Quest celebrated 20 years

In 2018 Quest celebrated 20 years in New Zealand. Starting as a single property in Australia, it is now Australasia’s largest apartment hotels operator with more than 160 properties, and has has created a brand that business and leisure travellers have come to rely on in New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, and soon to be the United Kingdom.

Adrian Turner, Quest Group General Manager for New Zealand & Fiji, says Quest continues to meet demand in New Zealand, with an extension to Quest Highbrook opening in April 2019, and Quest Tauranga Central opening in 2019, a new Quest Palmerston North, Quest Takapuna and Quest Mount Eden due to open in 2020, Quest is well-placed to take advantage of the fact that the increase in domestic tourism expenditure in New Zealand has recently outstripped that by international visitors.

“We’re proud of our ability to expand” says Turner, “and that regardless of location, or how established the business is, our business systems and resources ensure that that our ‘product’ is corporately consistent. Many of our customers are unaware that Quest is a franchise – and have no need to know; what matters to the customer is that each property delivers to a consistently high expectation.”

Quest has been delivering on expectations so effectively that it has been one of the fastest-growing accommodation groups in New Zealand for each of the last 15 years and is by far the largest serviced apartment brand in the country. It has occupancy rates 20 to 30 percentage points higher than the New Zealand average, and Turner says that the network’s growth and occupancy rates are driven by having a quality product in the right locations, with guest services delivered by professional and enthusiastic franchise management.

Perhaps an even more important indication of Quest’s success is that its franchisees stay with the business for an average of 10 years, in an industry where the average lease for a motel lasts 18 months.

Quest franchisees buy into a business and a way of life, says Turner. “We need our franchisees to be energetic, people-orientated and committed to working within our franchise-system framework. At the same time, we provide a supportive business model, which also ensures that franchisees don’t burn out. They work a solid five days a week but have weekends and holidays off to spend time with family.

We believe that a clearly articulated business philosophy starts at the top and should be completely embraced by all segments of our business; this is what gives Quest our competitive edge and maintains our market leader position. Quest is the only ‘purpose built’ franchise operation that offers both lifestyle and financial certainty to the business person seeking to participate in the fast-growing traveller accommodation sector.

I look at how long our stakeholders stay with us; from guests, franchisees, corporate office team members to  landlords. To me, this is an indicator that their expectations are being met – and that we can continue to grow, and our franchisees can continue to grow within the Quest framework.”

He notes that many franchisees have entered Quest with no experience in the hospitality sector. “You need competency, a vision of where you see yourself and a readiness to learn. We’ve tried to simplify the learning so you don’t have to go through the traditional process of being involved in the sector for years and working your way up. We offer enthusiastic people another way in.”

With tourism a key part of the government’s growth strategy for New Zealand, and international and domestic visitor numbers continuing to grow, Quest has embarked on a new stage of expansion and development.

“It’s a good time to think about taking on a franchise, says Turner. We’ve strengthened our position in the market over the last five years and more than compete as an accommodation and a business opportunity. We and our franchises are well positioned to take advantage of the future in both the business and leisure travel sectors.”