Matthews Hospitality

What Matthews Hospitality does

Matthews Hospitality, trading legally as Matthews Group, is a privately held, family-owned Australian hospitality company operating since its founding by Seymour and Doris Matthews during World War II in 1940. The group owns and operates 9 hospitality venues across South Australia, comprising four hotels in Adelaide (Feathers Hotel, Buckingham Arms Hotel, Flagstaff Hotel, Mansfield Park Hotel, and Maylands Hotel), one hotel in Clare and Whyalla (Eyre Hotel), and three hotels in Mount Gambier (South Eastern Hotel, Park Hotel, and Mt Gambier Hotel), with Colhurst House as a heritage venue. Its service offering spans hotel accommodation, food and beverage (restaurants, bars, and a drive-thru bottle shop), and function and conference facilities, with stated historical firsts in Australia including the first Drive-Thru Bottle Shop, Smorgasbord, and venue night-time music.

The company generates revenue through direct on-premises consumption: accommodation bookings, food and beverage sales, beverage retail, and venue hire for events and conferences. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Customer segments are horizontal, serving individual travelers, families, business guests, and local consumers across regional South Australia. Distribution is entirely through owned-and-operated physical venues, with marketing conducted through the company's own website (built on Squarespace) and on-premise presence. The business is led by fourth-generation family member Lisa Matthews as group leader, with Andrew Kemp serving as Chief Executive Officer, indicating professionalization of management while family ownership is retained.

Matthews Hospitality operates with 251-500 employees, and at the time of source collection it had no disclosed funding, partnerships, M&A activity, patents, awards, or external investor participation. It is registered in Australia with headquarters at 67 Phillis St, Maylands, South Australia. There are no public revenue figures, technology platform disclosures, integrations, or APIs documented; the company's technology footprint appears limited to standard website and operational tooling, with no AI/ML capabilities identified.

Name

Matthews Hospitality

Legal name

Matthews Group

Website

https://matthewshospitality.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1940

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Matthews Hospitality is a privately held, family-owned Australian hospitality group operating 9 hotels and venues across South Australia, offering accommodation, food and beverage, and function facilities to travelers, business guests, and local consumers under four generations of Matthews family leadership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospitality Services

NAICS

Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels (72111), Traveler Accommodation (7211), Food Services and Drinking Places (722), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Resort-Area Full-Service Hotels (Non–All-Inclusive) (THAGAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hotel & Resort Restaurants (THAFACAH), Rooftop Bars & Beach/Pool Bars (THAFAEAJ)

Keywords

• Hotel accommodation services
• Food and beverage services
• Function venue hire
• Hospitality group
• Pub and hotel operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Maylands

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Matthews Hospitality owns and operates 9 hotel venues across South Australia, providing hotel accommodation, food and beverage services (restaurants, bars, drive-thru bottle shops), and function and conference facilities to travelers, locals, and event customers. Founded in 1940 by Seymour and Doris Matthews, the group is now in its fourth generation of family ownership and is currently led by Lisa Matthews.

Product overview

Matthews Hospitality operates a portfolio of 9 hotel venues across South Australia, including four hotels in Adelaide (Feathers Hotel, Buckingham Arms Hotel, Flagstaff Hotel, Mansfield Park Hotel, Maylands Hotel), one hotel in Clare/Whyalla (Eyre Hotel), and three hotels in Mount Gambier (South Eastern Hotel, Park Hotel, Mt Gambier Hotel). The company also operates Colhurst House as a heritage venue. Their hospitality services include hotel accommodation, food and beverage offerings (restaurants, bars, drive-thru bottle shop), and function/conference facilities. With over 80 years of history and four generations of family ownership, Matthews Hospitality represents a diversified hospitality group that pioneered the first Drive-Thru Bottle Shop and Smorgasbord in Australia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Feathers Hotel: Hotel venue operated by Matthews Group
• Buckingham Arms Hotel
• Flagstaff Hotel
• Mansfield Park Hotel
• Maylands Hotel
• Eyre Hotel
• South Eastern Hotel
• Park Hotel
• Mt Gambier Hotel
• Colhurst House

Products and services

• Hotel Accommodation Services Hotel accommodation services offered across Matthews Hospitality venues, including rooms in Adelaide, Clare, Whyalla, and Mount Gambier for travelers and business guests.
• Food and Beverage Services Food and beverage offerings including restaurants, bars, and drive-thru bottle shop services across Matthews Hospitality venues.
• Function and Conference Facilities

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Redcape Hospitality: ASX-listed pub, hotel, and bottle shop operator with freehold assets across NSW. Closest comparable to Matthews by business model (freehold pubs/hotels with F&B and gaming), though regionally focused on NSW rather than SA.
• Merivale: Large Sydney-based family-owned hospitality group operating pubs, hotels, restaurants, and event venues. Comparable in portfolio breadth (accommodation + F&B + events) and family-ownership structure, though operating in NSW premium urban markets.
• Solotel: Australian family-influenced hospitality group operating pubs, bars, restaurants, and hotels, primarily in NSW. Comparable multi-venue hospitality operator with similar F&B-and-accommodation model.
• Australian Hotel and Leisure Group (AHL Group): Australian operator of licensed clubs and hotels, including food, beverage, gaming, and accommodation offerings. Comparable business model across multiple SA-adjacent states with a similar mix of pub, hotel, and F&B assets.

Broad incumbents

• Accor Pacific: Global hotel group operating multiple brands across Australia (Ibis, Novotel, Sofitel, etc.). Competes in the same Australian accommodation market as Matthews but focuses on branded chain hotels rather than freehold regional pubs.
• ALH Group (Australian Leisure and Hospitality): Woolworths-owned operator of the largest portfolio of hotels and gaming venues in Australia, including pubs with accommodation, bars, and food service. Direct operating overlap with Matthews across hotel/pub/F&B, but at vastly greater scale and with institutional backing.
• oaks Hotels, Resorts & Suites (Minor Hotels): Operator of serviced apartments, hotels, and resorts across Australia under the Minor Hotels group. Comparable in accommodation offering and regional Australia presence, but positioned in the upscale chain segment versus pub-led venues.
• Event Hospitality & Entertainment: ASX-listed operator of hotels (including the Rydges and Atura brands), cinemas, and hospitality assets across Australia and NZ. Comparable in hotel operations, though the broader entertainment portfolio differs from Matthews' pub-led focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Matthews Hospitality