Profi le: Xanadu Main Beach Resort

Xanadu Main Beach Resort

‘Pay it forward’ managers say good relationship with BC is a priority

By Grantlee Kieza, Industry Reporter

Xanadu has long been a metaphor for opulence, taking its name from the idyll in the epic poem Kubla Khan.

For Tony and Grace Burns, Xanadu is their dream property, 150 apartments overlooking the blue Pacific at Main Beach, Queensland. The property comprises a pair of 25-storey towers delivering luxury, self-contained, beachfront holiday apartments. Whether it’s families enjoying their vacations, corporate travellers on the move, or couples enjoying a blissful romantic getaway, Xanadu offers ocean views, modern facilities, first-class customer service and an unbeatable location.

Tony and Grace consider themselves fortunate to have notched up five years at this opulent property on June 26 but are always mindful of those less fortunate. Grace was born in Fiji and Tony spent many years working there in the hotel and resort industry. And the couple are currently putting together their third 20-foot container load of charity goods for the Pacific Island nation.

Tony told us: “Being involved in hotels and management rights we noticed that every time a unit or room was being updated, everybody was getting rid of furniture, linen, clothing, and other items that were still in perfectly good condition. “So, we started collecting and storing everything from cooking utensils to bed linen, clothes and furniture that were still in good order. “Every 12 to 18 months Grace and I have managed to put together a container load of goods that can be put to great use by the people in Fiji. The deliveries are coordinated with Grace’s sister and family in Fiji, and they go through one of the local churches there. They have their own charity set up where they can distribute a lot of the material to some of the outer islands and villages where people are really struggling.” The charity drive started originally after a cyclone devastated Fiji. “We began collecting as much as we could to send there for the relief effort,” Tony said. “Some of the areas were wiped out and we managed to put together a container load that could really help the people in their recovery. “A lot of the material comes from units that are being refurbished or modernised and we also have a charity bin downstairs at Xanadu.”

Tony said that Ian Crooks from ResortBrokers had kindly offered “a very large donation” to assist in paying for the latest container to be shipped.

“The cost of transporting the containers has pretty much doubled since we first started sending them,” Tony said, “and it’s now more than $8000.

“Ian very kindly offered assistance, which we are very grateful for. All the items will be going to people who really need them.”

Tony and Grace have been involved in management rights in Queensland for 12 years and were at the La Grande Apartments in Broadbeach for seven years before taking over at Xanadu.

From left to right – Ian Crooks from ResortBrokers, Tony Burns manager at Xanadu & Alex Cook from ResortBrokers

“Every day is a challenge in this industry but overall, it’s a great field to work in, especially when business is as good as it is at the moment,” Tony said. “There have been a lot of ups and downs for everyone in management rights because of COVID-19, but things are very positive right now.” Tony has spent his working life in the hotel and resort business, and before coming to management rights spent 12 years working for Warwick Hotels at places such as Seattle in the United States, and at Fiji and Vanuatu in the Pacific. After that experience he and Grace returned to Tony’s home in Brisbane and began to look for their own property to run. Tony completed a week-long course with Dennis Mackenzie’s Property Training Australia and he and Grace bought the management rights for La Grande 12 years ago when it was being sold by receivers. “The management of La Grande involved about 60 apartments in a medium rise Mediterranean style complex,” Tony said. “The business was very good to us, but we saw great potential when Xanadu became available.

“It was a larger property with more of a resort style than La Grande. Because of our background we enjoy that kind of property, with more of a handson resort-style operation. “Xanadu had gone through a bit of turmoil prior to us coming in and we saw an opportunity there to improve the relationship between building management and the bodies corporate operating here because it was as bad as you could get at the time. “We saw the opportunity to step in and make things a lot better.” Tony and Grace took the approach of being “very hands on and having a really honest application to the business.” “We set about bringing those relationships between the management and the body corporates back into line,” Tony said. “I think there was a bit of history that neither side could let go of, and it was time for a fresh approach. We felt very confident that we had turned things around in the space of a couple of meetings and discussions with the bodies corporate within the first month or so of coming here. “There were a few challenges initially and a bit of hesitation from the bodies corporate, but we overcame that very quickly with some good hands-on management.” Xanadu has 150 apartments spread across its two 25-storey towers. “It’s a massive property to look after,” Tony said. “Gardening and landscaping falls under our portfolio as well, and we currently have about 55 apartments in the letting pool. Most of them are holiday lets but we have a few permanent rentals as well. “And of course, we’re looking after the property and all the body corporate responsibilities that come with that. There are three bodies corporate involved, one each for the two towers and the principal one that focuses on the common areas.” Tony and Grace manage the business with a small team of around seven staff.

“We have a company based out of Sydney that handles the cleaning of the rooms but getting hold of cleaning staff at the moment is a major headache.” Tony said with the worst of COVID-19 hopefully behind us, good times had returned to the industry. “We were in the same situation as many other properties in that we had to shut down for a good three or four months,” he said.

“We had a few permanent lets that kept us busy and we took the time out caused by COVID to do a lot of spring cleaning and maintenance work.

“Thankfully JobKeeper kept us afloat and allowed us to keep the staff employed, and they’re still with us which is good.” Tony said anyone starting out in the industry and looking to buy the management rights for a property had to be prepared to put in the hours of hard work and the effort to build relationships inside a complex. “You only get out of the business what you put in,” he said. “But the rewards can be great. “We work with everyone in the buildings whether they’re in our letting pool or not because an opportunity is going to eventually come up if an owner decides they want to rent out the property or if they sell to someone who is an investor.

“Building strong relationships means that owners will always put in a good word for you. “We treat all owners equally. “It’s one of the more important things you can do and we’ve seen the benefits of that with the previous property as well as this one.

“Management rights has a lot to do with building good relationships and it certainly can be a very rewarding industry.”