In today’s hospitality industry, personalisation is more important than ever before. Guests and staff want to feel valued as people, not as commodities.

But in this modern era, when large, multi-brand hotel groups are dominating the landscape, it is easy to feel a disconnect between the company and the experience. What we need is to show a little love!

The name “Amora” derives from the word “love”, and we try to emphasise our love for our guests and staff in every aspect of our business. This philosophy is now underpinning our growth as we embark on a new era of expansion across Australia and beyond.

Amora expansion to reach every state capital CBD:

Currently, Amora operates three hotels in Australia – Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney, Amora Hotel Riverwalk Melbourne, and our newest property, Amora Hotel Brisbane – all of which command prime CBD locations.

I recently concluded trips to Adelaide and Perth, and our goal is to have a hotel in the centre of all Australian state capital cities within five years. We are also in discussions over future opportunities in Auckland, as well as building upon our existing portfolio of three hotels in Thailand.

But how, as an independent hotel group, can we compete with the world’s biggest operators?

Emotional connections the key to success:

Following a 25-year career with major brands including Starwood, Rydges, and most recently Stamford Hotels & Resorts, I have worked on both sides.

When I took over as Vice President of Operations for Amora Hotels & Resorts in 2023, I understood that establishing a personal connection would be the key to success. What Amora can do better is offer the human touch.

Being smaller, we have the opportunity to create an emotional bond not only with our guests, but also with our team members. This has become increasingly important in terms of human resources.

After the global pandemic, the hospitality industry is not as appealing as it was before, so we need to attract people with passion. In order to do this, we have to understand them and their needs. I always say that hiring people is a two-way process: they will help us to grow, but we have a duty to grow them as well.

One of the first things when I joined Amora was to focus on people and build a strong and competent leadership team which would enable us to grow and take the business to the next level.

I have always believed in developing people who have the right attitude and creating career paths for them through learning, development and succession planning, as this will define the future of Amora

People, Service, Profit – in that order:

This people-first strategy underpins our success. Amora focuses on three things: People, Service, Profit – in that order. We believe that if we look after our people, they will keep our guests happy, and if our guests are happy, they will keep coming back and we will make a profit.

We are already seeing the results of this strategy; all three of our hotels in Australia are running very healthy occupancy and GOP, and at Amora Hotel Riverwalk Melbourne for example, almost 60% of our clientele is repeat business.

One of our core strengths is that we are an owner-operator, so we can control every aspect of our experience. And this will continue as we expand. We are mainly seeking rebrandings and refurbishments, but also potential conversions.

Crucially, every Amora property has to be in a prime location, and it has to be operated under our own brand. Our newly-opened head office in Sydney is making it easier to consolidate our operational processes, which, in turn, is driving our sales, revenue and profitability, and providing a solid platform for our future growth.

The hospitality industry is facing a conundrum; guests are increasingly seeking curated, heartfelt experiences, but these experiences are becoming increasingly difficult to find. At Amora, we are showing that it is possible to grow while also retaining a personal touch – all you need is love!