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How Tasmania GM finds and keeps the best staff

“I am so lucky to be part of what I call immersive hospitality,” says Ross Boobyer, newly promoted GM of Saffire Freycinet, a 20-villa independent resort in Freycinet National Park on the southeast coast of Tasmania, the island south of Australia.

“We have the natural beauty that today’s global travelers crave,” he continued. The success of the product is shown by the fact that every year November through March, Australia’s summer, the property runs 95% to 98% occupancy with Saturdays invariably 100%.

General Manager Ross Boobyer at Saffire Freycinet
General Manager Ross Boobyer at Saffire Freycinet

Saffire Freycinet came about because its owner, Federal Group, headquartered in Sandy Bay, Tasmania, wanted to extend its gaming license from the government of the island, one of Australia’s states. To get the extension, Federal Group CEO Greg Farrell – whose grandfather started the company – promised to add a resort to its hospitality portfolio, which is all on Tasmania. A caravan and mobile home park was demolished to make way for Saffire Freycinet, which opened in 2010.

“We offer seamless service, which starts at a dedicated arrivals lounge at Hobart airport, which is 2.5 hours’ drive away. We employ four drivers, based in Hobart, who then bring newcomers to the resort,” said Boobyer, who was brought up in the countryside, in New South Wales, on Australia’s mainland.

The resort is all-inclusive, which includes ground transport and, thereafter, a level generally only achieved by top-level cruise companies. As well as all meals and drinks, there are 14 complimentary activities, of which the most popular is visiting a nearby oyster farm.

Up to ten guests at each two-hour “expedition” are helped into shoulder-high waterproof waders. They are led slowly through 2-foot-high shallows to an area where thousands of baby oysters are sleeping, as if in dormitories, in suspended wire cages that sit above the water at low tide but are submerged at high tide. Next, they are escorted another few yards to a permanently suspended high table already set with a white linen cloth and wine glasses. Resort staff bring dozens of mature oysters, shuck them, produce a local wine, and a good time is had by all.

With overall 2018 occupancy showing 78%, Boobyer has no problem filling bedrooms: His main market is Australia’s mainland, followed, at 16%, by the U.S. (average American length of stay is 2.8 nights). His challenges, however, are location-based. Continuous maintenance checks are necessary in a coastal climate, and in addition the resort closes every two years for a two-week thorough overhaul. And, other than his Hobart drivers, how does he get the other 92 employees he needs?

“F&B is the biggest challenge in staffing, although our food reputation helps there. We house nearly everyone, in a custom-built village six miles from the resort, and they usually only work five days a week. We also attract Australia’s younger millennials, who follow a culture of nature and healthy living and sustainability. This creates empathy between them and guests,” Boobyer explained.

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