Op-Ed: Behind the Big Top: Tales from the management rights frontline

By Marion Simon, Operator/Owner Boulevard North Holiday Apartments

Our lives as management rights owners/operators are certainly not boring, bland or bashful. Instead, each day is peppered with variety, resourcefulness and resilience.

We need to be everything to everyone and often find ourselves wearing many different hats—all at the same time!

I often feel like the ringmaster in a huge circus who also takes on the role of the lion tamer, the horse rider, the acrobat and, not to forget, the clown—all in one, and very often at the same time. Talk about multitasking!

And added to this is the tightrope walker, attempting to balance the very delicate line between offering an amazing service to our range of publics (body corporate committee, body corporate managers, owners, letting pool owners, government, council, service providers, guests, media… need I say more?) while trying to generate an honest income for ourselves and the owners.

This article was first published in June edition of Resort News. Read it HERE

Behind the glitz and glamour of the “big top” are the underlying challenges that we all deal with constantly. And so, I decided to delve into a few of these. I researched the following topics and have summarised my findings, which are simply that—my findings and opinions. Nothing more. I reached out for guidance and was fortunate to hold discussions with…

Chris Irons, who is the Director and Founder of Strata Solve, a Brisbane-based consultancy specialising in strata dispute resolution and prevention. He has over five years of experience as Queensland’s Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management.

Chris is also a nationally accredited mediator, a member of the Mediation and Conciliation Panel with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, and serves on the board of the Owners Corporation Network. Additionally, he contributes to the strata community through articles and webinars, sharing insights on effective communication and conflict resolution strategies. What I love about chatting to Chris is how practical and intuitive he is.

Also, Acting Superintendent Scott Knowles, who is a senior officer within the Queensland Police Service (QPS), serving in the Gold Coast Police District. He has been involved in community engagement and the induction of new constables into the service. In September 2024, he welcomed ten new first-year constables to the Gold Coast region, emphasising the importance of a strong and responsive police presence in the dynamic and growing community. Scott and I work together on the Broadbeach Collective, encouraging local Broadbeach businesses, residents and people working in the area to become involved and active.

Both were generous with their time, knowledge and experience—and for this, I say thank you. We discussed several topics that I will share with you.

Body corporate

One of the most frustrating challenges that management rights owners often face is a body corporate that expects an all-encompassing, 100 percent perfect job, but is only prepared to pay the absolute minimum. Confusion and resentment often arise when additional work is requested or required. Added to this, your contract may be linked to a CPI-driven increase, which simply does not keep up with the constantly rising costs that directly impact our industry. The consensus received was a very clear: “Get a concise and precise description of all caretaking duties, along with the remuneration paid for these duties.”

Highly respected management rights law firm Hynes Legal suggests:

“If people are serious about understanding the cost of providing a caretaking service, what needs to be done is a time and motion study. The duties need to be broken down and given a time to perform them, and then that time referenced to dollar amounts. Only in that way can you be sure that the remuneration paid under the caretaking agreement is representative of the work required to be performed.”

Getting your body corporate to agree to a time-and-motion study, however, can in itself be troublesome, if not impossible—despite it being the most equitable way of determining a fair arrangement for all concerned.

If all else fails, you can seek mediation or conciliation through the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (BCCM) in Queensland. They will facilitate a conversation that may help the body corporate understand its obligations and best practices. However, if you decide to take this step, you risk the chance that any positive relationship may be ruined. Before taking this step, it is recommended that you consult with an expert in the industry.

How do we deal with people who bully and harass us?

All too often in our industry, we become the “punching bag” for committee members, owners and guests.

My research on this subject led me to believe that this could be a topic for an article entirely on its own. However, to try and condense my findings, the major complaints listed in a strata/community title context include: repeated verbal abuse or aggressive communication, public undermining or shaming, intimidation or threats (verbal, written, or via email), sabotaging your work or access to facilities, gossip, false allegations, or micromanagement.

It should be noted that a single incident is seldom considered bullying—it must be repeated, unreasonable behaviour that causes a risk to health and safety, as defined under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The first step suggested is to take a very long and in-depth look at yourself and what you may be doing to trigger this behaviour. The solution may be to take a step back, regroup and find a creative manner to manage the offender. If this fails and further action is needed, ensure that you keep written records showing dates, who was involved, what was said or done, the time, location and whether there were any witnesses.

