Dynamic Duo: Graham & Jude Turner 

Graham (‘Skroo’) and Jude Turner have long carved out winning new trends in the travel and hospitality industries — from travelling around Europe in a double-decker bus to dominating the retail travel outlet market, and forming a growing range of boutique, homely resorts that showcase the pure beauty of the Australian bush. But this dynamic duo was almost not to be, with a young Skroo once left nursing heartache when his future wife was a no-show to their first date. 

"Jude and I actually met briefly at university in Brisbane in 1971. I asked her out, but she stood me up," laughs Skroo. Their second date wouldn’t take place until 5 years later when fate intervened in the form of Jude walking into Skroo’s Topdeck Travel shop in the UK.  

"She travelled to London in early 1976 and coincidentally came into our shop with a friend who was booked on Topdeck. We managed to talk her into going on the tour, and then I offered her an office job. The rest is history." The 2 were married in December 1976, and have since worked together across several leading businesses, as well as raising 2 children. Despite the pair’s flair for their industries, each had initially begun their careers in entirely different professions — Skroo as a veterinarian, and Jude as a secondary school teacher. 

"I grew up on an apple orchard about 15 kilometres west of Stanthorpe in Queensland, so farming was in my blood," says Skroo. "From an early age, I’d milk one or 2 cows every morning, so it became a choice between vet science and agricultural science, and vet appealed more. I graduated in November 1971 and needed money immediately to travel in 1972, so I did a series of vet locums in Western Australia before travelling to Munich for the Olympics. From there, a group of us travelled in vans around Europe, landing in the UK in 1973. I then did more locums around the UK that year."

Topdeck Travel

Kismet soon stepped in, and it was while visiting a sick horse on a locum in Yorkshire that Skroo stumbled across an old airfield with double-decker buses, and the idea for Topdeck Travel was born. "I thought at the time it’d be a great concept — travelling, eating and sleeping by decker across Europe." After convincing a friend (Geoff ‘Spy’ Lomas) to go halves in the concept over a few beers, Skroo unexpectedly found himself with a new career. Three years later, to Skroo’s surprise, he had a second chance at love too, when the girl that almost got away walked into his London Topdeck office.  

"I went travelling in early 1976 and began working with the fledgling Topdeck Travel in London when it had 5 buses," says Jude. "Back then, we did anything and everything! Admin, the fit-out of buses, sales, marketing and recruitment, you name it." It must have been a good year, as Jude and Skroo were married by December. After 4 years of running the show at Topdeck together, husband and wife moved back to Queensland in 1980 to become mum and dad, with the birth of their first son, Matthew.

With their departure, partner Mick Carroll headed up the business out of the UK, while Skroo turned his attention to running Topdeck shops in Australia and New Zealand; his focus was on selling tours around Europe and overland to Kathmandu. As discount travel agencies were growing in popularity, Skroo, Mick and other partners, Bill James, Geoff Harris, and the newly added Dave Tonkin, decided to create Flight Centre in Australia, opening the first shop in March 1982. Topdeck was later sold to the leadership team in the UK, though Skroo would later buy it back as a subsidiary of the Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG).

"The concept for Spicers Peak Lodge grew from an idea of creating and sharing great experiences in the South East Queensland bush, near where Skroo and I grew up." – Jude Turner

Ups & downs

The company grew quickly, though not without its challenges. "The first Gulf War in 1991 meant we lost money in January and February for the first time ever at Flight Centre, and this pushed us into the domestic airfares market, which was — and still is — very important for us," says Skroo. By the mid-90s, Flight Centre was well on its way to becoming the travel behemoth it is today, being listed officially on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in 1995 for $1 a share. "Many of our people bought shares on the listing. Later, the global financial crisis would cause us serious headaches and our share price plunged to $3.50 from $30 beforehand. Geoff Harris and I bought at these record low prices," says Skroo. 

Today, shares are now back around the $30 mark and FCTG is a large, global organisation of 19,000 people across 3,000 shops in 20 countries, and raking in about $20 billion in sales. But it wasn’t to be the only leading player in the Turner family business ventures, as Jude started becoming restless for her own project. "After moving back to Australia, I continued in various areas into the mid-90s, but by the time Flight Centre floated it seemed I’d become obsolete," says Jude. "It was then that I began building and creating experiences by growing the value of our small property portfolio." This idea would grow into Jude’s Spicers Retreats business. 

Spicers Retreats

"We’d just finished building our family home in Chelmer," recalls Jude. "The concept for Spicers Peak Lodge [the first retreat] grew from an idea of creating and sharing great experiences in the South East Queensland bush, near where Skroo and I grew up. But
we knew it needed to be financially and environmentally sustainable." Financial sustainability has always been a key focus for Jude, after witnessing the financial difficulties Topdeck encountered. "By 1980, after growing from just 5 to more than 70 buses on the road, Topdeck had a serious cashflow problem. It taught us an important lesson in business: cash is king," says Skroo.

Spicers Retreats now represents Australia’s largest group of small retreats. It boasts a $70-million portfolio and 9 established retreats, with a tenth in development, across Queensland and New South Wales. Each property is designed with a different experience in mind and tailored to reflect its unique location. The focus is on high-quality service, homely vibes, and an appreciation of Australia’s quintessential rural settings. With great big sofas, expansive and pristine views, well-stocked bookshelves and ‘help yourself’ honesty bars, Spicers’ rare brand of unpretentious luxury has become a trailblazer for the hospitality market.

