Buying into a hotel business might not be as far-fetched an idea as you might think. Take a peek at the Quest Apartment Hotels chain; the business has welcomed leisure and corporate guests for 36 years. It now has more than160 metropolitan, regional and suburban locations throughout Australia, New Zealand, UK and Fiji.
“A lot of people don’t know Quest is a franchise,” says Regan Corbett, group franchise establishment manager at the hotel chain. “And some people think owning a Quest is well out of their reach. But you don’t have to buy a hotel or come with your own building,” she explains.
It is a very different franchise model from other accommodation brands, Regan points out.
“This is a full business format model. It’s a turnkey business that you buy with everything set up and with support provided across every aspect of the business. There’s no other franchise accommodation model in Australia like this.
“We’re very much in business with franchisees, it’s a partnership. Our business format franchise model is our secret sauce.”
Aaron Lane agrees. He is the franchisee for Quest Maribyrnong in Victoria, and loves the format.
Quest’s business format franchise model is secret to success
“Quest has clear guidelines and expectations about how we work together but there is enough flexibility and entrepreneurship for you to put your own tweak on the business,” he says.
“We are running our own business and we can pull levers as we want to drive revenue and average room rates.”
The former Telstra licensee and his business partner Renzo bought the established Quest accommodation in June 2023.
“We heard about the Quest model and did our own research. We met with Regan and the team to see what was involved in being a franchisee,” says Aaron.
Visiting franchisees, understanding the industry and the brand expectations are crucial to the process, he suggests.
“Speak to people in the industry, ask franchisees about their experience and find out if there is something Quest isn’t telling you.”
Aaron and Renzo were impressed when franchisees told them the business was transparent.
“It is important to hear from those who live and breathe the business,” Aaron says.
Strong levels of support throughout the business
“Our experience with the Quest team was a big factor in buying the business,” he admits. “Franchisee feedback was positive – every single one confirmed they enjoyed the experience.”
Once the pair had committed to the brand, they spent six months building a five-year business plan in collaboration with Quest.
Once in the business the strong level of franchisor support continued.
“Quest’s baseline systems and tools, from booking systems to customer surveys, are all easy to use,” says Aaron.
“We have our franchisee managers and the franchisor team for support but there is also a network of other franchisees too who meet at sales camps and conferences,” says Aaron.
Franchisees come to Quest with very diverse backgrounds, many without hospitality experience.
Business skills and aligned brand values are crucial
What they share is a capacity for funding their franchise, and essential business attributes. These include leadership or management skills, whether as a franchisee in a smaller business, leading teams in a corporate environment or as a business owner.
Regan says “We welcome people to get involved in the process and understand the Quest business. There’s no time limit to the selection process. The longer people talk to us, and other Quest franchisees, the more fully they understand who we are.
“We have lots of events to expose people to Quest and we can both decide if the business is a good fit.”
Regan says aligning brand values is a crucial part of the rigorous, seven-step recruitment process.
“We have a fantastic brand platform, ‘As local as you like it,’ so any guest staying at a Quest appreciates the business owner knows their local community, and can guide them to the best coffee and breakfast locations, for instance.”
This is an essential part of the business, agrees Aaron.
“We understand the neighbourhood and like to partner with local organisations, sports clubs and schools. Quest has a corporate customer base too so it’s crucial we know all the businesses around, and the infrastructure developments. We work to make sure our offering is suitable and our brand is recognised, and leverage that.”
Highly-engaged franchisees prove most successful
And while Quest welcomes investor franchisees who partner with a hands-on business owner, the model is specifically designed for highly-engaged franchisees.
“The most successful franchisees get in and follow the model. If they are part of the business, part of the community, they are really impressive – not just in profits but across the business,” says Regan.
“Being engaged in their business is the key to success.”
Aaron agrees. “We have a level of pride in what we do and want to make our Quest business more successful. Of course there are financial considerations, but we are also really big on customer service, and working and building our teams.
“We are involved in the business day in day out, we are driven by our success,” says Aaron.