Making a Splash at Sea World

To officially open the 2004 AHA National Convention, over 300 hoteliers, sponsors and AHA executives gathered together for a night of fun at Gold Coast’s famous theme park – Sea World.

Delegates were treated to the thrills and spills of the Sea World adventure park with exclusive access to some fabulous shows, Shark Bay & the amazing rides & rollercoasters.

Delegates enjoyed a range of food and beverages generously supplied by our sponsors and the Spring edition of OURhotel magazine was launched with a bang by the talented daredevil skiers at the Ski Show.

Sports Lunch

Many were caught up in the pace of the racing cars at the Sports Lunch, however attention quickly turned from the cars to our incredible guest speakers. Geoff Heugill, Natalie Cook and Johnny Garfield made the lunch a very entertaining occasion.

Thanks to the generosity of all present we were able to raise an amazing $4,550 for Mission Australia, the chosen charity of the AHA. Over $1,000 of the money raised came from Peter Howard of the Royal Hotel, NSW.

Back to Business

The 2004 Convention incorporated a fresh new format featuring two quality days of business sessions. Leaders of our industry spoke on hot topics currently impacting the bottom line of our hotels.

International Corporate Strategist, Goran Roos provided some great insights for hoteliers in his presentation on the Interdependence between Small Business & Policy.

The burning issue of Smoking was explored in depth by Bevan Douglas and David Cass and delegates were given an overview of the current state and future of TABCORP, by their Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Matthew Slatter.

John Borghetti, Executive General Manager of Qantas Airways updated delegates on the impact of low cost carriers and future trends in the airline industry, Richard Bowly provided some key insights on the importance of food in hotels and top security specialists spoke on Security Risks to Hotels.

Finally who could forget Janine Shepherd’s inspiring story of defying the odds and overcoming adversity.

Other Convention Highlights