Hotel SA November 2023
P U B L I C A N P R O F I L E “I love that our industry is based primarily on real emotional connection between people.” Lisa with sons Max and Tom and husband Graham. “With the assistance of some wonderful, supportive people in the industry, including my husband who was a solicitor and insurance broker, I was able to work my way through it all successfully. When my father eventually returned, he left me in charge of the jobs I had been doing.” Lisa’s passion for psychology has remained and is one of the reasons she is so passionate about hotels. “I love that our industry is based primarily on real emotional connection between people,” she said. “I understand there’s a business side where we focus on investment returns and margins but when you boil it right down, it really is a people-based business, and our success is based on how we make people feel”. “It requires teamwork, collaboration, and an ability to understand how our actions impact the experience others have”. “I think that this is all encompassing, not just for customers, but for our suppliers, our employees, and the communities in which our hotels operate. This comes back to the culture that we create, and that’s the bit that really interests me. I think it’s more powerful than people probably think it is.” Lisa, who knows more about the hotel industry than most, has sound advice for women looking to follow in her footsteps. “Like many industries in the past, ours has historically been male dominated but I don’t believe that’s necessarily the case anymore,” she said. “Our industry is extraordinarily diverse, and like our community, constantly evolving. For our industry to remain relevant, I think it needs to continually move with the times.” In fact, out of the nine venues owned by the Matthews Hospitality Group, more than 50% have female venue managers. “If I go back to my grandmother’s time, traits like empathy would have been seen as unimportant for management. Now, we recognise it as a sign of being an effective leader because it allows people to build trust and connect with staff and our customers, and women are very good at this.” said Lisa. “I’m just so very grateful and proud to have brilliant and supportive people around me at our company. Without them continually reinforcing the culture we are trying to develop, we wouldn’t be successful.” Lisa with brothers Scott and Ward, grandparents Dossie and Seymour, and father Tony at the Feathers Hotel in 1988. 18 | Hotel SA | W W W . A H A S A . A S N . A U Back to Contents
P E A K S E A S O N Getting Ready For The Festive Season Whether it’s your first Christmas and New Year running a pub, or your fiftieth, it’s always good to check you are fully prepared for peak season. Many hotels have their own checklist. For those that don’t, Hotel SA offers a few suggestions to get you started. DO THE BASICS • Watch your costs. Some Xmas menus are released eight months in advance, with set prices. There is a danger that some costs will increase during this time. If, for example, the price of beef soars, how will you ensure that you retain your margins? • As you add temporary staff to cater for peak demand, make sure your employment contracts are all in order. • Remind and train staff about their responsible service of alcohol obligations. The festive season does not dilute your obligations. • If certain dates are quiet, give them a special theme and then use your database to conduct email marketing. • Make sure you are using internal promotions (posters, TV screens etc) to publicise the right events (that is, the dates that aren’t filling as fast as you would like). • You can also promote the fact that some dates are sold out. Nothing prompts people to book like scarcity. • Plug your Christmas menus and other promotions on social media. • If you are really nervous that numbers are down, harness the power of online advertising. Make sure you localise your ads, select the best keywords and use any profiling options (eg. tradies, white collar workers, female, male etc). • Introduce a deposit for peak days in order to limit “no shows”. • Also, use automated technology through your booking platform – or organise a member of staff to phone each reservation contact – to ensure you aren’t faced with empty tables. • Advertise your opening hours, including the bottle shop. • Reorganise your bottleshop so that easy gift ideas that attract good margin are prominently displayed, so that busy shoppers can ‘grab and go’. Back to Contents W W W . A H A S A . A S N . A U | Hotel SA | 19
