Asked for words to describe Ian Crooks, those who know him will almost always come up with ‘enthusiastic’ and ‘energetic’. These are the signature characteristics of an industry veteran who revolutionised motel investment in Australia and built a market-leading agency dedicated to tourism and accommodation property.

If you know the ebullient Resort Brokers Australia managing director a little better, other words might also spring to mind: assiduous, inventive, tenacious. His easy-going manner belies a steely determination, incredible work ethic, and never-say-die attitude.

Crooks began Resort Brokers Australia in 1985, the first agency to specialise in the marketing and sale of tourism and accomodation-related businesses. His 31 year journey has included a knock-back or two, but this indomitable ‘glass-half- full’ sales dynamo always focuses on the upside.

It was Crooks's keen eye for opportunity that brought him to Australia from New Zealand in 1985. Earlier, he had worked in stock and station agencies, established a successful motel brokerage, Chevron Real Estate based in Tauranga, and owned and operated a few motels with wife Karin.

"Motel leasing was accepted practice in New Zealand," he recalls. "In the eighties, lots of of Kiwis were shifting to Australia for better opportunities and warmer weather. The two countries’ economies were the opposite then. Things in New Zealand were tight, while Australia was going great guns."

Crooks's interest was piqued when operators he had sold out of motels were complaining they couldn’t buy motel leases in Australia. Leases simply didn’t exist. "One day in 1984, I told Karin I’d love to go to Australia for a year, to set up motel leasing,” he says. She agreed on one condition: “as long as it is only for a year.” Famous last words! "At the time, we had a trip planned to take the kids to Europe because Karin is of Dutch heritage. So we spent four moths over there but, the whole time, I just couldn’t wait to get back to Australia to get started." 

By the time they arrived on September 29, 1985, Crooks had lined everything up in readiness, even the name Resort Brokers Australia. "Well I could hardly call it Crooks Real Estate, could I?" he jokes. The family settled in Brisbane and Karin’s year turned into five … 10 … 20 … no turning back. "We had three little girls under 10, and they settled into school. We made great friends who were very welcoming. We loved their company, the weather and the lifestyle."

In the end, Karin’s brothers and mother settled here too. Business went well, thanks to Crooks's relentless effort and discipline. A typical day would start at 4am with a one-hour run, then he’d record correspondence on a dictaphone, leave home at 6am, and drop the tapes at a typing service before hitting the road. In the evening, he’d pick up from the typists’ after-hours box and, after a quick dinner with the family, it was on to the phone. Every night from 7pm to 9pm, Sunday to Thursday without fail, non-stop calls, building his incredible network of contacts.

"I remember looking at pages of motel ads in the newspaper and wondering how on earth I would break into the industry," he says. What he did was drive 2000 kilometres a week, knocking on just about every motel door across Queensland and most of NSW. "I knew virtually every motel. Someone would mention a town and I could tell them all the motels there, how many rooms they had, how big the manager’s residence was. I gathered every bit of information I could and memorised it."

This exhaustive knowledge was one thing, but it wasn’t all that set Crooks apart. He applied the same meticulous approach to his goal of introducing motel leases to Australia. "We had motel leases in New Zealand, but there were no formulas for setting them up and pegging values. Before I came to Australia, I gathered all the motel P&Ls I could lay my hands on. I studied and compared hundreds of them to calculate some sort of industry average operating costs. Even 30 years later, I can say with confidence, the formulas I arrived at still work perfectly."

He vividly remembers the first motel lease he set up, the 17-unit Mary Ellen Motel, in Ipswich, just west of Brisbane. Today, thanks largely to Crooks, more than 70 per cent of Australia’s motels are split into active leasehold and passive freehold investment components.

He credits a number of people with having a hand in his success. First among them was lawyer and former Wallaby David L’Estrange, who Ian met early on through his involvement in Rugby. "David was without a doubt the foremost legal expert on motels at the time," Crooks says. "We became great friends and colleagues." 

Later, after L’Estrange retired, that baton was picked up by David Burrough, who Crooks now describes as the most experienced motel solicitor in the country, endorsed and recommended by the Accommodation Association of Australia (AAoA). Briefly in the early 1990s, Crooks took leave from Resort Brokers to join Colliers as an international hotel consultant. There he worked with three men he says went on to be among the industry’s most influential internationally. They were Bill Cross, now based in London, Peter Barge, who rose to be Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) CEO for Asia Pacific and is the current Chairman of JLL Hotels, and Stephen Burt, a one-time CEO of Mirvac Hotel Group who is back at Colliers International as Managing Director, Hotels, Asia Pacific.

