Nestled in Canberra's southern suburb of Tuggeranong stands the area's first new hotel in 12 years. Punt Hill Hotel Apartments is breaking the mold of traditional accommodation and challenging assumptions about where business travelers want to stay.
Nick Bell, National Account Manager for Government at Punthill, joins us to reveal why this strategic location makes perfect business sense. "You'll never see us down at the rocks in Sydney," Nick explains, describing Varia Group's distinctive approach of targeting industrial and business hubs across Australia. With thousands of government employees working for Service Australia and the Department of Social Services in Tuggeranong, the demand for quality accommodation has been largely unmet—until now.
Whether you're interested in Canberra's evolving accommodation landscape, curious about strategic business location decisions, or considering a career in hotel management, this episode offers valuable perspectives on creating successful hospitality ventures beyond the typical CBD locations.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Hello and welcome to the Canberra Business Podcast.
I'm Greg Harford, your hostfrom the Canberra Business
Chamber, and today I'm joined byNick Bell, who's the National
Account Manager for Governmentand Business Development Manager
for Pantil Hotel Apartments inTuggeranong, part of the Vario
Group.
Nick, welcome to the podcast,thank you for having me, Greg.
Now there'll be a few peoplelistening to this who are a bit
(00:33):
surprised to hear that there'sanything in Tuggeranong, let
alone a hotel.
So tell us a little bit aboutPuntil.
What is it, how long have youbeen going and how's it going?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, certainly so.
Punt Hill Tuggeranong wasopened in early October.
So what's that about roughlynine months that we've been open
?
Now?
What we specialize in is fullyfurnished apartment style
accommodation.
So we specialise in long stayaccommodation, relocations,
(01:09):
economists as well.
So we're a little bit differentfrom your standard hotel.
You know, with the one chair, aqueen bed and a kettle per se,
we're a bit more fully furnishedwith that relation for it.
Yeah, so going on about ninemonths now that we've been
opened up, for it's been goingreally well.
It's nice to have a newproperty, especially down in
(01:29):
Tuggeranong, which is, I believe, we're, the first property to
open there in about 12 years.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Okay, so that's a good vote of confidence in the
Deep South.
Is it working well?
Are you getting good occupancythrough it?
Yes, it is, is it?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
working well.
Are you getting good occupancythrough it?
Yes, yeah, it is.
It's working well.
We've been getting a number ofbookings coming through.
Once again, people aregenerally surprised that there
is any property down inTuggeranong, which is a lot of
fun, but you know, we're happyto be there in the area.
We've been seeing a lot ofgrowth, particularly with the
government sector as well.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Yeah, so why Tuggeranong?
What's driven Varia Group toset up the hotel there?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, certainly.
So our sort of direction withour properties is, I like to
tell people like you'll neversee us down at the rocks in
Sydney.
You'll find us in yourindustrial and business hubs
located up and down Australiaand so Tuggeranong being a huge
market segment for government,so you've got a number of
(02:26):
Service Australia buildingsthere, Department of Social
Services as well, and then youalso get a bit of overflow as
well, with your defence stayingthere as well.
So that's sort of the maindirection that we're going with
there.
It's a fairly there's limitedaccommodation options there
prior to us arriving, and sowe've sort of been able to come
in and sort of fill that gap.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, and there's actually a lot of government
down in Tuggeran like Services.
Australia has building afterbuilding Thousands of staff
thousands and thousands of staff.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
And it's funny, yeah, with Canberra, when people
think of government, they allinstinctively think of Civic or
you know the BrindabellaBusiness Park as well.
People tend to sort of forgetthere's actually even more of it
further down the road, down inTuggeranong.
So, yeah, we're happy to bethere.
We love having them stay withus as well, and we're still
(03:18):
getting people who are new toServices Australia being
pleasantly surprised when theyfind out that we're now
available as well in the area,which is amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Excellent, so what does your role involve?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, certainly so, as National Account Manager for
government.
So Punt Hill group, Varia group, we have a total of 25
properties up and down Australiaand I manage the government
accounts for it all.
So that's obviously yourfederal government.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Across the country.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Across the country, yep, and also your state
governments as well.
So New South Wales, victoria,queensland and ACT as well.
So I'm the one that's managingthe contracts, liaising with any
staff as well that need to sortof look at doing negotiated
rates as well.
(04:09):
So I manage all of the accounts.
Essentially I'm the go-toperson for them and, like I said
, it's 25 properties, so it's abit of a big broad stretch that
I have to go across with, butobviously, tuggeranong being the
only Canberra property that wehave right now, we get the
lion's share.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
And obviously your focus is on government business
in your role down there.
