Grollo Group investment addresses accommodation shortages

THE Grollo Group’s recent announcement of a 73-year sublease of 27 homes from AGL at the Bogong Village site near Falls Creek, has shed more light on plans for worker accommodation on Mt Buller, Mt Hotham and Falls Creek as the ski industry struggles to keep up with demand. The company, which also owns Buller Ski Lifts (BSL) and bought the Mt Hotham Airport earlier this year, has made its intentions with the new investment clear, planning to address concerns raised by ski resorts and tourist towns in the North East about worker accommodation and capacity. Grollo Group property manager Martin Ansell said worker accommodation had been a key problem during the 2023 winter season. “Through COVID, housing prices around Mansfield went through the roof,” he said. “Airbnb has also had a big impact, with people not putting property up for rent for that long anymore. “It's really put the pinch on that sort of staff accommodation.” The AGL deal has cemented the Grollo Group as a leader in developing worker accommodation for alpine resorts in Victoria with concerns at Buller mirrored at Falls Creek and Mt Hotham. “I was working closely with the ex-general manager Laurie Blampied up at BSL in regards to our plan for worker accommodation at Buller so it's all came about from those [conversations],” Mr Ansell said. “The opportunity of Hotham Airport popped up and after the media [coverage] about Hotham, AGL reached out via our agent, John Castran. “They had this pretty little village sitting there with 27 houses that weren't being used. “AGL aren’t property people; they're just concentrating on their power and their hydro business that runs through there.” The Grollo Group purchased the houses with the intent to refurbish them for seasonal workers staying for the 2024 season at Falls Creek. Mr Ansell said demand was high for the beds. “We’re pretty much 70 per cent leased for operators at the moment and I reckon within the next month they'll be locked away and we'll have a waiting list,” he said. Beyond the existing site recently bought, accommodation options at the Mt Hotham Airport and around Mt Buller are next on the list. “We're going to planning in the next week across the three resorts,” Mr Ansell said. “There are 400 beds at Buller in a planning permit, which is going as well. “We've now got coverage across those three key resorts. “We're having some talks with government in regards to potential funding avenues for grants and other things as well.” Mr Ansell said the recent developments have been a “perfect storm” which has allowed the Grollo Group to address the particular needs the tourism industry is struggling with. “Key worker housing issues is not a new problem,” he said. “The impacts of COVID and cost of affordable housing is now limited. “We saw at Buller this year, where some of the operators weren't opening certain nights because they didn't have the staff capacity to deal with it. “When you look at it from a business operator point of view, they're not able to open the maximum hours that they can so they're limiting their revenue, which means they don't have the money to spend on staff accommodation. “We’ve talked to business chambers across Buller, Falls and Hotham and the discussions we've had with them boiled down to; if they're able to secure a long term bed with a lease, they know that they've got those staff member beds and can plan their operations better to maximise returns,” Mr Ansell said. “Then they're reinvesting in the business which is reinvesting in those areas, which is good for visitation and other things.” Mr Ansell elaborated that this model can also lower pressure on towns like Mansfield and Bright which also rely on influxes of workers during busier seasons. “If you look at places like Bright and Mansfield as well with a lot of seasonal staff; if there is land, we can take a similar model there,” he said. “We can make sure that these businesses have the workers they need for when they need them. “Part of developing a model is getting this first stage right. “We want to make sure that: one, the staff are happy to be there; two, the amenities are there; three, the accommodation is fit for purpose; and four, we've actually got a transport solution. “That transport solution is going to be run through those winter periods and peak periods so that those staff members from 6:30am in the morning and returning 10:30pm at night, so they've got the ability to go up and down to the village.” Mr Ansell hopes this investment can help free up capacity on the mountains. “In other parts of the world, there is never staff living in your ski resort villages; they're always down in the town or somewhere else,” he said. “At Buller, Falls and Hotham it has predominantly been the other way around where staff have been in the village and occupied those beds, which otherwise could be used for cheaper accommodation models. “That would bring more bums on seats which means more money for the resort, but they're obviously been occupied by staff. “We can’t take all the staff off the mountain but we need to make that transition so that [the workers] don't feel like they're missing out on that lifestyle on that activity that they want to. “A big part of that is transport which we're dealing with at Bogong. “Having transport at 10:30pm at night coming back to the village; workers can finish work, go have a beer and a meal with mates and still be in that social environment but also have some amenities [in the village] there too. “I reckon Bogong is going to be a good little hub.”