Hotelier AUSTRALIAN
AUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL HOTEL INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
vol. 35 no. 1 - FEBRUARY 2018
THE 2018 ANNUAL INDUSTRY LEADERS FORUM
HOSTED BY
A ONE-DAY CONFERENCE AND MINI-EXPO FOR LEADING PUB OWNER/ OPERATORS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT
THE PROGRAM SUMMIT 2018
MONDAY 19TH MARCH 2018
8:30-9:30am
REGISTRATION (WITH TEA AND COFFEE)
9:30-9:40am
Welcome and Opening Vanessa Cavasinni (Australian Hotelier) and Kent Anderson (MC)
9:40-10:10am
Keynote Presentation Mal Meninga OAM (Australian National Rugby League coach)
10:10-10:40am
Strength in Numbers? Growing your Group in One Area. Justine Baker (Solotel); Marcello Colosimo (Momento Hospitality); Stephen Hunt (Hunt Hospitality); Craig Power (The Pub Group Tamworth)
10:40-11:10am
Staffing Strategies: Training and Recruitment Brad Jenkins (Lewisland Group); Annette Verhoeff (Red Rock Leisure)
11:10am-11:40pm
MORNING TEA
11:40am-12:10pm Stream 1 Stream 2 12:10-12:40pm
Optimising the Modern Gaming Offering: Strategies to Smash Your Revenue Ceiling Jackie Booth (Zagame Corporation); Brad Jenkins (Lewisland Group); FULL PAGE ADVERT Marty Secheny (Bidwill Hotel) Food For Thought: New Opportunities to Boost Menu Profits Mandy Collins (The Lady Daly); Ray Reilly (Reilly Group); Danny Russo (Russolini Group); Ben Varela (Public House Management Group)
Stream 1
Creating Identity: How to Stand Out From The Crowd Kasie Ferguson (Railway Hotel Parkes); Kenny Graham (6 Mary Street); Amanda Verratti (Solotel)
Stream 2
Brewpub Economics Wade Curtis (4 Hearts Brewing/Pumpyard Bar & Brewery)
12:40-1:10pm
SILVER SPONSORS
Stream 1
Be Our Guest: Capitalising on Accommodation Andrew Biggs (Headlands Austinmer); Peter Mazoudier (Seabreeze Hotel)
Stream 2
Uncorking Profit: Wine in Pubs Peter Baker (The Botanical); Erica Warren (Erica Warren Hospitality Consulting)
1:10-2:10pm
LUNCH
2:10-2:40pm
Data and How to Use It Dan Lacaze (Solotel); Katherine Raskob (ADMA); George Redmond (Wasamedia)
2:40-2:55pm
The Duke of Clarence: A Case Study Mikey Enright (Barrelhouse Group)
2:55-3:10pm
Marketing to Millennials: Digital Video Strategy Matt Giorgio and Mitchell Stapleton-Coory (SHOUTback!/Big Review TV)
3:10-3:40pm
What’s next? Challenges, Opportunities and Trends Jackie Booth (Zagames); Jaz Mooney (Pelathon); Annette Verhoeff (Red Rock Leisure)
3:40-3:45pm
Closing note
MONDAY 19 MARCH 2018 Royal Randwick Racecourse, Randwick, Sydney
JUST ANNOUNCED! Mal Meninga will deliver the keynote at the 2018 Pub Leaders Summit. The head coach of the Australian National Rugby League team, and legendary former player, will discuss his management techniques, and how to get the best out of your team.
Pub operators and management can take advantage of the earlybird offer of $249 + GST per ticket until 19 February 2018. Thereafter tickets are an extra $100 + GST.