But is there a big kind ofconsumer traffic as well?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
that you get.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Are you good overflow for people coming to visit
friends and family here inCanberra?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Absolutely so.
Government obviously takes upthe bulk of our accommodation
bookings, but we have a numberof corporate clients as well
that we have staying with us inthe area.
So people working over in Humeand Queanbeyan as well we have
them staying at the property,people in Woden, some people in
Civic as well, when we getoverflow during the busier
(05:05):
periods, like when Parliament'sback in town, and also some of
the other projects that the ACTgovernment is working on as well
further down the road, like thebig battery project, for
example, has been going on fornearly a year now, so we get a
number of them coming through aswell.
(05:25):
So we, I guess yeah, we are ournets a lot larger than we
expected because it's a bit morespread out down there as, as
you would have say, in civic,but it, like I said, it gives us
a good opportunity to go outand capture people where we can.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
And what's your background?
How did you get into this?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, certainly.
So I have been in the hotelworld for going on about 14
years now, I think, originallystarted at the Hyatt Hotel,
canberra as a waiter and foundout about the Blue Mountains
Hotel School.
And I was just, you know, being, I think I was like 18, 19
years old at the time didn'treally know what to do, just
(06:05):
like anybody else.
And then someone mentioned tome that they had just graduated
from the Blue Mountains HotelSchool.
I'm like well, what's that?
And then they explained it tome and the stars sort of aligned
, I guess, for it.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
The hotel world chose me, I didn't choose it, and
some of our listeners might notknow about the Blue Mountains
Hotel School, so this is whereyou go to become a hotel expert.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Essentially, yeah, become like a hotel manager per
se.
It's a full course.
You've obtained a Bachelor's ofBusiness in in hotel and
international resort managementfrom the two-and-a-half-year
program.
Also, through doing that aswell, you get a number of
placements.
So I was able to go toMelbourne, go up to Cairns as
well.
It's allowed me to work up anddown Australia as well.
(06:52):
So it's part of the real funaspects of being in the hotel
world is the opportunity to moveup and down the country or even
internationally as well, like Ihave done.
But at the end you always findyourself back home where you
started.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Yeah, and with your bachelor's in international
resort management you've endedup down in Tuggeranong.
Tell us are there particularchallenges and opportunities in
the Tuggeranong market?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Oh, absolutely, I think with the Tuggeranong
market is.
So the challenge is, obviouslyit can be it's further away from
the CBD of Canberra, but on theplus side is sometimes a
challenge, can also be astrength.
So us being down there, we'retucked away.
(07:41):
It's private, where people cansort of mind their own
businesses as well.
Easy access to and from theairport as well, so very minimal
traffic that you have to dealwith.
So that's sort of the strengthsthat we tend to find.
It's being able to keep people,yeah, tucked away in their own
little private area.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Now you've shown me through your property down there
and it's effectively a brandnew property, right, correct?
Is that a real advantage foryou in the market?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Absolutely.
It's nice.
Being the newest property onthe market in the Canberra area
Makes a great selling point, Isuppose, for it.
It's, yeah, I feel, being ableto go in and offer, like, I
guess, sort of a clean slate forpeople wanting to try out new
properties as well.
They may have one that theyregularly go to and then, for
(08:30):
whatever reason, they want tolook trying somewhere else,
we're in that position to beable to help them out as a
completely brand new hotel.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
How are you using technology to enhance the guest
experience or streamline youroperations?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Well, we're looking at doing keyless check-ins as
well, so allowing people todownload an app that they can
just use their phone to getinside the property and up to
their rooms as well uh, we tryto keep everything all
streamlined.
And online paperless check-insas well, uh, which also helps
with our sustainability targetsand ultimately, yeah, just just
(09:08):
keeping everything as digitaland platformed as and
user-friendly as we can now I'veseen keyless chicken
arrangements offered by a fewhotels around the world what?
Speaker 1 (09:18):
what's the customer reaction to those like in your
experience?
Speaker 2 (09:21):
well it.
It's always something new.
Whenever there's something newthat's brought on, you can
always get a bit of pushbackwith it all, but ultimately it
just comes down to how you caneducate the guest as well.
It's not as complicated as itlooks.
You've already got on yourphone.
You've got 50-odd apps.
(09:41):
What's one more by having thataccess.
Over time it becomes more andmore easy, like you think of
doing, like apple pay orsomething like that.
That would have had push backto begin with as well.
