Qualia celebrates milestone
Monday, April 21st, 2008
On April 13th Qualia celebrated its six month anniversary, marking 213 days in operation, and some 3,000 guests through its front gates. Often called Australia’s first ’six star’ property, the luxurious all-villa resort on the northern tip of Hamilton Island has already made a mark on the Great Barrier Reef experience. qualia got off to a running start, managing to hit 60% occupancy, with the average stay at the four night mark, and already seeing a 10% returning guest rate. This high-end Whitsunday compound sits on 20 acres of land, and so far features 27 ‘Windward Pavilions’ and one Beach House. Come June, 32 additional ‘Leeward Pavilions’ will also grace the qualia compound, along with a helipad, dock and secondary entry point. In the six months of operations, the ultra-deluxe resort has seen 6,000 room nights, five major conferences and numerous local and international celebrities – though they’re keeping mum on names. Expect to see more out of this very Australian resort as it gears up to launch itself overseas.
An article in The Herald Sun says that Qantas is sending its entire force of 20,000 customer service staff to charm school,as the flying kangaroo invests in multi-million dollar projects. The new $10 million training academy for staff and new recruits is one of two multi-million dollar ventures the airline has planned to coincide with next October’s delivery of its first A380 super jumbo. BusinessDaily learned that Qantas will also spend more than $20 million promoting the flying kangaroo brand in its biggest advertising campaign yet on foreign television. The commercials, produced by a leading Sydney agency M and C Saatchi, are expected to go to air within weeks. The aim of both is to convey a different image to potential travellers by way of a new product range, the first of which are the wider seats and improved legroom in a new premium economy class section. Lesley Grant, general manager Qantas customer services and products, said it was hoped up to 20,000 staff who deal directly with customers could be put through the academy in the first year. The first intake will be in November. “We are designing programs that reconnect our people with what the customer experience is,” Ms Grant said. At the centre, flight attendants will study separate course modules for each aircraft cabin section. Both long haul and domestic airline staff, as well as airport workers and call centre employes, can expect to spend time there. Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti said while airline staff will get their meet-and-greet and passenger handling skills polished, would-be passengers from Europe, the United States, Japan and other major markets in Asia will experience the ‘Australianess” of Qantas via the television commercials. The ads will showcase Qantas as a company, and will be markedly different from the award winning I call Australia home commercial series. Mr Borghetti would not discuss the theme of the campaign or series format, saying only that people sitting in and watching television in Europe would come to know the Qantas brand. All we can hope is that the programme includes flight attendants! Article courtesy of the Herald Sun
