Hotel SA September 2023

W O M E N I N H O T E L S
OUR TIME TO SHINE
“Women are the backbone of
this state’s hospitality industry,”
according to the Minister for
Tourism, Zoe Bettison.
Giving the opening address to
the biennial Women In Hotels
Conference, she praised its 29-
year history and the way it inspires
delegates, allows them to share
knowledge and to strengthen
networks.
• The Minister has attended the
conference on several occasion.
• She noted that women are often
a key decision maker or director,
that more female licensees are
running their own venues and
are in executive positions in
accommodation.
• Minister Bettison revealed that
the current visitor spend of
$9.4b was a record high, 16%
up on pre-Covid levels. April was
the strongest month on record
thanks to two new events, LIV
Golf and AFL Gather Round.
• That spend flowed into hotels
and bars, with higher room
values.
• She said the goal was to achieve
that level of visitor nights and
spending across the entire year.
• The Minister urged hotel
employees to be ambassadors
for SA, saying “it is our time
to shine.”
• “Each and every one of you
play a role... and your people
connections make a difference.”
WE’RE HERE TO HELP
The strong message from AHA|SA
CEO, Anna Moeller, was: “We are
here to help.”
• She outlined the wide range of
services provided by the AHA|SA,
as well as the plethora of issues
the Association is working on,
including:
• the Late Night Code
• liquor restrictions
• enterprise bargaining
• licensing submissions
• a gaming machine trading
round review… and much
more.
• “Make sure you access our help
when you need it,” she urged
delegates. “We’re like your
insurance cover.”
Katherine Taylor, Manager of
Accommodation and Tourism
spoke about the formation of
Accommodation Australia:
• Accommodation Australia
is the amalgamation of the
accommodation division of the
AHA and the Accommodation
Association of Australia.
• Not only will it provide a
unified voice, the appointment
of respected industry figure
Jenny Lambert will “help
Accommodation Australia
tackle the number one issue
holding back the sector – the
skills crisis.”
Natarsha Stevenson outlined her
two roles at the AHA|SA: Chief of
Staff to the CEO – a new position;
and Manager of Policy and
Research (Gaming Care).
• The Chief of Staff role sees her
working closely with Anna and
is “an evolution” of the work she
has been doing.
• This includes meeting with
industry representatives and
key stakeholders, preparing
submissions to government,
briefing papers and engaging
with government and other
stakeholders to represent
members.
• Natarsha touched on a range of
issues, including responses to
the ongoing skills shortage, the
Late Night Code and a review
of training for gaming.
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