It's the same sort of principle, just over time people become
more aware with it and thenthere's a bit more of a drive
for it and then you realize it'show much easier it actually
keeps everybody for you as well.
If you, you know sometimes canhappen is your key might, might
(10:04):
deactivate if you had it next toI don't know a bunch of uh
credit cards or a um electricalequipment or something like that
.
This is just your phone, soit'll be ready to go no matter
what as well awesome and tell meabout sustainability.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Um, that's obviously something that's important in
the hotel business.
Um, how are you implementingsustainable practices?
Uh, at Pantel.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Yeah, absolutely so, looking at doing once again
paperless check-in as well, ledlighting, anything that we can
do to sort of bring thoseunnecessary costs with less
advanced technology for it allOffering no-turn-down service as
well, so that that's a big one,for waste is the amount of
(10:48):
cleaning that has to go on witha uh with a hotel room.
So taking away uh, allowingguests that opportunity to not
have to do the sheets day in andday out, is a great way to look
at saving water and electricityas well.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Are you a big user of water and electricity?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
You must be.
I don't have the exact numbersmyself for it, but it's.
It can be from time to time,especially this time of year,
where it's incredibly cold, soyou have a lot of heating.
That's going on with it all.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Everyone wants to stay warm at this time of year.
Tell me a little bit aboutpricing From the outside.
Hotel pricing can be a littlemysterious and sometimes you can
get different prices dependingon where you're looking for
essentially the same room.
How do you go about balancingyour pricing strategies between
(11:40):
short stays, long-term corporateclients and more seasonal
demand?
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely Well, canberra.
The pricing can change quite afair bit, particularly if you've
got Parliament sitting in thecity, which is, I believe, about
40% of the weeks in a year thatyou'll have them coming over,
so that can drive rates up anddown.
Supply and demand with it all.
It's, yeah, something that'scontinuously sort of monitored
(12:09):
and we try to always put ourmost competitive pricing forward
as well.
A big one for, like gueststrying to save a little bit more
, is by booking direct, going tothe hotel's website, you can
always look at finding betterrates that are included as well.
Offering, yeah.
So another one that we do forcompetitive pricing as well is
we can look at doing corporaterates that we have set up with
(12:30):
the guests.
So if people can sort of give aguarantee or are willing to
commit to a sort of a room nightaccommodation provider, we can
look at giving them static ratesas well.
So that's a good way that youcan get around those higher
priced periods as well.
An interesting thing we like todo with clients that we sign up
, that want to stay off ourproperties, is we have something
(12:53):
that's called a rate shield.
So obviously, yeah, rates cansometimes be rather expensive.
Other times they can becomequite low as well.
So I don't feel it's right tobe able to penalise a client by
making them pay for theircorporate rate if it's higher
than an advertised rate.
So one thing we like to offeris you get the best of both
(13:13):
worlds.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
And that's great, because that sort of thing just
leaves a really bad taste in themouths of both worlds.
So because that sort of thingjust leads and leaves a really
bad taste in the mouths of thecustomer right if you're, if
you're paying more than uh thanthe advertised rate yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
It's not a good look and it's just like it makes.
It makes zero sense.
So that's why we have that.
We have that policy in place aswell, to be able to give people
the best rates that we can doat any time um what role does
customer feedback or onlinereviews play in your operations?
It's an interesting question, soit always has a big impact as
(13:45):
well.
We always like to see whatreviews we get from our guests.
We're doing quite well rightnow we have, out of the 25
properties, tuggeranong has thehighest customer satisfaction as
well, so we must be doingsomething right.
We must be doing somethingcorrect, but we value the
feedback as well.
So we must be doing somethingright, we must be doing
something correct, um, but we,we, yeah, we value the feedback
as well.
It always gives at the at theend of the day, it's it's a.
(14:05):
It's nice to hear if someoneenjoyed their stay, but it's
good to hear if someone didn'tenjoy their stay, because then
it gives you an opportunity toimprove.
Now, what, what may that havebeen?
Uh, was it?
Was it the check-in process?
Or was the room not ready atthe time?
Which can, which can happen,you know, depending on how busy
it is during the day, um, but italways gives you an opportunity
to grow for it.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
So we always value any feedback that we can achieve
do you find most customers,most guests actually fill out
online reviews and surveys, oris it only it's more than you
think?
Speaker 2 (14:34):
yeah, it's more than you think.
