Kingston Gardens – September Update

Hi everyone,

I thought I’d send through a quick update now that we’re a few weeks into operating Kingston Gardens.

We had a slightly slower start to September than I’d hoped. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to gain control of the existing Booking.com and Expedia listings for the first week or so, as it took some time for the property to be fully “debranded” from TFE/Adina within their systems and transferred across to us.

Given how important those channels are for short-lead bookings, particularly while we’re building up our own direct booking base, that definitely had an impact on the first part of the month.

The good news is that things have picked up considerably since then. We’ve already hit 100% occupancy on a few nights, and forward bookings are continuing to build.

We’re also heading into a really good period for Canberra, with Floriade, a Parliamentary sitting period and the school holidays all overlapping. We’re making the most of that demand and pushing rates where we can, rather than simply chasing occupancy.

There has obviously been a huge amount happening behind the scenes as well. Taking over a hotel without inheriting an existing booking book, systems or online presence was always going to make the first month a bit unusual, but each week we're getting more of those initial setup and transition issues behind us and the property is starting to settle into normal operations.

Guest feedback so far has also been encouraging, and we're continuing to work through the apartments and property to identify the little things we can improve as we go.

I’m conscious that everyone will be particularly interested in the first month's financial results. Once September is complete and the accounts have been finalised, I’ll send through a proper update showing how the property performed and where things are sitting.

Overall, while I would have loved to have started September at full speed from day one, I’m really pleased with the way bookings have picked up and particularly encouraged that we’re already seeing nights where the participating apartments are completely full.

Thanks again for everyone's patience and support through the transition. There has been a lot to get through in a very short period of time, but it’s great to finally have Kingston Gardens up and running. I thought I’d leave you with some images of the gardens - which are looking amazing at the moment!

Regards,

Joel
Kingston Gardens Serviced Apartments