Newsletter October 2010
An Important Message
Kyneton Bushland Resort wishes to advise that the Government has amended Corporations Law in ways that now permit companies to provide their annual reports to members through their website rather than by the expensive mailing of hard copies. As a result of these changes, KBR will continue to make its annual report available through the resort website as it did in 2008 and 2009.
The Annual Report will be available from Wednesday, 27th October 2010 and can be viewed in the members’ area at www.kynetonbushresort.com.au; click on the “members’ login”. If you have not previously logged in or have forgotten your password please contact the Resort.
Members will still continue to receive a copy of the Profit and Loss Statement, Cash Flow Statement, Balance Sheet and Chairman’s Report with this Newsletter. Members can request a hard copy of the complete Annual Report to be sent to them by contacting the resort on 03 5422 0888 during business hours.
AGM
The AGM will be held at the Resort on Sunday, 21st November 2010 at 12 noon. We have enclosed the Notice of Meeting and Proxy Form, Profit and Loss Statement, Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet. This year we ask that any questions to be answered at the meeting be received in writing by 14th November 2010.
A full copy of the Annual Report, Notice of Meeting and Proxy form can be found on the KBR website by logging in to the members’ area.
Once again we will be providing a BBQ lunch after the meeting and ask that if you will be attending to contact the Resort on 03 5422 0888 or email admin@kynetonbushresort.com.au and advise us of numbers.
Chairman’s Report
On behalf of the Board I present the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30th June 2010. Although the Accounts are to 30th June my report includes some matters subsequent to that date.
Once again we show a profit for the year while maintaining a high standard of facilities and service and also refurbishing some villas. You will see that rental income has helped to achieve this result and management and reception are to be congratulated for efficiently handling this side of the business. I thank all of our staff in maintaining the resort at such a high standard and in keeping the guests happy and comfortable.
Again I thank Tom Porker, the Resort’s accountant, for his financial advice and assistance during the year.
Noel Newnham is not seeking re election and I wish him well for the future and his travels. I thank him for his positive input during his time on the Board.
Long-time member Kathryn Portelli has been nominated to fill the vacancy created by Noel’s retirement.
The Grounds committee has been regularly monitoring the environment. We wish to maintain our bush environment but safety must also be a high priority and it has been necessary to remove some trees that were considered to be either dangerous to property and people or fire hazards.
Our new pool heat pumps have required some maintenance and modifications; however they should now operate efficiently and provide considerable savings with respect to power costs.
Our land sales are still proceeding with some blocks still available. Speak to John Nissen if you would like to purchase one or two or more. A great place to retire to with all KBR facilities at your door!
The swipe security system at the pool, together with the CCTV, has been successful to the extent that “outsiders” have generally been prevented from using our facility. Now that the new municipal pool in Kyneton has opened there is an alternative “open to the public” pool for “outsiders”. I do not apologise to anyone who has found the system inconvenient as the introduction was necessary to protect our assets.
I thank all Board members for their assistance during the year.
Jim Noy
Chairman
Profile of Board nominee, Kathryn Portelli
Kathryn Portelli has been a local KBR member for 18 years, and is passionately responsive to the bushland aesthetic of Victoria’s first ever timeshare resort. She enjoys the unique natural qualities of this treasured haven, through living on rural land herself.
Using creative mosaic solutions to enhance the visitors’ experience, Kathryn has had great pleasure installing the minigolf markers and the wild flower chess board as projects to amuse and educate tourists, and hopefully extend the value of their country holiday with us.
The use of the KBR logo in the Black Saturday Memorial in Kyneton has acknowledged the significance the resort plays to the economic and tourism health of the area. It was a win/win cross promotional opportunity that has had very positive feedback because it offers tourists coming through the KBR facility immediate connection to the local community.
Kathryn has been on the Grounds Sub Committee for some years and hopes to add further artistically influenced input to the Board of Directors.
Management Report
Refurbishment
Over the last five months we have been busy working our way through the refurbishment of villas 9, 10, 11, 12, 36, 44, 46 47 and 49. At this stage we have decided not to proceed with a total refurbishment but instead address some of the main issues within the villas. We now have 20 new lounges and 15 sets of new bedroom furniture spread throughout the resort.
We are half way through replacing the glass sliding doors in the front of the old “K” units with a window and wooden front door and screen door.
As we are replacing lounges we have two-seater sofas (including fold-out single beds) available. If you are interested, please contact the resort on 03 5422 0888.
New Villas
We have received planning permits for an additional six villas. We are currently applying for a building permit to construct our first new villa and, all going well, would anticipate having it completed by June 2011.