Yeah, yeah and yeah, it'ssurprising the numbers that you
have coming through, and whetherthat's, you know, your Google
reviews or direct email feedbacksurveys as well, yeah, quite a
fair few come through for it alland, once again, we always
really appreciate it and anyfeedback is always appreciated
because it gives you the chanceto, yeah, look for an
(14:54):
improvement.
Feedback is always appreciatedbecause it gives you the chance
to yeah look for an improvement.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
What's one of the biggest sort of operational
challenges that you've facedover the course of your career?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Not including COVID.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Well, COVID was a pretty big challenge for many
businesses, wasn't?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
it?
Yes, it was.
I found the challenge ofopening a new hotel in Tagredong
to be really, reallyinteresting because it was.
I remember it quite well when Iwas first approached with Varia
Group and they started to ask,it's like we're actually opening
a hotel down in Tagredong, andI was like, hmm, that sounds
interesting.
And then we began to talk alittle bit more about it and I
(15:36):
was like, wow, this is actuallya really good opportunity here
for it.
And I find that, with sinceopening the opening the property
, being able to get the uh,being able to just get the, the
brand awareness out to the localmarket and to the interstate
travelers as well, letting themknow that we are available, uh,
that's that's one of the one ofthe more fun and exciting
(15:57):
challenges that I've found.
Operationally, it's a big it's.
It's once again just gettingpast that stigma of yeah, we've
got something in tuckernong nowand getting people on board for
it.
That's that's been one of themore fun challenges and how have
you gone about addressing that?
Speaker 1 (16:10):
what, what's been the , the trick to kind of get the
message out there?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
repetition, repetition, repetition,
repetition, just going aroundeducating people as much as I
can where possible and sort of,I guess, trying to break that
mould of the expectation as well.
And we found that, looking atthe channels that we have for
federal government travel,getting out to them and meeting
(16:36):
with them one-on-one as welljust to educate them, and
they're always constantlylooking for new hotels into the
market, particularly intoCanberra.
So that's been a big aspect oftrying to get across the line
with that one.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
And do you think I mean, as I say we sort of joke
about the hotel at Takaradoga.
There were people who genuinelydidn't know you were there.
But do you think there'sgrowing demand for sort of those
flexible apartment styleaccommodations in suburban
centres more generally?
Speaker 2 (17:11):
I believe.
So, yeah, absolutely,especially in Canberra.
So a fun fact is we have thehighest number of apartment
style rooms of any other forhotels than any other city in
Australia, and so there'sdefinitely a certain demand.
With it you're getting peoplefor, especially if they're
(17:32):
people from from government orpeople who are contracted with
the government as well, havingto come in and work in on
projects, so they may need to bethere monday to friday or a
couple of weeks or a month, evensix months as well, like we've
had in some cases.
By offering that home away fromhome sort of setup, it gives
(17:52):
them an opportunity so that theythey can, a bit more accustomed
, they can cook their own mealsas well, give that proper living
style for it.
So I've certainly found,especially in Canberra there's a
big demand for it and peopleare constantly relocating to
Canberra as well.
So that's one of the fieldsthat we can look at.
Offering is someone's coming toCanberra but they may need
(18:15):
somewhere to stay for I don'tknow, say a month as an example,
while they can then go off andfind an apartment to look and
then sign a lease on.
So we can be that little middleground for them where they're
moving, switching careers,coming to here, whether it be
working for government defenceor an extended secondment.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
All right, and how big is the team down there?
Speaker 2 (18:37):
There's about 18 of us in total yeah, that's
everyone.
So the lovely housekeepers,receptionists as well,
management and myself.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
And if you were talking to someone who wanted to
kind of get into the hotelbusiness here in 2025, what
advice would you be giving them?
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Do it, you're in for an adventure.
This is definitely one of theindustries where no day is like
any other.
You never know what's going tohappen, and so there's always
something really exciting thatcan happen with this.
So I highly encourage it.
If you're interested instarting a career, look.
A number of hotels andcompanies will offer sort of
(19:21):
mentorship, trainee programs aswell.
Then, alternatively, you've gotthe hospitality schools, like
the Blue Mountains as well, thatyou can look at reaching out to
sort of inquire about.
But yeah, I highly recommend it.
It's a very interesting world.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Excellent, and you're keen for everyone to kind of
get to know Pantel.
If we want more informationabout it, where do we go?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Yeah, certainly so.
Go direct to our website,panteltagradongcomau.
You'll be able to find moreinformation there.
Feel free to give us a call aswell.
Reach out directly to us andwe'd be more than happy to have
you.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Fantastic.
Well, thank you so much fortaking the time to speak to us.
