G’day Group Saw Something in Caravan Parks Others Didn’t See Coming

Grant Wilckens didn’t set out to build Australia’s biggest regional accommodation network. In 2004, fresh out of a corporate finance career spent raising equity for other people’s ideas, he bought three caravan parks in Western Australia. Wilckens [ pictured above] says it was an asset class most investors then dismissed as a cottage industry. “When I looked at those first three parks in WA, I realised the opportunity wasn’t just the land, although it was what had me interested to begin with,” Wilckens says. “The biggest opportunity, it turns out, was building a brand Australians could trust and keep coming back to. That’s been the key part of how we have grown.” Two decades on, that initial acquisition has grown into Australia’s biggest regional accommodation provider, with 101 owned-and-operated parks under the Discovery Parks and Resorts banner. That follows the recent acquisition of four Breeze-branded sites—at Halls Gap and the Grampians in Victoria, Katherine River in the Northern Territory, and West Busselton in WA. ▲ Breeze West Busselton, recently acquired by G'day Group, capitalises on its proximity to natural amenity and scarcity value. Scale without franchising Unlike much of the accommodation sector, G’day Group’s growth has come through direct ownership rather than franchising—a structural choice Wilckens says is central to the payoff. “The real value comes once [the acquired assets are] plugged into the Discovery network: our brand, our loyalty program and the operating systems we’ve built over 22 years,” he says. “That’s what turns a good asset into a consistently performing one.” The company has now set a target to double its network by 2031, a plan Wilckens says hinges on acquiring scale and reinvesting in its portfolio to lift performance across the existing footprint. G’day Group deploys $250 million annually across the country, split between new sites and upgrades to flagship destinations including Byron Bay, Bargara, Wilpena Pound, Woodman Point, Canberra and Cradle Mountain. “We look at investing in iconic destinations with scarcity value and long-term demand, then reinvesting significantly to increase visitation and create momentum for the community,” Wilckens says. The asset owner recently spent $10 million repositioning Discovery Parks Lane Cove for the corporate and school markets, and work is under way at Discovery Parks Bargara in Queensland. Patient capital, backed by super G’day Group’s majority shareholder is the Australian Retirement Trust, a relationship Wilckens says helped to reshape his decision-making horizon. “It’s given us the confidence to invest for the long term, as we’re not out raising capital from new partners—we have a major shareholder that backs us,” he says. He says the arrangement is more than a balance-sheet convenience. “There’s a nice symmetry in knowing that same long-term capital is helping build the places where Australian families create memories of their own, right now.” ▲ G'day Group co-founder Grant Wilckens says caravan parks have evolved in the past two decades and tourist demands have grown more sophisticated. Tech-enabled tourism But beyond the parks themselves, G’day Group also owns WikiCamps, an online travel community, and Bookeasy, a booking platform used by destination management authorities in Australia and New Zealand. Wilckens says the tech assets support rather than replace the accommodation side of the business. “At our core, we’ll always have tourism and travel at the heart of everything we do,” he says. “But we know the tech side of the business is also important … it’s not just about our own parks, we’re building the infrastructure for how people plan and book regional travel more broadly.” Wilckens says artificial intelligence is emerging as a layer in that stack, describing the ambition as supporting “the traveller’s journey from dreaming to booking.” An industry seat at the table Wilckens sits on the South Australian Tourism Commission board and previously chaired the Caravan Industry Association. He says the industry body involvement feeds directly into commercial decision-making, exposing him to regulatory shifts and workforce pressures beyond his own network. G’day Group also invests in the regions it operates in, including road upgrades, Wi-Fi connectivity and utilities access for remote parks. “We like to think of each of our Discovery properties across Australia being somewhat like ambassadors of the towns they are located [in],” he says. ▲ Wilckens says the assets are not only positioned to cater to grey nomads. They also accommodate corporate travellers and young families. Reading the shift in how Australians holiday Asked what’s changed most since 2004, Wilckens points to rising expectations around choice and flexibility. The same guests, he says, might want a powered site on one trip and a resort-style cabin on the next, depending on life stage. That shift in demand is what pushed the company to launch Discovery Resorts alongside its parks offering, aiming for comfort and accessibility without sacrificing proximity to nature. “We know Australians love exploring their own backyard, but it is how they want to do it that can be surprisingly varied,” Wilckens says. Combined with app-driven trip planning, Wilckens says the customer base has expanded well beyond the traditional caravanning market, adding firepower behind the group’s plans to double in size in the next five years.

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