A long and proud history of helping the community
Almost every AHA member is involved in providing sponsorship or support in some form to a local sporting group or community organisation. By their nature, hotels are often the social hubs of their communities – a ‘home away from home’ utilised as a meeting place, for dining, entertainment, overnight accommodation and for hosting events such as weddings.
Hotels support thousands of sporting clubs and community organisations across Australia. Many people play in social sporting teams, or become involved in community groups, partly because of the opportunities for social interaction, which can be facilitated by the involvement of the local pub or hotel. In regional and rural areas where sporting clubs often exist without formal clubroom facilities, hotels often provide access to areas within their venues to fill this need.
It is estimated that the total amount contributed to sporting and community organisations by hotels is $75 million per annum in cash sponsorship alone. Sporting teams were the most common recipient of financial support and in-kind sponsorship, with 62.1% of hotels supporting at least one sporting team. Organisations classified as ‘community groups’ were supported by 53.5% of hotels followed by Health/Social Services (33.3%), Education (27.8%) and Emergency Services (19.2%) as the most common types of organisations sponsored. Hotels often offer substantial in-kind assistance to sporting clubs and community groups in the form of:
- Complimentary use of conference/meeting facilities
- Hosting fund-raising events (such as trivia nights or charity dinners) with proceeds being directed to a nominated sporting club, community group or local charity
- Provision of complimentary meals or accommodation room nights as prizes for raffles or trivia nights held by another organisation
- Provision of uniforms for sporting teams
“For commercial and civic reasons, hotels engage with the broader community in a number of ways. As part of the suite of services and entertainment options provided, hotels play an important role in hosting live music, trivia competitions, community group meetings and other events. In addition, hotels provide substantial sponsorship of community organisations, including sporting clubs, community groups, health and social services organisations. Through these activities, hotels play a central role in local community life.” PwC 2009
Australian hotels provide support to:
- 20,597 sporting teams
- 18,209 community groups
- 6,615 health and social services organisations
- 8,015 educational organisations
Year after year, hotels support thousands of sporting teams, community groups, health, social service and education organisations and charities throughout Australia.