Ian Crooks – ResortBrokers Chairman
Back in the ‘70s in my native New Zealand everyone used to talk about this sparkling paradise across the Tasman called the Gold Coast. When I first visited in ’79 the hype didn’t disappoint. I was absolutely blown away by it. It had a beachline of golden sand that seemingly stretched forever, luxury high-rise to rival Miami, and there was a real energy about the place.
The tallest building at the time was a circular apartment building called Focus built by the late great Lou Ferro, who was a friend of mine. It was a tremendously eye-catching skyrise that looked like a kind of tall colosseum and dwarfed everything else.
I stayed at a medium-sized apartment complex that was one of the first management rights ever sold on the Gold Coast. It was called Moorings on Cavill, which was just off Cavill Avenue on the river side. I got talking to the owner, a lovely bloke who told me he paid the royal sum of $70,000 for it. That kind of money wouldn’t even get you a caravan these days, but back then it was enough to buy you a solid management rights business and a nice caretaker’s unit to boot.
That apartment complex is still there, as is the Focus building and so is the eternal charm of the Gold Coast. In this issue of Informer, we explore the enduring appeal of this great Australian wonder for both holidaymakers and those in the accommodation business.
After some very tough and unprecedented years during the pandemic, the famous Glitter Strip and the wider Gold Coast is back. I’m so pleased to hear from operators that their Christmas/New Year was the best on record, not just back to pre-Covid levels but much better than. Our Gold Coast brokers are consistently hearing the same thing from the many operators they speak to. It seems the Goldie has weathered the storm of Covid and come out firing the other side. Covid interruptions to our economy are well behind us, and the glitter is back on the Gold Coast.
It’s a lesson we need to learn again and again as business people — always take the long view, especially when it comes to the Gold Coast. I’ve been in this business going on five decades and have seen my fair share of booms and busts.
One thing’s for sure — if you invest wisely, the Goldie is always a good bet.
Smart operators and hands-on owners know this. In this issue of Informer, our first for 2023, we talk to several operators right across the spectrum, from big players to small complex managers, to showcase the strong business appeal the Gold Coast continues to hold for our industry.
The other thing to remember about the Gold Coast is the resounding success of the management rights model. As we know, management rights started on the Gold Coast in the mid-’60s with a single deal. Today, it’s the backbone of the accommodation property business there. The Goldie has the highest concentration of management rights in the country, which lays the foundation for the city’s tourist market — the best in the country. If it ceased to exist, tourism to this wonderful city would be severely impacted.
Not to ignore the other coast — there’s some good news there too!
Our Sunshine team, Glenn and Chenoa, have seen a huge amount of market activity, particularly in larger scale assets. Good assets are always harder to find on the north coast due to more stringent development restrictions compared to the Gold Coast.
Looking further afield, we focus our regional spotlight on South Australia where we’ve seen a huge volume of activity in the motel and caravan park space. Suffice it to say that our broker there, Kelli Crouch, has been extremely busy! In fact, for this financial year Kel has been our top broker having sold and settled a record 18 transactions to date.
There’s a lot of great reading in this issue, but a feature I really like is our Success Stories profile. We love helping people on the road to success, especially first-time operators who come to the accommodation business without any prior experience.
This young couple (well, young for me!) initially thought buying into the management rights business was beyond their financial capability. It turns out that with a little input from investors we were able to help that young couple into business with not one but three of the best management rights schemes in Yeppoon. After four very successful years there — some of them smack dab in the middle of Covid — they sold out of Yeppoon at a much higher price than what they paid. The upshot is that this has enabled them to buy into an even more lucrative management rights business in Brisbane.
It’s these sorts of success stories that ResortBrokers is so happy to help make happen and that personally keep me invested in this industry after almost 50 years. We’re anticipating a big year for our industry in 2023. From everyone here at ResortBrokers, we hope your year is a great one, both personally and professionally.
This article was contributed by ResortBrokers.
You can find more information at: https://www.resortbrokers.com.au/
Original article source: https://www.resortbrokers.com.au/learn/blog/informer/issue-106.html