| Phuket Resorts, Property Still Upbeat, Says Departing Laguna Phuket Chief For the man who holds the most significant position in Phuket resort management, yesterday brought the end of one personal era, and the beginning of another. The challenge for many middle-aged resorts on Phuket was similar, he said. ''. It doesn't mean a lack of commitment. Mr Ayling forecast the arrtival of mixed-use developments and more retail, including redevelopment of Canal Village ''to make Laguna Phuket more of a united destination. ''We've still got a lot of land around Laguna Phuket but we need resources to unlock that value. Now the group will be carrying out development plans to enhance Laguna Phuket as a destination. Sometimes you need to take short-term pain for long-term gain. ''Now everything is back to where it should be with our employees. There has also been the sale of two of Laguna Phuket's seven resorts. ''That provides its own challenges. An integrated resort probably takes a bit more effort to keep it integrated. Second homes aren't fashionable any more. ''People do not have equity in their homes, quite the opposite. ''The market dynamics are working against property on Phuket. James Batt, who ran Laguna Phuket for 10 years, was known as the Mayor of Laguna for his outgoing style. Coming from a background in bookkeeping, Mr Ayling, now 45, steered Laguna Phuket through a period of rapid change. After all, he has been paid to gaze into the crystal ball and chart the future for Laguna Phuket, a pioneer in so many aspects of Phuket's development starting with its genesis as a tin mine wasteland in the 1980s. He says Phuket's future is most likely in the three-and-a-half to four-star mass market. When it comes to staff, Mr Ayling said experiments with casual labor were not likely to succeed on Phuket, simply because full-time staff were in such high demand. On property sales on Phuket, he said: ''It's tough. Mr Ayling ascribes to the term that founder KP Ho uses to describe the future of Laguna Phuket as ''unlocking value. ''I took that advice. I may be more rounded, more confident, and I've learned a hell of a lot beyond my finance skills as well. But it is time to try my own hand and see how much I've really learned through the years. He's continuing as a non-executive director at Laguna, putting an end to rumors that there was some kind of falling out. A new Laguna Phuket managing director has yet to be appointed, although it has been recognised for months that Mr Ayling was heading out the door. ''When I took over it was at the start of the property boom,'' he says, looking back on the past six years. Mr Ayling's new role at his own start-up is about helping individuals who have land to come up with concepts and designs and to steer the finance to sales and operations. NuoBello already has one big project, a hotel and 800 properties near the capital in Papua New Guinea, a young country that Mr Ayling knows and loves as much as he loves Thailand. ''We've also spent a lot of time and effort on community relations. Our Corporate Affairs Department has done a fantastic job. ''The doom and gloom in Europe is probably an opportunity to appeal to Europeans who don't want to stay in Europe or Europeans lving and working here who don't want to go back. ''We've sold quite a few properties in the first quarter, done very well, sold 15 properties. By making Laguna Phuket a more desirable place in terms of those coming developments, Laguna aims to enhance its appeal. Vietnam? Laguna is creating a startup resort destination on the coast between Hue and Da Nang. ''Hopefully we will help lead the way in that part of the world,'' he said. Always refreshingly honest, Mr Ayling moved on swiftly from the positives. ''The negatives? It's been tough for the past three years. Phuket Resorts, Property Still Upbeat, Says Departing Laguna Phuket Chief |
Friday, 1 June 2012
Phuket Resorts, Property Still Upbeat, Says Departing Laguna Phuket Chief
Farmers fear 'onerous' animal welfare changes
| Farmers fear 'onerous' animal welfare changes Western Australian farmers say animal welfare changes being considered by the state Labor Party could create too much red tape. Strengthening Animal Welfare is a discussion paper detailing a series of recommendations designed to improve animal welfare guidelines. One of the recommendations is to introduce a standardised food labelling system, to show whether animals were treated humanely. WA Farmers Federation president Dale Park has lodged a submission highlighting farmers' concerns if more stringent policies are introduced. "We're a little bit worried about what we see as potentially onerous conditions which will be put on farmers and animal keepers, so which will be some of the chicken producers," he said. "We're a bit concerned about some of the things they say about that, so we're trying to save ourselves from problems a little bit later on." Mr Park says phasing out caged eggs would mean increased costs for consumers. "We're a little bit