I'm Greg Harford from theCanberra Business Chamber and
I've been talking to Nick Bell,who's the National Account
Manager for Government atPuntalip Hotel Apartments in
Tageranong, part of the VariaGroup.
Nick, thanks for chatting.
Thank you for having meAppreciate it.
Don't forget to follow us onyour favorite podcast platform
(20:17):
for future episodes of theCanberra Business Podcast, and
I'll catch you next time.
Hello and welcome to the Canberra Business Podcast.
I'm Greg Harford, your hostfrom the Canberra Business
Chamber, and today I'm joined byNick Bell, who's the National
Account Manager for Governmentand Business Development Manager
for Pantil Hotel Apartments inTuggeranong, part of the Vario
Group.
Nick, welcome to the podcast,thank you for having me, Greg.
Now there'll be a few peoplelistening to this who are a bit
(00:33):
surprised to hear that there'sanything in Tuggeranong, let
alone a hotel.
So tell us a little bit aboutPuntil.
What is it, how long have youbeen going and how's it going?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, certainly so.
Punt Hill Tuggeranong wasopened in early October.
So what's that about roughlynine months that we've been open
?
Now?
What we specialize in is fullyfurnished apartment style
accommodation.
So we specialise in long stayaccommodation, relocations,
(01:09):
economists as well.
So we're a little bit differentfrom your standard hotel.
You know, with the one chair, aqueen bed and a kettle per se,
we're a bit more fully furnishedwith that relation for it.
Yeah, so going on about ninemonths now that we've been
opened up, for it's been goingreally well.
It's nice to have a newproperty, especially down in
(01:29):
Tuggeranong, which is, I believe, we're, the first property to
open there in about 12 years.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Okay, so that's a good vote of confidence in the
Deep South.
Is it working well?
Are you getting good occupancythrough it?
Yes, it is, is it?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
working well.
Are you getting good occupancythrough it?
Yes, yeah, it is.
It's working well.
We've been getting a number ofbookings coming through.
Once again, people aregenerally surprised that there
is any property down inTuggeranong, which is a lot of
fun, but you know, we're happyto be there in the area.
We've been seeing a lot ofgrowth, particularly with the
government sector as well.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Yeah, so why Tuggeranong?
What's driven Varia Group toset up the hotel there?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, certainly.
So our sort of direction withour properties is, I like to
tell people like you'll neversee us down at the rocks in
Sydney.
You'll find us in yourindustrial and business hubs
located up and down Australiaand so Tuggeranong being a huge
market segment for government,so you've got a number of
(02:26):
Service Australia buildingsthere, Department of Social
Services as well, and then youalso get a bit of overflow as
well, with your defence stayingthere as well.
So that's sort of the maindirection that we're going with
there.
It's a fairly there's limitedaccommodation options there
prior to us arriving, and sowe've sort of been able to come
in and sort of fill that gap.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, and there's actually a lot of government
down in Tuggeran like Services.
Australia has building afterbuilding Thousands of staff
thousands and thousands of staff.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
And it's funny, yeah, with Canberra, when people
think of government, they allinstinctively think of Civic or
you know the BrindabellaBusiness Park as well.
People tend to sort of forgetthere's actually even more of it
further down the road, down inTuggeranong.
So, yeah, we're happy to bethere.
We love having them stay withus as well, and we're still
(03:18):
getting people who are new toServices Australia being
pleasantly surprised when theyfind out that we're now
available as well in the area,which is amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Excellent, so what does your role involve?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, certainly so, as National Account Manager for
government.
So Punt Hill group, Varia group, we have a total of 25
properties up and down Australiaand I manage the government
accounts for it all.
So that's obviously yourfederal government.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Across the country.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Across the country, yep, and also your state
governments as well.
So New South Wales, victoria,queensland and ACT as well.
So I'm the one that's managingthe contracts, liaising with any
staff as well that need to sortof look at doing negotiated
rates as well.
(04:09):
So I manage all of the accounts.
Essentially I'm the go-toperson for them and, like I said
, it's 25 properties, so it's abit of a big broad stretch that
I have to go across with, butobviously, tuggeranong being the
only Canberra property that wehave right now, we get the
lion's share.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
And obviously your focus is on government business
in your role down there.
But is there a big kind ofconsumer traffic as well?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
that you get.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Are you good overflow for people coming to visit
friends and family here inCanberra?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Absolutely so.
Government obviously takes upthe bulk of our accommodation
bookings, but we have a numberof corporate clients as well
that we have staying with us inthe area.
