Luxury resort Beaches International apartments is Forster’s favoured holiday accommodation provider, situated on the spectacular North Coast NSW, offering magnificent views and excellent facilities.
The resort opened its doors in July 1999 and present owners, Tammy and Greg Randall purchased the management rights in May 2001. Tammy and Greg have been involved in the hospitality industry since the 1990s where they met working in the Whitsundays.
They owned and operated hotels, nightclubs and restaurants until their children came along and they decided that a shift within the industry to a more family-friendly environment was called for.
Tammy told us: “We discovered management rights, purchased Beaches International and never looked back.”
This year they are celebrating 15 years at Beaches International and Tammy explained: “We were only the second owners of this property and management rights was still a very new concept in NSW at the time.
“The local real estate agent selling the business actually knew nothing about the industry! Luckily, because we both came from business backgrounds, we carried out our own due diligence and that included venturing into Queensland to learn more about the industry.
“When the Beaches body corporate interviewed us they were a little unsure if we were going to be able to perform the duties required because we had a baby in arms! But we proved we could do it and do it well. And, now that baby is a young woman, her sister has started high school and they both help us out during our busy Christmas school holiday period.”
Situated in the heart of Forster, three hours north of Sydney, these stylish two and three-bedroom serviced apartments are a prominent landmark overlooking Main Beach. Tammy said: “We have built a strong reputation and are renowned as Forster’s most affordable 4.5-star, AAA-rated, deluxe holiday apartments. We have set the standard a notch above the rest.”
The 23 beautifully appointed apartments are spacious, modern, and stylish; each one presenting an extraordinary ocean view, with many apartments also enjoying sweeping views from the south side across the scenic Wallis Lake.
“We are very proud of this property” Tammy revealed: “Back in 1999, Beaches International was designed to lead the way in self-contained serviced apartments on the mid north coast and we were certainly attracted by its unique design, prominent position and quality architecture. Today, Beaches remains at the leading edge of the expanding high-rise market on the mid north coast.”
For 15 years, the management of Beaches International has been owned and operated by this experienced couple, they have been at the forefront of MR in NSW and their passion and commitment to the industry undeniable, their dedication to exceeding their guest expectations is also very apparent.
They have witnessed the industry change and grow: “When we started out, emails were a rarity and having a website did not even exist. The AAA magazine was the "bible" for advertising but since then, we have moved with the times, developed our own website, navigated social media, incorporated OTAs and learned to answer emails in minutes.
“However, one thing has never changed and never will –exceeding our guest’s expectations! Still, the business we purchased in 2001 is substantially different to the business we own today,” Greg confided.
He suggests that new managers should: “Work hard, learn all facets of their building and lead by example, never ask a team member to do anything that you would not do yourself, and take breaks during the year so that you can remain enthusiastic and positive.”
The couple enjoy customer interaction most of all and their focus is on guest satisfaction. The success they have experienced seems inevitable as you scan through the glowing online reviews they receive around-the-clock. So what is the secret to managing a popular and well-respected holiday property?
“It’s the little things we do that make our guests feel that Beaches is their home away from home. Over 35 percent of our guests return. It is immensely satisfying for us to see them return time and time again and we always let them know how much we appreciate their repeat business. We like to personalise each guest experience - nothing is too much trouble for us,” explained Tammy.
She added: Over the years, we have entered and won many tourism awards; however, we feel our most distinctive accolades are consistently having the highest rating on TripAdvisor and Booking.com in Forster and our most recent award was second-best serviced apartments in Australia by the Star Ratings group.”