Communicate in writing to confirm discussions and always respond calmly and professionally. If this is difficult in face-to-face meetings, immediately ask for a recess. If responding in writing, think carefully about your response. As difficult as it is, try to keep emotion out of all correspondence and stick to the facts.

If you are dealing with a single committee member, consider requesting a private meeting to attempt to resolve the matter, with a couple of other committee members present. If this proves unsuccessful, escalate the matter to the full committee in writing, requesting it be added as an agenda item at the next committee meeting. Try to communicate that the lack of positive communication is not proactive or productive for the complex as a whole and is detrimental to everyone involved.

If these internal steps fail, then consider engaging the BCCM Office. You will be expected to provide evidence of the bullying and harassment, hence the need for written documentation. 

If things escalate or your work becomes untenable, you may have to consider seeking legal advice from an experienced management rights solicitor or consultant.

Please remember: in times like these, your mental and physical wellbeing is paramount. Reach out to ARAMA (Australian Resident Accommodation Managers Association)—they offer advocacy and support.

A great proactive suggestion is to, while on good terms with your committee or while negotiating a new agreement, include a code of conduct for committee members and management rights owners. Include clear dispute resolution clauses and a respectful communication guideline in your agreement, because this may save you time, money and mental anguish down the line.

Cars parked in incorrect parking spots

 This is an ongoing saga that causes major challenges. As hard as we try to manage this, it continues to occur. The right to tow vehicles has changed recently, but bodies corporate remain reluctant to incur the cost or face possible legal implications.

Discussions with Scott Knowles highlighted a new trend, especially in older buildings where keys are still used for access. Car thieves will stay at a building and leave with the keys, happily paying to replace them. They’ll then steal a vehicle in the local vicinity, use the “lost key” to enter the car park and park the vehicle there for a couple of weeks, returning later to retrieve it and anything else they can take.

To check if any vehicles are stolen, Scott recommends using this site: https://www.police.qld.gov.au/stolen-vehicles. He also suggests checking the TMR (Department of Transport and Main Roads) site. While it no longer provides ownership details, it can confirm whether a vehicle is correctly registered.

He adds that if the vehicle doesn’t match the plates, that’s something to raise with police via PoliceLink, as offenders often use mismatched plates to avoid automatic number plate recognition systems.

The bane of my existence—chargebacks!

Chargebacks seem to be growing daily, and for some, it’s become a career. I’m still at loggerheads with banks and online agents, with no end in sight. There’s no foolproof way to prevent chargebacks—only vigilance. Check, check and check again. Ensure the booking name matches the ID and bank card used for payment.

Scott advises that if it can be proved that someone is doing this regularly, it could constitute fraud and should be reported to police via their online service.

Thanks to regular updates and using Good To Book, which uses guest intel for short-term accommodation providers. We’ve prevented several chargebacks by professionally informing guests that their booking has been cancelled due to previous chargebacks at other properties. To date, we’ve had no pushback on this, but it’s certainly saved our business and our owners from the costs and damage caused by these “free stays.”.

Noisy guests and stolen keys

Scott strongly recommends escalating noise and disturbance complaints to the police. Higher-priority crimes will be handled first, but it’s worth reporting. Private security companies are another option—they’re trained and better equipped to manage these incidents.

After hours check in pitfalls

One that has come up a few times. As hard-working onsite managers, we do after-hours check-ins to try and avoid having to be up and about at all times of the night.  So, we place a sealed envelope in the safe that the guests open with the code that they are given and remove the keys, letting themselves into the complex and the apartment. It seems simple—and usually is.

But occasionally, Mr Guest sees other keys and decides to “upgrade” himself. He books a two-bedroom hinterland apartment and helps himself to a three-bedroom, ocean-facing one. When asked to vacate and return to his assigned apartment, he refuses.

Scott says that while this may be considered trespassing, you have technically given the guest access. Without clearly unlawful removal of keys, police intervention becomes tricky.

A potential solution? Try using smaller lock boxes or labelled bags. Each bag could include the guest’s name and a unique code. That way, every reasonable effort has been made to prevent misuse. If the guest still misbehaves, it may then qualify as fraud—worth considering?