Grounds
After the wet winter we have experienced, the resort is now looking very green and lush, a welcome change from the dryness we have become accustomed to over recent years. For the first time in more than 10 years we have seen the lake fill and overflow and the creek start to run again. During the last weekend of bad weather and continuous rain there was some damage caused to the roads and we had quite a few trees come down but thankfully there was no damage caused to any of the villas.
Week 53
On our timeshare calendar this year we have a week 53 and it is now available for any of our floating owners to book/bank if they wish to pay an additional $500 maintenance fee. Week 53 will run from 31 December 2010 to 7 January 2011.
Any member interested in taking advantage of this additional week 53 please contact the resort on 03 5422 0888 or email admin@kynetonbushresort.com.au .
KBR gets Mystery Shopped!
As part of a state wide initiative, Tourism Victoria provided funding for a mystery shopper program to benchmark the accommodation offerings in the Daylesford and Macedon Ranges region. KBR was randomly selected as one of the accommodation providers to be audited and a mystery shopper was sent to stay and evaluate us. The audit examined the day-to-day operations of the Resort including first impressions, presentation, quality and overall experience. The average score for accommodation providers in Victoria is 87% and KBR scored 97% and we are currently ranked third out of 154 establishments already audited. We are very pleased with the score we achieved on the audit and it’s nice to know that we offer outstanding service and facilities.
Fixed Week Owners
We urge all fixed week owners to remember if you are not going to be using your week at KBR you need to bank it with an exchange company to ensure you do not lose your week. Over recent holiday periods numerous weeks have been lost because of “no-shows” from some fixed week owners.
Melbourne Cup Long Lunch
Once again the Resort will be running the Melbourne Cup Long Lunch and this year Gary Nish will be back to cater the meal. Members are invited to come along and bring their family and friends for a wonderful day of food, drinks and racing. Sweeps will be run on each race during the course of the day. Lunch includes:
Starters - Assortment of hors d’oeuvres.
BBQ Lunch– Porterhouse Steak; Gourmet Sausages; Marinated Chicken Chops; Seafood Skewers and salads.
Dessert- Pavlova; Chocolate Mud Cake; Fresh Fruit and Ice Cream for the kids.
Cost - $25.00 Adult per adult and $15.00 per child (aged 5 to 13).
Drinks – Beer, wine, sparkling and soft drinks will be sold at the bar. Sorry, no BYO.
Website
KBR’s website is in the process of a facelift: if you have visited the site over the last couple of weeks you may have noticed some changes to content, layout and pictures. In the next two months the site should complete its transformation with a new homepage and template layout.
We encourage members who have the internet available to login to the members’ section of the website, VP Online, and see what it has to offer. Members can register to receive information via email about special timeshare and accommodation offers.
Don’t forget KBR is now part of the social networking site, Facebook. It’s a fantastic and easy way to stay up-to-date with what’s going on at the resort.
VP Online Prepayments
Members can make part payments of $50 or more at any time towards their maintenance fees through our secure members’ area, VP Online.
1. Visit www.kynetonbushresort.com.au and click on MEMBER LOGIN, enter your member number and password. If you can’t remember your password you can use the” Remind Me” function on the login screen.
2. Once you have logged in you will be on home screen, select SHARES from the left hand side menu. This page displays the share/s owned; click on the PRE PAY button.
3. The prepayment details will be displayed, including amount and terms and conditions. If you agree to the terms and conditions tick I accept and click the PAY button.
4. You will then need to enter your credit card details and the amount you wish to pay and process the payment. A receipt will be sent to your email address.
Day-Use
A reminder to all members wanting to use the swimming pool over the summer months, It is recommended that you phone ahead to book a pool swipe tag to avoid disappointment. We are very busy at this time of the year and would remind all members that priority is always given to in-house guests.
Late Arrivals
It is important if you are arriving after hours (6pm Friday, 4pm Sunday and 5pm all other days) that you phone ahead to advise reception so you can make arrangements to collect your key. If you are allowing a guest to use your timeshare week you need to advise the Resort of the name of the incoming guest in order to avoid any embarrassment at check-in.
Calendar of Local Events
Oct 31 Market Day at Hanging Rock
Nov 2 Melbourne Cup Long Lunch @ KBR
Nov 4 Kyneton Cup
Nov 7 Gisborne Market
Nov 13 Kyneton Farmers Market
Nov 13 & 14 Budburst Festival – Cellar doors open
Nov 19 Kyneton Agricultural Show
Nov 20 Leonard Cohen at Hanging Rock
Nov 21 Malmsbury Fayre
KBR AGM
Contact Details
Please let us know of any changes to your address, phone number(s) and email by accessing the KBR website, www.kynetonbushresort.com.au. If, however, you do not have access to the internet, please call the Resort on 03 5422 0888.