Star ventures into apartment rentals at Gold Coast site
The Star Entertainment Group is launching into a new business managing short and long-term apartment rentals at its Gold Coast site.
Hotel Management reports that former Tourism Noosa chief executive officer Steve McPharlin has joined the casino group to lead a new operational arm that has been established to manage in-house its apartment letting pool at the soon-to-open The Star Residences, with the pool to comprise 422 one- and two-bedroom apartments in a new 53-storey tower opening in 2022.
The site will also be home to The Dorsett Gold Coast hotel.
In September, the tower celebrated its ‘topping out’ ceremony as it reached its maximum vertical height.
McPharlin has taken on the role of Director of Hotel and Residences, working alongside Jessica Wilkie as the company’s new Senior Strata and Asset Manager.
Reporting to The Star Gold Coast General Manager Hotels and Residences Mark Hodge, McPharlin and Wilkie will lead a team of more than 60 positions, which have now been filled to manage the division.
New venture will create hospitality jobs
More than 90 per cent of the apartments in Tower 3 have been sold, with 370 more in Tower 4 also no longer available.
The primary objective of the new division will be to maximise returns and drive top-line revenue for investors who return their apartments to the rental pool.
Participating investors will be included in The Star Gold Coast’s strategic marketing programs, with their properties promoted on the company’s website, to members of its loyalty program and to the conference and business events market.
Hodge said he was pleased to be welcoming both Steve and Jessica to their new roles.
“Welcoming Stephen and Jessica, who bring a wealth of hospitality and hotel experience, we have filled the first key positions, with Stephen’s role as Director of Hotel and Residences to also encompass responsibility across our other two properties, The Star Grand and The Darling.
“We are now actively recruiting for numerous other specialised positions and will have more than 60 front line hospitality roles to be filled when operational,” Hodge added.
As part of the letting pool program, apartment owners receive 24/7 security and surveillance around their properties, housekeeping, maintenance and technology, resort billing and access to the pool, fitness centre and day spa, along with a 21-day annual blackout of their apartment for personal use.
“We know these apartments will be particularly appealing to families and conference delegates, who want all the comforts of home, as well as the amenities and conveniences of an internationally renowned resort,” Hodge said.
Apartments will be available for booking under the new program by the end of 2021, with the first guests welcomed in early 2022.
Star Gold Coast towers reach their peak
The A$400 million tower from Hutchinson Builders now stands at 178 metres and will be home to the Australian arrival of The Dorsett Gold Coast, which will feature 316 guest rooms.
A further 423 apartments in one- and two-bedroom configurations will also be operated under The Star Residences.
A six-level podium will be home to The Dorsett’s reception and lobby areas, a lobby for The Star Residences and a variety of dining and retail offerings along with a boardwalk which will connect the tower to The Star Grand in the site’s main building next door.
The Dorsett will fall under the general management of Michael Foster, who was named in the role in early September.
The tower is a joint project by The Star Entertainment Group and its consortium partners, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium and also part of an A$2 billion master plan for the site.
Elsewhere on the site, construction continues on a fourth tower which when completed will stand at 63 storeys in height.
Apartment sales on both towers are continuing to perform strongly.
The Star said 92 per cent of apartments are sold in The Star Residences and 80 per cent gone in the second new development, which is yet to be branded.
