I am sure everyone would agree, if we could hit reset on 2020 we would. For many the summer of 2020 saw devastating bush fires and now we are all impacted by COVID-19 with an uncertain future for many members and partners. While we are starting to see green shoots of recovery, we are at least 24 months away from a market which represent what we had just 12 weeks ago.

With this being said, I am hopeful the second half of 2020 will improve, that we don’t experience a second wave of COVID-19 and that domestic travel strongly returns with no state border restrictions. It has been really disappointing that New South Wales and Victoria are the only States that have chosen to follow the advice of Australia’s Chief Medical Officer. While Australia’s leading health professionals have made it clear no states should have border controls, those operating within the confines of state government’s appear to have a different objective to flatten the curve to eliminating it. What is clear is that these Premiers are now putting at risk the economic health of their states. They need to follow the Chief Medical officers’ advice and lift border control measures now. We have now written to each of these Premiers to request an urgent review of their own guidelines and further delays will result in unneeded economic and social harm.

Federally you may have seen a shift in language in the last week or so. We have had success in making sure that our politicians around the country understand that the tourism sector was hit first and continues to be one of the hardest hit. Having our public message championed by leading political journalists will help to reinforce our continuation of JobKeeper post September and land tax holidays.

We have had over 10,000 visits to our COVID-19 Hub and I would encourage those members that have not to do so. It contains really helpful information on government subsidies as well as our weekly webinars on topics that we believe will help you navigate COVID-19.  

Regards, Dean Long
CEO - Accommodation Association
Member Services
Government Advocacy
This week we launched our new member portal as part of our website upgrades that we have been rolling out since January.

The Member portal will allow you to have greater access to your account including your property details, which employees can access your member only information, invoices and activating the partner offers . The Member Portal will continue to evolve over the coming months as we add new features to ensure you can maximise all of the benefits of your membership.

The Accommodation Association has created the COVID-19 Hub , a one stop shop for members to access all government announcements and programs.

The Hub is updated daily following announcements from Governments and now contains all of the information you need to reopen your hotel's.

COVID-19 cleaning procedure for your hotel.

The Accommodation Association has now added a COVID-19 cleaning procedure for rooms . This procedure includes advice on how to clean different surfaces and a simple check list for employees to follow, to ensure you are creating a COVID safe hotel.
We have been extremely active in the advocacy space as Governments around Australia have single-handedly closed our industry due to the impact of COVID-19.

We had considerable success in the creation of Cashflow boost 1 and 2, JobKeeper program and the Mandatory Code of Conduct for Rental Tenancy.

These three outcomes have assisted many of you to survive, but we know there is more to do.

We are currently active with all state and Federal Government to advocate for the continuation of these three measures and to ensure our recovery requests are centrally considered.

Last week our Directors and Advisory Board members met with Minister for Tourism Simon Birringham and the QLD Shadow Tourism Mini ster D avid Crisafulli . These meetings with key decision-makers in Government are on top of participation with many Government committees to ensure the needs of our industry are being heard.

All of our submissions are made available to members through our advocacy portal
Meeting with QLD Shadow Tourism Minister, David Crisafulli
Workplace Relations
Legal
As members would know, the Accommodation Association provides IR advice on a range of employment issues and is a registered organisation at Fair Work Australia.

Noel Teskey is the National Manager of Workplace Relations and has been providing advice to many of you for over a decade.

In this newsletter we cover two issues: the recent Federal Court ruling on Casual employment and the importance of following the correct procedure when making a position redundant.

Casual Worker takes Annual Leave entitlement - What to do?

The Federal Court last week handed down a significant judgement on the Workpac Pty Ltd Vs Skene case which may impact how you employee casuals. In this blog we break the case down and provide advice on how ways to correctly manage your workforce.

The Redundancy Epidemic

Most accommodation operators are expecting the impact of COVID-19 to be long-term and see no options other than to reduce staffing levels.

It is important to keep in mind that the unfair dismissal laws have not been relaxed and claims will succeed if redundancies are judged to be not genuine... keep reading on our Workplace Relations Blog

Remember if you have any IR question please get in contact with the team via mail@aaoa.com.au or via phone 02 8666 9015.
Your legal question answered by Mullins Lawyers

Member Question: Due to the downturn in our business as a result of COVID-19, we now want to review or terminate some of our contracts for the supply of goods and services such as perishables, rubbish collection, maintenance, etc. What rights do we have?

Mullins Reply: Your rights will depend on the specific terms of your contract. First, you should look at the term of your contract and when it expires. If your contract is for a set term and if expiry is some way off, then you should check if you have any other general right to terminate, such as by providing the supplier with one month’s notice of termination for any reason.

