Raffles Mooloolaba
Bob James is the newest manager of Sunshine Coast’s prestigious resort – Raffles Mooloolaba. Having come from across the Tasman, the former Kiwi has been at the property since purchasing the management rights in August 2007. While Raffles is Bob’s first dabble in the accommodation industry, the experienced banker and mortgage broker said he did a lot of research in the lead up to his purchase and knew exactly what he was getting himself into.
“I did some research on management rights many years back and then I just happened to be over here in Mooloolaba in April 2006 for my brother-in-law’s 70th birthday and became interested in the industry again. Glenn Buckland from the Peninsula Resort, who was to become a kind of mentor to me, encouraged me to look into the industry again so I returned to the Gold Coast in November and obtained my restricted letting agent’s licence. In February 2007 I seriously started looking at holiday resorts, initially on the Gold Coast. It was sometime in March 2007 that Glenn emailed me to say Raffles Mooloolaba was on the market and that I should give it serious consideration.
“After selling my residence back in New Zealand I selected a number of management rights properties off the Internet and In April made a special trip back to the Sunshine Coast to hopefully find my ideal resort. I started in Noosaville, next stop Alexandra Headlands and finished up at Raffles. After inspecting Raffles I knew it was exactly what I wanted.”
Bob said it was the property’s size, age and locality that sealed the deal for him.
“Entering the industry by myself, I needed something that I was able to run on my own and Raffles is perfect in that regard because it is compact enough for me to manage with the help of a casual receptionist. Plus it’s location is perfect – right in the heart of Mooloolaba and, when I bought it the property was only six years old, wonderfully presented and all the apartments, with the exception of two, were furnished the same, another tick.”
Raffles is a 4½ star property but Bob said he has worked hard at increasing this star rating quite substantially.
“In the year and a half I have been here, I have increased the property’s rating within this 4½ star bracket through recarpeting and repainting all the apartments. Currently, we are sourcing new televisions for each of the rooms and I have concentrated heavily on repeat guests through introducing little incentives to entice them back” Also this June the exterior of the building is being repainted.
Bob said he has also worked hard on marketing Raffles in his home country, New Zealand. “I have been trying to market the resort more in New Zealand via the Internet and large publications – next month coverage of the resort is being published in the NZ Woman’s Weekly. Up until last month I owned a travel agency in NZ and between the travel company and myself we have put together a package to sell the resort through this chain to the New Zealand market.”
The 4½ star Raffles Mooloolaba features 30 two-bed room apartments – 27 being in the letting pool. Each apartment is similarly furnished and feature private balconies, double corner spa bath in the master bedroom, granite and marble interior finishes with European appliances including dishwasher, oven, full size fridge, washing machine and dryer, wireless high speed Internet access, reverse cycle air-conditioning and pay television.
There are four penthouse apartments in the complex, each with a secluded rooftop BBQ area. Within the complex is a heated pool and spa, alfresco barbeque area and security basement car parking.
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