Resort News, November 2022

The legal stuff...

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Welcome to the November edition of Resort News.

While the industry’s fight to save both long-term agreements and holiday letting in Class 2 buildings continues, in this month’s Special Report on page 6 we look at what the critics are saying about Airbnb-style short-term rentals in residential buildings. We ask if management rights is the obvious solution to the problems currently fuelling such government scrutiny.

Meanwhile, for me this month has been very much about women in management rights. I’ve always been touched by the generosity of support from women to other women in this sector and recognise how important that is for success. I look forward to the regular Women in Management luncheons and October’s events were even sweeter after

Clarke, Editor editor@accomnews.com.au

a short hiatus (remember men are always welcome too).

Then I had the pleasure of interviewing the impressive and hardworking Sue Fairweather who has always aimed high in her career. Sue is the Executive General Manager of ULTIQA Hotels & Resorts and on page 16 she shares her inspiring story, along with some magnificent insights into her management rights business successes.

I always feel very privileged when an opportunity comes along to get to know a woman like Sue, she is one of many who make this industry so special. From young passionate entrepreneurs like our columnist Kelley Rigby, to industry stalwarts like iconic Gillian Millhouse, who at 76 years old is about to retire from management rights after 22 years running the Rodhos apartment building at Chevron Island, Gold Coast.

And what a character Gill is. You will love reading her story on page 20.

Talk about powerhouse women, after a stint of two years as Destination Gold Coast CEO we understand Patricia O’Callaghan will soon be moving on. Good luck Patricia from Resort News and thank you.

In our onsite manager’s profile, enjoy reading about relative newcomers, Darrel and Michael

Woodham. They have been the managers of Tropicana Resort, Noosaville, for just 12 months and have an interesting story to tell.

In other news, I recently attended the Langham Gold Coast Gala Opening event, and what a wonderful experience. If you haven’t already been to the new beachfront Surfers Paradise hotel, let me tell you it is stunning, the hospitality and service excel all expectations, and the food… Chef’s Kiss!

The team at Resort News is also very excited to be invited to one of the biggest industry events of the year, the PRET Awards 2022. On Saturday November 26 we will join over 700 MLR professionals at Brisbane City Hall to celebrate the achievements of PRET graduates and industry training partners. Enjoy this issue of Resort News! Cheers, Mandy.

Mandy

SPECIAL REPORT

The management rights solution to short-stay problems

By Grantlee Kieza, Industry Reporter

by tenants behaving badly, especially the most common issues around noise, parking, and property damage.

That’s the mantra that ARAMA CEO Trevor Rawnsley repeats, as problems with short-stay accommodation in residential buildings continue to fuel government scrutiny.

The thorny issue has prompted Brisbane’s City Council to increase scrutiny of Airbnb-style rental operators through artificial intelligence and big data.

The council has signed a contract with Deckard Technologies for the platform to underpin its crackdown on the short-term sector.

In June, the Brisbane Council announced it would hike rates by 50 percent on properties listed on Airbnb-style platforms for more than 60 days a year and details from its review of the sector are expected soon.

Mr Rawnsley told Resort News that appointing an onsite manager wherever shortstay accommodation was occurring could stop almost all of the problems caused

“Airbnb is not the problem,’ Mr Rawnsley said, “the problem is the behaviour of the guests, and management and letting rights can nip those problems in the bud as opposed to a unit owner who might live many suburbs or even thousands of kilometres away trying to facilitate a hotel arrangement through Airbnb.

“Usually that distant owner has no real contact with the guests.

“A resident manager ensures a better selection of guests and

more careful management. Some of our managers use Airbnb as an advertising platform which is a good idea, but the problem with short-stay accommodation comes from those people using Airbnb to find tenants and then letting them into a property with no supervision.

“When problems occur, these unsophisticated operators usually go to ground and take no responsibility for what’s happened.

“In a managed property if there is any sort of trouble the manager pounces on it straight away. With no resident manager in place, it’s normally the other residents who are left with the mess.”

Dr Thomas Sigler, the University of Queensland’s urban and economic geography associate professor, told the Brisbane Times that short-term rental numbers in Australia had dropped to nearly half their pre-pandemic peak, to about 266,000 as of July.

According to data provider AirDNA, some 51,000 of these are in Queensland, representing about two to three percent of the total housing stock, slightly lower than the national portion. This is lower again in Brisbane.

Airbnb’s Australia and New Zealand manager, Susan Wheeldon, told the Times she welcomed the Queensland review and the ability to contribute to any reforms.

On February 1, 2022, Noosa Council commenced a new local law for short-stay letting and home-hosted accommodation.

Under the new law, a one-off application needs to be made for all existing and new properties operating short-stay letting or home-hosted accommodation.

Annual renewal of the approval is required, and complaints are managed through a centralised 24/7 complaints hotline.

“If Airbnb is the problem, management rights is the solution.”

The contact person must respond to a complaint within 30 minutes of being notified.

The Strata Community Association of Queensland remains vehemently opposed to short-stay letting in residential buildings, though, saying that residents are largely powerless to act without resorting to expensive legal redress.

SCA general manager Laura Bos told Resort News: “Our position is that Airbnb is fine in tourism dedicated areas. It has no place, though, in residential areas but ultimately, it’s up to the body corporate to make that decision.

“We’ve always said the bodies corporate should be in a position to decide what they want for their communities.”

Ms Bos said the SCA had been advocating for a long time for the Queensland government to approve legislation that would allow bodies corporate to pass a bylaw banning short-term stays.

And she insists that management rights is not the solution to the problems associated with shortterm stays in residential buildings.

“We are very firm on management rights and caretaking agreements,” Ms Bos said.

“I want to make it really clear we’re not opposed to caretaking or management rights in the right areas – say tourism areas and tourism buildings. Airbnb is a booking platform and it’s a good tool where you have caretakers in buildings who run the letting for those properties. But it comes back to the matter of residential amenity. Shortstay accommodation has no place in residential buildings.

“We also believe that with the housing crisis in Queensland moving residential properties out of what is the holiday pool would obviously alleviate some of the issues there.”

Ms Bos has ready support from Trish Burt, who runs the Sydneybased organisation Neighbours Not Strangers and tells a horror story of her own battles with neighbours letting out apartments for short-stay tenants.

“I bought into a building in the Sydney CBD and even before Airbnb there used to be a huge short-term rental operation going on in there,” Ms Burt said.

“When I complained about the short-term rentals, I received more than 30 threatening messages from other owners who did not want to lose their short-stay rental incomes. There were even phone calls asking if I had funeral insurance.

“I ended up moving to another building.”

Ms Burt said she had no problem with people renting out apartments for short terms but only if those buildings were designated specifically for holiday or hotel accommodation.

“Let’s be fair to people on holidays, they want to have a good time, but they should not be doing it in residential buildings,” Ms Burt said.

“These people are on holiday mode, but they are moving in next door to people who probably have to get up and go to work in the morning and feed their children and babies.

“If you buy a serviced apartment, by law you’re not allowed to live there permanently. And if someone buys a residential property, they want a quiet home not a party house or apartment next door.”

Ms Burt cites several legal cases where judges have ruled against short-term letting in residential areas. She quotes Justice Jayne Jagot’s judgment on 187 Kent Street Pty Ltd v Council of the City of Sydney in which her honour said that mixing shortterm rentals with permanent

residents is “fundamentally incompatible” and that…

“Short-term residents have no long-term interest in the maintenance of the amenity within the building or the surrounding area…”

Lawyer Michael Kleinschmidt from Stratum Legal, however, says the current outcry over short-term rentals is “a beat up”.

“Do you know how many times I’ve seen a residential building turn into a holiday resort? None,” he said.

“If the Queensland Government allowed bodies corporate to ban short-term letting there will be mortgage defaults all over the place because your ability to use that property for its highest and best use disappears with the stroke of a pen because of what your neighbours say. It’s crazy.”

Mr Kleinschmidt said any one of the Fellows of the Australian College of Strata Lawyers could prevent buyers from purchasing a property they did not realise included the capacity for short-term letting.

“Body corporate records will show you how many units are held by owner occupiers and how many are in the hands of outside real estate agents,” he said.

Queensland’s housing crisis was not due to short-term rentals, he said, so much as the mass migration of people out of Sydney in Melbourne, and that allowing bodies corporate to decide what

was a residential scheme was a “lazy, dangerous policy” that could lead to bodies corporate being empowered to ban other groups that were perceived to cause problems such as “absentee (long term let) landlords, single parent households, shift workers, motorcycle riders ...”

He said one immediate solution to the problems caused by short-term tenants was simply to “enforce existing bylaws, all of which deal with noise, use of common facilities and lack of care for common property such as pools and lifts.”

Another was to privately prosecute.

He told Resort News: “When I look at who is complaining and what they are complaining about I see a few lot owners who have genuine complaints, but I see more bodies corporate with an agenda and I see stakeholder groups who are anti-management rights.

“I’ve been involved in strata for more than two decades and I can count on two hands the number of people coming to my office to say there’s a problem with short-term letting.

“It is infrequent, but the minority is making a lot of noise.

“Management rights is the best solution to short-stay problems because you have an on-site manager who becomes the judge, jury, and executioner. If there is a problem they can walk in and say, ‘stop it now … if we get one more complaint you’re out.’

“The second solution is to enforce the bylaws against unit owners who are allowing short-term tenants to behave badly.

“You put obligations on them to provide contact details of people who are staying short term and if they don’t comply with that bylaw, you can prosecute them.

“When the ‘spiv’ from Sydney who owns his unit at Noosa gets served with a complaint and summons because his tenants were not properly supervised, he sits up and takes notice when it’s going to cost him.

“Another solution is to see what the building classification is and what are the town planning issues. There have been notable instances where authorities have brought action for people in the Planning and Environment Court because people have been using their units for the wrong purpose.”

About the current outcry Mr Kleinschmidt said:

“While I’ve met some fantastic committee members, a lot of them have come from middle management in the corporate world and they absolutely hate it when a resident manager doesn’t do exactly what they say. They then embark on World War III,” he said.

“I see all of this kerfuffle over short-term tenants as a way for certain committee members and certain stakeholder groups with an agenda to undermine the management rights model.”

Michael Woodham, who manages the Noosa Tropicana, said resident managers solved most short-stay problems because they lived on-site.

“Onsite managers know if there are four people booked into a room and 44 turn up. Problems arise when owners don’t live anywhere near the short-stay unit they’re renting out. The neighbours are the ones who suffer.”

Jo Matthews, from the Toscana at Airlie Beach, said many Airbnb landlords had no interaction with guests at all.

“But resident managers stop trouble straight away,” she said. “I’ve had cases where I’ve stopped people walking into our building because they already looked intoxicated. It’s in the best interest of owners to have resident managers in place.”

And Michael Cross, from the Gold Coast’s Dorchester on the Beach, told Resort News that while he didn’t want to deny anyone from “earning

Short-stay accommodation has no place in residential buildings

a quid from their property” he thought it was wrong for some unit owners to become “leeches on the backbone of our tourism industry.”

“If you own an apartment in my building and it’s on my holiday rent roll you have to pay $6,000 to $8000 every six months in Gold Coast Council commercial rates and you also have to pay a contribution to Destination Gold Coast,” Mr Cross said.

“The apartment undergoes routine inspections by the Fire Brigade as well as all sorts of other safety checks. “However, if you open up an Airbnb and you don’t tell the council, your rates are only $2000 because it’s a residential apartment. So, when people use Airbnb to lease out units without notifying the council, they’re taking thousands of dollars from ratepayers and getting all the benefits of the tourism promotions without contributing.”

Strata Solve’s Chris Irons, the former Queensland Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management, told Resort News that management rights was only one of several possible solutions to the problems

posed by short-term rentals in residential buildings. “In my experience applying a one size fits all approach doesn’t work for anything in strata,” Mr Irons said, “and particularly in such a contentious issue as this one.

“You have to look at a variety of policy levers. One that really leaps out is that bodies corporate should be empowered to have greater autonomy. If they want to prohibit Airbnb why not let them? Now it’s not possible under Queensland legislation.

