.com.au info@stratumlegal.com.au

PH: 07 5406 1280

Leading Sunshine Coast Law Firm

SPECIALIST EXPERIENCE IN MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

with the same great

Heat Pumps

Proudly installed and serviced

Short Punch & Greatorix Personal Service. Trusted Advice.

Cnr Bundall Rd & Crombie Ave Surfers Paradise PO Box 5164, GCMC, Bundall QLD 9726 Fax: 5539 8745 john.punch@spglawyers.com.au

Call John Punch on 5570 9322

Gold Coast: (07) 5592 0266 w w w. L M g o l d s t a r. c o m . a u Noosa 5449 7855 | Maroochydore 5443 2111 Caloundra 5438 1588

CERVETTO COURTICE

L AW Y E R S

Q U E E N S L A N D

Management Rights Sales & Purchases Need advice regarding: • Buying / Selling • Legal due diligence reports • Variations including top up of term • Renewals/Extensions • Management & Letting Agreements • Body Corporate Issues • Off Plan Developments

service

Phone: (07) 3202 2266 Fax: (07) 3812 1128 Email: cervetto@gil.com.au

• equipment • repairs • regular servicing • maintenance • chemical supplies • swimming aids & toys

153 Cooyar Street, Noosa Junction (07) 5447 3896 shop@noosapoolandspa.com

VALUERS - REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT RIGHTS VALUATION SPECIALISTS Australian Valuers have proven to be the No.1 choice for this highly specialised work. Our valuation team operate on a national level providing advice to the majority of Australia’s Banks

Get it right the first time…call

australianvaluers.com.au

T: 5390 1400 www.gplaw.com.au

mlr@australianvaluers.com.au 1800 664 094

Griffiths Parry Lawyers

Reward your best suppliers by nominating them for the Preferred Supplier Programme. Simply send their details with a short testimonial to: psp@resortpublishing.com.au or call (07) 5440 5322

They’ll thank you for it! November 2019 | ResortNews

PREFERRED SUPPLIER DIRECTORY

The fastest growing accommodation listings website Listings from all the leading brokers on the one website

Motel

Sales Specialist

“A website for buyers/sellers such as Accom Properties has been well overdue for years. Buyers don’t want to view multiple websites to see whats for sale in a particular region or town, they want all properties on the market with relevant criteria at their fingertips now and you’ve been able to provide a platform which is fantastic. Well done.” – Brett Salter, National Accommodation Manager, ALH Group Limited