worried that surely we wish to make things better for the animals rather than just the knee-jerk reaction," he said. "These things have to be practical and if you're going to introduce these sorts of things you need to then recognise that the cost of production is then going to rise quite swiftly." The RSPCA says consumers are becoming increasingly aware of animal welfare issues. Spokesman Tim Mayne says introducing a standard labelling system would allow consumers to make an informed decision. "The RSPCA understands that the the greater part of consumers what to see truth in labelling," he said. "In other words, they want to know where their products have come from and how they've been produced. "So research has shown that after price and nutrition, the third biggest consideration is how food is produced." He says the association agrees with suggestions to phase out the live export trade and remove hens from cages. "It's a matter of being realistic about these things. It's a matter of negotiating with industry, government and also taking note of what consumers want along with their concerns, particularly when it comes to keeping hens in cages," he said. |
Architects building dream homes for bats
| Architects building dream homes for bats A group of architects gathered in Oxford, England last month with an unusual brief -- to design the ultimate dream home for bats. Roosting bats can get fatally entangled in the fibers, which degrades the roofing membranes, invalidating their guarantees. Solar panels present another issue. "It's very preliminary, but there seems to be evidence that when you put solar panels on your roof, it can increase the internal roof void temperature, that can be disturbing to bats," says Gunnell. Charles Barclay, who has an architecture practice in South London , has built a tailor made bat barn that was shortlisted for a sustainability award by the British Architect's Journal last year. Wine turbine creates water from thin air while demolishing a 100-year-old brick farmhouse in Suffolk, England, a maternity roost for brown long-eared bats was found in the attic. This meant Barclay had to provide a new roost, which took six weeks more than $70,000 to complete. Although the Suffolk bats appear to have taken up residence, Gunnell says there's never any guarantee that such solutions will work. "The problem we have is that, even if you take everything into account for the bats, they often just will not use the space you've created," says Gunnell. She continued: "A few years ago we had a bat house design competition. In the UK, the fungus has yet to appear, but habitat destruction remains a major threat. Policy-makers in the United Kingdom have stepped in to protect bat populations, criminalizing any interference with their roosts, even if no bats are presently present. English bats are tiny, with the smallest species, the pipistrelle, able to fit into a matchbox. "They can squeeze into the smallest places," says Gunnell. They have varying space requirements. "They need to design these spaces that are biodiversity-friendly, but they're not ecologists," explains Gunnell. Bats prefer to roost in natural features like trees and caves, but as development has made those environments scarcer, some species have adapted to urban areas. That's quite a nicely designed bat house, but two years on, it's never been used by bats. "If you have bats roosting in your building, you can't disturb them in whichever way without getting a special license," says Kelly Gunnell, Built Environment Officer with the Bat Conservation Trust, a charitable organization in London, England. Those who interfere with a roost risk a fine of $7,800 per bat, and up to six months in prison -- although Gunnell says no one has been sent to prison yet. 5m long and 3m high at the apex. Once the barn was finished, the sleeping bats were put into a soft bag by an ecology consultant, and delivered to awaken in their new home. "He also transferred their droppings, so they could smell a bat-friendly area," Barclay says. "Unfortunately, with a lot of people doing loft conversions and barn conversions, that's had a huge impact. 5 million. |
Keyed Molded Watertight Industrial Quick Disconnect Connectors
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Marcophiles: Marco stylists' tales from a much-ado-about-hair show
