David Steytler
David Steytler is one busy guy. He owns Three Anchors, the White Star and is President of the ACCI. Somehow he managed to find some time to sit down with Rob to talk about how he keeps on top of everything and how he has managed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Did you always want to own your own pub?
Buying a bar was never on my radar. My background is actually in accounting and business consulting. When I first moved to the Great Southern region nearly 15 years ago, I was working at Forest Hill Wines as their internal Accountant. It wasn’t until they opened their restaurant that I gained real exposure to the hospitality industry. Later when I left Forest Hill Wines, I was doing consultancy work for Tanglehead Brewery (now the White Star) and it was during that time that the White Star came up for sale. Katie Sweetnam (my business partner) was managing the White Star at the time and was also interested in taking on the business. So that’s what we did.
Not only are you the owner of two successful local businesses (the White Star and Three Anchors), but you’re also the President of the ACCI. How do you fit it all in whilst remaining as calm as you do?
Building a good team to help make it happen. That way I can still enjoy what I do and not have to be 100% hands on while knowing I’ve got the right people to support me in that.
You work in a very busy industry, often working long and late hours including weekends, public holidays and Christmas. How do you manage to get some time out for yourself and your family?
To be honest I probably don’t give myself enough time out for myself and family. However I am lucky that my two businesses give me a lot of flexibility to fit in the important things at other times like spending time with my family, attending kids school/sports events etc during the day – which I probably wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.
Obviously, your industry was hit pretty hard with the recent COVID-19 restrictions. What have you been able to learn from this experience and what are you doing differently?
Although the COVID-19 circumstances were unfortunate it was a good opportunity for us to analyse everything we do. We were keen to be open, and as a business in the hospitality industry we wanted to be available to the community. The slow easing of the restrictions meant we were able to streamline and adjust our services, re-assess business hours and team rosters, identify what made financial sense and what didn’t, and consider how to remain profitable and effective simultaneously.
Let’s hope that Albany doesn’t suffer a “second wave” like we’re seeing in other parts of our country. However how are you and your team prepared for the worst?
You can’t really be prepared for these things, much the same as when restrictions initially hit. Our team completed all the required certified training the first time around and we were in regular contact with the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) to keep informed, they also provided us with some great management tools and templates. The AHA were really helpful during this time. The information collected and disseminated by the Albany Chamber was also very helpful in keeping up with developments and know that we were in a similar position to much of the local business community. Since we’ve reopened, we’ve been keeping our stock levels low and our menus manageable, to ensure we don’t have as much wastage again in the event that we do have a “second wave”. I’m constantly analysing our financial performance to ensure we are conserving cash where we need to, so we’ve got available funds – should we need them to get through again. In the meantime, we remain mindful and sensible about the situation.
Have you noticed any significant changes in employees’ work ethics, given JobKeeper?
Not with our existing team. They’ve all been great working with us and adapting through this time. However, getting good new staff has been difficult. It always was difficult anyway getting new staff, being both in the hospitality industry and in a regional area, however this has been made worse with the impact of COVID-19 and JobSeeker.
It can be hard to find and keep employees generally in our industry, as most people see hospitality as a temporary job rather than a long term career. However, it is actually a very rewarding and challenging career path for the right people.
Do you have any words of advice you’d like to give a younger version of yourself?
I’ve never been a person to look back on my decisions and regret them. I’m happy with where I am in life right now. But perhaps I would tell my younger self not bite off more than he can chew.
As President of the ACCI do you see Albany heading in the right direction and, if not, what needs to be done?
Yes, I think we are heading in the right direction. It’s about more investment, more innovation, being able to take small risks and keep our community growing. We should be taking advantage of our closed borders as all our customer service-based businesses can really benefit from the tourism that’s heading our way. From within the community I think it’s really important that people support and buy local, being mindful of every dollar they spend.
The regional migration strategy is also important for us and something we are focusing on. We want to support and aid attracting skills to the region and support businesses to be able to fill any skill gaps we currently have.
Tell us something else we might not know about you?
My life is a bit boring outside of work, hospitality is really a lifestyle. I do like to read when I can stay awake and I am currently trying to learn German.
Get to know David in 30 seconds:
1. Three words to describe you? Honest, Resilient, Mostly easy going
2. Biggest fear? Heights
3. Favourite country? Australia, followed by Italy
4. How do you drink your coffee? Long mac traditional
5. What can’t you live without? Family & Close friends
6. One thing on your bucket list? Travel
7. Are you a spender or a saver? Spender
8. Beer, wine or whiskey? Red wine
9. Best thing you’ve learnt? The people you surround yourself with are the most important
10. Hobbies? Sailing
11. Who’s your hero? Anyone that has achieved happiness
12. Favourite band? U2
13. Last fancy dress costume worn? Ghost Buster
14. Nickname? Just Dave
15. Star or Anchors? To pick one would be like separating twins, I enjoy different aspects of both
Visit
White Star
72 Stirling Terrace, Albany WA 6330
Phone (08) 9841 1733
Three Anchors
2 Flinders Parade, Middleton Beach WA 6330
Phone (08) 9841 1600
