By James Wilkinson
Hayman Island owners Mulpha Australia and operators One and Only have ended their agreement to brand and manage the luxury property in Queensland’s Whitsundays.
The resort is currently closed for renovations until mid-2018 as a result of damage sustained from Cyclone Debbie in late March 2017, the second time the property has suffered significant damage from a severe storm over the past decade.
The luxury resort was rebranded as a One and Only property from its independent Hayman brand when it re-opened in July 2014 following significant damage by Cyclone Yasi and Cyclone Anthony.
In a joint statement received by HM, the companies said: “Following the damage incurred to One and Only Hayman Island by Cyclone Debbie and subsequent closure of the Resort until mid-2018, the mutual decision has been made that One and Only will no longer be managing Hayman Island as of 5th June.
“Mulpha Australia will be rebranding the Resort upon re-opening.
“While it is disappointing to have to close the resort after record trading that had been achieved, Mulpha are planning to undertake significant capital works to once again position Hayman as one of the most prestigious luxury resort properties in the Australian market.
“A formal process will be undertaken in the coming months to select a qualified luxury operator to assume the future management of the Island.
“One and Only are thrilled to have welcomed so many guests to the resort and introduce One and Only to Australia.
“One and Only remains committed to Australia with a long term agreement to manage Emirates One and Only Wolgan Valley in The Greater Blue Mountains, as well as continuing to grow Australia and New Zealand as an outbound market to all One and Only Resorts.
“One and Only has been driving significant development interest in new markets and looks forward to continuing to expand the brand globally in order to provide the ultimate holiday experience.
“Mulpha Australia and One and Only thank you for your past support,” the companies said.
According to a report in The Australian newspaper yesterday (June 8), Mulpha “is reviewing the operations of its hotel portfolio and may seek new managers to run its key properties that include the resort-style Sanctuary Cove, the InterContinental Sydney Hotel and ultra-luxury private island One and Only Hayman Great Barrier Reef… Mulpha has called in Colliers International to run an operator selection process across the portfolio as it also deals with the damage to the One and Only Hayman Island resort in the Whitsunday archipelago”.
The above was not confirmed by Mulpha Australia at the time of publication.