A Compelling & Comfortable Accommodation Alternative

The short-term accommodation market is hotter than it’s ever been. Nowadays, whether you’re travelling for business or pleasure, there are plenty of competitive alternatives to a traditional hotel stay. One such alternative is Executive Apartments – Newcastle’s suite of short-term stay options, including Charlestown Executive Apartments, Everton Apartments, Hamilton on Beaumont, Wallsend Executive Apartments and Wallsend on Longworth, as well as the recently opened East Maitland Executive Apartments.

This month, we chatted with Executive Director Graham Turner about his experience in the industry, the benefits of short-term accommodation, and the newest member of the Executive Apartments family.

Can you tell us a little more about East Maitland Executive Apartments? East Maitland Executive Apartments first opened in April just gone, and was fully booked for the Easter weekend and the following weekend for the Groovin the Moo music festival. Since then, bookings for the Lovedale Long Lunch and Queen’s Birthday weekend have been very strong.

Centrally located in the historic suburb of East Maitland, this new property is a home away from home within walking distance to a variety of local businesses, shops, the Windsor Castle Hotel and other popular restaurants. The property offers a sizeable number of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom single-level apartments, including two disabled apartments. The studio apartments include a partially equipped kitchen including microwave oven, refrigerator, utensils, crockery and cutlery; a modern bathroom; and a communal washer/dryer facility. The one- and two-bedroom apartments provide fully equipped kitchens including utensils, crockery and cutlery; a modern bathroom; and an internal laundry.

All units are fully air-conditioned and have balconies with outdoor settings, king-sized beds and UHD flat-screen televisions connected via cable to the internet. The units are serviced every seven days for longer stays. All apartments and the building are accessed via electronic code provided at check-in.

How do you aim to stand out from other accommodation options? As with other properties in our group, East Maitland Executive Apartments offers choices of apartment sizes and facilities located right in the heart of East Maitland CBD. Just a short walk along and across George Street is the renowned Windsor Castle Hotel, which serves excellent meals and hospitality of which our guests can avail themselves. There are also quality cafes and fast food outlets nearby.

How did you get into the accommodation business? The initial foray into the accommodation industry happened somewhat unexpectedly. During construction of 22 units in Charlestown back in 2009, the opportunity arose to furnish and let the units into the short-term accommodation market rather than sell them and walk away. This idea made sense because the creation of a continuing business was far more attractive than operating as a developer in the highly cyclical property development market. At that time, serviced apartments were starting to make their mark in the accommodation industry, and so my wife Laurel and I took the plunge.

What were you doing before entering the property industry? In approximately 2000, I was granted a building licence and undertook a number of syndicated property developments as a builder/developer. Prior to that, I founded a prominent steel-framed kit home company, providing steel-framed kits to an emerging owner/builder market.

Before that, for 20 years, I was employed in finance and merchant banking in Sydney, the last seven years of which as an Associate Director of a large international merchant bank. But the desire to work for myself became too tempting, and hence ensued a life of self-employment.

What do you see as the main benefits of short-term accommodation, particularly for business travellers? Fully furnished units and townhouses with full-sized kitchens, often with multiple bathrooms and separate lounge and dining areas, make for a comfortable stay after a day’s work. With free and unlimited WiFi, coffee machines and secure undercover parking, serviced apartment accommodation is a compelling and competitive alternative.

East Maitland Executive Apartments is located at 100 George Street, East Maitland. For more information, visit www.eastmaitlandapartments.com.au