REGISTER NOW AT WWW.PUBLEADERS.COM.AU GOLD SPONSORS
PLATINUM SPONSOR
CONTENTS | ED’S NOTE
Vanessa Cavasinni
Editor’s Note
H
appy New Year to all readers of Australian Hotelier! We hope you were able to enjoy a break and that your venues made the most of the holiday period. In this first issue of 2018, we’d like to start off the year by recapping some of the big events of 2017 that were game-changers, and by also looking ahead to what we believe will be some big moments for the industry in the next twelve months. To do so, we’ve gathered insight from a variety of hotel operators and suppliers – from multi-venue, metropolitan operators, to single-venue, regional operators. We’ve also got insight from suppliers within superannuation, gaming, design and POS. You’ll also find real estate predictions for 2018 in this issue (page 6), profiles of two newcomer pubs that are already blowing everyone away (page 8), and a look into how various operators are recruiting talented personnel. With so much going on, we think this is going to be another great and dynamic year for the pub market. Cheers,
8 20
Vanessa Cavasinni, Editor P: 02 8586 6201 | E: vcavasinni@intermedia.com.au
19
Contents | February Special Features
Operators
6 News: A 2018 real estate forecast, plus the latest on the Pub Leaders Summit program. 8 Young guns: Two hotels less than a year old are winning awards and taking names. 16 Hot Topic: Personnel: How to attract talented staff. 22 Hot Topic: Gaming: How gaming will change in the near future.
15 19 20 21 25 28
NEXT MONTH
Accommodation • Gaming • Selling Sport
PUBLISHER: Paul Wootton EDITOR: Vanessa Cavasinni
PUBLISHED BY:
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vcavasinni@intermedia.com.au
NATIONAL SALES MANAGER:
Jason Wild Tel: 02 8586 6213 • jwild@intermedia.com.au
GENERAL MANAGER SALES – LIQUOR & HOSPITALITY GROUP: Shane T. Williams
21
Hurley Hotel Group Lewisland Group Open Arms Hospitality The Palace Hotel Prince Alfred Hotel Solotel
Suppliers 10 Australasian Gaming Expo 12 ecash 14 Hostplus 18 Intrust Super 24 Paul Kelly Design 26 SG Gaming
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Kea Thorburn kthorburn@intermedia.com.au
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This publication is published by Food and Beverage Media Pty Ltd (the “Publisher”). Materials in this publication have been created by a variety of different entities and, to the extent permitted by law, the Publisher accepts no liability for materials created by others. All materials should be considered protected by Australian and international intellectual property laws. Unless you are authorised by law or the copyright owner to do so, you may not copy any of the materials. The mention of a product or service, person or company in this publication does not indicate the Publisher’s endorsement. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Publisher, its agents, company officers or employees. Any use of the information contained in this publication is at the sole risk of the person using that information. The user should make independent enquiries as to the accuracy of the information before relying on that information. All express or implied terms, conditions, warranties, statements, assurances and representations in relation to the Publisher, its publications and its services are expressly excluded save for those conditions and warranties which must be implied under the laws of any State of Australia or the provisions of Division 2 of Part V of the Trade Practices Act 1974 and any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof. To the extent permitted by law, the Publisher will not be liable for any damages including special, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages (including but not limited to economic loss or loss of profit or revenue or loss of opportunity) or indirect loss or damage of any kind arising in contract, tort or otherwise, even if advised of the possibility of such loss of profits or damages. While we use our best endeavours to ensure accuracy of the materials we create, to the extent permitted by law, the Publisher excludes all liability for loss resulting from any inaccuracies or false or misleading statements that may appear in this publication. Copyright © 2018 - Food and Beverage Media Pty Ltd
4 | FEBRUARY 2018 AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER
Average Total Distribution: 5,680 AMAA/CAB Yearly Audit Period ending 30 Sept 2017.
NEWS
2018 MARKET PREDICTIONS
W
hat will this year bring in the pub real estate market? Can we expect another year of massive pub sales and iconic hotels across the country switching hands? Or will sales rates and prices slow down a bit as buyers and sellers become more cautious? Tom Gleeson of JLL Hotels & Hospitality shared his thoughts on the market over the next 12 months. “2017 ended strongly with some significant transactions taking place in the final quarter. The combination of interest rates remaining low and a number of large private groups having active mandates, will ensure that strong appetite for strategic acquisitions will continue into 2018, notably across both freehold and leasehold ownership. “While opportunities and challenges are unique to each state due to the variations in legislation and consumer trends, one persistent challenge nationally will be the access to quality stock within metropolitan areas along the east coast which will continue to drive acquisition activity to coastal and sub-regional locations, as purchasers look for value-add opportunities and increased yield spread. The most significant legislative change nationally is the 20-year extension of Victorian gaming licences, which provides certainty for potential purchasers and
FOR MORE INDUSTRY NEWS FOLLOW US ON 6 | FEBRUARY 2018 AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER
operators through to at least 2042.” Dan Dragicevich and Sam Handy of CBRE Hotels also made some predictions for 2018, breaking it down into three categories.
