Whitsunday Refl ections: Views a highpoint in astonishing location

Views a highpoint in astonishing location

By Grantlee Kieza, Industry Reporter

Stunning views, a sublime climate, and the beckoning gateway to one of the great natural wonders of the world.

That’s the Whitsunday Refl ections luxury accommodation in Airlie Beach, a perfectly positioned resort featuring opulent one, two and three-bedroom holiday apartments perched high above Airlie Beach.

The views are to drool over and the Great Barrier Reef is just a short boat ride away.

The picturesque location was a major factor in Paulett e and Geoff Bennett securing the property two and a half years ago. The modern and spacious holiday apartments boast open-plan living with balconies providing magnifi cent 180-degree views of Airlie Beach and the Coral Sea, some of the most stunning seascapes in the world.

And the property is still close enough to walk to the heart of town. The apartments at Refl ections off er all the amenities to make a holiday as relaxed and comfortable as possible, including modern kitchens, laundry facilities and easy parking.

And once guests leave the apartments there is the opportunity to explore the best the Whitsundays has to off er, including a stunning reef that stretches 2300 kilometres and includes 900 islands.

Tours to all the amazing local att ractions can be booked at the front desk of Refl ections without guests having to lift a fi nger. Paulett e Bennett said she and husband Geoff were captivated by the property as soon as they saw it. “I was actually working in a couple of resorts in the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand at diff erent times and my family remarked, ‘why don’t we get our own’,” Paulett e said, “So we did.

“I enjoy the housekeeping side of the business more than anything, but it is a great industry all round.” The couple fi rst left New Zealand in 1985 for stays in diff erent Australian cities.

I enjoy the housekeeping side of the business more than anything, but it is a great industry all round

“Our fi rst home in Australia was Perth and we spent two years there,” Paulett e said. “Then we went to Adelaide, then Sale in Victoria, then back to Adelaide, back to New Zealand for a couple of years, before we came back and bought a villa in Burleigh Heads.” The couple, relative newcomers to management rights, are loving the work. Geoff has a background in the air force, having served as a fl ight engineer in New Zealand and Australia. While Paulett e’s experience in the accommodation sector was limited, she knew all about customer service having owned fi ve food stores in diff erent locations. “My fi rst food shop was in Auckland,” she said, “then I had a shop in Perth, and in Adelaide.

“The fourth and fi ft h shops were in Sale where we lived for eight years.”

In 2017 Paulett e started working in housekeeping at two resorts in the Marlborough Sounds, at the top of the South Island.

It’s an area of myriad bays and inlets that contains 25 percent of New Zealand’s coastline.

The experience convinced Paulett e and Geoff that they could run their own property. “Initially we were looking at buying one unit on the coast, not 46 of them like we have now,” Paulett e said. “But the idea of running a management rights business grew with us. “We looked at a couple of resorts and ended up here. It’s wonderful.” Paulett e’s only experience in accommodation came from having worked in properties in New Zealand. “They were not run on the same management rights model as we have in Queensland, but they were similar,” she said. “The fi rst resort I worked at was on the Queen Charlott e Track, a very popular four-day walk. “The second was owned by a company in Christchurch that had a few places and were trying to increase their portfolio. It was a very good experience for learning what was involved on the housekeeping side of things and guest satisfaction.” Paulett e and Geoff , who have three grown children, Adrienne, Michael and Vanessa, have been at Refl ections for two and a half years. “Learning the business in the fi rst place was our biggest challenge when we came here,” Paulett e said.

“When we fi rst arrived my oldest daughter Adrienne was here with my son Michael to help us get started. Michael is still here, and we have been lucky to have Robyn Beck working with us in the offi ce, she’s really helped us a lot with the business.”

Paulett e and Geoff took over Refl ections just before COVID-19 hit the tourism industry like a cyclone that lasted for months.

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Talk to someone who understands your business.

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“We started three weeks before COVID,” Paulett e said, “it was not the best introduction to the management rights business.

“We couldn’t have guests and we couldn’t even have staff because of the lockdowns.

“But we decided to use the down time to make improvements to the property. It wasn’t in great shape when we took over, and COVID at least gave us time to clean up all the rooms and do a lot of work.

“We still had a few people coming through with essential travel for about three months, and then every time they’d open the border or let guests travel more than 150 kilometres, we’d fi ll up again with a great rush of visitors.

“Then they’d close the border again and the visitors would of course dry up, but we were never empty.” Paulett e said she was relieved that Refl ections, fared bett er than many other resorts in the area because many had no guests at all. “But once the lockdowns ended it’s been full on here ever since,” she said.

“It’s such a great location and people love coming here. “So, we’re now gett ing owners to spend a bit of money on their units because they are gett ing really good returns. “Most of our units now have new matt resses, Smart televisions, and some of them are being freshly painted inside. “Our occupancy levels have been very high for the last six months. Just before Christmas the rush of guests started and it hasn’t stopped since, which is fantastic.”

Paulett e said she and Geoff were initially hooked by the view, but also impressed by the room sizes and the layout of Refl ections sprawling over a hill and giving it the highest views in town.

“We have beautiful, spacious units of one, two and three bedrooms with stunning views,” Paulett e said.

“We’re having work done at the moment on our website and we are adding some brilliant new photos of the property to showcase what an incredible place it is.”

Paulett e said patience was a key ingredient in working in management rights.

“You have to be patient dealing with guests and taking time to learn the intricacies of the business,” she said.

“You must learn on your feet a lot of the time, but we are fi nding that it is certainly worth it.

“We get to live and work in an incredible part of the world.”

Paulette and Geoff with their daughter and partner