“It’s a different story in every state and territory and right around the world. Different countries, different cities, and different municipalities have all taken very different approaches to Airbnb. You also have to understand what it is you’re trying to correct, if the issue is a philosophical opposition to short-term letting that’s one thing, but if the issue is something specific like noise or parking or security, then you should address those specific issues.

“It might be something as simple as reminding the owner that there are rules about noise. Communication is everything in strata.”

ARAMA REPORT

How Management and Letting Rights can ease Queensland’s housing crisis

in Queensland is provided by private investors. The government only provides 3 percent of housing.

The perfect formula to help alleviate this desperate situation is the business of Management and Letting Rights (MLR). I attended the Queensland Housing Summit on October 20, where one of the key messages was that it is high time to further encourage property developers, property investors and the property management industry.

Developers and investors actually provide the necessary homes for people to live in, while it has been shown time and time again that resident managers make community title schemes run more efficiently and provide housing that is far more affordable than it otherwise would be.

If MLR was put in place for all new residential schemes, the costs of running and maintaining them would be lower than under any other professional system. Owners’ levies would be lower, clearing the way for lower rents.

The Queensland Housing Summit was held at the Brisbane Convention Centre and brought together Queensland’s Premier, Deputy Premier, the Treasurer, the Federal and State Housing Ministers, and the Queensland Infrastructure Minister, as well as the Lord Mayor of Brisbane and various Mayors, or their representatives, from throughout Queensland.

Also attending was Queensland’s Leader of the Opposition, the Shadow Housing Minister, several other state politicians and senior public servants. There were also leaders from the

Trevor Rawnsley, CEO, ARAMA

accommodation industry, with representatives from ARAMA, the Urban Development Institute of Australia, the Property Council, and people representing social housing groups.

It was a significant investment in time and resources, with the various portfolios working towards one outcome which is to create housing through social means and through the private rental market.

The Queensland Government will release an Outcomes Report in November outlining findings from the Summit, however one of the key takeaways was the Queensland Government doubling the size of its signature Housing Investment Fund to $2 billion to help build more than 13,000 new homes.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the $1 billion investment boost would help more Queenslanders get into new homes and that short-term solutions and longer-term strategies were needed to address supply.

She said her government was now targeting the construction of 5600 new social and affordable homes by June 2027.

The Summit heard that 97 percent of the rental market

Queensland needs 665,000 rental properties, however only 610,000 are available, so there is a massive shortfall of 55,000.

Mass migration coming from other states has accelerated dramatically since COVID. It was not that many years ago that a lot of our ARAMA members were under pressure because people were moving out of older buildings in an oversupplied Brisbane apartment market, to all the new stock that was being built. Now there is not enough of that new stock to cope with demand and our members in long-term rental buildings have people on waiting lists hoping to find a rental property.

In the March quarter alone, there were another 32,000 people migrating to Queensland and that has put even greater demand on a stretched housing sector. Overseas and interstate migration will continue to increase over the next five to ten years.

The Treasurer, Cameron Dick, told the Summit that Queensland had enjoyed a decade of prosperity and opportunity despite news of rising interest rates and other inflationary pressures. He predicted a decade of prosperity and opportunity leading up to and well beyond the 2032 Olympics. He said the Housing Investment Fund was designed to provide a long-term, sustainable source of funding to build homes for Queenslanders and that the additional investment also recognised the impact that rising costs of building materials and

labour was having on prices right across the construction sector.

The State Minister for Housing and Communities, Leeanne Enoch, who attended ARAMA`s recent TOP Awards, said the injection of a further $1 billion at this critical time would mean more housing for vulnerable Queenslanders sooner.

There are key reasons for a deficit in housing in the state. One is that about 20,000 dwellings have shifted out of the long-term rental market into other uses – primarily short-term letting. Among them are the traditional family homes that have now become party houses in the suburbs and that are rented out on Airbnb and other short stay portals. Owners can often make more money from short-term rentals than from long-term tenants. Another reason is that the tenancy laws in Queensland have shifted too far in favour of tenants making it more unattractive to invest in the long-term private rental market.

Those often-empty shortterm rental detached or semi-detached houses could be permanent homes for thousands of families.

ARAMA is asserting that councils should restrict the use of these Class 1 and Class 1A dwellings to the longer-term rental market with a minimum of 90 days. That would incentivise landlords to make them available for housing.

ARAMA is also asserting that the tenancy laws be reviewed to make them fairer and more balanced in favour of the landlord, and thus more attractive for investors to convert the glut of shortterm party houses to the long term private rental market.

Queensland is besieged by a housing crisis and in desperate need of 55,000 new rental properties.

Short-term rental is not suited to houses in the suburbs; however it is ideally suited to Community Title Schemes where a MLR business is on the spot and able to respond 24/7 to better manage the behaviour of guests and the balanced needs of guests, tenants and owner occupiers.

Queensland also has a lack of new housing supply to meet the increased rate of household formation. In the last 10 years the average number of people per household in Queensland has dropped from 2.6 to 2.5, and even though that sounds like not much of a drop it has resulted in the need for 14,000 extra dwellings as young people move out of home to start their own families.

These extra dwellings can be ideally found in Strata Title Community Schemes developed by incentivised developers and managed by professional on-site management.

In Queensland, there have also been about 14,000 houses that have been withdrawn for repairs and alterations. That includes houses that are waiting to be demolished and rebuilt. What might have taken six months to build new houses until quite recently, is now taking 12 to 18 months. This also applies to about 2,000 Queensland houses that have been impacted by floods and are uninhabitable.

Supply constraints on the building industry are significant. Builders have been going out of business and building costs have escalated through slow supply of material and a shortage of labour.

The Housing Summit heard that building approvals have increased, however that work has not kept pace with the number of approvals. Approvals are also taking longer because there is now a shortage of town planners to process the increased approval applications.

This all coincides with rising interest rates, low availability and a recent real estate boom that has pushed property prices higher and caused landlords to demand bigger rents to make a return on the increased costs of owning an investment property.

The vacancy rate in Queensland was about 4.0 percent in 2017 when there was a glut of apartments, however it is now

Stop demonising developers, investors, and professional building management

sitting at 0.5 percent, while average weekly rents in Brisbane have climbed from $370 a week in 2010 to $540 a week in 2022.

The state government has promised to work more closely with councils, developers, super funds, and philanthropists to create a pipeline for investment in housing.

Part of the extra $1 billion in funding will include more money for people who are homeless and to reduce red tape in response to natural disasters. The government is also planning an increase in prefabricated homes, both as an emergency measure and as a longer-term solution.

The Premier wrapped up the day by saying there would be an audit of vacant land, owned privately and by the government, to see where they can convert some of that into social housing or where they can sell it off to private investors to develop that land for the rental market.

We live in extraordinary times.

Our ARAMA members have been hit with absolutely everything, especially in the last five years with COVID, floods and fire that affected the way in which we manage schemes and provide both short and long-term accommodation.

MLR came through COVID, and the worst economic conditions in Australia’s history, in much better shape than most other industries because it delivers value and service to strata title communities.

More than 50 per cent of our members are involved in longterm residential accommodation, and because of the long-term nature of those caretaking service agreements, they result in reduced costs of maintenance and cleaning and greater efficiency. The lived experience of the residents is also enhanced by having on-site

management to look after the needs of people who stay there.

Long-term caretaking service agreements are in the best interests of a scheme. Yet there are small groups who will try to tell you the opposite without any facts to support their incorrect assertions.

Our industry has been under attack more than at any other time over the past 50 years.

One of the key messages from the Summit was that developers and investors provide housing, and the property management industry helps to manage quality properties at an affordable rate.

The more that developers build residential properties and the

more those properties are well managed, the more Queensland’s housing crisis will be alleviated.

That is a message for all the knockers of the MLR industry. Many of these groups criticising our fabulous industry have significant problems within their own ranks, including allegations of price gouging, misleading and deceptive conduct, and a lack of accountability for their self-serving actions.

ARAMA has always believed that a collaborative approach as illustrated by the principles of the Triangle of Management is the best way to solve problems in Community Title Schemes and to focus on what is in the best interests of the scheme.

The Premier wrapped up the housing summit by stating that we should stop demonising developers, investors, and professional building management.

The knockers should stop throwing stones at MLR and the developers and the investors. We all know what happens to people in glass houses when they throw stones!

STATE REPORT

Update on pets in NSW strata buildings

Fundamentals:

An owners corporation in NSW cannot stop an occupier from having a pet in their unit, as long as it does not disturb other residents.

However, tenants need permission from their landlord to own a pet. A landlord can refuse to allow a tenant to have a pet. Also, a landlord does not need to give a reason why.

However, landlords cannot ask tenants to pay a pet deposit and they can’t charge a higher amount of rental bond for a tenant to keep a pet.

Depending on the scheme bylaws, an occupier may need to tell the owners corporation before a pet is brought into the complex, as owners corporations can create their own rules for pets. It is important to first check the scheme’s by-laws.

However, by-laws banning all pets are not valid and banning animals based on size, type, or quantity, will not be valid in most circumstances; and assistance animals cannot be banned from living in a strata scheme.

Owners corporation and pets

An owners corporation in NSW cannot stop a unit occupier from having a pet in their unit, as long as it does not disturb other residents.

In 2020, the Court of Appeal in Cooper –v- The Owners Corporation – SP 58068 held that a by law that provided an outright ban on pet ownership was “oppressive” pursuant to section 139(1) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, because it interferes with the property rights of a lot owner by controlling or prohibiting a particular use, in circumstances where that use does not materially and adversely affect the enjoyment of another lot.

Col Myers, Small Myers Hughes

However, most owners corporations will first require the occupier to write to the secretary or strata manager if they have a pet, or want to get one.

It is important to first check the scheme’s by-laws to see what the process is and what information is needed for approval. It is not unusual for an owners corporation to ask for:

• The pet’s name, type, breed, weight and age;

• a photo of the pet; and

• the pet’s vaccination records and a microchip number (if the pet needs these in NSW).

Rules for keeping pets in strata

An owners corporation can set rules about how occupiers keep their pets while living in strata. As previously advised, first check the scheme’s by-laws to see what these rules are.

The bylaws often cover:

• Keeping the animal within your property;

• watching the animal when on common property; and

• cleaning up after the animal on common property.

Can an owners corporation evict occupiers or their pets?

The owners corporation cannot

evict an occupier, but may try to remove the persons pet.

The owners corporation can only remove a pet if it causes ‘unreasonable interference’ to others, or the pet’s behaviour has broken a by-law.

The owners corporation must follow the proper process and give the person a chance to fix the situation, before they attempt to evict a pet.

If an occupier has broken a by-law, the owners corporation must first issue a “notice to comply”, asking the person to stop their pet’s behaviour.

If the behaviour continues, the occupier or the owners corporation can contact NSW Fair Trading to seek a (free) mediation.

If the issue is not resolved at mediation, anyone involved in the dispute can then apply to the NCAT to remove the animal.

Can a landlord evict a tenant or the tenants pet?

In short, yes.

If a landlord has refused permission to have a pet in their unit, or the tenant hasn’t asked the landlord for permission to keep the pet, then the tenant may be breaking their rental agreement.

In that case, the landlord may ask the tenant to remove the pet or move out of the property.

Making a complaint about another resident’s pet

Obviously, you need to talk to the pet owner first about their pet’s offending behaviour. They may not know about it.

Some strata schemes also have an internal dispute process that can be used. Check with your strata committee or strata manager to see if there is one.

If the pet’s behaviour has broken a by-law, the owners corporation can issue a notice for the occupier to stop the behaviour.

If it is still not resolved, anybody involved in the dispute can apply to the NCAT for an order to remove the animal.

Getting a nuisance order via the local council

If the owners corporation or strata committee cannot solve the issue, an application can be made to the local council to seek an order against nuisance dogs and cats.

To apply for an order, you need to contact the local council.