YIELD COMPRESSION A stable legislative environment, low interest rates, improved debt liquidity and availability of capital continues to underpin demand and the market has subsequently seen yield compression to circa eight per cent on several pub assets over the last 12 months. These eight per cent yields have usually been achieved on pubs that demonstrate obvious upside and/or some form of recognisable underlying property value, development potential or surrounding residential growth.
CONTINUED BUOYANCY IN THE WAKE OF RATE RISE The last three years have been incredibly active in terms of transactions and while there are murmurs that the market will switch down a gear in 2018, we see no reason to suggest that transactional volumes will slow, yields will soften or that pricing will slip. The financial markets are predicting a rate increase towards the back end of the year and the banks are tightening lending policies to safeguard themselves against this but pubs as
an asset class still presenting as an irresistible proposition to a wide spectrum of investor groups given the 400 – 500 basis point spread that exists between sustainable earnings and the cost of debt.
DIMINISHING GAMING PUB STOCK IN NSW The availability of Sydney’s AAA gaming pubs is rapidly diminishing, with only a small pool of these assets remaining under private individual ownership and seemingly available for acquisition in the foreseeable future. A review of OLGR’s most recent gaming rankings report demonstrates that 41 per cent of the state’s top 100 gaming pubs are in the hands of large corporates and institutions, all of whom have seemingly long-term gaming market share strategies. A further 36 per cent of these venues are owned by large gaming pub portfolio publican families, none of whom have ever shown any genuine propensity or appetite to divest these highly profitable businesses. This then leaves just 23 per cent of the state’s best gaming pubs under private single ownership and potentially available for acquisition in the short to medium term although most of these family businesses have very clear and defined succession plans in place.
CHECK OUT THESHOUT.COM.AU
NEWS
Mal Meninga to present Pub Leaders Summit keynote Mal Meninga AM, the head coach of the Australian National Rugby League team, and one of the most distinguished players of the game, will deliver the keynote at the 2018 Pub Leaders Summit. “I’m excited by it, it should be fun! I’m a big fan of the pub industry, I must confess,” stated Meninga. With a professional sports coaching career going back two decades and spanning the Canberra Raiders, the Queensland State of Origin team and guiding the Australian team since 2016 – Meninga will discuss how to manage, lead and encourage staff towards optimal results, using examples from his playing and coaching career in the NRL. “I’ll discuss my experiences in the game of Rugby League, and the reasons why I do the things I do today, including coaching the national side.” Meninga also recently launched Big Mal’s
First Grade, a range of meat products and sauces for both the consumer and foodservice markets. As the local hub of sports fundraising and viewing, Meninga has always appreciated the role of the local pub in getting grassroots sports off the ground, and felt this range to be a natural fit. “I understand how important the industry is to sport. Pubs have been huge contributors to individual sports teams. Particularly when I was growing up, the only sponsor a team had was its local pub. It’s a great environment too.” Big Mal’s will also be exhibiting at the Pub Leaders Summit, so that attendees can taste test the range themselves, and meet Meninga. “We’re going to cook a barbecue for you all, so you can try the meats and sauces. Hopefully everyone enjoys it!” Meninga joins the 2018 line-up that also includes Jackie Booth (Zagames), Annette Verhoeff (Red Rock Leisure), Brad Jenkins
(Lewisland Group) and Ray Reilly (Reilly Group). The Pub Leaders Summit will be held on Monday 19 March at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney. More information and ticket registration can be found at www.publeaders.com.au
PUBLICAN GROUP PLACED INTO VOLUNTARY ADMINISTRATION The Publican Group business was quietly placed into voluntary administration at the end of last year, after selling off all of its assets to Australian Venue Co. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission published that Richard Albarran, Cameron Shaw and Carl Huxtable of Chadwick Hall were appointed as administrators of the Publican Group in mid-December. The first meeting for creditors of the company was held in Perth on 28 December, just a few days after the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays, to appoint a committee of inspection. Australian Hotelier contacted the Chadwick Hall administrators who chose not to comment “whilst our investigations into the affairs of the Publican Group are ongoing.” A few creditors have reached out to Australian Hotelier in the last month, asking for information on the current status of the group, with one stating they were “owed a lot of money”. Before being placed into voluntary administration, The Publican Group’s nine venues were sold to Australian Venue Co – known as Dixon Hospitality at the time – who continue to expand their portfolio around the country, with recent buys in Darwin and Brisbane. The entire portfolio acquisition from The Publican Group comprises Fargo
& Co, Hopscotch, River’s Edge Events, Terra Rossa, The Park and Wharf Hotel in Melbourne; and The Aviary, Guildford Hotel and Wolf Lane in Perth. An Australian Venue Co spokesperson would not comment on the price of the buy. Paul Waterson, group CEO of Australian Venue Co, said the venues were a welcome addition to the national portfolio.
