Profiles

The Landmark Resort

Greg Pengelly and Teresa Aitken are the newest managers at Mooloolaba’s iconic Landmark Resort having been employed by the partnership of the management rights a little over 18 months ago. Although new to the management rights industry, neither of them are newbie’s to the hospitality industry between the two of them, Greg and Teresa have a combined 21 years experience in the industry.

Teresa said, “I grew up in Invercargill in New Zealand and left school when I was 17. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do so I moved to Queenstown where hotels were singing out for staff. I started as a room attendant and then over the years moved around various hotels in different roles eventually in management positions. During that time I moved to Australia where I spent seven years with the Sheraton Brisbane.”

Greg spent his earlier years in the Royal Australian Navy that taught him a great deal about discipline and organisation. After leaving the navy Greg focused his attentions on IT and finance, eventually working for a Brisbane-based company as their operations manager. When Greg and Teresa met and began planning their future together, they decided hospitality was naturally the perfect venture for them both as it would utilise what experience they both had collectively, so they decided to work towards the goal of managing a property together.

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“In 2005 I was offered the opportunity to move back to Queenstown to help open the Sofitel Hotel that was to be the first five-star hotel in Queenstown. It was in Queenstown that Greg and I started putting our plans into action. We needed to look at the skills that we had individually and what we both required together to be a successful partnership. We both had strong skills in our respective fields but one area that we felt we both needed more experience in was the food and beverage areas, so I took on the role of food and beverage manager for the Millennium Hotel, Queenstown and Greg started a mature age apprentice chef position for the Copthorne Hotel, Queenstown then later Matakauri Lodge an exclusive boutique property in Queenstown.

“While doing this, Greg continued working remotely as the operation manager for the Brisbane company. It was this step that really secured us our first management position in the Blue Mountains running a 24-room, 4½ star boutique property, where the role specifically required one member of the partnership to run a small kitchen offering breakfast lunch and dinner using local produce. The job was ours.”

Today, as the onsite managers of Landmark Resort, they both believe that holiday letting certainly has a different set of rules than the typical hotel environment but really the concept is still the same.

“Guests will come back if they feel welcome and have a great experience and that is the same in any accommodation environment. There is nothing better than hearing someone thank you for a wonderful stay; it’s a pretty good feeling knowing that we help people create happy holiday memories.

“We are both very driven and dedicate a lot of ourselves to ensuring that we get things right, our job is to create a memorable holiday experience, maintain our standards in our product delivery and in the presentation of the complex and, of course, in making the business a success. We have a lot of people to keep happy and getting the right formula can be tricky but we feel confident that we have a winning combination of business acumen, people skills and a dedication to exceed that makes us a successful team; we both have different strengths which is what makes it work. Our main focus is to keep Landmark up there competing with the newer properties and to continue taking our slice of the pie; that means constantly keeping abreast of new technologies, new trends in the market and what’s happening around us.”

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Landmark Resort is conveniently located in the heart of Mooloolaba on the corner of the Mooloolaba Esplanade and Burnett St. Surrounded by the cosmopolitan hub of boutique shops, eateries, cafés, restaurants and bars and directly opposite the Mooloolaba patrolled beach, it is no surprise Landmark Resort is a popular accommodation property for holidaymakers, its location was certainly a draw card for Greg and Teresa.

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Teresa said, “We felt that a location where we could be a part of families enjoying their holidays and also get a challenge would be the perfect move for us. Landmark Resort offered that perfect mix of both. Not only is Landmark in a great location, it is a great sized property with enough room for both of us to sink our teeth into the business.”

Featuring a total of 133 apartments across the 10 storeys, Landmark Resort offers guests premium 4½ star self-catering accommodation in a stylish, modern, beachy setting.

Each of the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments is fully equipped with air-conditioning, Austar, wireless broadband Internet access, cooking facilities and in-room laundry facilities.

Resort facilities include a heated tropical pool, gym, sauna, and rooftop spa and barbeque facilities. Also located within Landmark Resort is the established Waterfall Day Spa as well as a well-equipped private meeting space for conferences, functions and boardroom meetings.

Are you interested in lifting your industry profile?
Email ([email protected]) or call (07) 5440 5322

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