"After a while, those three left Colliers and started TransAct, which later merged with Jones Lang Wooton International Hotels Division to form JLW TransAct. It dominated the Australian hotel investment market during the South East Asian investment wave," Crooks recalls. "They asked me to go with them, and perhaps I should have. I stayed with Colliers, only to have them close the hotels division from under me," he says, still with some rancour. But, in typical Crooks fashion, he dusted himself off, and revived Resort Brokers without missing a beat.

"Fortunately, no-one had picked up the ball in the motels sector. I still remember my first sale when I fired back up. It was 60 miles from my to door to that motel and I did the trip 35 or 40 times. When I sold it, I made more on that one deal than my entire previous year’s salary at Colliers." 

From there, Resort Brokers flourished, boosted by a round of redundancies in the corporate world. Retrenched executives with substantial lump sum payouts became keen motel buyers. Crooks was soon employing several sales people and admin staff. They graduated first to small premises in Indooroopilly, Brisbane, then to take up half a floor in a nearby office tower.

Now the nation’s acknowledged motel specialists, Resort Brokers was soon in demand across the accommodation spectrum – management rights, hotels, caravan parks, B&Bs and backpackers too. "When it was suggested we sell management rights, I was initially unsure, given the lower returns compared to motel leases," Crooks recalls. "But we found a vast pool of people from New Zealand and throughout Australia eager to take up opportunities and live between Coolangatta and Noosa, where they were concentrated. Management rights were a real revelation to me and now they represent 50 per cent of our business."

Crooks also came to appreciate some aspects of his stint with Colliers, notably lessons in corporate practices, budgeting, and staff training. "In the early days, our training approach was for rookies to spend a week on the road with me, calling on maybe six to eight motels a day. I used to pay to do seminars and training courses myself, and come home absolutely exhausted because I concentrated so hard. I expected everyone to do the same. My approach was ‘watch and learn’. Now, of course, Resort Brokers conducts formal staff induction and training." 

Resort Brokers Australia, in its 31st year, is stronger than ever, Crooks says. But he does admit to a couple of “financial reversals” along the way, thanks to some brutal market downturns. True to form, though, he bounces back.

"I have always managed to stay optimistic. In business, you always have setbacks, so being able to recover quickly is a valuable skill. I always tell our new recruits how important it is to keep looking forward and not take the knocks too personally," he says. 

Crooks is at pains to say he would be nowhere without Karin. "She is always unbelievably supportive and is very influential, despite threatening to throw my mobile phone out occasionally. Karin really brought the children up while I was away so much."

Now those children, long past childhood and with some significant career achievements of their own, have joined Resort Brokers to help take the company to the next level. So, what has 30 years at the helm taught Ian Crooks? What distinguishes the company now?

"We’ve come a long way since the days when I carried my notebook and book of contacts everywhere. Now it’s ipads and databases (‘though I still keep my contact book with me). I can’t believe how technology has advanced. Newspaper advertising used to be the only medium, now we primarily use the Internet and our Informer magazine to drive our business. Systems support everything we do.

"In terms of sales, we now turn down probably four out of 10 listings we are offered, because we know the market and what is needed to successfully take a business or property to market," he says. "And probably one of the most exciting aspects of our business is the collaborative culture we have developed.

"Our people collaborate rather than compete. It is not easy to engender, but it is very powerful and it sets Resort Brokers apart. Two people working together can do the work of three. About 50 per cent of our sales are now in-house conjunctions," Crooks says. "We have built our business on the back of motels, management rights and caravan parks, and now we are increasing working in the specialist boutique hotel sector."

Crooks still puts great store in the qualities that have driven his entire working life: hard work, willingness to take a calculated risk, the ability to learn from your mistakes, and to think outside the box. "There’s always more than one way to do a deal." 

Crooks says he's worked with a lot of great brokers over 30 years at Resort Brokers, some of the best in the industry, and some skilled and generous professionals including accountants, bankers, financiers and valuers. "I’m very grateful because you can learn a lot from the different strengths of others. I couldn’t be happier to now have the perfect business succession plan, with Trudy, Carla and her husband Alex, and Tim in such vital roles. And, our team now represents the best we’ve ever had, with the ideal mix of proven industry experience and energetic younger brokers keen to work hard to be successful," he says. "We have the strategies and expertise to really take Resort Brokers forward and a clear vision of where we are headed."

Accommodation properties remain very strong investments. "The motel business is still outstanding. If you were able to borrow 100 per cent to buy one, you could pay it off in 10 years and still enjoy a very comfortable lifestyle along the way. Management rights are no different," says Crooks. "That’s the essence of what we do – help people to enjoly a great lifestyle and financial security through the accommodation industry."

Similar to this:

Get to know Terje Nilsen

Get to know Andrew Jolliffe