Finding And Keeping Talent with Matthew Cameron-Smith from Voyages

Don’t Forget to Subscribe! Welcome hosts and managers to another awesome episode of The Accommodation Show! With COVID-19 as the spur, and other factors adding energy — the hospitality industry is facing extraordinary labor shortages and it’s pretty clear that we need to make employee retention a strategic priority. In this episode, we roll up our sleeves and get down to business with none other than Matthew Cameron-Smith, CEO of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia. A true legend in the industry. Voyages is responsible for providing enriching and authentic Australian experiences throughout it’s collection of resorts. Voyages is perhaps best known for its Ayers Rock Resort which overlooks the infamous Uluru and also Kata Tjuta in Australia's Northern Territory. Matthew has a great understanding of how important each and every role of his staff is and how to build a thriving team culture. He answers your burning questions on how to attract and maintain talent in the current challenging climate and the steps that they have made to grow the symbiotic relationship between tourism and the local Anangu community. His insight into creative solutions and opportunities presented by the staffing crisis is unmatched. Matthew Cameron-Smith commenced as CEO of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia (Voyages) in August 2020. Voyages offer experience-based holidays in spectacular wilderness locations in the Red Centre in the Northern Territory and at Mossman Gorge in Tropical North Queensland. The organization has a strong commitment to social responsibility, all profits from all business activities go towards supporting Indigenous training and employment across Australia. We are focused on providing guests with enriching, memorable experiences that they would not be able to enjoy anywhere else in Australia. Matthew has an extensive and highly successful background in national and international tourism, joining Voyages from The Travel Corporation, where he spent almost 10 years leading the Trafalgar Guided Holidays brand as well as his most recent position as Global CEO of AAT Kings. His prior experience has included roles with Tourism Australia - promoting the country in the UK and Europe markets, global roles with Rydges Hotels & Resorts, South Bank Parklands, and Dreamworld. This was a really interesting chat with Matt who's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all things hospitality. It was a true honor to record this episode with him and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you guys. Top things that we cover in this episode: Ensuring staff sees the industry as a viable career path. Building a positive culture. Improving employee engagement. Ensuring adequate training to grow confidence. How to attract and maintain talent. The future of hospitality.