“Publican Group’s unique concepts marry perfectly with Dixon Hospitality’s approach to maintaining individually branded venues. We are very excited to have worked together to close the deal with Publican Group.” Australian Hotelier has contacted The Publican Group executives for comment, but none had responded at the time of publication. The Guildford Hotel in Perth
AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER FEBRUARY 2018 | 7
HOTEL PROFILE
Young guns THE PRINCE HOTEL AND HEADLANDS AUSTINMER WERE RECENTLY NAMED HOTELS OF THE YEAR – CITY AND COUNTRY, RESPECTIVELY – AT THE AHA NSW AWARDS. THE ACHIEVEMENT IS MADE EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE BY THE FACT THAT BOTH VENUES HAD BEEN OPERATING FOR LESS THAN A YEAR.
THE PRINCE HOTEL WHERE: KIRRAWEE, SYDNEY OPERATOR: FEROS GROUP INTERVIEWEE: CHRIS FEROS, DIRECTOR/CEO
The beer garden
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT PRINCE HOTEL WINNING HOTEL OF THE YEAR CITY? WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE TO THE WIN? We are so excited to win this prestigious award, especially after only opening The Prince’s doors early February 2017. The design and look of the space was researched thoroughly by travelling internationally and domestically, and also asking the questions ‘What do we want in this venue’? and ‘What are the things about our current venues that we’d like to improve on?’ Because of this, the end result is that the look and feel is great, and the different experiences throughout the venue allow a broad demographic to visit us.
YOU ALSO WON BEST FAMILY FRIENDLY VENUE – WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT TO CREATE SUCH A WELCOMING SPACE FOR FAMILIES? [Being] family friendly is an important part of what we do, and it’s the most obvious way to embrace the local community. We’ve designed not only a dedicated kid’s room, but an extended area where the rest of the family can also sit while the kids play.
The mini basketball court
JUDGE’S COMMENT: “MY EXPERIENCE AT THE VENUE WAS OVERALL A REALLY POSITIVE ONE WITH BOTH THE VENUE AND THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE OFFERINGS BEING OF AN OUTSTANDING QUALITY. THE SERVICE WAS GREAT AND THE AMBIENCE SO INVITING I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.”
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH BUSINESS AT THE PUB ALMOST A YEAR IN? The first 10 months of trade have far exceeded our budgets.
THE FOOD OFFERING IS ALSO A BIG PART OF THE PRINCE’S BUSINESS – WHAT MAKES YOUR FOOD STAND OUT AGAINST LOCAL COMPETITION? We are really proud of the food that we deliver at The Prince, and feel that we understand what the local patrons want. We have stayed true to who we are by offering high quality pub food.
WITH SUCH A BIG VENUE, WHAT ROLE DO FUNCTIONS PLAY? IS IT A SIGNIFICANT OFFERING AT THE VENUE? Family seating near the kids' play area
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While we don’t have a dedicated function room, we believe that we are a great option for small celebrations, which is why we have a function menu to match.