Authentic experiences

Jude says some of the challenges faced by the smaller retreats meant it was crucial to identify the right areas for commercial growth, without relinquishing their vision of high-quality experiences. She also quickly identified the need for additional income streams to supplement the model of limited room numbers, with extra features such as restaurants, spas and activities added to the mix. Jude has also been realising the value in opening urban properties in Brisbane (Spicers Balfour) and Sydney (Spicers Potts Point) to attract more international visitors that are more likely to visit capital cities.

Both Spicers and FCTG have managed to intuitively tap into a growing trend in the travel industry: the desire for ‘experiences’, as well as a nice place to stay and a means to get there. "Today, travellers are looking for more authentic experiences rather than manufactured ones," says Skroo. "With FCTG, we see our purpose as ‘opening up the world for those who want to see’ through a range of different travel experiences and having fun." Whether it’s a safari tour in Botswana, a cruise beneath the Northern Lights, a pizza-making class in Napoli, or exploring ancient ruins on the Sicilian coast, Flight Centre posits that its purpose goes beyond making a profit to shaping people’s lives.

More than just places to stay

"Within Spicers Retreats, the venues and locations are also experiences rather than just places to stay and eat," adds Skroo. "Jude tries to make each distinctive, with a real focus on the Australiana experience." Spicers Retreats has embraced the experiential travel model, recently introducing a 4-day hike and mountain biking experience in Queensland known as the Scenic Rim Trail, with luxury glamping accommodation along the trek. Visitors are not only taking part in a fun and challenging physical activity but are exposed to an array of local wildlife, history and conservation efforts on trails freshly carved out by the Turners themselves.

"There’s more focus on the environment now too, and we’re in a unique position to capitalise on this since we’ve always had it in our core values," says Jude. "As working lives become more hectic, people need a place they can get to easily and where they can be rejuvenated for both themselves and their businesses — and there’s no better way than getting in touch with the natural environment. We offer a world-class experience close to home for Australians, and a high-quality Australian experience to overseas visitors." The emphasis on physical activities also stems from the couple’s own love of biking.   

Fitness fans

Jude says she enjoys few things more than a day riding with friends followed by a glass of wine or 2 at the end of the day, while Skroo’s cycling roots stem from his childhood when he would ride 6 kilometres through the bush each day to attend primary school. He later discovered mountain biking in his thirties as a form of fitness and was quickly hooked. "I believe nothing is better than riding through the bush and the mountains on single-track trails," he says. 

The nickname ‘Skroo’ also originates from his schooling years as a sub-senior boarder at Toowoomba Grammar School (TGS) in 1965. One housemaster, Mr Turner, was referred to as ‘Screwdriver’ by the students, after the Turner hardware brand. Sharing the same last name, Graham was called ‘Screw’ as the younger version, later changed to ‘Skroo’. "I loved boarding at TGS. It was such an easy life after the orchard, a lot of friends and plenty of sport — suited me down to the ground." 

"Today, travellers are looking for more authentic experiences rather than manufactured ones. We see our purpose as ‘opening up the world for those who want to see’ through a range of different travel experiences and having fun." – Graham Turner

Skroo goes a step further in making us all seem like lazy couch potatoes with his regular participation in marathons. "Running marathons is something I do for fitness. A focus on fitness and health is important in any organisation, and the leadership team should set the example," he says. "Also, mountain biking and big events like marathons are great for colleagues to do to build teamwork as well as fitness."

Close to nature

Environmental sustainability is also a key value of the Turners, whose love of Australian geography has seen them championing the conservation of bush and farmland. Together they’ve established 5,500 hectares of perpetual nature refuge areas across Hidden Vale, Thornton View and Spicers Peak in South East Queensland in a bid to sustain country hospitality, outdoor recreation, livestock production, and wildlife habitat in perpetuity and balance.

As part of this, the couple joined forces with Ipswich City Council to place more than 3,000 hectares of rural property at Hidden Vale under a Nature Conservation Agreement. They’ve also signed an agreement to reintroduce koala habitat at the site to help protect the region’s threatened koala population. "We hold strongly to our commitment to a sustainable environmental policy and our early days of looking after the bush. It’s very important to me that each Spicers property is sympathetic to its location and the environment around it. All our retreats are designed to be eco-accredited," says Jude.

"I really believe that guests come for the comfortable beds, great food and wine, but what they really gain is a feeling of rejuvenation and relaxation from being in a location close to nature." In addition to scouting out new locations for retreats, Jude says she’s now looking to implement even more eco-activities, similar to the Scenic Rim walking and mountain biking trail offerings, so guests can enjoy a fully immersive experience with the local flora and fauna. She also hopes to grow Spicers by increasing the number of rooms for existing properties to a minimum of 20 where possible, without exceeding the 20–50 room model. 

A terrific & expanding future

"We’re also focused on becoming an employer of choice in the hospitality industry so we get to employ the best and the brightest," she says. "Growing up within Topdeck and Flight Centre for the first 20 years, I helped create the culture of a team where we all work together and respect each other’s expertise and differences. I hope I encourage personal growth and expertise in my staff, where each person can be proud of their own and the company’s combined achievements."

FCTG too is pursuing an ambitious growth strategy for 2022, but one which Skroo believes is very achievable. "As well as growing and expanding our country footprint, we have several major areas we’ll focus on: leisure travel, including youth and student travel, corporate travel, as well as destination tours and ground handling," he says. "Travel is a great industry to be in. It has a terrific and expanding future and we’re right at the heart of this growth."