One of the things I love most about my role as CEO + Founder of RevenYou is meeting accommodation owners whose journeys challenge the traditional path into business ownership.
Some come from hospitality backgrounds, while others arrive from completely different industries. What they all share is a willingness to take a chance, learn quickly and build something meaningful.
Anna and Nathan, a couple, left successful careers in the oil and gas industry to pursue a very different future.
Their journey through motel ownership has included floods, bushfires, COVID, staffing shortages, major renovations and 18 months travelling Australia between businesses.
Along the way, they have transformed struggling properties, built substantial value and created a lifestyle on their own terms.
Trading FIFO Life for a Shared Future
Before entering the accommodation industry, Anna and Nathan both worked in oil and gas. The careers were rewarding professionally, but they came with a high personal cost.
Freshly married, they found themselves spending long periods apart as work commitments took them to different parts of Australia and overseas.
"We'd just got married and were spending huge periods apart," Anna explained. "It wasn't the lifestyle we wanted."
The idea of motel ownership came from Anna's father, who had spent years working in accommodation businesses. He recognised that motels could give the couple an opportunity to work together, use many of their existing skills, and build a future in the same location.
Rather than starting over with another career path, they decided to take the leap into business ownership.
Learning the Hard Way
Like many first-time owners, their motel journey began with a steep learning curve.
Their first property in North Haven delivered more than its fair share of challenges. During their ownership, they dealt with bushfires, flooding and the uncertainty of COVID, all while learning the realities of running an accommodation business.
Far from discouraging them, those experiences accelerated their growth as operators.
By focusing on renovations, guest experience and operational improvements, they significantly increased the motel's net profit before selling.
Their second property in Emerald presented a completely different challenge.
Moving from a leisure tourism market into a mining and agricultural region meant learning the complexities of corporate accommodation, revenue management and distribution systems. At the same time, staffing shortages during the COVID recovery period created enormous operational pressure.
Yet once again, they focused on improvement rather than excuses. Through extensive upgrades, stronger systems and strategic planning, they doubled net profit during their ownership.
The Reality of Working Together
Going from seeing each other only occasionally to working together every day was one of their biggest adjustments.
Their success as a couple in business comes down to a few simple principles:
- Respect each other's strengths
- Communicate constantly
- Know when to step in and support each other
- Recognise when the other person needs space
Rather than creating separate responsibilities, they deliberately maintain overlap in most areas of the business. Both understand what's happening operationally, financially and strategically.
That shared understanding has become one of the foundations of their success.
Continue reading more from Tamie Matthews, founder of RevenYou here