| Marcophiles: Marco stylists' tales from a much-ado-about-hair show The world of hair - the designing men and women who spend their working lives cutting, coloring, styling and pampering other people's hair - is a bizarre combination of drama, dreams, pruning and preening, while expectant clients watch via a salon mirror, hoping for the best. And for men we can cut a bit shorter so it lasts longer, helping them to stretch their dollars. It was in that spirit that hair care star Maria Elena and her talented colleague Angie recently swooped into the International Beauty Show in New York City. After several days of mixing the serious business of beauty with some wide-eyed tourist fun in Manhattan, they returned home with their pretty heads filled with new ideas about what trendy touches they can use on their island clients without including such things as Faux Mo haircuts or "eno" and "scene girl" fads. We did, however, grasp some important observations from the two women about what hair-raising sights and sounds they found at the beauty show. "We came away from the hair show feeling very good about our own experience and skills in styling. "The hair show was a circus of extremes," Maria Elena says. "But at the opposite extreme they're showing spiky hair, even carvings on the side of the head. Carvings? Like what? "Sort of swirls and designs. It was a lot to take in. "I loved the energy of the city. Big change from here! I can't wait to go back. It was such a different world. One of the "different" sights seen by most visitors to Times Square, is the guitar-playing cowboy wearing only underpants. You need to go ask Maria Elena and Angie what all that's about. "I have cut back prices to what they could have been 20 years ago. "We're trying to bring back the people and show them they do not need to be afraid of high prices, that you do not have to go to the salon every month. "Also Maria Elena was at a booth where they were doing straightener, but the supposedly top stylist back in her day was doing a terrible job on the model. "So Maria Elena hopped up there onstage and said 'Let me do this. The women enjoyed some things you just do not see on marco. Any carvings your Marco clients might want? "No, no, no, no," Maria Elena says with a laugh. "We told him we were there for the hair show and he said, 'I'm a hair stylist too. Marcophiles: Marco stylists' tales from a much-ado-about-hair show |
Council campaign to remedy unsafe rural entranceways
| Council campaign to remedy unsafe rural entranceways The Timaru District Council is advising rural property owners to be more aware of their responsibilities when it comes to farm entranceways and driveways. "Entrances and exits need to be planned. Those not meeting the standard required would be given 12 months to get their properties compliant. Council roading engineer Tracy Bell says that gravel and stony entranceways immediately adjacent to sealed roads create hazards and extra maintenance when the aggregate gets dragged on to sealed surfaces by tankers and tractors leaving the farm. The council is planning a campaign to make sure all entranceways are safe and approved. "We are not too concerned about a tractor in and out a couple of times a week, but if it's a commercial operation the regulations were important. ". "It's not commonly known that a consent is required. "There is no charge for an entranceway consent application. "But there will be an amnesty period, where property owners can contact the council to learn just what the needs were," she said. "Stones also cause serious damage to the seal, and once seal starts to pit, weather and traffic exacerbate the process," Mrs Bell said. And she said the consents should not be viewed as just another way local government will make revenue. Mrs Bell said that providing access to and egress from a rural property was not just a simple matter of knocking a hole in a fence and swinging a gate. " . |
Work whenever I want? Yes please
| Work whenever I want? Yes please
Taking clock-watching out of the equation can create happier employees. It's amazing what trust and respect can do to your culture. We do not mind. We've had to ask people to go home because they had a headache because they didn't want to waste the day at home. You can turn up at 7am or you can rock up at 3pm. You can take a 10-minute lunch or a 10-hour lunch. One of the ways they assert that control is by enforcing strict hours of work. Who cares what time you start? As long as you attend meetings that you are a part of and you're delivering what's expected of you, then hey, sleep in a little every once in a while. BigCommerce's co-founder and co-CEO is Eddie Machaalani. Only the brave attempt it, and one of those that's taken the plunge in Australia has been BigCommerce, a fast-growing SME of 65 employees, specialising in online stores. "From day one we set about creating a supreme company culture in order to attract the best talent and keep our people happy," he said. "We wanted to produce a performance-driven culture. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it actually exists. "We have people coming in earlier and working harder," says Machaalani. The result was a 35 per cent increase in productivity as employees started working at more convenient times and during periods when they were more energetic. Since then, ROWE - or variations of it - has been rolled out in just a few companies. It really is a remarkable perspective for an employer to adopt - especially an entrepreneur. In essence, it meant one thing: employees were judged on their performance, not their presence. You can work whatever hours you like and still get paid a full-time wage. |