Kurrimine Beach Holiday Park Award

The laid-back venue on north Queensland’s Cassowary Coast has outshone some of tourism’s big players to be chosen as the industry winner of The Sunday Mail/Tourism Queensland campaign to find the state’s best customer service ambassadors.

“The way Kurrimine goes above and beyond for guests … shows how they are striving for excellence on every occasion,” said TQ executive director Steve McRoberts, a member of the judging panel which awarded the $10,000 prize.

Park owners Kay and Marcus Kitchen – and managers Corey and Tracey Patterson – wowed the judges with their diary of a typical week.

It included:

Looking after a baby so the exhausted mum, who had been awake since 3am, could go and get some much-needed rest;

Dog-sitting a guest’s pet so the husband could go fishing while his wife headed to the shops;

Producing a bottle of champagne to save a panicking husband who remembered at 5.30pm on a Saturday that it was his wife’s birthday and he hadn’t bought a gift;

Driving two Belgian tourists an hour each way to the wharf so they didn’t miss out on a cruise after their campervan broke down;

Arranging a wedding on the beach for guests.

They also hold regular afternoon teas, with home-made scones for guests and a weekly sausage sizzle/get-together, as well as allowing local schools to use their huge pool free of charge for swimming carnivals.

“My philosophy is treat people the way you would like to be treated,” said Mrs Kitchen. “It’s a nice quiet little place here and we make it fun and friendly.”

The win was a welcome boost at the end of a tough year, which started with Cyclone Yasi slamming into the park, damaging some cabins and knocking down trees and fences.

They were up and running again within weeks, but then Mr Kitchen fell out of a tree and broke his arm. There was worse to come – using his bobcat to put out a fire down the road, a hydraulic hose broke spraying him with burning fluid, resulting in burns to 35 per cent of his body.

With Mr and Mrs Kitchen travelling regularly to the burns unit in Brisbane, they brought in Mr and Mrs Patterson to help run the park.

The $1000 runner-up prize went to Brisbane-based Double Shot Motorcycle Tours.

“I’m totally surprised and thrilled,” said owner Rod Winkler, who started the business two years ago.

A “Mr Mum” who looks after the kids while his wife, Julie, commutes to Sydney for work every week, he wanted a business he could operate during school hours and at weekends and found the answer in his love of motorcycles.

He takes passengers on his Harley-Davidson Fatboy for tours in and around Brisbane and has carried guests aged from 10 to 80.

Tourism Minister Jan Jarratt said judges were impressed by the entries.

by: Daryl Passmore   From: The Sunday Mail (Qld)   December 04, 2011 12:00AM