Proof of the behaviour, to support the nuisance order, will most likely be required by the council.

If the council chooses to issue the order, the pet owner must comply with the rule in the order.

If they do not, they can be fined by the council.

Assistance Animals

Assistance animals cannot be banned from living in a strata scheme.

An owners corporation can ask an occupier to provide evidence of their assistant animal’s status, including:

• Accreditation from an assistance animal training body;

• an assistance animal permit issued by Service NSW; and

• a signed statement that the animal has been trained to assist a person with a disability and meets acceptable hygiene and behaviour standards.

Owners corporations however should not ask for private medical records as evidence.

The brave new world; what does this mean for strata?

Recently, Strata Community (Qld) was invited to participate in the Queensland Housing Summit. The landmark Summit, hosted by Queensland Premier, The Hon Annastacia Palaszczuk was held in response to the dire state of housing availability for Queenslanders, of course SCA (Qld) was delighted to share our knowledge of bodies corporate and contribute to the solutions.

Queensland, specifically Brisbane was confirmed earlier this month as having the worst rental market in the country. The price to purchase a home of any sort, in any suburb across the state has also boomed since the pandemic.

The rest of the country is experiencing significant struggles too. But we have to ask, why?

In a time of very little, if almost negative national population growth, plus a period where construction has boomed, in Queensland we have been left with a deficit of housing supply. It is far too common to see people living in tents and regularly read of hundreds lining up at rental inspections.

In Queensland, we have actually seen significant population growth due to migration from other states. Despite this, and with a lot of construction occurring through the pandemic period, egged on by significant government stimulus, we are all wondering how we have ended up in the extreme crisis we’re in now?

We are all aware of the difficulties in obtaining construction

Bos, General Manager, SCA (QLD)

materials, and tradies. Plus, the costs of materials post COVID and also the impacts of the war in Ukraine have been widely reported. But most interestingly, society has changed too since the pandemic and indeed the impact of those changes have compounded the issue.

It’s worth having a look at some of these briefly before we consider what’s next for strata and how we respond to them as a sector.

First, a retreat from share housing has occurred, given the time spent at home, a desire for more private space was probably inevitable when we analyse the pandemic.

Second, money once spent holidaying, eating out and generally living life has been spent on making the home more spacious, liveable and amenable. When you eat, sleep, work and play in one spot, you want it to be comfortable. Whilst we are now allowed back outside and on holiday, the trend towards remote working has also meant this is not necessarily a flash in the pan.

So how does strata respond as a sector to these trends?

We need to first look at the potential benefits strata can deliver to a broader spectrum of people and help deliver innovative solutions to this crisis.

First, let’s not shy away from the benefits to a suburb of having well built, cleverly designed strata complexes as their backbone. ‘Gentle density’ was a term coined at the Summit to describe this. If you build a strata complex, free of defects, with great shared amenity, people can embrace shared space as their own and feel a sense of connectedness and community. Being closer to

services and public transport gives people more time with family and community. While it has never been popular, the daily commute is now considered an unnecessary evil, rather than a necessary one. So as a sector we need to promote development that gives people shared space, amenity, and facilities.

Second, we need to talk up our affordability benefits as a sector. Apartments, townhouses, and duplexes are all much cheaper than detached housing. If strata development is done right, facilities and space are available- we can deliver a better product than detached housing, at a lower price.

Finally, it is important to note that despite all the benefits of strata housing over detached housing, detached housing still makes up the bulk of new construction. This is wrong and we need to educate the public on why. Detached housing is bad for the environment, detached housing is more expensive, and detached housing is likely to result in car choked cities. We need to be positive about the value strata can deliver.

Strata properties are not a necessary evil, they are the best way human beings have come up with thus far to create the very best, most enriching urban environments possible.

Well designed and built strata is a positive part of the housing mix. NIMBY sentiment around strata must give way to an honest, fact-based discussion about the positives we can deliver. We need to as a sector embrace the 200-year megatrend of density and urbanisation and tell the story of how only strata can deliver vibrant, sustainable communities in our cities, now and into the future.

The future belongs to strata, we just need to let everybody know.

Laura

Decision-making timeframes for bodies corporate

For instance, under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008, a property owner must respond within 14 days from the date a tenant sends a request to keep a pet in their rental property. If there is no response, the property owner is assumed to have approved the request.

We often hear from owners and occupiers who feel that their body corporate has not responded to requests in a timely manner. It should be noted from the outset that this article is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every timeframe in body corporate legislation.

Instead, we have highlighted a few of the main ones and divided them into three distinct categories:

• Standard timeframes for committee decisions;

• instances where the committee may need to decide issues within a shorter period;

• general meeting decisions.

Timeframes for committee decisions on owner motions

While owners had been able to submit motions to the committee, there was no definitive timeframe for any committee response before the regulation changed in March 2021. The term ‘stonewalling’ had been used regularly by our clients when they believed their committee was unresponsive.

There is now a six-week ‘decision period’ within which a committee must decide (commencing the day after an owner’s motion had been submitted). There is, however some flexibility afforded to committees. If extra time is required, the committee must give written notice to the owner within the initial decision period stating:

• Why they need more time; and

• a reasonable period of no more than six weeks after the ‘decision period’ within which they must decide.

If the committee does not decide within the six-week ‘decision period’, or, where a committee has given notice to an owner requiring extra time (within 12 weeks after the day the motion was submitted) the motion will be deemed to have been declined.

Requests from tenants for a committee decision

While there is no express provision in the legislation, it is largely understood that a tenant can submit a request for the committee’s consideration. For instance, a tenant may apply to keep a dog or park a vehicle on an area of common property where there is an appropriate by-law. However, there is still uncertainty around what would be considered a reasonable timeframe for tenants to expect a decision from the committee.

Although the decision period for owner motions does not strictly extend to tenants, it might be used by tenants as a guide on what is a reasonable timeframe for committee decisions on their requests. Instances

where the committee may be required to decide within a shorter period

It is important to bear in mind that the six-week ‘decision period’ does not apply to all committee decisions. As you will see in the following examples, there are shorter timeframes, specified in the legislation, for the committee to decide within.

Voting outside a committee meeting

Where the committee is making a decision without holding a meeting (namely, voting outside a committee meeting (VOC) or a ‘flying minute’) committee members must return their votes within 21 days after the notice has been given. If no decision is reached by the committee within this timeframe, the motion is not passed.

To clarify, this does not mean that the committee must wait the full 21 days for all members to return their votes before a decision can be made.

Rather, a motion for a VOC is taken to be decided if:

• The majority of all

members who are entitled to vote, agree; or

• the majority of all members who are entitled to vote, do not agree; or

• one-half indicate that they do not agree with the motion (as at best there would be a tied vote, which still means the motion is lost).

Therefore, a decision can be made for a VOC well before the 21-day timeframe expires.

Issuing a by-law contravention notice

Where an owner or occupier gives their body corporate an approved notice (BCCM Form 1), advising them of a potential by-law breach, the committee has 14 days to issue a contravention notice. If the committee does not advise the owner or occupier who made the complaint (the complainant) that a contravention notice has been issued within this timeframe, it is open to the complainant to lodge a dispute application about the by-law breach through this office after sufficient selfresolution has been attempted.

Transferring an engagement

Body corporate approval is required if someone is seeking to transfer their engagement as a body corporate manager or service contractor or an authorisation as a letting agent.

Timeframes are an integral part of most legislation (not just body corporate legislation) as they clarify obligations and remove the doubt that has the potential to create unnecessary conflict.

The committee has 30 days, after receiving the information reasonably necessary to make the decision, to decide on the transfer application. Importantly, the committee cannot unreasonably withhold

for the

General meeting decisions

While there are some timeframes in place for the making of committee decisions, there are no similar provisions or timeframes when it comes to making general meeting decisions.

Accordingly, if an issue requires a general meeting resolution, an owner or occupier may wait much longer for a decision.

Some decisions that must wait for a general meeting include owner improvements to the common property exceeding the value of $3000 and most requests for maintenance that exceed the committee’s spending limit. Read more about committee spending limits on our website.

A body corporate is only required to hold one general meeting per year, called an annual general meeting. The committee can call extraordinary general meetings by passing a committee resolution. Alternatively, if the committee refuses to call an extraordinary general meeting, an owner can ask other owners to sign a notice requesting an extraordinary general meeting be called to consider their motion.

The notice must be signed by at least 25 percent of lot owners or their representatives. Read more about requesting extraordinary general meetings on our website.

This means, if you are unable to obtain enough signatures from other owners to compel the committee to call an extraordinary general meeting, you may find yourself waiting quite some time for a decision.

If an owner submits a motion for consideration by the body corporate that requires a decision at a general meeting, the body corporate must put

it on the agenda of the next general meeting. This meeting may well be the annual general meeting if no others are called throughout the year.

Requests from tenants for a general meeting decision

If you are a tenant in need of a body corporate decision at a general meeting, you may have to ask your landlord to submit the motion on your behalf because general meeting motions can only be submitted by owners or the committee.

Alternatively, you can write directly to the committee and ask them to submit your motion for consideration at the next general meeting.

If you are unable to get a response to your request, you may consider the dispute options available to you under the tenancy legislation or the body corporate legislation, depending on the party your dispute is against.

Notice for committee meetings and general meetings

Notice must be given to all owners for committee and general meetings. The legislation requires written notice of a committee meeting to be given to all committee members and owners at least seven days before the meeting, or a reduced period of two days if all voting members have agreed in writing.

For a general meeting, written notice must be given to all owners at least 21 days before the meeting. It is helpful to know about body corporate decisionmaking timeframes to ensure that you not only manage your expectations but also allow you to time your requests (if possible) so they can be considered by the body corporate in a timely way.

Having clear timeframes means that residents are not left waiting indefinitely for committee decisions and it reduces the likelihood of unrealistic expectations being placed on the body corporate.

PERSON OF INTEREST

Sue Fairweather: “One Percenters” is about the little things

By Mandy Clarke, Editor Sue Fairweather, Executive

General Manager (EGM) of ULTIQA Hotels & Resorts believes success is about “One Percenters”. She explains that it’s about “doing the little things every single day, over and over again, it’s not about the big events but the small accumulation, the consistency of all the daily little things that make a difference”.

I caught up with Sue for a chat at ULTIQA’s Freshwater Point Resort in Broadbeach, where I was greeted by a beaming Sue, who says she thrives at

work. This is a very impressive woman who is clearly very proud of her long and varied career and achievements.

Senior roles in the management rights industry and indeed across the whole accommodation sector have been very much male dominated. However, women have always been key partners in the ‘mum and dad’ business success of Management and Lett ing Rights. In more recent years we have seen the exponential rise of women in senior roles across the industry and many successfully leading their own management rights business.

In fact, for women this is a sector filled with opportunities to fulfil business dreams and ambitions, while working from home with a family and being surrounded by many

like-minded women who are keen to cheer each other on. If you have been to any of the Women in Management events, you will understand that powerful support network.

Sue Fairweather is one of those kind, warm, hardworking, and inspiring leaders who strives to help and elevate others in an industry she loves.

What was your first foray into hospitality and what att racted you to this industry?

I came into the industry due to ill health and being diagnosed with an incurable disease and told I would never work again in the corporate world. I’d never not worked so I looked for a business that I could do from home. I discovered management rights and purchased my first business in Brisbane while I was in hospital in 2009.

And I loved it. That’s management rights, not hospital!

Every day is diff erent with many challenges, but I continue to love what I do.

I proved the doctors wrong and have been working ever since. I still have challenges, but we all do and it’s about how we face them.

You were born in Sydney but from a young age travelled the world and even lived on a far-off tropical island, due to having a father who sounds like an extraordinary colourful and adventurous character. But you chose to sett le in Queensland?

I love Queensland, I am at my happiest close to the ocean and living on the coast.

You’ve had close ties to the management rights industry for many years now?

I also enjoyed helping people understand the complexities of management rights.

I do have a passion to find businesses with potential to grow and develop. And I’ve never purchased a business that I could not leave in better financial shape than when I bought it.

