She recalls Destination South Australia 2024 where their executive chef hosted a chef’s table lunch in his kitchen for an unusually large number of guests. Not an easy task for the chefs to be interacting, cooking and presenting when the kitchen is still delivering for the entire centre.
“So they presented that lunch for 120 and then as soon as lunch was over, they turned the kitchen right back around to serve dinner for 2,000, so it’s just an example of how agile they are.
“It’s one of those unique experiences that I don’t think any other centre has ever done, and it’s a challenge to do, but it’s a testament [to] the talent of my team and that can-do attitude of, okay, the client wants this. We can do it,” she says. “The entire team here are truly incredible.”
While she jests about her career path from hotel management school to housekeeping and banqueting to general manager being fairly typical, Goldfinch says that it’s what the journey taught her about hospitality that’s made a huge difference.
“What I love about hospitality in general, whether that’s in hotels or in convention centres…is it doesn’t matter where you’ve come from. I think your practical experience adds volumes,” she says, “as opposed to getting a degree and working into a managerial role, you need to understand the job and understand the people.”
Goldfinch believes the challenge for the industry is making hospitality a career and people viewing it as a career, but when that happens, like that chef’s table experience, magic follows.
“It’s not just a service. It’s what we do.”
With Business Events Adelaide projecting $750 million in business events wins this year, South Australia and specifically Adelaide, she says “is probably at its highest demand” for business events. She credits this to the destination perfecting the balance between business and leisure, or ‘bleisure.’ From the state’s quality food and wine experiences to being known as the ‘festival city’ for special events, it’s easy to create a delegate itinerary that blends both.
“Our location is our superpower. It’s so accessible to public transport, to accommodation. There are over 10,000 rooms a five-minute walk from the [convention] centre,” she says, adding that the availability of both indoor and outdoor spaces along the water allow delegates to truly get out and enjoy fresh air.
While delegates are feeling refreshed in their surroundings, they can also feel good about leaving a legacy with their newly launched Community Impact Program. Organisers can work with the centre which has partnered with the likes of OzHarvest for food donations or Operation Flinders, a community program taking disadvantaged youth to the outback in the Flinders Ranges for a life changing trek.
“Through our partnership with Operation Flinders, we’ve donated boots to students because some of these kids, they’ve never had something new, and a new set of hiking boots is pretty special.
“I love that partnership… because equally, these students, after they’ve been facilitated through this program, will come and speak at an event and share their life experience.
“Our Community Impact Program is connecting our delegates and our clients to local organisations to making a lasting impact in the destination that they’re conferencing in.”
And there’s more to come for the city: with several new hotels and new event spaces on the cards over the coming years, Goldfinch says the investment in the city is significant. These new spaces will be joined by a major upgrade to the North Adelaide Aquatic Centre and a $50 million upgrade and redesign to the North Adelaide Public Golf Course, both less than a kilometre from the venue.
“We’ll have a world champion Greg Norman designed golf course which is walking distance from the centre [and] is an amazing investment into our infrastructure.”
These infrastructure upgrades, paired with the state government’s significant investment into the city’s technology, medical and research centres have all contributed to the centre’s healthy road ahead.