HOTEL PROFILE
HEADLANDS AUSTINMER WHERE: AUSTINMER, NEW SOUTH WALES OPERATOR: THE STEVENS GROUP INTERVIEWEE: ANDREW BIGGS, GENERAL MANAGER HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HEADLANDS WINNING HOTEL OF THE YEAR COUNTRY SO SOON AFTER RELAUNCHING THE NEW VENUE? My team and I are extremely proud of the hotel and our achievements over the last year since our opening in December 2016. We are very honoured and humbled to have our hard work recognised by the AHA awards that we have won.
Views from the beer garden
JUDGE’S COMMENT: “OUR OVERALL EXPERIENCE STAYING AT THE HEADLAND HOTEL WAS A WOW FACTOR – IT’S CERTAINLY NOT WHAT ONE WOULD EXPECT FROM STAYING OVERNIGHT IN A PUB. THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS.” HOW DO YOU MARKET YOUR VENUE AS A DAY-TRIP DESTINATION FOR RESIDENTS OF THE GREATER SYDNEY AREA?
WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE TO THE WIN?
Our close location to the iconic Seacliff Bridge makes us a popular destination for day-trippers from Sydney. Taking the route along the Grand Pacific Drive through the beautiful National Park, over the Seacliff Bridge and along the coastline until you reach our hotel, it’s the perfect final stop for a cold beer and a bite to eat while watching the waves roll in before you make the journey home, or decide to stay the night with us. We have worked closely with Destination Wollongong and Grand Pacific Drive to help market ourselves to the Sydney market and that has proven to be very successful.
Most definitely hard work along with the perfect recipe of great customer service, fantastic facilities and an iconic, stunning ocean-front location not like any other in Australia!
YOU ALSO WON BEST DELUXE ACCOMMODATION – WHAT SETS YOUR OFFERING APART, AND HOW SIGNIFICANT A REVENUE STREAM IS IT FOR THE BUSINESS? Our accommodation offers a relaxed, yet luxurious atmosphere with full apartment facilities such as a laundry and kitchen, to provide all the comforts of your own home while on a relaxed getaway. Most rooms offer a breath-taking view of the Pacific Ocean or the beautiful surrounding escarpment and all are just mere footsteps to the beach. It is the perfect place for an easy holiday, being just one hour south of Sydney. Our popularity and revenue have grown month to month – in November we had 73 per cent occupancy and we expect that to grow to 85 per cent for December and January, with continued growth in 2018.
IS ANYTHING NEW PLANNED FOR HEADLANDS IN 2018?
The accommodation
As we opened a week before Christmas in 2016, we didn’t have the chance to make the venue as perfect as it could have been. We have listened to our regular patrons and our locals, and we will be making some big changes with a complete internal re-fit of furnishings to ensure ultimate comfort and provide that wow factor for our guests. There will also be a few changes to infrastructure to allow for more shade in the hotter months. Stay tuned for these exciting new changes!
YOUR BEER GARDEN IS VERY POPULAR WITH ITS OCEAN VIEWS – HOW DO YOU ACTIVATE THAT SPACE IN THE COOLER WEATHER? We have just recently completed a fixed roof infrastructure, which is retractable when required. We will have in-built heating, which will be perfect for utilisation in the winter months, so you can keep warm while still enjoying that gorgeous ocean view. We also supply blankets in the cooler months for those that want to get extra comfortable and kick back with a red wine.
The public bar
AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER FEBRUARY 2018 | 9
SUPPLIER
SUPPLIER ROSS FERRAR, CEO, GAMING TECHNOLOGIES ASSOCIATION AUSTRALASIAN GAMING EXPO WHAT HAVE BEEN THE HIGHLIGHTS AND THE CHALLENGES OF 2017 FOR THE AUSTRALASIAN GAMING EXPO?