Tell us about your career journey to your current role?

I was fortunate to be in the IT Industry when it was booming in the 1990s. This was a fast paced, and ever-changing environment but I always worked hard, never watched the clock and went ‘over and above’ to achieve success - this was recognised. I had wonderful mentors, was given many opportunities and several promotions followed.

After I purchased my first management rights on the Brisbane River, I was approached by developers to set up their complexes, then sell their management rights and train the new managers.

I went on to purchase my first holiday management rights on the Sunshine Coast while managing multiple businesses in Brisbane. Then in 2018 I worked on a large project for 12 months in Brisbane.

In 2009 I met Mark Henry (the current CEO of ULTIQA) at Resident Lett ing Agent training on the Gold Coast and we became friends. In 2019, over a coff ee, he asked if I was interested in managing a resort for ULTIQA on the Gold Coast. I replied that although I was not a ‘Gold Coast Girl’, I was happy to help for a while, that was February 2019 and I am happy to still be on the Gold Coast now!

Sue Fairweather

Yes. After I purchased my first management rights business, I also became a consultant/ licencing trainer, working with Dennis Mackenzie at Resort Management Training. Here, alongside managing my building

I accepted the full-time role managing ULTIQA Hotels & Resorts in 2020 after my boss Michael became very sick and sadly passed away.

Sue commenced her role as EGM during the pandemic, how much of a challenge was that?

A huge one. We didn’t know what was coming our way, so we just turned up each day to deal with each twist and turn. It truly showed what people were made of. There were extraordinary pressures and stressors across all facets of life and the true attitude and nature of many people came to the fore. People learned a lot about themselves.

When I was asked to move into the EGM role, I simply considered it to be a way for me to help others. It was a pandemic, so we all had to do whatever it took.

What did you learn from the COVID-19 experience?

The pandemic has shown us that we are all the same regardless of our culture, religion, customs, or whether we are rich or poor. The virus connected us, it highlighted how fallible we are and taught us that we should all stick together.

The pandemic made us all aware of our frailties and that selfcare and love is not an indulgence, but a necessity.

With many people in the industry unable to work, ULTIQA focused on upskilling its staff, and pushed a “Be Kind” message to all.

For me, I never said never to anything, and I led by example. I also worked long hours to show that we were in this together.

My philosophy has always been to never ask anyone to do anything that I am not prepared to do myself and I strongly believe people look at what you do and not what you say.

Quite simply the pandemic taught us all to make the most of everyday.

Why ULTIQA?

ULTIQA is a unique company with the best people in the industry.

Moreover, Mark Henry is wonderful to work for and

when he offered me the EGM role, he supported my vision for ULTIQA’s Hotels & Resorts going forward.

Here, I feel we can all make a difference every single day. ULTIQA has been developing and expanding, what are you most excited about?

We have a new building called Signature at Broadbeach opening later this year. It’s been exciting for me to work on a building before it opens, and to set up systems and processes based on our

experience to ensure the building will be managed in the most efficient way possible.

With all your experience in the sector what excites you about it still?

It is an absolute joy to mentor and guide less experienced staff and managers. The industry is complex and multi-faceted, and it excites me to share my knowledge and experience of it with others. I am happy to give my time to anyone who genuinely needs help and assistance, in and out of ULTIQA.

Signature at Broadbeach

Signature at Broadbeach

We all lose our way and purpose at times. I was not blessed with my own children, although I tried for a very long time with IVF. To accept that I would never have my own children was very difficult and to find my way back from that was extremely hard.

Although I’ve always loved to work, it was a challenge to find my path again but then I found my ULTIQA family and a new purpose.

Do you have any advice for those looking for a career in management rights?

Go for it! If you are looking at buying management rights make sure you meet with the body corporate committee first and ask lots of questions.

If you will be living onsite and this is your business, then make sure you understand what you are gett ing yourself into.

Be prepared to do anything and have a ‘can do, will do’ att itude. If you want to work in management rights, don’t be afraid to try any role and be prepared to do anything. And remember a positive att itude gets you a long way!

Yes, but we managed to get through because everyone pitched in (including me). Housekeeping was the biggest challenge, but our managers are very ‘hands on’, they set an example for all. We focused on our people. I always say ‘look after the people and they will take care of the business’.

What makes a good leader and what are you most proud of?

I believe a good leader is one who has integrity, is passionate about what they do, can inspire others, has the confidence to make difficult decisions, has an open mind and is able to embrace failure. I am most proud of the team I get to lead every day. They are brilliant, talented and make me look great.

Clearly, you are a people person but how does a busy EGM remain grounded and connected?

I make sure I take time to work in the resorts alongside my teams. When managers go on leave, I often work from the resort alongside the resort teams. I enjoy connecting with both staff and guests and it is vital for them to feel I am approachable and prepared to do anything.

are a role model to women, do you feel the responsibility?

I am just me. I have always been a leader (since I was a litt le girl) and I know my dad would be proud of me. I am open, honest, present and off er my time freely to those who ask anything of me.

And what would you say to women looking for a career in the industry?

I honestly believe that women have the edge over men in hospitality because the industry centres on emotion. We can naturally connect with staff and guests because we are nurturers. My advice is to ‘Dream BIG’. I think that if you work hard and don’t watch the clock you will be noticed and you will progress.

I would also add, be prepared to try anything once (ok maybe twice) but give anything a go.

What do you like to do on your day off ?

I am so privileged to live on the beach, it’s my place to relax. I also volunteer as a technical official for Triathlon Australia, helping others to compete in a fair, safe, and fun environment.

When you stay at a hotel what impresses you most?

What do you like to find in a guestroom?

I am a clean freak! It doesn’t matter how old the property is, cleanliness must always be paramount. It is always the litt le things that make the diff erence and show somebody cares

Who inspired you?

My Dad! Sadly, he passed away when I was 30 but he instilled in me to always work hard. He would say, no matter what you do give it 100 percent, always.

What is the best advice you’ve been given?

I have a few …

The most important one for me is the ‘One Percenters’, the litt le things that make a diff erence. But also, to always walk into a room with a smile on your face because nobody can get angry when you are smiling at them. A warm and engaging smile makes people smile back.

Finally, if you love what you do, do it more, don’t count the hours count the blessings, the joy, the laughs, and the amazing people you get to share a large part of your life with.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career?

Has the staffi ng crisis been a challenge for ULTIQA?

You

The staff. Friendly, happy, engaging staff are the face of a hotel or resort.

Signature at Broadbeach

INTERVIEW

Gill all go-go in livewire career

By Grantlee Kieza, Industry Reporter

During the 76 years of her high-energy life, the iconic Gillian Millhouse has been a go-go dancer gyrating in a cage, and a roadie for a pioneering rock’n’roll band.

She played competitive netball for 66 years, remains a keen golfer with a sideboard full of trophies, and still stays up all night watching sports from around the world on television.

But after 22 years running the Rodhos apartment building at Chevron Island on the Gold Coast, Gill is now ready to take a breather.

“But, if I was 10 years younger, I’d stay,” she declared.

“It’s been a great life here and I still love the job, but it’s time for someone else to move in. “Rodhos was named after the Greek island of Rhodes and it was designed with that theme. It’s on a remarkable block in a beautiful position. The building covers four blocks of land but it’s from street to street and it’s the only building on Chevron like that. It faces Cronin Island, and my apartment is on the first level overlooking the pool.

“We’ve just had the building all painted white with blue trim, so it really does look like it’s from the Greek islands.”

Gill grew up in central Hobart as the middle sister in a family of three girls and one boy.

“My father had a butcher shop. We didn’t have much money, but we always had the best food and we got fit as kids walking up the very hilly streets and down to Sandy Bay,” she said.

“I started playing netball when I was four and by the time I was 19 I was playing five nights a week in a mixed team with the boys.

“I’m 77 in November and I’d still be playing netball now but had to have my knee done seven years ago. The netball stuffed me up and I’m riddled with arthritis these days.

“I play golf instead. I was on a handicap of 19 at the Burleigh Golf Club and I got down to 14 at Southport, but that’s 20-odd years ago.”

Gill hit it big on the dance floor, too.

“I always loved dancing, and in the early 1960s, a couple of guys came over from South Australia and started a disco at the Carlyle pub in Hobart at Moonah (on the border of Derwent Park).

My younger sister Sue and I and another couple of girls became go-go dancers in 1965, dancing

in cages at the Carlyle, and at the Granada Tavern in Berridale.

“I was a go-go dancer for about five years from the age of 19. It was great fun.”

Gill was married young and came to the Gold Coast with her second husband Richard Millhouse, who was once the bass player for the Kravats, a band known as “Tasmania’s answer to The Beatles”.

In 1965, the Kravats kept the Beatles’ hit “Help” from reaching No. 1 on the Tasmanian charts.

Instead, the No.1 song on the 7HO radio chart at the time was the Kravats’ cover of The Animals’ “Baby Let Me Take You Home’”.

Gill became a roadie for the band, helping to carry all the gear for their gigs and set up the equipment for their performances. She also worked as a bookkeeper for the Kravats’ guitarist Ray Woodruff who had an agency in Hobart for Sharp Electronics and ran cooking classes showing off the

company’s microwave ovens.

“Richard and I got married in 1979 and we had a brilliant life,” Gill said.

“It wasn’t meant to be for me to have children. I’ve been a Tom Boy all my life and Richard and I had a great time over the years.

“We came to the Gold Coast for an even better life in 1996. A lot of us used to come up for weekend getaways regularly, in the early days on the Ansett-ANA flights.

“We bought a beautiful house in Palm Beach, and I loved it. I became a gym junkie and played a lot of golf.

“Unfortunately, Richard and I split up at the end of 1999.

“I was 54 at the time and I thought ‘what am I going to do for a job?’

“I didn’t want to work in an office because all my life I’ve pretty much done my own thing.”

One of Gill’s friends suggested that she’d be great in management rights.

Gillian Millhouse

“We were driving around Chevron Island one day and saw Rodhos with a ‘For Sale’ sign out the front,” she said.

“It was that easy. I investigated the business, and it was ideal.

“The building was only two years old, and I bought the business. Rodhos was an awful pink colour then, but it looks so much better in the new white and blue.”

The complex of 22 apartments has 11 units in the letting pool and has provided a great home and career for Gill.

“It’s a great job,” she said, “it

wasn’t always perfect, I had a bad bikie move in and he was a bikie from hell, but we got him out eventually.

“It’s a wonderful place to live and the job has allowed me plenty of time to go overseas to play golf. I even went to the US Masters.

“I can’t do the maintenance work like I used to but I get people in to do the work now.”

Gill has bought an apartment in a new building on Chevron. Her management rights business is being marketed by Craig Cornish from Ray White.

Damian Quinn

LEGAL EASE

Should a body corporate have an electric vehicle by-law?

In 2021, there were 20,000 electric vehicles sold in Australia (three times as many as in 2020). With some states looking to ban combustion vehicles in the next decade, there is no doubt that the number of electric vehicles in Queensland will rise. These new electric vehicles will need to be stored, and charged, somewhere. Given the 50,000 plus bodies corporate in Queensland, it is an issue that will need to be carefully considered and addressed by committees.

As this article will show, the complex issues cannot be dealt with by a simple by-law.

Bodies corporate and electric vehicles

There are a number of specific issues for a body corporate

Todd Garsden, Partner, Mahoneys

to consider in relation to electric vehicle charging, the most prevalent being:

• Where the charging devices will be installed and who is entitled to use them;

• the capacity of the existing infrastructure to cope with any increased load;

• what are the risks of installing and utilizing any charging devices;

• who is paying for any installation, upgrades, maintenance, electricity and other associated

costs (eg., any additional insurance); and

• what, if anything, should the by-laws provide for?

Supply of electricity

The supply of electricity and embedded networks is a complex and complicated issue, even before you throw the charging of electric vehicles into the mix.

The regulation modules set out a prescribed procedure and power for the Body Corporate to on-supply services to occupiers, including domestic services such as electricity.