- Page 1 and 2: THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AUS
- Page 3 and 4: Shortcut to Stories NOVEMBER 2023 C
- Page 5 and 6: F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T AWA
- Page 7 and 8: F R O M T H E C E O Treasurer Steph
- Page 9 and 10: A H A | S A A W A R D S BEST OF THE
- Page 11 and 12: T H E E L E P H A N T H O T E L Sto
- Page 13 and 14: H O T E L E L L I O T A1 FRUIT & VE
- Page 15 and 16: T H E E L E P H A N T H O T E L A g
- Page 17: sons, Max and Tom, who are now 29 a
- Page 21 and 22: P E A K S E A S O N • Does your X
- Page 23 and 24: P E A K S E A S O N “Consider cro
- Page 25 and 26: R E G I O N A L M E E T I N G S The
- Page 27 and 28: The Unley-based venue also claimed
- Page 29 and 30: Best Overall Hotel - Country Divisi
- Page 31 and 32: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 10. Reta
- Page 33 and 34: 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 28. Rest
- Page 35 and 36: HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENC
- Page 37 and 38: A H A | S A A W A R D S Back to Con
- Page 39 and 40: HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENC
- Page 41 and 42: A H A | S A A W A R D S Back to Con
- Page 43 and 44: GAMING CARE GAMING CARE works with
- Page 45: L I C E N S E E T R A N S F E R S N
P U B L I C A N P R O F I L E<br />
“I love that our<br />
industry is based<br />
primarily on<br />
real emotional<br />
connection<br />
between people.”<br />
Lisa with sons Max and Tom and<br />
husband Graham.<br />
“With the assistance of some<br />
wonderful, supportive people in<br />
the industry, including my husband<br />
who was a solicitor and insurance<br />
broker, I was able to work my way<br />
through it all successfully. When<br />
my father eventually returned, he<br />
left me in charge of the jobs I had<br />
been doing.”<br />
Lisa’s passion for psychology has<br />
remained and is one of the reasons<br />
she is so passionate about hotels.<br />
“I love that our industry is based<br />
primarily on real emotional<br />
connection between people,”<br />
she said. “I understand there’s a<br />
business side where we focus on<br />
investment returns and margins but<br />
when you boil it right down, it really<br />
is a people-based business, and our<br />
success is based on how we make<br />
people feel”.<br />
“It requires teamwork, collaboration,<br />
and an ability to understand how<br />
our actions impact the experience<br />
others have”.<br />
“I think that this is all<br />
encompassing, not just for<br />
customers, but for our suppliers,<br />
our employees, and the<br />
communities in which our hotels<br />
operate. This comes back to the<br />
culture that we create, and that’s<br />
the bit that really interests me.<br />
I think it’s more powerful than<br />
people probably think it is.”<br />
Lisa, who knows more about the<br />
hotel industry than most, has sound<br />
advice for women looking to follow<br />
in her footsteps.<br />
“Like many industries in the past,<br />
ours has historically been male<br />
dominated but I don’t believe that’s<br />
necessarily the case anymore,” she<br />
said. “Our industry is extraordinarily<br />
diverse, and like our community,<br />
constantly evolving. For our industry<br />
to remain relevant, I think it needs to<br />
continually move with the times.”<br />
In fact, out of the nine venues<br />
owned by the Matthews Hospitality<br />
Group, more than 50% have female<br />
venue managers.<br />
“If I go back to my grandmother’s<br />
time, traits like empathy would<br />
have been seen as unimportant for<br />
management. Now, we recognise<br />
it as a sign of being an effective<br />
leader because it allows people to<br />
build trust and connect with staff<br />
and our customers, and women are<br />
very good at this.” said Lisa.<br />
“I’m just so very grateful and proud<br />
to have brilliant and supportive<br />
people around me at our company.<br />
Without them continually reinforcing<br />
the culture we are trying to develop,<br />
we wouldn’t be successful.”<br />
Lisa with brothers Scott and Ward, grandparents Dossie and Seymour, and father Tony at the Feathers<br />
<strong>Hotel</strong> in 1988.<br />
18 | <strong>Hotel</strong> <strong>SA</strong> | W W W . A H A S A . A S N . A U Back to Contents
Change language