Hotel SA November 2023

The Changing Face
Of Hotels
From the CEO
ANNA MOELLER
Our recent awards night speaks
volumes about our industry as
a whole.
On the surface, it is a celebration of
the best hotels in South Australia
and this is acknowledged in our
special coverage in this issue of
Hotel SA, and by our President in
his column (see previous page).
Yet at a deeper level, our awards
give a compelling insight into our
sector as a whole. Several aspects
struck me on the night and I would
like to share with those you.
One was the youthful vibrancy in
the room. I know that in previous
decades the awards were a lot more
formal, with mandatory dinner suits
and gowns, and a lot higher average
age! It was a reflection of the times.
Today, publicans are a lot more
inclusive and this is seen in the
profile of the awards audience at the
Entertainment Centre. Our members
now see it as an opportunity to
invite key staff to the event as a way
of saying “thank you” and to share
in the joy of success. It was so
wonderful to see minibuses pull up,
full of excited young staff looking
forward to an exciting night and with
any luck victory for their own venue.
“Hotels have become a melting pot
of cultures. As I so often say our
hotels are, and absolutely should be,
a reflection of the communities within
which they reside.”
Our youth is the future of the
industry. They bring modern skills,
new expectations and lifeblood into
an ever-evolving and vibrant industry
that employs over 26,000 people in
this state.
Another feature of the night was the
gender balance. When I look back at
photos from previous decades, the
room was largely filled with men.
Now we see equal representation of
women of all ages and all positions.
We are a female-friendly industry
and this is reflected in our pubs and
hotels, and in their success.
A politician I spoke to on the night
was impressed by the multicultural
nature of guests and asked if this
was reflective of hotel staff in
2023. The answer I gave was a
resounding “Yes”.
What was a predominantly white,
Anglo Saxon industry last century,
is now incredibly diverse and
very reflective of society at large.
Hotels have become a melting pot
of cultures. As I so often say our
hotels are, and absolutely should
be, a reflection of the communities
within which they reside.
This is significant because not
only does it bring fresh ideas
into hotels, it makes hotels
more appealing to the Australian
public. We mirror the society we
operate in. We have always taken
pride in the fact that our venues
support local communities like
no other commercial sector, and
the diversity of ‘culture and creed’
makes us truly representative of
these communities.
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