When the body corporate does supply electricity to occupiers:

• It has an obligation under the regulation module to the greatest practicable extent, to ensure that the total cost, other than administrative costs, is recovered from the users of the service (ie., to charge the occupier for the electricity used to charge an electric car);

• the body corporate can only fulfil its obligation if it enters into a service agreement with the occupier – which cannot be reflected in a by-law; and

• the terms of the service agreement, and the conditions of supplying electricity may incidentally be captured within the ambit of various layers of regulatory bodies and legislation. This can then require consideration of the need for embedded network managers, authorisations or exemptions from the regulator and many other hoops that may need to be jumped through, effectively necessitating an additional service contractor to be engaged just to manage the compliance requirements of supplying electricity.

Installation

Just like any other works, an improvement by a lot owner to:

• Common property (which is what most car parks

are) requires general meeting approval if the cost is over $3,000; and

• part of a lot, will only need approval by the committee depending on the by-laws for the scheme regulating improvements. However, even if a car park is part of a lot, the installation will presumably affect some part of the common property when it is connected to the electricity utility infrastructure, necessitating approval by the body corporate.

As the installation relates to utility infrastructure, lot owners may also have statutory easement rights placing positive obligations on the body corporate to approve the proposed works.

In considering any application for approval, the body corporate can impose reasonable conditions. This can extend to the standard and usual conditions about the quality of workmanship, compliance with specifications, compliance with building regulations, visual amenity concerns, insurance, and ongoing maintenance.

However, given the specific concerns related to electric vehicle charging, further conditions may be appropriate to consider such as:

• Requiring regular inspections to be carried out to ensure the infrastructure is in good working order and safe;

• conditioning the way in which the charger is used (if there are requirements for safe charging); and

• complying with any requirements from the body corporate’s insurer.

Capacity concerns

For the first few installations, the above considerations of supply agreements and improvement approval may be all that is required.

However, given the infrastructure that was installed for any existing buildings pre-dated the prevalence of electric vehicles, the current infrastructure may not be sufficient to take the load of more than a few electric vehicles recharging

at once. There will come a point where the next electric vehicle installation will create an unacceptable load on the infrastructure without significant improvement works to the entire system being carried out.

An overloaded system can lead to brown outs, fire, interrupted supply, damage to infrastructure and damage to any device connected to that infrastructure. Charging during peak summer and winter months will increase the risk of the system being overloaded.

How each body corporate seeks to regulate this will be a future source of dispute. Will it be:

• Up to all owners to fund those expensive works –even if there is no appetite to have an electric vehicle;

• the owners that come after the capacity load limitation has been reached bear the cost – where those that came before, do not need to contribute and benefit on a first-in best-dressed basis;

• the earlier adopters who have to bear all the cost for which all other users benefit from (at no cost to them); or

• a more convoluted cost sharing scheme entered into whereby the service agreement and improvement approval conditions provide for an obligation on owners to contribute to the improvement costs (if and when they are required) –and any later owners who want to come online to the system then reimburse the existing owners. Any rights or obligations under these arrangements would also need to address those owners selling or buying their lots in the scheme.

We suspect the latter option is the most equitable but expect

that most bodies corporate will allow the first few installations on a first-in best-dressed basis and then descend into a dispute when the next owner wants to install their infrastructure, (rightly) does not want to pay for the entire system upgrade and then disputes this against the body corporate.

Common facilities

An alternative to owners needing to install their own charging infrastructure in their car park is for bodies corporate to install a common electric charging facility, available to occupiers on a booking system.

If bodies corporate were to take this path (and maintain control over the use of

the charging facilities and infrastructure requirements) it would be imperative for a by-law to be imposed that regulates how the charging facility is used by occupiers.

Even this path is not without its issues. Owners that do not have an electric car (who would be contributing to the common property costs) may object on the basis that the body corporate has an obligation to recover the costs of services that are provided to occupiers. If that then leads to a cost recovery process, the body corporate may then be caught up in the supply regulations and obligations.

Conclusion

Electric vehicles in a body corporate is a complicated issue that cannot be solved with a simple electric vehicle by-law.

It should be dealt with by proactive committees acting early to adopt a policy of how it is going to treat electric vehicles in the scheme and arranging for the necessary supply agreements, approval conditions and arrangements for capacity upgrades to be put in place.

Are you looking for a pre-purchase nancial veri cation report, pro t and loss for sale or just an accountant who really understands your management rights business?

We provide a comprehensive range of compliance and consulting services for all entity types operating within the industry.

Jonathan Grant Accountants operates within a wide referral network of other professional industry specialists and we are dedicated to ensuring you receive the right advice from the right people.

PO Box 391 WEST BURLEIGH QLD 4219

Phone: (07) 5534 4333 | Fax: (07) 5534 2081 reception@jonathangrant.com.au | www.jonathangrant.com.au

Imperative for a bylaw to be imposed that regulates how the charging facility is used by occupiers

BY ALL ACCOUNTS

Fringe benefits tax: The hidden forgotten tax

With the festive season kicking off 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 e.g., 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

This is 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 effects the classification. Provision of the meals and drink off your business premises eg., a restaurant is more likely to be entertainment and subject to fringe benefits tax.

One major consideration is the “less than $300” minor benefit exemption and the now recognised

fact that the ATO will 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.

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.

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 van or utility (including four-wheel drive vehicles);

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

A car is taken to be available for the private use of an employee if the place of business and residence are the same ie., standard management rights business. There are some circumstances where 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 its private use is limited to:

• 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).

The most important message to reduce any potential car FBT is to seek advice from your accountant to see whether it is worth while completing a logbook for at least 12 concurrent weeks. This will depend on the value of the car and also the expected business use percentage.

Housing fringe benefits

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.

A unit of accommodation includes any of the following:

• 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”.

Jonathan Hanaghan, Director, Jonathan Grant Accountants

MOTEL MARKET

Leases: Repair or replace

Motels are no different to any other building in that they need continual repair, maintenance, updating and refurbishment. The nature of buildings and building materials is that whether they sit vacant or whether they have high traffic usage, they need ongoing attention. Everything needs attention at some point in time no matter what it is.

Ongoing maintenance and replacement or updating, is a fact of life and anything that presents well attracts attention. It creates a demand for itself. Why does a Spanish mackerel chase a shiny lure? Simply because it is nice and shiny. They are attracted to it and therefore want to get it. Motels that present well are no different, they attract attention and a demand from a potential guest. If it looks nice, we want to have it. Everyone wants to stay in as nice a motel as they can afford or are prepared to pay for.

Motels that operate under lease and fall into a state of disrepair often do so because there is doubt in the minds of the Lessee and the Lessor as to who is responsible for what. Neither party is then eager to incur the

costs when they believe the other may be responsible under the terms of the lease. Often a lease document will either not be clear on who is responsible for exactly what, or more often the interpretation of the terms by either party may be ambiguous and lead to more questions than answers, as a result.

In many cases, where both parties act reasonably and ‘give and take’ is accepted by both, then many of these repair/replace/refurbish issues are often overcome. Where one or both parties are not willing to maintain their own asset, whether that is land and buildings or the business, each party is ultimately damaging themselves financially. It must be accepted by a Lessee and Lessor that wear and tear (fair or not) is going to occur over time and that a forty-year-old motel is going

to need more ongoing repair, replacement, and refurbishment than a five-year-old motel.

Each night there are guests coming and going and properties do get damaged by occupation. Ageing motels do require more TLC than newer properties and this needs to be budgeted for and accepted by both Lessee and Lessor. Management of a refurbishment program needs to be considered carefully. A 40-year-old motel may never be able to compete with a brandnew high standard complex no matter how much money is spent. Millions of dollars do not need to be spent on an older complex to make it competitive. There are many low-cost methods in which an accommodation complex can be improved in order to retain guests and tariff rates. This can include soft furnishings, repaint, furniture, floor coverings, recoating benches opposed to replacing, tiles regrouted, etc.

Over recent years where new accommodation complexes have been built, it has resulted in the question at hand becoming more and more common. Many long-established motels then look to be upgraded through repairs, replacements, and refurbishments in order to remain competitive and improve the standard of the product that is being offered to the market.

Three questions can be considered regarding the “who is responsible” question:

• What is the purpose of completing the job? It may be an urgent repair issue, or it may be to lift the standard of the appearance/ professionalism of the property, or it may be a major refurbishment matter.

• What needs to be done? Does one cracked tile need to be replaced or does the entire bathroom need to be retiled to bring the look of the bathroom into the modern era.

• Who is responsible for the cost? Under the terms of the lease who is responsible for the cost? Is it clearly defined within the lease or is it ambiguous and left open for interpretation.

If a Lessee or Lessor has any doubt as to who is responsible for a particular job to be completed under the terms of the lease, then they need to seek advice on the interpretation of the relevant clause within the lease. The opportunity to understand exactly who is responsible for what, is available when one enters a lease agreement, and this is the time to make sure one is aware of their repair, replacement, and refurbishment responsibilities.

If there is doubt over the interpretation of such a clause within a new motel lease, then perhaps the clause needs to be clarified from the outset. Although this is not often done, if it is a lease already in place, it can be mutually agreed to amend the lease to reflect a more definitive answer to that question of “who is responsible for what?” This may not be practical however, if the issue is already there!

Reinvestment back into a property (of any kind) is required by those with a vested interest. Communicating to work out a suitable plan to act reasonably and rectify in the best interests of the property and those involved, is always the best option.

Andrew Morgan, Queensland Tourism and Hospitality Brokers

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GOOD GOVERNANCE

Assigning caretakingtheagreement

Preparing for the Assignment Interview…

So, you’ve done your research and decided that a careerchange into being a residential strata building manager or caretaker is the new life for you.

Certainly, nobody would blame you for finding management rights to be a sound business choice in Australia and the benefits available to both parties to these agreements are well documented, but how do you make a smooth transition into such a career?

The letting side of management rights not only requires you to be licensed, but also requires you to enter into private agreements with individual lot owners, so this is not a skill that the body corporate would be scrutinising at the assignment interview, typically. By having your ‘piece of paper’ (ie., letting license) you will have deemed to satisfy the competency assessment aspect and your new client will probably have no further questions of you around your letting business, unless they intend to be part of your letting pool in which

case, they may be curious about your marketing plan.

But what about your competency to deliver the Caretaking duties?

It’s just cleaning and gardening, right?

Wrong!

I would argue that 80 percent of your role as a caretaker is about navigating and managing the client relationship. The remaining 20 percent is about delivering the duties prescribed under the agreement. If you can successfully manage the needs and expectations of your customer, the rest tends to go along quite a lot more smoothly.

It’s about understanding your

client. What is important to them may be very different to what is important to you.

From time to time, I assist bodies corporate in undertaking a Pre-Assignment Competency Assessment of the potential purchaser of the management rights. This process is a combination of a commoncommercial recruitment process (eg., assessment of qualifications, experience and ‘fit’ for the client) and a risk assessment (ie., what risk is the body corporate likely to be exposed to, should the assignment proceed).

Assessment of qualifications, experience and ‘fit’ for the client

So how does the body corporate consultant assess the competency of the potential purchaser to deliver the caretaking duties under the management rights agreement?

Via a process of determining whether the candidate currently has the skill and capability to deliver the duties of the agreement in a sustainable way to the correct standard, and if

they don’t currently hold the skills, how are they planning to develop the required skills.

It involves looking into a few fundamental things, including:

• Business Plan: How does the potential purchaser intend to deliver the requirements of the caretaking agreement over short-long term?

• Organisation Structure: What skilled people will the potential purchaser engage to assist with the delivery of the duties, and what hours are they working?

• Upskilling: Where experience and/or qualifications are absent, how is the potential purchaser planning on building capability as efficiently as possible?

• Records security and reporting: How will you take care of the corporate and intellectual property of the body corporate?

