Beachcomber Hotel and Resort joins Choice Hotels portfolio

The Beachcomber Hotel and Resort’s transformation is almost complete, with some exciting additions coming, as the hotel joins the international market.

Over the past year the Beachcomber Hotel and Resort has transformed into a boutique, Hamptons-inspired waterfront venue.

The Toukley hotel, which has had a sketchy history over the years, was sold to the Oscars Hotels Group in September 2020 before closing its doors for major renovations.

The popular hotel reopened in March and has been booming ever since.

The Beachcomber Hotel and Resort has now been chosen to join leading international hotel franchise group Choice Hotels Asia-Pac’s Ascend Hotel portfolio.

The Beachcomber general manager Tony Bowen said the announcement was exciting news.

“It’s fantastic for the area and for Toukley especially,” he said.

“We’ve got other properties within the Oscars Group that have partnered with Choice Hotels,” he said.

View from one of the rooms at the Beachcomber Hotel and Resort in Toukley.

“The partnerships have worked well so it was a good idea to join forces again. Choice has an extensive distribution network that we can get on the back of and target their customers as well as our own. They have hotels worldwide which is great for us.”

Mr Bowen said the major redevelopment was nearing completion with more features on the way in the coming months.

“It’s still an ongoing project,” he said.

“We've still got two functions rooms to open as well as an up-market restaurant known as Pelicans.

“The children’s playground will be finished soon which will have a petting zoo attached.

“We currently have 60 rooms available but will have 83 in total when it’s all completed. The swimming pool is also being done up and will be heated.”

The Beachie pub has recently had a brewery installed.

He said a brewery had also been installed at The Beachie pub last week, with plenty of entertainment booked in over the weekends.

“Our main focus for the pub is creating a family friendly venue,” he said.

“We have been attracting families from across the coast, Sydney and Newcastle.”

He said the feedback since the hotel reopened had been “amazing”.

“People have been amazed by the transformation,” he said.

“They are noticing everything from the decor to the bedrooms.”

Choice’s Ascend Hotel Collection Portfolio finished 2020 with a RevPAR (revenue per available room) 20 per cent ahead of the market,

The Beachcomber was chosen for its “boutique, Hamptons-inspired property with resort features”, chic apartments and food and beverage options.

The newly-transformed Beachcomber Hotel and Resort.

Image of the Beachcomber Hotel from back in 2016.

Choice Hotels Asia-Pac CEO Trent Fraser said the Ascend brand had received increased levels of interest in the wake of the pandemic looking to leverage off Choice’s extensive network.

“I’m delighted to welcome these two new hotels to our network, especially during a time when we’re firmly focused on and investing in our franchisee’s recovery,” he said.

“The hotels are welcomed as a recent, independent research commissioned by Choice Hotels, demonstrated that 91 per cent of people across Australia and New Zealand are planning on taking a long weekend holiday in 2021, driven by the importance of mental wellbeing and change of scenery.

“Our franchisees should feel confident that long weekends and short breaks are back on the agenda for 2021, which should propel health and consistent bookings as we continue to tackle the COVID-19 recovery.”