Tassie tourism management rights for Stewarts Bay Lodge listed

Tassie tourism management rights for Stewarts Bay Lodge listed
Staff reporterDecember 7, 2020

Oceanfront Stewarts Bay Lodge resort and Gabriel’s on the Bay Restaurant, bordering World Heritage-listed national park and the Port Arthur Historic Site on the Tasman Peninsula, have been listed for sale.

The resort was established in 2007 by Hobart businessman Rod West.

He was the mastermind of other famed Tasmanian enterprises including gourmet food store Norman & Dann, the Socrates educational retail chain, centre for design excellence IXL Design, and Raw the Natural Grocer.

It is one of only a handful of accommodation businesses in Tasmania owned and operated as ‘management rights’.

The management rights to the nine-hectare beachfront cabin resort will be sold by operators Mark and Pauline Etheridge, along with associated freehold real estate, through specialist national accommodation and hospitality property agency, Resort Brokers Australia.

Resort Brokers’ Tasmanian agent, Ray Ironside, says it is a genuinely rare opportunity as the only management rights currently available in Tasmania.

The sale includes the caretaking and letting agreements on a 16-year management rights term with all 40 investor-owned cabins in the letting pool.

Freehold real estate also part of the package includes a three bedroom manager’s residence and a freestanding reception, office and utilities building. 

A two-bedroom demountable staff residence is also included.

“Resort Brokers Australia has been involved with the property since Rod West and partners bought it in 2007, extensively renovated the existing cabins and developed a further 21 two bedroom 4.5-star chalets overlooking the bay,” Ironside said.

“He very successfully sold all lots to investors, except those needed for operations, and we helped establish the management rights agreement then with a new 25-year term, which was one of the first such operations in Tasmania.

"Stewarts Bay Lodge was definitely a pioneer in this state, and still today there are literally only a handful of other true management rights operations.”

The popular Port Arthur destination includes Gabriel’s on the Bay Restaurant, which seats up to 110 indoors and 100 on the external terrace and lawns.

“Gabriel’s on the Bay is a tremendous asset, not only as a fine restaurant, but because it helps drive the accommodation business and is attracting strong growth in the functions and conference market with some $500,000 worth of advance and long-term accommodation and events reservations on the books," Ironside said.

The Tasman Peninsula is one of Australia’s most visited regions, not only because of the profound Port Arthur Historic Site, but so many attractions including the Port Arthur Coal Mines, Remarkable Cave, the Convict Trail, wildlife including little penguins at Eaglehawk Neck, the blowhole and the Tessellated Pavements.

“Now we have Australia’s newest premier walk, the Three Capes Walk, which just won the New Business Award at the Tasmanian Tourism Awards, attracting people from all over the world.”

Stewarts Bay Lodge enjoys consistently high occupancy from multiple markets including international and interstate visitors, locals on short breaks, function and conference guests and the ever-expanded baby boomer travel market, he said.

The management rights business is listed with a price tag of $1.85 million, including the substantial freehold real estate component.

Tourism and hospitality properties are attracting growing investment interest on the back of positive visitor economy gains, Ironside said.

Latest figures from Tourism Tasmania show 1.17 million people visited Tasmania in the year ending June 2016 (up 2% annually).

They have spent 10.2 million nights, which is an increase of 5% on the previous year.

Visitors spent more than $2.05 billion during 2015-16, 9% more than the year before.

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