So people working over in Humeand Queanbeyan as well we have
them staying at the property,people in Woden, some people in
Civic as well, when we getoverflow during the busier
(05:05):
periods, like when Parliament'sback in town, and also some of
the other projects that the ACTgovernment is working on as well
further down the road, like thebig battery project, for
example, has been going on fornearly a year now, so we get a
number of them coming through aswell.
(05:25):
So we, I guess yeah, we are ournets a lot larger than we
expected because it's a bit morespread out down there as, as
you would have say, in civic,but it, like I said, it gives us
a good opportunity to go outand capture people where we can.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
And what's your background?
How did you get into this?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, certainly.
So I have been in the hotelworld for going on about 14
years now, I think, originallystarted at the Hyatt Hotel,
canberra as a waiter and foundout about the Blue Mountains
Hotel School.
And I was just, you know, being, I think I was like 18, 19
years old at the time didn'treally know what to do, just
(06:05):
like anybody else.
And then someone mentioned tome that they had just graduated
from the Blue Mountains HotelSchool.
I'm like well, what's that?
And then they explained it tome and the stars sort of aligned
, I guess, for it.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
The hotel world chose me, I didn't choose it, and
some of our listeners might notknow about the Blue Mountains
Hotel School, so this is whereyou go to become a hotel expert.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Essentially, yeah, become like a hotel manager per
se.
It's a full course.
You've obtained a Bachelor's ofBusiness in in hotel and
international resort managementfrom the two-and-a-half-year
program.
Also, through doing that aswell, you get a number of
placements.
So I was able to go toMelbourne, go up to Cairns as
well.
It's allowed me to work up anddown Australia as well.
(06:52):
So it's part of the real funaspects of being in the hotel
world is the opportunity to moveup and down the country or even
internationally as well, like Ihave done.
But at the end you always findyourself back home where you
started.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Yeah, and with your bachelor's in international
resort management you've endedup down in Tuggeranong.
Tell us are there particularchallenges and opportunities in
the Tuggeranong market?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Oh, absolutely, I think with the Tuggeranong
market is.
So the challenge is, obviouslyit can be it's further away from
the CBD of Canberra, but on theplus side is sometimes a
challenge, can also be astrength.
So us being down there, we'retucked away.
(07:41):
It's private, where people cansort of mind their own
businesses as well.
Easy access to and from theairport as well, so very minimal
traffic that you have to dealwith.
So that's sort of the strengthsthat we tend to find.
It's being able to keep people,yeah, tucked away in their own
little private area.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Now you've shown me through your property down there
and it's effectively a brandnew property, right, correct?
Is that a real advantage foryou in the market?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Absolutely.
It's nice.
Being the newest property onthe market in the Canberra area
Makes a great selling point, Isuppose, for it.
It's, yeah, I feel, being ableto go in and offer, like, I
guess, sort of a clean slate forpeople wanting to try out new
properties as well.
They may have one that theyregularly go to and then, for
(08:30):
whatever reason, they want tolook trying somewhere else,
we're in that position to beable to help them out as a
completely brand new hotel.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
How are you using technology to enhance the guest
experience or streamline youroperations?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Well, we're looking at doing keyless check-ins as
well, so allowing people todownload an app that they can
just use their phone to getinside the property and up to
their rooms as well uh, we tryto keep everything all
streamlined.
And online paperless check-insas well, uh, which also helps
with our sustainability targetsand ultimately, yeah, just just
(09:08):
keeping everything as digitaland platformed as and
user-friendly as we can now I'veseen keyless chicken
arrangements offered by a fewhotels around the world what?
Speaker 1 (09:18):
what's the customer reaction to those like in your
experience?
Speaker 2 (09:21):
well it.
It's always something new.
Whenever there's something newthat's brought on, you can
always get a bit of pushbackwith it all, but ultimately it
just comes down to how you caneducate the guest as well.
It's not as complicated as itlooks.
You've already got on yourphone.
You've got 50-odd apps.
(09:41):
What's one more by having thataccess.
Over time it becomes more andmore easy, like you think of
doing, like apple pay orsomething like that.
That would have had push backto begin with as well.
It's the same sort of principle, just over time people become
more aware with it and thenthere's a bit more of a drive
for it and then you realize it'show much easier it actually
keeps everybody for you as well.
If you, you know sometimes canhappen is your key might, might
(10:04):
deactivate if you had it next toI don't know a bunch of uh
credit cards or a um electricalequipment or something like that
.
