Schooling the Schoolies
Why hosting Schoolies doesn’t have to be a recipe for disaster for accommodations
An estimated 25,000 Queensland graduates celebrated the end of their high school days at Surfers Paradise in November and helped generate an estimated $42 million for the Queensland economy.
For many, the three-week rite of passage, ‘Schoolies’, was the first time experimenting with alcohol which sounds like a recipe for disaster.
But according to Australian Resident Accommodation Managers Association (ARAMA) CEO, Trevor Rawnsley, ‘Schoolies’ is the perfect partner for the Management and Letting Rights (MLR) industry, providing both a safe environment for inexperienced teenagers and bumper returns for accommodation operators.
Mr Rawnsley can speak from experience having managed a ‘Schoolies’ building two years in a row.
“’Schoolies’ can be a real boon for MLR operators and businesses,” Mr Rawnsley said.
“Most MLR businesses are mum and dad small businesses or a family operation, and ideal hosts for ‘Schoolies’ providing some semblance of home.
“These kids still need guidance and ground rules as they make their way into adulthood and MLR operators can provide that grounding.”
Mr Rawnsley said while a lot of MLR properties didn’t host schoolies because they lacked the necessary security protocols, his experience was that with all the checks and balances in place, ‘Schoolies’ and MLR businesses are a perfect fit.
“If ‘Schoolies’ are well managed and organised, it’s a fantastic opportunity for the kids to experience playing grown-ups in a safe environment,” he said.
“MLR has an ideal business model to host the ‘Schoolies’, organise their accommodation, and provide safety and security, and a great experience for their entry into the adult world.”
Mr Rawnsley said like many managers who provided accommodation for the ‘Schoolies’, he had “processes and procedures” to handle the influx of partying teenagers when he hosted them on the Gold Coast.
“One of the most important things I did was to have two guards working 24 hours a day in eight-hour shifts,” he said.
“I had the guard on the main entrance to the building checking the schoolies’ ‘passports’, and the identity of who arrived and left.
“Another essential is what I would call the ‘Schoolies’ induction’ – every good building has house rules for ‘Schoolies’ and that’s a condition of booking.
“We would have a registration process like at a normal hotel but more elaborate for the kids and ask for that entire room to check in at the same time.
“We would give them one key only and go to the room and take photos to make sure everything was in order, no damage, nothing missing. That entry condition report would then be looked at when the kids checked out.”
As an induction, Mr Rawnsley said he would take 15 or 20 kids at a time and seat them around the barbecue, go over the house rules and give everybody a final warning about climbing on balconies.
Mr Rawnsley cited one incident where one boy was caught trying to climb from one balcony to another.
“It was broad daylight and a security guard saw him. We evicted him, rang his parents and they came down and took him home back to Toowoomba.
“They were very grateful someone was watching over him.”
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Grantlee Kieza OAM has won three Queensland Media Awards, two Australian Sports Commission Awards and has been a finalist for the Walkley and News Awards and for the Harry Gordon Award for Australian sports journalist of the year. In 2019 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia for his writing. You can find more of his work in our AccomNews & Resort News print magazines.
He has written 22 acclaimed books, including bestsellers Hudson Fysh, The Kelly Hunters, Lawson, Banks, Macquarie, Banjo, Mrs Kelly, Monash, Sons of the Southern Cross and Bert Hinkler.
