Images Courtesy of Peninsula at Airlie Beach – Photography: J. D. Bush
Peninsula wins rave reviews for MR first timers By Grantlee Kieza, Industry Reporter
Paul and Francine Tuddenham couldn’t have chosen a more idyllic location for their first foray into management rights. Paul spoke to Grantlee Kieza from the couple’s 5-star resort apartment complex, Peninsula at Airlie Beach. What experience did you have in management rights before taking on the Peninsula? None. Fran’s background was working at Westpac for 20 years, and I had a mortgage broking business. Before that my background was in management accounting and I worked for some large firms. In 1999 I was elected as a councillor for
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Wingecarribee Shire Council, taking in the Bowral, Mittagong and Moss Vale areas south of Sydney. I was on the council for 13 years until we decided to make our home in Queensland.
We planned to retire after renovating a house at Robina, which had a granny flat. However, we changed our minds because it seemed the perfect time to move into management rights instead.
So how did you know about management rights?
What was the process like?
The first place we stayed on the Gold Coast, when we moved to Queensland was a gated community called Botanical Park at Elenora. I became intrigued by the industry after talking to the managers there, and they enthusiastically told me, “you have to get into a business like this, it’s great.” I began to investigate management rights, but we were not in a position to go any further at that point. We then moved to Emerald Lagoon at Robina and talking to those managers piqued my interest once again, but again the timing wasn’t quite right.
Initially, Fran wasn't keen because she didn't know much about management rights, but we started to look around for a property. It was when we travelled up to Airlie Beach for a break that Fran fell in love with the area.
You certainly picked a stunning location. It was while we were staying here that I noticed this property was for sale and I rang the broker. Fran had a lot of conditions on what she was looking for, and this place ticked all the boxes. It was more a fear of the unknown that was holding us back. We saw the potential of this property, and we
PROFILE
believed we could do a lot with it. After a bit of soul searching, we decided to have a go. We took over on July 1, last year, so we’ve been here nearly 12 months.
What was it about the Peninsula that got you hooked? The location was the prominent thing, it’s stunning, and literally right on the water. It's a 5-star resort too, and we love the size of the units. At the first viewing we realised the resort hadn't been as loved as it could have been. But after having a long talk with Des Fagg from ResortBrokers, and advice from others in the industry, we believed we had the potential to build on it. We were both happy to move north. Fran hates the heat with a passion, but she got through her first summer unscathed and we love living here.
ResortNews | May 2022