If a potential purchaser has never owned management rights before and/or has no experience in caretaking, it is common

Lynda Kypriadakis, Diverse FMX

for the purchaser to plan to jump in and ‘hope for the best’ (a.k.a. on-the-job training). With the vendor typically providing two weeks handover training (heavily focussed on managing the letting side of the business), you can see how it may be a challenge for a body corporate to feel comfortable with assigning the agreement across to an unskilled person. Especially if the outgoing caretaker had not done the best job.

Risks

From the body corporate perspective, the caretaking agreement outlay is generally the largest expense, so it is likely that the interview panel will be highly scrutinising of the potential purchaser at the assignment interview. Here are a few common risks that the assignment interview panel members are likely to be aware of and want to talk to you about:

• How will you manage afterhours calls and holiday relief (who will cover you when you go on leave)?

• Are you aware that your lack of skill causes more work for the volunteer committee members if they have to help you with managing the common property?

• How can you reassure the committee that you intend to take steps to build skill effectively, so the committee aren’t unnecessarily burdened with having to train you?

• Do you have enough staff and/or time to attend to the duties and needs of the Committee?

• How can you reassure your potential client that they are your top priority?

• Are you a member of ARAMA? Being a member of the peak body association for caretakers shows professionalism and helps demonstrate a long-term commitment to the industry.

• Are you a subscriber to the ABMA Building Management Code? Being a subscriber shows you are aware of the objective delivery standards for caretaking in your state/territory.

Mitigating risks

Understanding the client, particularly their pain-points, will go a long way toward responding in such a way as to resolve or diminish these concerns. If your client likes to be heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the complex, how will you fit this into your day in a positive way? If your client is the opposite and doesn’t want to be drawn into day-to-day “stuff ”, how can you reassure them that you’ve got everything covered, and you are focussing on the best interests of the building?

Building confidence

The assignment interview is all about building confidence in your prospective client. The interview panel have already read all your application documents, so they already know if you have the experience and qualifications (or not). The interview is about determining whether the parties are a ‘fit’ for each other, (ie., are we going to be able to work well together?) so, the quicker you can analyse the nature of the committee and understand their ‘pain points’, the quicker you will be able to develop a solution to present to them during the interview for reassurance.

Not having skills, experience and/or a training qualification does not necessarily end in an automatic “no!”, but it will cause concern, so attending the assignment interview prepared with a comprehensive skills development plan will go a long way to building confidence with your potential client.

Having a well-prepared business plan, with clear organisational structure chart and detailed position descriptions, plus a short, medium, and long-term skills-development plan is super important as it demonstrates professionalism and business management acumen, but the fastest way to mitigate any risk around any perceived lack of experience and/or qualification is a training plan. There are many training organisations providing caretaking-specific training programs now, including up to Diploma of Facilities Management offered at the University of New England, so there is plenty of scope for presenting a skills development plan as part of your offer to the body corporate.

Owner occupiers: Friend or foe?

Welcome to November 2022.

A very happy birthday month to both my small humans, Ryder three and Harley one. Yes, I know, I only just had her and yet somehow, we are celebrating her first birthday. They say the days are long, but the years are short when you have kids, and I can 100 percent confirm this is true.

Anyway, let’s get into this month’s article. Over the last six to 12 months the sales market has seen an increase in owner occupiers entering the market. As rents go up (which is great for our investors) tenants start looking into ways they can purchase which then places them into our communities as owner occupiers. There are other factors that also have input into this change but let’s just jump into the solution.

How do we prevent an owner from buying in our complex?

The simple answer is, you can’t, but you can change the narrative to create a happy ending.

First, as the manager you should get involved in the sales process whether you sell yourself or get a friendly agent in to help (I wasn’t actually referring to my company ‘Friendly Agent’, but you can see how well that name works now).

If you are involved, you can help to ensure that “if” an owner does purchase they are the right people for your community. This is also a great opportunity to start building and nurturing the relationship with this new owner.

The other fantastic news is that you, as the onsite property manager have access to promote your property management business on a regular basis. This ensures that when they decide that community living isn’t for them or they outgrow the property, you are their only option when converting their family home into an investment.

Kelley Rigby, Managing Director, Letts Rebuild

How do you promote this to them you ask?

Well get your pen and paper out because I am about to disclose exactly what we do for our clients here at Letts Rebuild.

1. In your quarterly newsletters you ensure you have a section that says “Thinking of putting your property into your investment portfolio? Contact us for more information”.

2. In your quarterly newsletter ensure you talk about the fantastic job you are doing so they know you are the only one for the job.

3. Create EDM (Email Direct Marketing) that are scheduled to go out only to your owners promoting your property management business. These should be sent every three months.

4. Once a year schedule in phone calls to every owner occupier so you can identify who are your cold, warm and hot leads and market to them accordingly.

We cannot prevent owner occupiers from entering into our world, but we can definitely navigate the relationship to ensure that it is a mutually beneficial one.

Owner occupiers: Friend!

THINKING MR

Can cheap be cheerful?

The ‘managing director’ and I have today witnessed a rare and unusual event. While sitting in the departure lounge at Queenstown we observe what appears to be a group of fare paying passengers boarding a Jetstar flight and actually taking off. Of course, we have no way of knowing if the flight is on schedule or the umpteenth rescheduled attempt. Given recent stories regarding experiences with Jetstar I’m betting on option B.

Here’s a recap of a recent review from a colleague who, because he is careful with his money (polite definition for tight arse) has been a loyal and longsuffering Jetstar customer: We were in Bali recently and received a cancellation notice midway through our trip. Fortunately, this didn’t relate to our return leg (that cancellation and notice came later) rather it was for a trip we had booked to Japan which was supposed to depart Boxing Day. The flight had been cancelled and our options were a full refund (sorry kids no holiday, have fun getting refunds for accommodation and

Phipps, Director, Mike Phipps Finance

ski trips booked and paid for) or a flight on either the 11th of December or 11th of January.

Eight hours before the scheduled return leg from Bali we got the first cancellation notice despite the airline advising the media that all their issues had been resolved.

It is not the fact our return flight got cancelled (twice), it is the complete lack of care shown by the airline about the predicament that this leaves you in. Staff are obviously provided with a script and told deliver this and nothing else. There was no effort made at providing assistance for accommodation, other flights, other airlines or even using capacity on Qantas flights.

We’ll never fly Jetstar again.

Ouch!

One would wonder if there is a tipping point where a business’s reputation for unreliability and poor service turns away consumers, regardless of price.

I guess there will always be people who will need or want the cheap and not so cheerful option. The challenge for business is to decide where they sit in the market. I think we could be seeing a trend where more businesses will move, either willingly or by economic force, to the Jetstar model.

More on that later, but first, a bit about recent experiences on our month-long study trip to NZ. Study trip, ski trip, booze and eating the wildlife trip… it’s all a blur.

But I can confirm that the South Island is just as beautiful as it was pre-COVID, maybe even more so. Flying into Queenstown and picking up a hire car is super easy; the roads are pretty good, and Wanaka remains my version of Noosa with snow.

The natives are friendly and it’s all pretty relaxed.

How relaxed? Well, I backed my enormous 4x4 into a blokes equally huge vehicle the other day. Passenger gets out and we chat about my general ineptitude. He’s not the owner but his mate who is will be back shortly. We are no sooner approached by a heavily muscled and equally tattooed gentleman who identifies himself as said owner. I apologise. He says “no worries, bro… I can’t see a mark on mine so all good”.

As luck would have it, I can’t see a mark on mine either so we high five and I’m gone!

How relaxed? The MD and I are tootling along on the way to Milford Sound. We overtake a bloke towing a trailer at 90kph

Mike

in a 100 zone. A short distance later we see a police car with lights on by the side of the road. We tootle past. Another short distance and I observe the police car behind me with lights still on. That’s odd. We’ve had the cruise on 100kph and anyway this bloke’s been in front of us. We pull over and a relaxed and friendly chat with the copper ensues. He’s a nice bloke with zero att itude. He tells me that vehicles with trailers are restricted to 90kph in NZ and highway patrol cars have speed cameras in the back. He picked me up from 500m in front of me when I got out to pass the car and trailer. The MD decides to debate the merits of overtaking at 100kph when the 118 we were doing seemed imminently safer. The result of that debate sits before me in the form of yet another NZ driving award. $120 seems fair.

We stay in a variety of lodgings over the course of the trip and speak with many accommodation and tourism operators. No one can get staff and in fact the situation in NZ seems even more dire than in Oz. In Queenstown it looks like only half the venues and restaurants are open on any given day and many fine dining establishments are only open for dinner, if at all.

It seems clear talking to hotel

and accommodation managers that COVID has driven some prett y big changes in guest profiles. Domestic tourism demand, particularly in the upper end market, is up. So is Australian demand at all levels and the Americans are back big time in the luxury lodge market. The people from the States that we spoke to seem to see NZ and OZ as a joint destination, which makes sense. Perhaps some joint marketing might not be a bad idea. There’s some serious money around looking for bucket list experiences in both countries and it’s a long way to travel to not see both. The exchange rate is not hurting demand either.

How much money is around you ask? We met an elderly gentleman at Blanket Bay Lodge and ended up having a few drinks. He was from Texas and a lovely guy. The MD and he really hit it off and when asked what he did for a dollar he confided that he dabbled in oil!

Interestingly the operators at Blanket Bay took a no charges, full cancelation refund policy during COVID. I know because we had cancelled twice due to travel restrictions. The goodwill this generated, at significant cost to the business, has been returned in spades according to management. We were certainly on a mission to

support the operators who took this approach during COVID.

Most operators report a significant drop in demand from China, no great surprise given ongoing COVID restrictions in that country. Interestingly, the general consensus seems to be a sense of relief that NZ has diversified its visitor demographic and not placed too much emphasis on one market. I got the distinct impression that Australia and America were the preferred target markets.

Anyway, enough free advertising for our Kiwi comrades, back to Jetstar.

Here’s a theory. Interest rates are up, inflation is up, cost of living is up and no bugger wants to work. Bottom line and service outcomes are under

pressure and businesses of all sorts must surely be surveying the landscape and wondering what to do. It’s crunch time and operators in all sectors will be forced to make a choice. Maintain service and reliability standards to the possible detriment of the bottom line or go with the Jetstar model.

I’ll leave the closing words of wisdom to the manager of a beautiful historical house-based lodge in Queenstown. They were having so much trouble gett ing reliable housekeepers that they were forced to make a choice. Open all the rooms and risk an unsatisfactory guest experience or close rooms and restrict operations to the capacity of those housekeepers they could rely on. To their absolute credit they chose option two as risking the reputation they’d built over many years just wasn’t worth it.

That’s why Hulbert House will be our first stop next time we stay in Queenstown. It’s a cracker!

BTW… we flew with Qantas and not a glitch from check-in to arrival. I see they’ve recently announced a profi t upgrade which will be driven by improved efficiencies. That’s corporate speak for flogging the staff a bit harder. Let’s hope they don’t kill the golden goose, or golden roo in this case.

BTW… if you have a bucket list without Blanket Bay Lodge on it, may I suggest your list is incomplete. It seems expensive until you get there and then, to quote the KFC ad, shut up and take my money. Go in winter or spring. Hell, just go.

A final BTW… I’m not a mission to trash Jetstar. They are perfectly capable of doing so without my help.

QLD - NSW - VIC - WA

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SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

Six ways ‘Booking Direct’ can enhance your guest’s experience

We all know that Direct Bookings are the ‘Golden Egg’ of accommodation bookings. They earn you additional revenue because the cost of acquisition is less. You cut out the middleman and avoid OTA commissions, leaving additional profit in your pocket.

Perhaps more importantly, they afford the opportunity to provide a standout guest experience that will build a database of loyal return guests and assist your marketing efforts by enhancing your reputation with great reviews. Here are six ways that you can ensure that booking direct will positively impact a guest’s experience.

1. Direct booking allows you to control the guest experience from the outset

Regardless of whether your guest books via your booking form online or calls the property directly, you have the power to ensure that their experience is a positive one.

If the guest chooses to book online, first impressions begin with your website and booking form.

