James Goodwin: Telling the accommodation story this election
We need to engage with all sides of politics and tell our story—because, as an industry, we have a compelling one to share.
There is no better time to tell the story of our great accommodation industry than in the lead-up to a federal election.
It’s one of the rare times when politicians of all stripes are out on the hustings, travelling the country and actually listening to the community.
First published in the new Autumn edition of AccomNews print edition HERE
The national office of our Association, as always, is geared up and ready for the campaign—but it’s also the perfect time for our members, both big and small, to speak up as well.
The politicians and candidates will be staying in your accommodation properties, so don’t waste an opportunity to—politely—tell them what’s on your mind or what support you need.
In these tough economic times, we must ensure our concerns and our vision for the future are clearly articulated. We need to engage with all sides of politics and tell our story—because, as an industry, we have a compelling one to share.
The latest data shows that, nationally, we employ almost 110,000 people in their main job and another 50,000 in additional part-time or casual roles. These are hardworking Australians supplementing their household income through work in our industry. More than 40 percent of these jobs are in regional Australia, and almost 60 percent are held by women.
Our industry generated more than $21.2 billion in tourism-related revenue in 2023–24 and, together with other sectors in the accommodation and food services industry, contributed over $60 billion in value added to the Australian economy.
Most remarkably, we did that while still recovering from the devastating impact of the pandemic restrictions. And we did it at a time when international holiday visitor nights remain 11 percent below pre-pandemic levels and total international visitor arrivals are still 12 percent lower.
Long before the election date was decided, our Association had been working to narrow down the industry’s five key priorities—a roadmap, or manifesto if you will—for whoever forms government post-election to understand just what our sector needs.
The five key priorities are:
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Tourism demand
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Training and skills
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Migration
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Short-term rental accommodation
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Energy, tax, and small business support
Tourism demand is a key priority. International tourism to Australia grows when travellers are inspired to visit—for example, by increasing Tourism Australia’s funding to $200 million per year, plus an additional $20 million for events.
We also need to increase and diversify international and domestic aviation capacity and competition so travellers can get here. It’s promising to see some recent developments in this area, particularly in NSW with the new Western Sydney Airport.
We should also freeze the Passenger Movement Charge and invest more of its proceeds into improving the traveller border processing experience.
The next two priorities—training and skills, and migration—are two sides of the same coin: staffing.
We need to better train the people we have here and also be able to supplement the workforce with skilled employees from overseas.
The accommodation and food service industry, with its one-million-strong workforce, should be treated as a priority for training funding. This would enable higher productivity in our labour-intensive industry and facilitate more post-school qualifications for workers.
We also want to improve employer incentives for food trades apprentices and restore hospitality traineeship incentives.
To support our workforce further, we recommend a minimum of 47,000 employer-sponsored places per year within the permanent migration program. Restaurant managers should be restored to the Core Skills Occupation List, and all key skilled occupations vital to hospitality should remain eligible for sponsorship.
We also call for regional employers to be allowed to sponsor all skilled occupations for temporary or permanent migration.
The Skilling Australians Fund levy should be halved. Faster processing times must be maintained, and access for working holidaymakers to second and third-year visas should remain tied to regional work—while also broadening the definition of regional areas.
Short-term rental accommodation (STRA) is a hot topic and a key priority.
To improve housing availability and affordability, we support a national framework for the regulation of short-term rentals. We recommend establishing a national registration system, a cap of 90 days per year—with local governments able to set lower limits—and effective enforcement of those rules.
Energy, tax, and small business support are critical areas of concern for our industry.
We need incentives and subsidies to alleviate the increasing cost of energy, and we must retain hospitality’s access to gas as an energy source.
We also advocate for the removal of fringe benefits tax on legitimate business entertainment expenses and the restoration of deductibility for small businesses—excluding alcohol costs. Increasing the accelerated depreciation rate for accommodation properties would improve cash flow and support hotel refurbishments.
These priorities will be front and centre as we walk the corridors of power, representing you at the highest levels during and after the election campaign.
Don’t be afraid to make your voice heard, too, if you find yourself shoulder-to-shoulder with a pollie in the coming weeks—we’ve got a great story to tell. Let’s take every opportunity to tell it.
