Broometime Accommodation unique link in golden chain

Written on the 29 December 2016 by Melva Stone

Joining the group "Golden Chain" will bring Broometime Accommodation a long way towards its goal of becoming the best budget accommodation in Broome. With Australia-­wide properties, Golden Chain offers marketing support and the capacity to build loyalty, in a similar way to what the Oaks does through the Minor International Group and Mercure through the Accor Group.

Currently the property is undergoing a re-­furbishment and branding exercise, which will give the property a facelift. New General Manager, Dean Cooper has many years of experience in hospitality throughout the world and said "We are excited about the potential here. Our occupancy rates are high, standing at 43-­ 45% for December, which is a great position to be in. A lot of that success can be contributed to the way we work with outlying communities and our zero tolerance approach to unruly behavior guest and staff safety is top of our priority list. Just because we are a budget property, does not mean our guests should have to tolerate bad behavior".

The property also has a unique feature its art gallery, which procures works from artists throughout WA as well as local indigenous communities. The property only supports "dry" communities and funds from the purchase of works go into a community fund for the good of the community. In return, Broometime Accommodation is supported when community residents need to visit Broome for medical and other reasons. There are also families from communities who enjoy a holiday at Broometime Accommodation at their own expense.

On the day I visited, a new work had just been acquired from a Wiluna artist, who sends her children to school in Broome as a preferred choice because of the standard of education here. Dean goes to great lengths to ensure that he has the background of every artist with work on display and as an outcome of his own outback travels over many years, he has a deep understanding of communities and the need to support, without offering free "handouts", which do nothing to encourage a sense of pride.

Broometime Accommodation and Gallery is another unique property in Broome and one that is "showing the way" in its work with communities. The beneficiaries are the communities, tourists on a budget and local residents looking for local art at a reasonable price. Well-­done Broometime!