Stephen Mayne

There were a couple of brothers who were good tennis players, and I think Andrew Phillips also played footy for Carlton.

They sort of grew up in our area, and they used to run clinics at tennis clubs, and they got so swamped on school holidays with parents dropping their kids in supposedly for tennis lessons, but it was actually childcare.

It was effectively what they were offering.

And they said, well, this is not a bad business, and that's how Camp Australia got born.

And then they sold it for $300 million to private equity firm Bain just before COVID.

And then Bain went broke because all the schools were shut during COVID.

But yeah, a couple of tennis coaches discovered there was a massive demand for childcare with tennis clinics during the holidays and then turned that into a national business that was sold for $300 million.

They've actually got a really good Phillips Foundation.

They actually do great work.

Oh, there you go.

Yeah, it was interesting how it started.

That's right.

Now, Clark says, great podcast.

I bought a coffee while transiting through Sydney Airport last weekend and got stung.

Not a fan.

How have these surcharges crept into normality?

And are they justified at a random flat rate?

Imagine the outrage if Coles, Woolies or Bunnings implemented weekend surcharges.

If I were them, I would certainly be considering it as it now seems to be standard practice.

Well, you do get lots of weekend surcharges in hospitality.