Johnston, Senior Executive, HiRUM Software Solutions

First, it is important to ensure that your website is easy to navigate. Make sure that it is optimised for search, up to date, attractive and affords all the information that a travel decision maker may need. Make it easy to follow with a prominent “Book Now” button.

You then need a booking form which is functional, easy to use and attractive. Great photos and description catch the booker’s eye, and a simple ‘three clicks from look to book’ process ensures that the guest’s online booking experience is quick and easy.

Your booking form should provide a comparison of OTA rates so that it is clear to the booker that they are getting the best deal. Having this comparison directly on your booking form eliminates the need for your prospective guest to navigate away from your site to do their

own research. This simplifies and enhances the booking experience for your guest.

If your website and booking form aren’t up to scratch it is time for an update. Just like the reception desk, your website and booking form are the ‘creators of first impressions’, and something that you must get right.

Likewise, if your guest rings the property to book direct, you can control the quality of that interaction. Make sure your reception staff are well trained and have great telephone skills that immediately build rapport and create a positive first impression.

2. Communicate with your guest before their arrival

When a guest books direct, you have the guest’s information and contact details and own the data from the outset. This gives you the opportunity to communicate with them before their stay, whether it be in person, by email or SMS.

Tell them about ‘not to be missed’ activities that may need to be booked in advance. Give them a heads up if there are any special events on during the period of their stay. Perhaps even an “only three more sleeps until your arrival” message may be appropriate to help build excitement about their stay.

These communications can

be automated to simplify the process. Regardless, they will still make the guest feel valued.

3. Once they are in house, build on that rapport

Now you are face to face, you get the opportunity to solidify an already strong guest relationship. Find out about your guests. Do they want restaurant recommendations? What activities are they interested in? Do they have any special requirements? Take heed of special dates such as anniversaries and birthdays and record these in your database.

Encourage your front desk staff to build rapport with your guests at every opportunity. Personalise conversations by using and remembering guest names and details previously discussed. Encourage two-way communication. Check how they are enjoying their stay and if there is anything they need.

Impress guests with those lovely touches such as evening turndowns or chocolates on the pillow.

Naturally, if issues do arise, address them quickly, effectively, and politely.

4. Establish a Direct Booking Loyalty Program

Establish a loyalty program for guests that book direct and ensure that all your in-house guests know about it. Offer

Sylvia

late checkouts, complimentary champagne on arrival, free wifi or airport shuttles for instance, depending on what suits your business. Ensure the details are on your website and communicate offers to guests after their stay also.

5. You’ve built the relationship, now ask for the feedback

Once you have developed a strong rapport from the point of direct booking right through the guest’s stay, they should be more than happy to provide feedback, and there should rarely be any nasty surprises.

Ask for reviews and provide incentives if you need to. For example, ask the guest to review your property on Google and offer a free bottle of champagne next stay as a thank you for their time.

Online reviews are viewed as credible recommendations when potential guests are looking at your property. The experience and opinions of previous guests go a long way in swaying the decisions of potential bookers.

A great review has a positive impact when making accommodation choices. A

relevant, informative review also helps increase your visibility for future searches on Google.

Of course, it’s not only about an online reputation. Word of mouth recommendations from friends or associates are very credible sources when looking at travel choices.

6. Keep the communication alive after the guest stays

The relationship doesn’t end when the guest checks out.

Your previous guest’s contact details are a valuable part of your marketing database. Keep in touch and update your past guests regarding special events. Target them with special offers according to the preferences they showed during their previous stays.

The very best recommendation for any property is guests that come back year after year. From their very first interaction of booking directly with you, your efforts in building rapport and ensuring their satisfaction creates long term loyalty. Loyal return guests are worth their weight in gold.

Millions and billions for Queensland tourism

A new Queensland tourism initiative is on track to deliver 6.7 million visitor nights and $4.4 billion for Queensland’s visitor economy.

Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport, Stirling Hinchliffe, said the “Seized the Days” campaign had resulted in the Queensland. com website offering more than 500 deals on visitor experiences, flights, and places to stay.

“Our Seize the Days tourism campaign is designed to encourage Australians and Queenslanders to take a Queensland holiday before Christmas,” Mr Hinchliffe said. He said the campaign was rolling out in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland in print and digital media with the offerings of 260 operators and travel partners.

The Queensland Government’s $200 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund (AAIF) partnership with Queensland’s four international airports

has secured another direct inbound service from Japan to Brisbane International Airport.

From December, Qantas will fly an Airbus A330-300 three times a week from Haneda, Tokyo direct to Brisbane, supporting up to 400 Queensland jobs.

“Japan is an important part of our recovery plan for Queensland’s international tourism industry,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

“With 46,460 inbound seats landing every year, the

new Qantas flights from Japan are predicted to contribute $41 million in overnight visitor spending to Brisbane’s visitor economy.

“The Qantas announcement coincides perfectly with this weekend’s first airing of G’day Australia, a 26-week series on Tokyo TV featuring iconic Queensland and Australian visitor experiences.”

Qantas International CEO Andrew David said the launch of the flights between Haneda (Tokyo) and Brisbane would entice more international visitors to the Sunshine State.

“Forward bookings are tracking well, in particular for the upcoming Australian summer holiday period,” he said. “We look forward to bringing Japanese tourists direct to Queensland to enjoy all that the state has to offer.”

The latest government initiatives come as Former Queensland tourism boss Daniel Gschwind has been appointed Chair of Trade and Investment Queensland.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Mr Gschwind’s experience guiding one of Queensland’s most important export industries through the pandemic would provide him with vital insight for his new role.

“For more than two decades, Daniel was the most recognised face of Queensland’s tourism sector,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“The experience he has gained in that role and his understanding of both international markets and businesses right across Queensland will stand him in good stead for this new role.”

Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said tourism was “all about showcasing Queensland nationally and internationally” and that Mr Gschwind would bring his extensive experience, partnerships and networks to further enhance Queensland’s trade and investment opportunities to a global audience.

The former Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO was born in Switzerland and is fluent in German and French.

Daniel Gschwind, Chair of Trade and Investment Queensland

© Markus Mainkastock.adobe.com

Queensland tourism industry update

As we welcome spring and an influx of domestic visitors over the recent holiday period, our tourism industry continues to grapple with staffing and costing challenges, while simultaneously celebrating positive visitor and occupancy rates.

While Queensland operators across the board are reporting a remarkable uptick in visitor numbers compared to the same time last year, businesses still struggle to fill critical skills gaps.

In an effort to tackle these unprecedented workforce challenges, the federal government held a muchtalked-about Jobs and Skills Summit in early September. The Albanese government invited Queensland Tourism Industry Council, along with other industry bodies, representatives from civil society, government, and employers to participate in these important conversations. The summit provided a timely opportunity to have the real-

Fraser, Chief Executive, Queensland Tourism Industry Council

world concerns of industry voiced on a national stage.

The two-day event delivered several significant and immediate measures. A number of which will make a direct contribution to the revitalisation of our visitor economy. From introducing measures aimed at reducing employment barriers, to easing visa applications pressures and providing funding for vocational education, the summit spoke directly to many of the challenges faced by our industry.

While more work must be done and no silver bullets were provided for the tourism sector, it is affirming to see

that government has listened and responded to some of our immediate concerns. The new tone of collaboration between industry and government allows us to move forward with renewed optimism in tackling our pressing workforce challenges.

Job vacancies continue to grow month on month, with latest figures showing that Queensland tourism and hospitality businesses are looking to fill 6,122 positions. From tour guides and customer service managers to chefs and adventure tourism specialists, these empty roles are deeply affecting operators.

We know that many business owners and senior managers are having to pick up tea towels, don aprons and drive the tour buses to ensure services continue operating.

In Queensland, these efforts haven’t been left unrewarded as the latest figures from Tourism Research Australia show that our sunshine state broke records for domestic visitor spending in the year to June 2022. Domestic holidaymakers and weekend warriors spent a nation-leading $19.6 billion in Queensland.

While destinations like Brisbane, the Tropical North and the Gold Coast were standouts for visitors, all 13 of our state’s tourism regions were in the top 50 for visitor spending across the country. This is wonderful news for our state’s visitor economy and the operators who work tirelessly to make Queensland a standout destination.

Another exceptional location and a quintessential outback Queensland destination is Winton, who, I am pleased to share, took out silver at the Australian Top Tourism Town Awards in September. With a population under 1,500 and a community that works tirelessly to make Winton a must-see destination, they were crowned Queensland’s Top Tiny Tourism Town earlier in the year at our state awards. Congratulations to Strahan, Tasmania who took out the top national spot.

As we celebrate these wins, we are reminded of why we work so hard to ensure Australia remains a world-class visitor destination. While the challenges remain, the positives are slowly mounting and serve as a sign of the good times that are ahead for our tourism industry.

© Walter_Dstock.adobe.com

Brett

Californian movie star haunt set for 2023 relaunch

By Mandy Clarke, Editor

A new chapter is beginning for The Georgian, an iconic hotel known as Santa Monica’s ‘First Lady’.

Once a haunt for some of the biggest names in cinematic history including Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, Santa Monica’s historic waterfront hotel, The Georgian, is set to be relaunched in January 2023.

Known as Santa Monica’s First Lady due to being one of the first high-rises built along Ocean Ave, and a fixture of the Southern California coastline since opening in 1933, The Georgian is currently undergoing the final stages of a major restoration which will see the property’s 84 guest rooms and 28 suites returned to their former glory.

Acquired in 2020 by BLVD Hospitality, the developer behind downtown Los Angeles’ iconic Ace Hotel, the next chapter for The Georgian will also include a renovation of the hotel’s famous ocean-view Sunset Terrace, Dining Room, and Sunset Bar.

In addition to The Library and gymnasium, The Georgian will

also be home to two private meeting and dining spaces, The Gallery and The Writer’s Room.

The refreshed concept will embrace much of the hotel’s retained original detailing, while thoughtful materials and an elaborate art program will combine to create a series of spaces which will bring a new chapter to The Georgian for generations to come.

Touches including fully custom Art Deco furniture, ornate lighting, rare imported Italian marble, and the Sunset Bar’s Havana Deco-inspired floor pattern will set an architecturally striking stage for a very modern set of operations and service standards.

BLVD Co-Founder and President, Nicolo Rusconi, said the story of Santa Monica’s First Lady is one filled with magic, intrigue, sophistication, and quite certainly, a touch of debauchery.

“Our vision is that each one of those elements will coalesce with contemporary California culture to once again make The Georgian California’s crown jewel,” he said.

“And we’re honoured to be a part of such an inspired and passionate community as Santa Monica.”

Destination Gold Coast says goodbye to CEO

By Mandy Clarke, Editor

The Destination Gold Coast Board has accepted the resignation of its CEO, Patricia O’Callaghan, who will continue in her role until November 30 before commencing as Tourism and Events Queensland’s new CEO in 2023.

Destination Gold Coast Chair, Adrienne Readings said: “Since relocating from Townsville to the Gold Coast with her family two years ago, Trish has been a fearless advocate and strong supporter of our tourism industry through the once-in-a-lifetime challenges of COVID-19, which is now emerging from the pandemic stronger than ever.

“Throughout it all, Trish has made sure everybody knows there is no better travel destination in

the world than the Gold Coast.

“Destination Gold Coast would like to acknowledge Trish’s outstanding contribution to the Gold Coast tourism industry and her service for the past two years.

“The Board and I wish Trish well in her new position and we know she will continue to work hard on behalf of the Gold Coast and wider Queensland tourism economy.

“An extensive search to recruit a new CEO at

Destination Gold Coast will commence in due course.”

Destination Gold Coast CEO, Patricia O’Callaghan said: “I wish to inform our members that I have tendered my resignation with Destination Gold Coast to take up an exciting opportunity as the CEO of Tourism and Events Queensland in 2023.

“This was not an easy decision and I want to take this opportunity to thank the Board, and in particular our Chair Adrienne Readings, our team, and you our members for giving me the opportunity to be your CEO over the past two years. It has been an incredibly challenging but rewarding experience and I have appreciated your guidance, support and kindness towards not just me but my family.

