Owner Update - Spring 2025
- Mikhala McCann
- Sep 3
- 5 min read
Otway Retreats | Owners Spring Update
Hello Owners,
As we step out of winter and into brighter, longer days, we’re excited to share some updates, wins, and useful tips to ensure your property is perfectly prepared for the season ahead.
Celebrating Our Wins
We’re thrilled to share that Otway Retreats is now the market leader in our region, proudly holding the highest host satisfaction score on Airbnb and maintaining our 'superhost status' for over 24 months. This recognition reflects the care, detail, and collaboration that goes into every stay — and we couldn’t have achieved it without you.
Our team is also expanding, bringing more hands and fresh energy to support you and deliver even higher standards for our guests as we head into the busy summer season.
Market Update: Apollo Bay / Great Ocean Road – Spring 2025
Domestic Travel & Evolving Guest Trends
The pandemic years brought an unprecedented surge in domestic bookings as international borders closed and Australians looked closer to home for holiday escapes. Since then, the market has naturally corrected—post-COVID peaks tapered off, and the last two years saw a noticeable softening in overall occupancy compared to those record highs.
The Great Ocean Road is benefiting from the return of international tourism, with inbound travelers once more seeking the iconic coastline, national parks, and nature-based experiences. This is gradually supplementing the domestic road-trip market, helping the region recover balance and broaden its visitor mix.
Across the Great Ocean Road, rental nights are up ~30% and holiday bookings have risen around 20% since late 2022. Importantly, this uplift has not been uniform across all property types. Growth is concentrated in the higher-end segment—homes that prioritise quality furnishings, thoughtful décor, and distinctive features. Properties offering a clear point of difference—such as prime coastal locations, breathtaking views, or premium inclusions like spas, saunas, and high end decor and styling cohesion—are leading performance and commanding stronger rates. Properties with lower bookings are also being impacted by algorithms which always reward homes with consistent bookings and high reviews, this means higher bookings perpetuate higher bookings and therefore we continue to work hard with strategy to improve those homes that have been slow over winter, in these cases pricing updates and marketing refreshes are important to entice new activity and bookings.
For Otway Retreats, this means the market is rewarding investment in property presentation and standout amenities. Owners who lean into these expectations are best positioned to capture the renewed demand and ride the wave of both domestic and international visitor growth.
Final Thoughts
Momentum is on your side – the rising trend in domestic road-trip tourism is expanding your potential guest base heading into summer after a quiet winter period.
Real improvements matter – ensuring decor items, appliances and inclusions reflect guest expectations particularly with the returning international tourist market.
Tip for owners: Now is the perfect moment for a spring clean and a refresh of furnishings or décor. Even a small update can have a big impact on guest reviews and photos. Our team is happy to help coordinate any upgrades you’d like.
Property Care – Keeping Homes Guest Ready
Vacant Property Checks:
During quieter periods, our team conducts checks on homes that have been unoccupied for 30+ days. These visits allow us to identify urgent issues (such as leaks, pests, or burst pipes), air and dust the property, and ensure it remains guest ready.
Fee: $65 + GST per visit
Includes: identify urgent issues & damages / check cleanliness and dust / water any plants etc.
Reminder: If you or your guests use the property without notifying us, it remains your responsibility to cancel the vacant property check; otherwise the visit and fee will still apply if staff attend and complete the inspection and subsequent tasks.
Pre-Arrival Checks:
After each professional clean, our team completes a pre-arrival walkthrough. This extra step ensures heating, Wi-Fi, lighting, and hot water are functional, styling is set, and welcome touches are in place. It’s the final polish before every guest or owner stay.
Reminder: if you arrive without informing us, this pre-arrival check will not be complete, the home may not be 100% perfect on your arrival.
Guest-Ready Essentials – Heading Into Peak Season
To meet family guest expectations and reduce last-minute requests, all properties must now have:
1x port-a-cot - (Excludes couples-only accommodation)
1x high chair - (Excludes couples-only accommodation)
1x hairdryer in each ensuite & main bathroom
We’ll be conducting an audit of homes to confirm these items are in place. If they’re missing, our team will supply and bill for them so every property is equipped for summer.
Owners are welcome to provide their own items instead — simply let us know if you’ll be sourcing them directly.
Spring Refresh Ideas
With spring on the doorstep, here are some simple ways to brighten your property:
Fresh throws and cushions in coastal tones or a cohesive theme to compliment the overall aesthetic of the home.
Garden tune-ups, mulch refresh, pest treatments
Outdoor settings/decks cleaned and timber treated
New welcome mats and updated bedding
Cleaning of AC filters
Window Cleaning internally and externally
Ensuring BBQs are in good condition and operational with cleaning and cooking tools provided.
We have included our "Styling Guide" for tips and expectations to maximise guest satisfaction and bookings;
Our team can support you with of these upgrades, please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Planning Ahead
The lead-up to summer is always busy, so we encourage booking in spring cleans, garden refreshes, and maintenance tasks early. This helps us lock in trades and schedule before peak season demand.
Reminder: If you’re planning owner stays, please provide at least 48 hours’ notice so we can prepare your property with linen, cleaning, and a pre-arrival check and if you want to attend to updates ready for busier times please communicate these with us so we can update our records.
Communicating with Us & Owner Bookings
The summer period is busy, and we have staff working on a rotation, therefore it is important that communication happens through the appropriate channels to ensure prompt responses, and that the message reaches us quickly.
For all communications and specifically for owner bookings, please contact us via email at hello@otwayretreats.com.au or by calling our main office line for discussions on (03) 5292 3631, as these channels are always monitored.
We kindly ask that you do not send SMS messages. While we understand it can feel like a quick way to communicate, texts often arrive after hours, on weekends, or during family time, and may be easily overlooked. Using email or the office phone ensures your message is received and responded to promptly.
We have created an "Owner Booking Guide" for making owner bookings so the correct options can be chosen in terms of cleaning and linen requirements for owner stays. Please download below;
Thank You
We’re proud to make ownership simple, protect your investment, and deliver stays that guests love. Thank you for being part of the Otway Retreats journey — together we’re setting the benchmark for holiday rentals along the coast.
The Otway Retreats Owner Care Team
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