Hilton owner’s glam plans
Overhaul of units, Airbnb out
THE new owner of Hilton Surfers Paradise wants to banish Airbnb from the five-star property as he embarks on a multi-million-dollar overhaul in the global brand’s centenary year.
Cosmetic surgeon and hotel baron Jerry Schwartz is due to settle on the $70 million deal today and plans to begin a major overhaul of the icon right away.
The Hilton comprises 169 hotel rooms as well as 500 privately-owned residential units, of which an increasing number are leaving the formal Hilton letting pool to draw trade from sharing platforms like Airbnb and Stayz.
Just 150 of the 500 private units remain in the Hilton Residences letting pool.
A quick survey by the Bulletin found more than 100 Hilton Surfers Paradise listings on Airbnb yesterday, ranging from a $64/night single room within a shared apartment to an entire 49th floor threebedroom apartment for $598/ night.
Dr Schwartz, a practising doctor whose family company is Australia’s largest private hotel operator, said the exodus of owners from the official pool had led to a reduced standard in the units and savaged the hotel’s reputation.
He’s pledged to overhaul the common areas of the hotel, installing new artwork and stripping the rooms of tired furniture and carpets.
“I certainly will be upgrading the hotel, so at the same time it would be really good to do some work on the units that are associated with the hotel,” he said.
“I want to entice the owners to upgrade their units at half the cost it would be if they wanted to do it themselves.”
Dr Schwartz said many unit owners had paid top dollar when they bought into the Hilton, and understood they wanted to maximise their returns.
“Because Hilton has a high standard of quality of the rooms, and the cost of maintaining the rooms, owners have looked elsewhere to make their revenue,” he said.
“Airbnb and other management companies competed for the Hilton pool and quite a lot of owners left.
“I want to stop more owners from leaving, and try to lure those who have left back to the Hilton pool.
“I want to add value to owners for their unit being a Hilton Residence, rather than an apartment that is based at the Hilton.”
Dr Schwartz said he would entice owners to stay with or rejoin the official Hilton Residences by offering them heavily discounted furniture, carpet and other upgrades in
their private apartments.
He said owners could make more money from their rooms by being part of the official Hilton Residences pool and guests would benefit from free Wi-Fi and discounts in the Hilton’s restaurant and bars.
As well as the incentives, Dr Schwartz is also taking a hardstaff line approach to owners who do not upgrade their units – saying those who did not meet the new standard would be excluded from the Hilton Residences and allocated to the less-prestigious Orchid Tower collection.
Guests booking rooms outside official channels will lose the privilege of checking in at the hotel reception, and would be provided an unstaffed desk to check in at or could “do it in a pub”.
Dr Schwartz plans to celebrate the Hilton’s new direction, and the brand’s global centenary at a charity event on May 24.