Words by Katy Sargent
When your grandparents established the family’s first hotel in regional South Australia in the 1940s, pubs weren’t just a business; they were your upbringing. Now leading Matthews Hospitality Group into its fourth generation, Lisa Matthews brings a distinctly modern approach to an industry once dominated by hierarchy and personality, one grounded in empathy, clear structure and long-term custodianship rather than control.
At six years old, she was trusted with polishing and refilling the sugar jars at the Feathers Hotel, a job she performed enthusiastically until it became clear she was eating as much sugar as she was pouring. Her duties were quickly reassigned to the salt and pepper shakers. Growing up living in hotels managed by her parents, she remembers wandering staircases, setting dining rooms and watching the familiar rhythm of regular customers and staff who formed a daily community around the venue.
Her grandparents established the family’s first hotel in Whyalla in the early 1940s. More than 84 years later, the business is still family owned, and for Lisa, pubs were never a career decision so much as the environment that shaped how she understood people.
Those early experiences shaped not just her understanding of people, but the way she would later approach leadership.
Hospitality leadership in those early decades looked very different. It was often hierarchical, personality-driven and overwhelmingly male. Empathy was rarely seen as a management strength.
“If I go back to my grandmother’s time, empathy would have been seen as unimportant in management. Now we recognise it as part of effective leadership because it builds trust and connection with staff and customers,” she shared.
This evolution in leadership style reflects the broader shift in how women lead within the industry today.
While studying, she worked across a range of operational roles including morning vacuuming, stocktaking, waitressing, hosting and office administration, learning early that venues do not run because of one important job but because many small ones are done properly.
Over time, that exposure shaped a view she still holds today. Hospitality is not really about food, bars, accommodation or gaming; it is about how people feel when they walk through the door.
After completing a psychology degree, Lisa joined the family business formally in human resources and insurance. Not long after, her father became seriously ill and had to step away from the business without warning for six months.
“He didn’t say anything about his illness until the day before he went into hospital. It was very sudden, and we didn’t have a succession plan,” she shared. “I suddenly found myself sitting behind his desk, trying to work out everything that kept the business operating. With the help of supportive people in the industry, I was able to get through it. When my father returned, he left me in charge of the areas I’d taken on.” The experience stayed with her.
“It taught me that a business should not rely on one person. You have to put ego aside and plan for your own replacement, so the business is protected if something unexpected happens.”
From then on, her focus shifted away from authority and towards structure, building systems that would protect both people and the business if key individuals were absent.
Her interest in psychology gradually became an interest in culture. Lisa sees culture not as separate from strategy but as the foundation it grows from.
She approaches venues less as assets and more as homes for community – places people return to week after week. Ownership, in her view, is temporary. Custodianship is ongoing.
That philosophy can be seen in the group’s recent venue transformations, including the considered redesign of the Maylands Hotel and the restoration and repositioning of the Sussex Hotel. These projects reflect more than aesthetic change; they represent deliberate investment in creating environments people return to – spaces that function commercially while still feeling like a home away from home.
Renovations, menus and branding matter, but the thinking behind them – how spaces make people feel and how teams operate within them – ultimately defines their success.
She describes her role not as ownership but custodianship. The business has now passed through four generations, each leaving something that underpins what exists today. Like many long-standing family businesses, different branches of the family have contributed over time to its foundations. Today, Lisa leads Matthews Hospitality Group in that custodial capacity, overseeing its direction while maintaining structures designed to support future generations.
“Each generation holds the business for a period. Your responsibility is to leave it stronger, culturally and structurally, than when you received it.”
The next generation is already beginning that journey. Her sons, Max and Tom, represent the fourth generation, with Max currently working within the business and learning the industry from the inside out.
Lisa is quick to say she did not get there alone. She points to mentors, colleagues and advisers who were supportive but also honest, people willing to challenge decisions when they did not align with values or long-term direction.
“Real support isn’t just encouragement. It’s people who believe in you enough to be truthful, even when it’s uncomfortable, because they want you and the business to get it right.”
Three decades on from those early roles, Lisa says time has changed how she views leadership. Early in her career, she focused on solving problems as they arose. Experience has taught her that most issues are not caused by individuals but by unclear expectations.
Over the years, she has moved from reacting to situations to designing structure around them, clearer governance, defined responsibilities and shared standards so decisions do not rely on personalities. She believes good leadership creates an environment where people know what good looks like without needing constant direction.
Her style today is deliberately steady. Rather than quick decisions, she prefers considered ones that remain consistent over time.
“You don’t need to make the perfect decision every time, but people need to understand how decisions are made and trust they’ll be applied fairly.”
Looking back, she sees her role less as directing people and more as creating the conditions where others can succeed.
“If the business depends on one person, it’s fragile. If it depends on clear principles, it lasts.”
Her leadership centres on clarity of values and consistency. She believes financial performance ultimately follows trust, from employees, customers, suppliers and the community.
Asked what she would tell her younger self, she keeps it simple. “Be clear about your values and don’t compromise them. Seek out people who share them and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Spend more time listening and less time talking.”
The industry has changed significantly during her career. More than half of the group’s venue managers are now women – not through quota or mandate, but through recognition of capability and leadership style.
“It was never about setting a target; it was about recognising capability wherever it exists. When expectations are clear and culture is steady, leadership emerges naturally.”
That commitment to recognising leadership in all its forms has also extended beyond the business itself. Lisa has served on the Australian Hotel Association Industrial Relations Sub Committee and the AHA Women in Hotels committee, contributing to broader industry governance and supporting pathways for women across hospitality. Lisa’s contribution to the industry has also been acknowledged by the Australian Hotels Association of SA by inducting her into the AHA SA Women’s Hall of Fame.
For Lisa, success is not just operating well today but ensuring the business continues beyond any individual, including herself.
“I didn’t pursue ownership. I pursued responsibility and long-term thinking. Ownership is simply the position that lets you protect those things.”
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