AGE 2017 introduced seminars into the event program
2017 saw the Australasian Gaming Expo move into the new purpose-built International Convention Centre (ICC) which is conveniently located on the western edge of Sydney’s CBD. In 2017 the expo occupied over 19,000 sqm with the resulting show being recognised by Rory Govan, associate director of research at the independent organisation Explori with the following observation: “When compared to over 1,000 other trade shows globally, the Australasian Gaming Expo is in the top 15 per cent for delivering high visitor and exhibitor satisfaction.”
WHAT WAS THE EXHIBITOR AND ATTENDEE RESPONSE TO THE RETURN TO ICC SYDNEY? In 2017, the Australasian Gaming Expo saw 52 new exhibitors for a total of 246 with a 17 per cent increase in exhibitor space. There was a 19 per cent increase in the number of visitors, who came from 26 countries with strong showings from the USA, UK, and more than 50 senior executives from Asia.
WHAT WERE THE NEW INNOVATIONS THAT WERE OFFERED AS PART OF AGE 2017? The impressive new ICC Sydney allowed us to reintroduce educational sessions to the event, in state-of-the-art seminar rooms, and the venue also catered a ‘Women in Gaming’ lunch and a world-class dinner for gaming industry leaders. Another feature of the new venue is the high quality of the catering. In fact, a stand out with the new venue is the positive comments we have had about the quality of the food. The catering team at the ICC Sydney have worked really hard – and all credit to them – to change the perception of visitors and exhibitors alike to the food at such a large event. Additionally a number of new event technologies were implemented, including digital show bags which allowed visitors to transfer information about exhibitors to their mobile device.
10 | FEBRUARY 2018 AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER
“When compared to over 1,000 other trade shows globally, the Australasian Gaming Expo is in the top 15 per cent for delivering high visitor and exhibitor satisfaction.” Rory Govan, Explori HOW IS PLANNING COMING ALONG FOR AGE 2018? Planning is well and truly underway with (at the time of writing) 76 per cent of the floor space already sold.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE EXPO THIS YEAR? The seminar program last year was well attended and this year we’re will see a further emphasis on that. In 2017 we lifted the bar a notch and we’re going to build on that for 2018. We will continue to improve this event. We’re blessed
insofar as I have had the same team in place for the last 10 years and we all know each other and we know what’s required to make the event successful. We know that the finish line for 2018 is a little further away and we’ll hit that too. Over the next five years, the Gaming Technologies Association will continue to seek growth and improvement in the event, whether through the application of technology or services to further enhance engagement with visitors and exhibitors. The Australasian Gaming Expo will be held 14-16 August 2018 at ICC Sydney.
SUPPLIER
SUPPLIER RICHARD SOUSSA, GENERAL MANAGER SALES AND MARKETING ECASH
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE HIGHLIGHTS AND THE CHALLENGES OF 2017 FOR ECASH? Our focus is always on our customers and working with them to better understand their needs in the cash management and security space. This feeds directly into our innovation and technology roadmap that is very important to us for introducing state-of-the-art technology to our customers and delivering greater efficiencies to their operations. In 2017, we channelled our innovation specifically into the cashiering area of a venue and of course increased applications on our extremely successful Premium CRT that has been very popular in hotels, clubs and casinos. Our main highlight was the introduction of the new ecash MiniCashier that has been very popular with our customers and has addressed many of the cash management requirements they highlighted. We are delighted with the success of our MiniCashier as we are of our Premium CRT that has also been very popular with our Australian customers. They have now been installed in a very large number of hotels in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. We were also very happy to welcome many more hotel groups as customers of ecash in 2017. This year we are delighted to announce the establishment of ecash Europe which will now support our customer base across several European countries where our customers are using ecash CRTs and cashiering systems. Our main challenge was ensuring that we grew our internal resources in line with the exceptional growth we experienced in 2017. To that end we are pleased to announce that we have expanded several parts of the company to make sure we keep offering our customers the best levels of service that the industry expects from ecash.