This is just your phone, soit'll be ready to go no matter
what as well awesome and tell meabout sustainability.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Um, that's obviously something that's important in
the hotel business.
Um, how are you implementingsustainable practices?
Uh, at Pantel.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Yeah, absolutely so, looking at doing once again
paperless check-in as well, ledlighting, anything that we can
do to sort of bring thoseunnecessary costs with less
advanced technology for it allOffering no-turn-down service as
well, so that that's a big one,for waste is the amount of
(10:48):
cleaning that has to go on witha uh with a hotel room.
So taking away uh, allowingguests that opportunity to not
have to do the sheets day in andday out, is a great way to look
at saving water and electricityas well.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Are you a big user of water and electricity?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
You must be.
I don't have the exact numbersmyself for it, but it's.
It can be from time to time,especially this time of year,
where it's incredibly cold, soyou have a lot of heating.
That's going on with it all.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Everyone wants to stay warm at this time of year.
Tell me a little bit aboutpricing From the outside.
Hotel pricing can be a littlemysterious and sometimes you can
get different prices dependingon where you're looking for
essentially the same room.
How do you go about balancingyour pricing strategies between
(11:40):
short stays, long-term corporateclients and more seasonal
demand?
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely Well, canberra.
The pricing can change quite afair bit, particularly if you've
got Parliament sitting in thecity, which is, I believe, about
40% of the weeks in a year thatyou'll have them coming over,
so that can drive rates up anddown.
Supply and demand with it all.
It's, yeah, something that'scontinuously sort of monitored
(12:09):
and we try to always put ourmost competitive pricing forward
as well.
A big one for, like gueststrying to save a little bit more
, is by booking direct, going tothe hotel's website, you can
always look at finding betterrates that are included as well.
Offering, yeah.
So another one that we do forcompetitive pricing as well is
we can look at doing corporaterates that we have set up with
(12:30):
the guests.
So if people can sort of give aguarantee or are willing to
commit to a sort of a room nightaccommodation provider, we can
look at giving them static ratesas well.
So that's a good way that youcan get around those higher
priced periods as well.
An interesting thing we like todo with clients that we sign up
, that want to stay off ourproperties, is we have something
(12:53):
that's called a rate shield.
So obviously, yeah, rates cansometimes be rather expensive.
Other times they can becomequite low as well.
So I don't feel it's right tobe able to penalise a client by
making them pay for theircorporate rate if it's higher
than an advertised rate.
So one thing we like to offeris you get the best of both
(13:13):
worlds.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
And that's great, because that sort of thing just
leaves a really bad taste in themouths of both worlds.
So because that sort of thingjust leads and leaves a really
bad taste in the mouths of thecustomer right if you're, if
you're paying more than uh thanthe advertised rate yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
It's not a good look and it's just like it makes.
It makes zero sense.
So that's why we have that.
We have that policy in place aswell, to be able to give people
the best rates that we can doat any time um what role does
customer feedback or onlinereviews play in your operations?
It's an interesting question, soit always has a big impact as
(13:45):
well.
We always like to see whatreviews we get from our guests.
We're doing quite well rightnow we have, out of the 25
properties, tuggeranong has thehighest customer satisfaction as
well, so we must be doingsomething right.
We must be doing somethingcorrect, but we value the
feedback as well.
So we must be doing somethingright, we must be doing
something correct, um, but we,we, yeah, we value the feedback
as well.
It always gives at the at theend of the day, it's it's a.
(14:05):
It's nice to hear if someoneenjoyed their stay, but it's
good to hear if someone didn'tenjoy their stay, because then
it gives you an opportunity toimprove.
Now, what, what may that havebeen?
Uh, was it?
Was it the check-in process?
Or was the room not ready atthe time?
Which can, which can happen,you know, depending on how busy
it is during the day, um, but italways gives you an opportunity
to grow for it.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
So we always value any feedback that we can achieve
do you find most customers,most guests actually fill out
online reviews and surveys, oris it only it's more than you
think?
Speaker 2 (14:34):
yeah, it's more than you think.
Yeah, yeah and yeah, it'ssurprising the numbers that you
have coming through, and whetherthat's, you know, your Google
reviews or direct email feedbacksurveys as well, yeah, quite a
fair few come through for it alland, once again, we always
really appreciate it and anyfeedback is always appreciated
because it gives you the chanceto, yeah, look for an
(14:54):
improvement.
Feedback is always appreciatedbecause it gives you the chance
to yeah look for an improvement.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
What's one of the biggest sort of operational
challenges that you've facedover the course of your career?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Not including COVID.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Well, COVID was a pretty big challenge for many
businesses, wasn't?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
it?
