industry & reform
On the ship, there will be a mini-mall stocked with luxury brands
and a global showcase for local merchandise. For those with more
particular tastes and proclivities, they can pay extra for an à la carte
menu to sample from, as well as butler services, massage and
beauty therapies, a classic car fleet and VIP floatplane services.
The founders expect residents to hail from all continents, but
Australia and Asia in particular. All nationalities and people are
invited on board, provided they abide by the Elysium code of
conduct, submit to a background check, and have a passport that
allows them into Bahaman territory.
It may sound futuristic, but Andre and Avril are all in. (Their
website displays a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln: “The
way to predict the future is to create it.”) Over the last five years,
under their company Concept Ideas Pty Ltd, they have devoted
2500 hours to the concept and, at least for now, hold 100 per cent
of shares.
While the market may be niche, they are confident that it’s there.
In talking to several land-based premium aged care providers, they
were astonished by the extent of demand. The directors of these
high-class homes would tell them of waiting lists that stretched
into years – precious years, if you only have a few left.
Moreover, as Andre points out, “Thirty million people a year
cruise. Out of that, 50 per cent are actually above the age of 50,
and 33 per cent, or 10 million, above the age of 65.
“Effectively, premium aged care is actually under-catered for
and over-subscribed. Our vision was a solution to that, and priced
the same as what a land-based facility is.”
The marketing campaign, as launched by Oxygen Media, began
in mid-March. Despite the pandemic dramatically curbing travel
by government decree and consumer choice, there were three
expressions of interest in the first week.
Soul mates and business deals at sea
Beyond the gourmet food, garnishings and lavish comfort of
Elysium’s promise, there is another distinguishing feature the
founders hope to introduce which has a far more humanist appeal.
Often, when a resident is admitted into an aged care home,
they must go in alone. It is perhaps the most painful wrenching
from the familiar, separated from their life partner of however
many years.
“One of the things we felt was very important was that with our
facilities, you can come on still as a couple,” says Andre.
“You both pay an allowance a day, but you’re together, and we
think that’s really important. So many people – in fact one in three
– suffer from loneliness and depression when they go through
aged care.” Couples on the Elysium are allowed to share a double
bed or a double room, till death do them part.
There are also several rooms tucked away in the middle of
the ship – without the glorious sea view – which are set aside
specifically for short-term rentals from visiting relatives and
friends. The Sidlers are excited about what this entails for the
family dynamic: where a visit to an elderly resident is transformed
from a guilt-ridden obligation to a chance to join them on an
adventure abroad.
“Rather than just a few hours of driving up to see Nana or
Grandad at an aged care facility, where the children are bored,
you get quality immersion,” they say. “It’s real quality time with
relatives, or friends and family and colleagues.
“Visitors can enjoy everything that the residents can enjoy, and
more importantly, it gives them an opportunity for the residents to
show off and say, ‘Hey, get a load of my life!’”
The luxury cruise liner Ovation of the Seas in
Darwin harbour in 2017. Photo: Tauri Minogue
Andre and Avril also want residents and/or their partners to
be empowered to continue pursuing their business ideas and
ambitions, should they so wish. There will be business office
spaces available, and executive staterooms for C-suiters. An infirm
body does not denote a mushy mind, and Elysium wishes to
honour the identities that residents bore in their more hale years.
This spirit underlines their motto: “Adding life to your years, and
years to your life.”
“Statistically, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that the
average time of those in aged care is 35 months,” says Andre.
“I inquired further to say, ‘Well, look, where are the stats for
people staying longer?’ They came back and said, ‘They don’t stay
longer. They usually die within that area of time. They don’t live
longer than five years in an aged care facility.’
“This is not a retirement village. This is where people need
low to medium and high levels of care statistically in the last 35
months of their life.
“We’re looking to improve that [ABS] statistic.”
Finding a fit-for-purpose ship
The search for a luxury cruise ship is easier than you’d think.
For Andre, all it took was a Google search.
“There are actually about three websites out there that will show
you flagships that are currently up for sale,” he tells me. “They vary
from $1 million, all the way up to $150 million. It’s like a car yard.
You go in there and say, ‘Well, what’s wrong with that ship that it’s
only selling for $3 million but is about 100 cabins large?’”
To aid their reconnaissance, they commissioned UK maritime
consultant firm G.P. Wild (International) to create a feasibility report
for them. Was this even viable? What would need to be done to
reconfigure the ship so that it was suitable for residents needing
24/7 medical support? What upfront and ongoing sums would it
require to power such a complex operation?
The list the consultant supplied had 26 feasible ships, which
were whittled down to three. The Sidlers’ frontrunner is a 25-yearold
luxury cruise liner, discovered through the shipbroker SeaBoats
– which deals in everything from fishing boats built in Xiamen,
to catamarans built in Germany, to pontoons, super yachts
and houseboats.
Captain Peter Cookson, the director of SeaBoats Australia, was
used to hearing left-of-field ideas. In fact, he says, this wasn’t the
first time he’d heard of such a proposal. But where previous parties
were more than a few shades naive about what such an enterprise
would entail, Cookson was impressed by not only Andre’s
persistence, but the comprehensive research he’d put in.
18 agedcareinsite.com.au