Cafe Society: Working the tools to share our state with the world

Sarah Andrews is a modern mentor for women in tourism after her runaway success with a remote Tassie shack.

Sarah Andrews thinks of herself as a micro-hotelier.
Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

SHE’S the wildcard tourism operator who lives off the rental income of the West Coast cabin she lists on Airbnb at $400 a night. Though it is one of the most remote listings on the booking platform, Sarah Andrews’ Strahan shack is often booked out months ahead.

Having transformed the tiny waterfront getaway at heritage-listed Lettes Bay from private bolthole to solid earner, Sarah is sharing her winning formula with like-minded operators.

Exuding an effortless style not unlike the vibe she’s conjured at Captain’s Rest, she’s easy to pick when I enter Born in Brunswick cafe in North Hobart.

I’ve never stayed at Captain’s Rest, but pictures of it on her Instagram feed certainly stimulate a desire to visit. That’s the whole idea. With 31,100 followers, Sarah has Insta-branding down pat. It’s one of the tools she shares with students in her new online Hosting Masterclass workshop series.

“Instagram is a powerful tool that puts the power back in the individual’s hand,” says the former design and communications consultant, who stumbled into accommodation hosting when skint and shell-shocked after a series of difficult life events, including divorce.

“Before Instagram, the [equivalent] marketing would have cost me tens of thousands of dollars. Now I have a bigger audience than some of the biggest hotels in the state because I know how to use the tool.”

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Sarah says there is plenty of opportunity for ‘micro-hoteliers’ such as herself to make decent money in Tasmania if they play their cards right.

That means “cracking the code” by thoroughly understanding audience, pricing, storytelling, styling, photography, press, flowers, management, practicalities, organisation, marketing, websites and social media .

“Imagine if everybody used Instagram the way I do, talking about their own lives, communities, spaces, things they love and do in Tasmania,” she says.

“Imagine what that could do for the Tasmanian brand in the world.

“I give people the framework and encourage them to be themselves in that framework, so my students are all talking about their love of Tasmania in different ways. It’s not one branded exercise, but it could become thousands of individual voices. I think we could have a collective voice in the world with an impact no one has ever seen in a tourism campaign.

“Authenticity and micro-scale are our things in Tasmania and that is what we are selling.

“When an individual promotes what they love about an area, there is a voice that connects a lot deeper than ‘come on this boat ride’ or ‘check out this beautiful sunset’.”

She says she feels frustrated with people who resist change, including in the tourism sector. “The world will always change and you need to use change to your advantage. Why not ride the wave and use it to make our whole island better?

“I understand the tension around Airbnb [in relation to local rental market shortages], but essentially it’s just a booking platform that makes it easier for people to rent their spaces.

“This [new] tourism economy is getting pushback, but people need to understand that it is for everybody. It has positive knock-on effects in local communities. It’s an economy that lifts everybody up.

“These mini-hotels we are creating promote and support local Joe with his honey, Bill with his fishing tours and local shops. I think that vision has not been recognised by everyone yet.”

It is mostly women who are seeking her out as a mentor.

“I am teaching mainly women to do everything themselves on whatever budget they have,” she says.. “For too long our tourism, design, styling and magazine industries have been controlled by a small few who won’t let anyone else in.”

SUNDAY ESCAPE featured Captain’s Rest on its tiny stays wishlist. Picture: Sarah Andrews

Sarah says that based on her own experience with Captain’s Rest, she is confident a swag of operators working at her level can likewise live off the earnings of one small, carefully curated property in the right location. No need to buy-up willy-nilly. Keep it small and get it right is her key message.

“I think the mistake people make is to create low-grade experiences,” she says, virtually shuddering at ‘crappy’ spare bedroom offerings on Airbnb. “I fully support beautiful accommodation experiences created by people who are celebrating Tasmania and employing local people.”

She thinks naturally beautiful, tranquil Tasmania is especially alluring in a world tiring of the crazy pace of contemporary life. “People are wanting small-scale individual experiences. We need to recognise that trend and recognise that we do it well.

“I think the biggest risk is not understanding who we are and trying to be something else. If we develop the hell out of this place, we have lost the thing people are coming for.

“We need to understand our story first and why people are coming and then take action.”

Historic Lettes Bay at Strahan on the West Coast of Tasmania has long been a tightly held shack location among Tasmanian families Picture: CHRIS KIDD

See a swag of pix of Captain’s Rest on Instagram @captainsrest See some other projects created by Sarah’s students at @thehostingmasterclass

BORN IN BRUNSWICK

Despite the name, this super-stylish cafe uses an impressive array of top-notch Tassie produce. Now three years old, it’s a top-end cafe that pitches quality over quantity. Its Scando-blond surrounds are altogether more enjoyable for this customer now now they’ve turned the music down. I’ll be back for that inventive panna cotta.

Sweet treat: Milk kefir and bee-pollen panna cotta with rosemary blossom-poached cumquats and hemp-seed granola, $16.

Address: 410 Elizabeth St, North Hobart

Open: Tues-Sunday from 8am-3pm.