If your contract includes a force majeure or “act of God” clause then this may be another angle for you to take. Your rights to rely on such a clause will depend on the specific wording of the clause and whether it is broad enough to cover a virus, pandemic, or government-enforced travel restrictions or shut downs (for example).

In some rare cases, the law of frustration may also allow you to terminate your contract if factors outside of your control, such as COVID-19 or new government restrictions on gatherings or travel, now make it impossible for a party to perform their obligations under the contract. However, the law of frustration is complex and will only apply in very rare cases, depending on the nature of the parties’ obligations under the contract.

If you are looking to review or terminate your contracts and need a sounding board, please contact Matthew Bradford at Mullins at mbradford@mullinslawyers.com.au
Zooming along - Connecting to industry with relief and recovery webinars
 
The Accommodation Association has been working closely with our members and partners to schedule an exciting series of webinars to keep members informed throughout this difficult trading period.

Since the end of April, our webinar series has been attended by over 1,000 attendees from around the country to tune in and hear from industry leaders, providing industry with updates on the JobKeeper payment, technology innovations, Mandatory Tenancy Code and guidance on managing your mind and body. Visit our website to the recordings of our past webinars.

Upcoming webinars to look out for:
  • Amadeus GDS Bookings and Market Trends - 4 June
  • Optimise your TripAdvisor Listing - 9 June
  • American Express - Managing Chargebacks and Disputes - 16 June
  • Victorian Members Briefing from Visit Victoria and Melbourne Convention Bureau - 18 June
The Accommodation Association has Corporate Partners to assist in lowering the costs of your business as well as providing unique solutions to our specific problems. If you haven't already, we recommend you speak to these partners to see what they can do for you

For more than 30 years Hostplus has been a leading Industry SuperFund with a proudly members-First Culture. This philisophy has never been more important than it is today.



How do you ensure you COVID-19 Safe? Try Mobile Access solution to allow guests to check in, skip queues, access all areas, and their room using only their mobile phones

Keep your business and employees safe and clean with Scott's Hand Sanitiser now available for bulk order delivery or in-store.

Frustrated with paying outrageous commission fees of 35% for food delivery platform services?

Well it is time to correct the imbalance and get a greater piece of the profit pie with 13things delivered by 13cabs with its 40,000 professional Drivers and 10,000 cab fleet nationwide, 13things can make a difference to helping you regain profits.

13things, delivered by 13cabs can assist your hotel if you're still operating your restaurant or café with a more profitable way to take back control of their food deliveries. 
Don't drop your rate because of COVID, find your customer that values your product

Leonards Advertising is providing complimentary marketing support in these difficult times to help Accommodation Association members prepare for when coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

Leonards is a tourism leader in media placement and works with regional and metropolitan outlets to get the best outcomes for their clients

Be ahead of the curve, with your go-to-market strategy. E-mail to organise a free audit at info@leonards.net.au
L ifestylepanel develops precision tracking system - Health Kiosk & LSPTRAK

The tracking system can track and analyse the movement of individuals or objects within 30 – 50cm of their actual locations within multi-storey buildings.

The individual or object being tracked can be registered via smartphone handset or an array of low-cost Bluetooth (BLE) beacons. The system does not require expensive networking and is easily deployed within days.

ShineWing is helping you and your business respond to COVID-19
 
Our trusted advisors and accountants are fully resourced to support you remotely through this time:

·    Cash flow budgeting
·    Assistance with refinancing 
·    Rent relief application
·    Land tax relief application

Visit our dedicated COVID-19 page or contact Andy Lau on +61 3 8635 1828 . 
Accommodation Association and Olive Learning Partnership

The Accommodation Association has launched a new range of online training courses by Olive Learning and other selected training providers. 

The courses provide industry with the opportunity to up-skill their team to enhance the current underpinning skills and also gain further knowledge that aligns to industry standards. The online courses are hugely discounted to enable industry to up-skill. 

Online courses are offered on over 20 different topics including communication strategies, conflict Resolution and change management


ARMA is offering a selection of free webinars and training tutorials to Accommodation Association members. The webinars include a commercial strategy for a “new normal” in leisure, tourism and hospitality.

ARMA will host its 5th annual revenue management summit for 2020 as a virtual event on July 28 and 29. The two day Summit can be attended from the comfort of your location and features keynote speakers, workshop, panels and the popular genius zone strategy sessions. Attend live or consume the content later with your 30-day access pass. Member rate available .