“I also want to acknowledge our partnership with Mayor Tom Tate and the City of Gold Coast. The Council has stood with Destination Gold Coast and our tourism industry through

some of its darkest days and I am grateful for their support that helped us steer our way through two years of unchartered waters. We are stronger because of this partnership and our best days are certainly ahead.

“To be around such inspiring, resilient, and visionary tourism and community leaders has been an absolute honour and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be a voice for our sector.

“I know I am leaving Destination Gold Coast in very good hands with leaders and a team that genuinely care about the future of our business and city, and for that, I am proud. They are a wonderful group of people, and I will certainly miss them.

“I leave Destination Gold Coast with a heavy heart but with excitement about the future ahead and I look forward to working with all of you in my new role with hopefully new adventures ahead for all of us and tourism for Queensland.”

Sunshine

Brisbane Brisbane Roadshow Tues, 15th of Nov 2022

ALL

Sunshine Coast Christmas Night Social Tues, 6th Dec 2022

Gold

Brisbane Christmas Night Social Tues, 13th Dec 2022

Patricia O’Callaghan

PRET Australia Awards 2022

On Saturday November 26 over 700 MLR professionals are expected to arrive at Brisbane City Hall dressed in their finest to attend one of the industry’s biggest events of the year, the 2022 PRET Australia Awards night.

After the massive success of the PRET Australia Awards 2021 it is anticipated that this year’s event will be an even more spectacular celebration of the achievements of PRET graduates and training partners in the property industry. The event will also support the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Trust, Mater Foundation and RBWH Foundation.

PRET award nominees announced as follows…

The Top Agent Awards Finalists

Cece Chen, Onsite MR

Claire Dai, Kollosche

Amanda Fang, Christie & Co. Property Group

John Heng, Ray White, Sunnybank Hills

Eric Li, Ray White, Sunnybank Hills

Leo Li, All Properties Group

Fan Li, Onsite MR

Lynda Lim, Remax Supreme

Leo Liu, NGU Real Estate

Jimmy Lu, Ray White, Sunnybank Hills

Glenn Miller, Resort Brokers

Sally O’Neill, Belle Property, Hope Island

Bobo Qi, Property Bridge

Jessie Shi, Resort Brokers

Gordon

Rising Star Awards Finalists

Rick Chen, Ray White, Sunnybank Hills

Giles Chen, KOI Real Estate

Judy Chu, Invech Corporation Pty Ltd

Shirley Chong, Matrix Global Brisbane

Mandy Gao, Glory G & W Realty

Kevin Li, Ray White, Sunnybank Hills

Lily Liao, Onsite MR

Tracy Liu, Trecom Property

Yumei Magon, Matrix Global Brisbane

Tao Niu, Brisvegas Property Group

Vanessa Pope, Belle Property, Hope Island

Hazal Wang, QC Realty

Linley Xu, Benley Property

Daniel Zhang, Brisvegas Property Group

The 5 Star Onsite Manager Awards Finalists

Monica Xu, Allura, Oxley Chase

Whitewood place Belmont Villas

George Lu, Allura, Oxley Chase

Whitewood place Belmont Villas

Vinh Le, Ansonia & Saratoga Apartments

Melissa Lin, Brentford Outlook

Kwan Yang, Carindale Views

Rebecca Huang, Chancellor Executive Apartments

Tia Vutilolo, Chancellor Lakeside Apartments

Trevor Leung, Desert Ash Grove

Carl Wu, Freshwater Creek

Tracy Liu, Garden City Domain

Rui Jiang, Garden City Domain

Ning Zhang, Infinity Heathwood

Jill Chung, Jacksonrise Complex

Vincent Ko, Mari Court Resort

Jack Tsai, Mari Court Resort

Sierra Wu, Mari Court Resort

Yun Bai, Oaks Charlotte Towers

Alice Cai, Parkvista

Wensheng Luo, Parkvista

Linley Xu, Quartz, Amore, Aqua’ta, Addison Quays

Julie Wang, River Park Central

Brenda Fan, Riverstone & Lumira Apartments

Jacky Lo, Riviera II

Southbank Apartment

Johnson Shih, Richlands Outlook II

Steven Shih, Richlands Rise

Tran Vicky Phu, Royal Albert Hotel

Ella Xu, SeaScape

Louis Hou, Sunnybreeze Views

Jack Chuang, Sydney on Sydney

Mandy Gao, The Terrace on Gregory

Tom Wang, The Terrace on Gregory Mandy Li, Willow Apartment

Kevin Li, Evoke McDowall

Sui, Remax Supreme Bright Sun, Jinding QLD Celine Tseng, Shine Realty Shanny Zhao, QC Realty

Scenes from the PRET Australia Awards 2021

The Langham Gold Coast Opening Gala

Queensland’s newest luxury destination officially celebrated the grand opening of the hotel and all its services.

The Langham welcomed Resort News, special guests and visitors to a Gala evening on Friday, October 21 for a chance to experience its plethora of dining and wellness destinations that are ALL now open.

The Langham offers true 5-star opulence in the heart of the Gold Coast with its 339 luxury rooms and suites.

After formally welcoming its first guests in June 2022, the hotel has been quietly opening an additional three guest experiences, and now it is entirely open for business.

General Manager of The Langham, Gold Coast, John O’Shea said the highly anticipated final opening of all Langham experiences marked a true celebration for the hotel.

The hotel celebrated by hosting a series of events to showcase its new dining offerings alongside a grand opening gala function where almost 400 guests were wined, dined and thoroughly entertained in the stunning Diamond Ballroom. The event was supported by partners Porsche, BVLGARI and Moet, and special guests included Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, Queensland Tourism Minister, Stirling Hinchcliffe, and Gold Coast Mayor, Tom Tate.

What about Women In Management?

October’s Gold Coast Luncheon was hosted by Kelley Rigby at Letts Rebuild, and it was fantastic to see all the Gold Coast ladies again after so long.

Kelley shared with everyone some valuable knowledge and insights on how to market and win back external investors into MLR letting pools.

It was a truly fabulous afternoon on the water at Surfers Pavilion.

Despite the rain the Brisbane luncheon was held at the gorgeous W Brisbane, hosted by Hynes Legal it was a wonderful fun filled afternoon.

Lots of connections were made, the canapés were delicious, and the yummy drinks went down an absolute treat.

In true Vanessa Sciortino fashion, there were also some fun games! And a big thank you to Frank from Hynes for being a good sport on the day.

Scenes from the Brisbane Luncheon

Scenes from the Gold Coast Luncheon

Gold Coast

MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

MOTELS & OTHER

Queensland

Mooloolaba QLD

Burleigh Heads QLD

Three Storey Walk Up Resort

ID: 8738 Price: $2,009,000 Nett: $247,800 Contact Phil Trimble 0418 478 966 phil@mrsales.com.au

at the Noosa TropicanaLove affair

By Grantlee Kieza, Industry Reporter

It was love at first sight for Darrel Woodham and her husband Michael.

The first time they laid eyes on the beautiful Noosa Tropicana Resort, set amongst its lush and tranquil tropical gardens, they were smitten.

The resort, on Noosa Parade,

Noosaville, offers a world of rest and rejuvenation in the heart of the Sunshine Coast, and for the last year it has provided the Woodhams with both a stunning home and a booming business that they love.

“As soon as we walked in, we knew straight away that this was the one,” Darrel told Resort News, explaining that there were specific criteria she and Michael had established for their first foray into management rights.

“We always knew we wanted to be in Noosaville.

“And Michael and I wanted a nice spacious apartment to live in as well, because we knew we would be spending seven days a week at the property. We didn’t want a little two-bedroom flat stuck at the back of the resort.

“So, the living arrangements were very important, and here at Noosa Tropicana we are fortunate to have a beautiful and

comfortable three- bedroom apartment with a delightful and private back garden.

“We didn’t want a big resort, we’re very hands on so we wanted to be able to give our guests the best personal experience.

Darrel said the Tropicana ticked all their boxes

“That first day we basically told the agent that the Tropicana was exactly what we were looking for,” she said.

“The resort is beautiful, clean, and appealing. The office is spacious, and we love our apartment. We thoroughly enjoy living here and the business is thriving. We have a great relationship with our owners and have a very supportive body corporate.”

Noosa Tropicana Resort offers a choice of spacious two and three-bedroom holiday apartments, all modern, selfcontained and well equipped

with every comfort of home. Some of the apartments have their own private rooftops with spa and barbeque along with sunlounges. There is also a heated lagoon-style swimming pool, alongside barbeque facilities.

All the region’s celebrated water sports, shopping and dining experiences are within easy reach.

The Woodhams have been in the hospitality business all

their working lives, starting off in New Zealand before jumping the ditch 27 years ago.

Until last year they had a seven-day-a week cafe business at Gumdale in Brisbane’s south-east and had been there for 15 years.

“However, we’ve always loved the Noosa area,” Darrel said.

“We’ve been holidaying in Noosa for 25 years and we always knew that once our two daughters

left home that we wanted to move to Noosaville and have an accommodation business, opposed to food and beverage.”

But then, COVID hit the world just as Darrel and Michael started looking for a property.

“We had to put a move into management rights on hold for a while because we knew we were never going to sell our business in Brisbane, during COVID,” Darrel said.

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Michael and Darrel Woodham

“When the hospitality industry began to look okay again, we put the cafe on the market and it pretty much sold straight away.

“We were out of that business within a month and planned to go on a road trip around New South Wales. Then a friend sent me an email advertising Noosa Tropicana Resort and we had to look.”

She explained: “The previous owners had only just started to get their marketing and advertising together for Noosa Tropicana, but the agent sent a friend of mine an email to enquire if they knew anyone who might be

interested. My friend forwarded it on to me and I thought wow that looks wonderful.”

The rest is history and the Woodhams took over in September last year.

“Obviously the first six months were a bit of a blur, but we enjoyed working here from the start,” Darrel said.

“The worst of COVID was over when we started, and we’ve been very busy in the last few months. A year ago, most of our business was coming from the drive market, from Brisbane and surrounds. People were only coming for weekends

or long weekends but now people are travelling from all over Australia for longer stays and we’re even getting some international visitors, especially New Zealanders.”

There are 22 units at the Tropicana and the Woodhams have 18 in their letting pool along with two they manage across the road at the Riviera Noosa Resort. The 20 apartments are more than enough to keep Darrel and Michael busy.

The Noosa Tropicana Resort has recently undergone a total repaint, an eight-week project that ended up taking five months.

“Because of all the wet weather it took a lot longer than we had planned and we had to navigate around guest bookings,” Darrel said.

“It was finally finished at the end of July and the resort looks absolutely beautiful now that it’s all freshly painted.”

The Woodhams also recently installed four electric vehicle charging stations at the resort. Darrel said: “This will attract more guests, those who want to charge their cars overnight. We also take bookings where people can drive in and charge up their car while they’re at lunch or at the beach.

“Further

After a year in management rights Darrel has some important advice for anyone else entering the industry.

“When you come into management rights, you do your two weeks’ training with the previous owner and then you’re on your own,” she said.

“It’s not until you are really on your own that it all sinks in and you realise you haven’t got anyone with you to back you up, or to bounce ideas off. It’s just Michael and Darrel.

“You must learn on the job. However, the previous managers were very supportive in our transition into the business

and are still only a phone call away. When we started at Noosa Tropicana Resort, we realised the job was much more than simply welcoming the guests and assisting them during their stay. There’s a lot of back of house stuff to do, dealing with the OTAs, setting rates, and managing the reservations and so on… It can be quite overwhelming.

“We are also very happy with our decision to change our reservation system to Resly.

“It’s 12 months down the track and we are very confident in the business now and enjoy everything it has to offer. We are loving the interaction with the guests and the owners when they are here in house.

“It’s a great lifestyle and very rewarding.”

Sasha has a wealth of experience in the industry which helped us immensely being new to Management Rights He was always available to answer any questions & kept us informed of key dates. After settlement he has followed up with good advice and information we have needed.