Eighty years after his grandfather founded Morgan Bay Hotel, Richard and his wife, Jackie Warren-Smith are still adding to it.
This year, the plans include a new laundry and maintenance department, public laundromat, water bottling plant with a 70 000-litre tank, staff accommodation and two presidential suites.
The spa will move into the new building and the beach boutique will also be expanded.“Yes, we never stop improving,” Richard said.
The Wild Coast hotel employs 65 people, plus casuals, and takes on more staff over the festive season when Morgan Bay swells to more than 1 800 people.
Today the business includes accommodation, restaurants, a spa, retail, caravan park, wedding venue and conference facilities.
Its core market is domestic and family-oriented, although international tours have helped keep the hotel going in recent years.The couple own the hotel, with Richard the third generation of his family to run it.
His grandfather Ivan founded it in 1946 and his father Jeff with his mom Sue took over in 1962, and built the name of the business.
When Richard and Jackie joined them as a young couple, they started upgrading rooms to en-suite and taking the hotel from one star to three. They have continued expanding the business.
Over the past 20 years they built The Tides, housing the Milkwood spa, the Deck restaurant, Sandhoppa beach boutique, and a wedding and conference centre.
As Morgan Bay grew, the hotel began battling to accommodate both staying guests and increasing numbers of day trippers and holiday homeowners.
“Our paying hotel guests had to share their space with day trippers and we felt it was unfair, so we created a space for the expanding tourism market.”
The hotel underwent its first major renovations in years in 2018, eight rooms were added, the dining room was expanded, the bar was moved, a new games room, along with decks and a new pool followed over the next five years.
In 2022, 23 rooms were revamped from plumbing and electricity to cabinetry, bathrooms, flooring and décor, while the lounge, dining room and games room were also redecorated. The remaining rooms followed in 2023.
“My wife Jackie is fondly known by the staff as Notshinsha (change) as she is constantly changing something. Even if it is a new pot plant, new cushion, new uniform, new product, new tables, new paint colours – always something for guests to notice on their next visit.”
Richard said guest feedback plays a big role in how they run and update the hotel, without losing what people have known about it for years.
“We will always try to meet the needs of everyone without losing the essence of who or what we stand for. Investing in one’s own business helps keep you current and in the market.”
Richard grew up with the hotel as part of everyday life.
“It was a privilege being able to grow up so freely. Riding a bicycle everywhere, going to school across the beach every day in a beach buggy. My grandpa teaching us to ski on the lagoon, watching movies from a projector in our dining room, with a sheet on the wall – a highlight on the holiday entertainment calendar. Playing games with all the hotel guests’ children. Swimming in the sea, having forts in the sand dunes is just the absolute joy.”
Taking over the hotel was always somewhere in the background, though Richard said he did not realise it at the time.
“My dad often threatened to sell it if I did not come home and settle.”
While his siblings chose other paths after seeing how demanding hospitality could be, they still return to Morgan Bay for holidays. “Hospitality is a tough industry to be in.”
Asked what has kept people coming back for generations, Ricard had a simple answer. “The relationships that we have built over years with generations of families. The constant continuity and feeling of place.
Our slogan is aptly ‘It’s like coming home’. We strive to give all our guests the best possible home-away-from-home experience.”
Daily Dispatch