Yes, it was.
I found the challenge ofopening a new hotel in Tagredong
to be really, reallyinteresting because it was.
I remember it quite well when Iwas first approached with Varia
Group and they started to ask,it's like we're actually opening
a hotel down in Tagredong, andI was like, hmm, that sounds
interesting.
And then we began to talk alittle bit more about it and I
(15:36):
was like, wow, this is actuallya really good opportunity here
for it.
And I find that, with sinceopening the opening the property
, being able to get the uh,being able to just get the, the
brand awareness out to the localmarket and to the interstate
travelers as well, letting themknow that we are available, uh,
that's that's one of the one ofthe more fun and exciting
(15:57):
challenges that I've found.
Operationally, it's a big it's.
It's once again just gettingpast that stigma of yeah, we've
got something in tuckernong nowand getting people on board for
it.
That's that's been one of themore fun challenges and how have
you gone about addressing that?
Speaker 1 (16:10):
what, what's been the , the trick to kind of get the
message out there?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
repetition, repetition, repetition,
repetition, just going aroundeducating people as much as I
can where possible and sort of,I guess, trying to break that
mould of the expectation as well.
And we found that, looking atthe channels that we have for
federal government travel,getting out to them and meeting
(16:36):
with them one-on-one as welljust to educate them, and
they're always constantlylooking for new hotels into the
market, particularly intoCanberra.
So that's been a big aspect oftrying to get across the line
with that one.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
And do you think I mean, as I say we sort of joke
about the hotel at Takaradoga.
There were people who genuinelydidn't know you were there.
But do you think there'sgrowing demand for sort of those
flexible apartment styleaccommodations in suburban
centres more generally?
Speaker 2 (17:11):
I believe.
So, yeah, absolutely,especially in Canberra.
So a fun fact is we have thehighest number of apartment
style rooms of any other forhotels than any other city in
Australia, and so there'sdefinitely a certain demand.
With it you're getting peoplefor, especially if they're
(17:32):
people from from government orpeople who are contracted with
the government as well, havingto come in and work in on
projects, so they may need to bethere monday to friday or a
couple of weeks or a month, evensix months as well, like we've
had in some cases.
By offering that home away fromhome sort of setup, it gives
(17:52):
them an opportunity so that theythey can, a bit more accustomed
, they can cook their own mealsas well, give that proper living
style for it.
So I've certainly found,especially in Canberra there's a
big demand for it and peopleare constantly relocating to
Canberra as well.
So that's one of the fieldsthat we can look at.
Offering is someone's coming toCanberra but they may need
(18:15):
somewhere to stay for I don'tknow, say a month as an example,
while they can then go off andfind an apartment to look and
then sign a lease on.
So we can be that little middleground for them where they're
moving, switching careers,coming to here, whether it be
working for government defenceor an extended secondment.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
All right, and how big is the team down there?
Speaker 2 (18:37):
There's about 18 of us in total yeah, that's
everyone.
So the lovely housekeepers,receptionists as well,
management and myself.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
And if you were talking to someone who wanted to
kind of get into the hotelbusiness here in 2025, what
advice would you be giving them?
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Do it, you're in for an adventure.
This is definitely one of theindustries where no day is like
any other.
You never know what's going tohappen, and so there's always
something really exciting thatcan happen with this.
So I highly encourage it.
If you're interested instarting a career, look.
A number of hotels andcompanies will offer sort of
(19:21):
mentorship, trainee programs aswell.
Then, alternatively, you've gotthe hospitality schools, like
the Blue Mountains as well, thatyou can look at reaching out to
sort of inquire about.
But yeah, I highly recommend it.
It's a very interesting world.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Excellent, and you're keen for everyone to kind of
get to know Pantel.
If we want more informationabout it, where do we go?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Yeah, certainly so.
Go direct to our website,panteltagradongcomau.
You'll be able to find moreinformation there.
Feel free to give us a call aswell.
Reach out directly to us andwe'd be more than happy to have
you.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Fantastic.
Well, thank you so much fortaking the time to speak to us.
I'm Greg Harford from theCanberra Business Chamber and
I've been talking to Nick Bell,who's the National Account
Manager for Government atPuntalip Hotel Apartments in
Tageranong, part of the VariaGroup.
Nick, thanks for chatting.
Thank you for having meAppreciate it.
Don't forget to follow us onyour favorite podcast platform
(20:17):
for future episodes of theCanberra Business Podcast, and
I'll catch you next time.
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