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Six designer rentals you can call home

10 November 2014 Call it lobby burnout. Too many check-ins, check-outs, lost plastic room keys. Too much bad lighting when you’re trying to unpack, even in five-star hotels and resorts. Reception staff who silently tut-tut when you wobble in after a big night and who know what you consumed from the mini-bar before you even wake up.

It doesn’t have to be like this. Sometimes, all you really want is somewhere to call your own. For just a few days, maybe even a few weeks. Somewhere with privacy but all the luscious trimmings you’d get in an Aman or Mandarin Oriental. A butler, a masseur, maybe even a private chef. Someone to keep the garden ship-shape, the pool at optimum temperature. A media room, a gym and a giant claw-foot bath. A bottle of French upon arrival, starched sateen cotton sheets on the beds, and Aesop products in the bathroom.

Enter the designer rental. The owner might be a Singapore-based executive with a much-loved pad for the family Down Under. Being a money-conscious type, he’d really like it to earn its keep. The renters might be three couples who want a weekend away to celebrate their impending 50th birthdays, sans kids; a visiting Hollywood celebrity for whom discretion is everything; or a family for whom luxury is a way of life. Designed by a renowned architect? Tick. Kitchen worthy of Nigella? Tick. Original artworks on the walls, a Roche Bobois sofa in the living room and Philippe Starck chairs around the dining table? Tick.

It’s a very niche part of the travel sector but a growing one according to Matthew Fleming, director of Contemporary Hotels. A few years ago the 15-year-old company had a dozen such properties on its books; it now has nearly 50, spanning NSW, Queensland and South Australia, with a handful offshore too. They tend to rent out for upwards of $1000 a night, with some properties fetching as much as $35,000 a week during peak season. New Zealand does these rentals well too; Jacqui Spice’s Touch of Spice has homes across the country on her books. Queenstown is a favoured area, her stratospherically expensive Copper House a rental showcase. For Contemporary Hotels, the Peter Stutchbury-designed Angel Wing, which was voted house of the year at the 2014 Australian Institute of Architects NSW Awards, is a flagship.

“Demand for this kind of rental has really increased over the past six years,” Fleming says. “Australians are quite pioneering. We like to be left to our own devices without the concierge, without having to wait in line for breakfast.”

Angela Vinnicombe is a director of Ultra, a Port Douglas-based firm that specialises in renting out houses that you would never see in the windows of your local real estate agent. She concurs that business is buoyant, with inquiries coming increasingly from places such as Hong Kong.

“But you can’t just buy your way in and hope to rent out your house to them,” she says. “There is a way to do it and it isn’t just about having a great looking home. Features constantly need to be upgraded; it takes reliable finance and commitment.”

Melbourne-based fund manager Robert Mead agrees on that point. He and his lawyer wife Fiona bought Ammamead at Federal, in the hinterland behind Byron Bay, in 2008. They renovated the sprawling Queenslander, hired an interior designer to kit it out for luxury rental and added hotel-esque touches like bathrobes and slippers, a welcome hamper of local produce and a dedicated media room complete with giant TV screen and cable.

Growing Dedicated Clientelle

Aside from telling clients about the region’s best foodie haunts, they also provide the phone number of a local masseuse who will come to the home with her table and oils at a fraction of the cost of some nearby resorts.

“It’s not for everybody; you have to do the work and I think you have to have an interest,” says Mead, of Endeavor Asset Management. “We like coming up with ways to ensure we have a nice product out there and I think if you concentrate on that, the money will eventually flow.”

He concedes it’s not proven a great investment yet, but says like any business, it’s about growing a dedicated clientele, and that takes time. The high Australian dollar has not helped, driving domestic tourists offshore and dampening interest from internationals. “That will hopefully change as the dollar comes off but I’d still say you have to love it to do it,” Mead says.

Crucial to making a success of the designer rental caper is spending the money on a team of people whom you trust to keep a property in a far-away place in good shape on your behalf, and to present the right face to your visitors. And vetting them carefully. Contemporary Hotels has a strict no-parties policy, a hefty bond and a multi-page form to fill in before they give you the green light.

“We haven’t had any horror stories, but I’ve heard about everything from broken glass in the swimming pool to oil on the sandstone,” Fleming says. “We find out a lot about people with our inquiry form and we speak to them before we rent.”

As for marketing, this is where Twitter, Facebook and Instagram come into their own. Nothing beats photos of a view, a bathtub or an open fire, or the personal recommendation of a friend, for drumming up business.

Angel Wing, Blue Mountains, NSW

Architect Peter Stutchbury sought to connect this home with the landscape in which it sits, creating a collaboration between art and the wilderness. Just beneath the brow of an east-facing hill, Angel Wing – formerly known as Invisible House because of its sense of merging into its location – takes advantage of the backdrop by sitting into the slope. The wide, flat roof is somewhat like a broad-rimmed hat, useful for keeping out the sun. When filled with rainwater, it reflects the sky. From the air, the house would be almost unseen; from lower down the valley, its colours mimic those of the surrounding hills. The Blue Mountains can often mean chintz, scones and heritage Royal Albert china. Not here. Angel Wing is all concrete and glass, with accents of copper and wood. The main living area is warmed by an open fire, an alluring wave-like timber ceiling and a round red leather sofa that’s a bit like a lazy Susan on steroids. Lie back in what we dubbed the lazy Sally – so named during our visit on account of the person who most liked being in it – pour yourself a glass of champagne and marvel that the mountains out there really do look blue. When it comes to warming yourself by the fire, there are indoor and outdoor options – the latter a pit ideal for toasting marshmallows over in summer. If you visit in winter, forgo the outdoor fireplace though; it’s mighty chilly. Head upstairs instead to a claw-footed bath with the same view as the one your friends are enjoying downstairs. And warn them: they might not see you for a while.

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