WHAT INNOVATIONS OR NEW PRODUCTS DID ECASH INTRODUCE IN 2017? Our innovation is always centred on our key strengths of payments. ecash has been planning, designing and manufacturing payment systems and products in Australia for over 20 years and are proud to be an Australian owned and
12 | FEBRUARY 2018 AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER
operated company. This year we introduced the new MiniCashier that has been designed to ultimately eliminate the need for a manual cash draw while providing strong cash integrity and security to cashiers and management of all venues. MiniCashier offers our customers a full reporting suite and business intelligence for their venues, allowing greater staff mobility in customer service areas and of course accurate and intelligent cash management. MiniCashier, along with the very popular Premium CRT, has been a great package for hotels with respect to cash management and integrity.
WHAT HAS THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS BEEN LIKE WORKING WITH VENUES TO GET READY FOR THE NEW $5 AND $10 NOTES?
benefit our customers venues. These forums are also a great time to meet with our partners in the industry and learn more about new and emerging technologies.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM ECASH IN 2018? We continue to listen and learn from our customers’ feedback and growth requirements and also from new and emerging technologies in the world that can be introduced to our Australian customers. We will continue to invest in innovation in 2018 and ensure our product and technology roadmap is in sync with our customers and our industry’s future cash management and payment requirements. We take great pride in the continued introduction of our latest innovations to our customers in Australia.
For over 20 years ecash has firmly believed in investing in R&D and the production of our products to guarantee quality and applications that are compliant to Australian gaming industry standards. We have a large development team based both here in Australia and our US facility and have been working very closely with the local Australian authorities to ensure the new $5 and $10 notes were programmed and introduced correctly to minimise any possible disruption to our customers’ venues. 2017 was a very busy period indeed working with all of our customers to ensure new bill acceptors and software were delivered and installed properly which required detailed logistical planning and field service deployment.We will continue over the next few years to ensure the remaining denominations are delivered as efficiently as possible to our customers throughout Australia.
HOW IMPORTANT WERE SHOWS LIKE AHGE AND AGE FOR ECASH IN 2017? These shows are incredibly important to ecash and we very much look forward to them every year to of course see our customers again and very proudly take the time to show the industry and our customers our product range that addresses back of house, gaming floor cashier and self-service payment options that
Premium CRT
The Bidwill Hotel. Paul Kelly Design is proud to present a new premium entertainment venue in Greater Western Sydney. Let the games begin.
SUPPLIER
SUPPLIER DAVID ELIA, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER HOSTPLUS WHAT HAVE BEEN THE HIGHLIGHTS AND THE CHALLENGES OF 2017 FOR HOSTPLUS? As the number one performing fund in Australia, the biggest highlight was crediting our MySuper Balanced fund members a 13.2 per cent return for the 2016-17 financial year. This was truly an industry-leading result and further vindication that the industry fund model, and our profit-for-member philosophy, delivers more to working Australians. Our long-term performance and MySuper product of the year was recognised at Rainmaker SelectingSuper’s awards. Hostplus also received Money magazine’s Best of the Best Super Fund (for our Balanced option) and Lowest-Cost Super Fund (for our Indexed Balanced option). In contrast, the heightened political environment continued to pose challenges for our sector driven by contentious debate around a range of policy changes that we believe are detrimental to members’ interests.
WHAT INNOVATIONS DID HOSTPLUS MAKE IN 2017? In 2017, Hostplus made the switch from weekly crediting rates to daily unit pricing, allowing members to keep track of their leading investment performance, as well as providing more flexibility for those seeking to change investment options.
Building on the success of our Indexed Balanced option, we also launched two new indexed international shares options – both with extremely low management costs. These enable members to tailor their own asset allocation within their super portfolio. On an investment front, we continued our significant commitment to Australia’s start-up ecosystem with more than $550 million invested in supporting innovation in biomed, fintech, clean energy, autonomous taxis and cybersecurity.
WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THE SUCCESS OF YOUR SUPER RETURNS TO? Much of the fund’s outperformance continues to branch from our strategic asset allocation to unlisted assets and active management – two fundamental principles underpinning our long-term investment strategy. Unlisted assets, including direct property and infrastructure, continue to provide strong portfolio protection and superior returns, versus standard defensive investments in bonds and cash. Active management also continues to play an important role in outperforming the equities market.
DO THE HOSPITALITY SCHOLARSHIPS FROM HOSTPLUS ATTRACT A LOT OF INTEREST FROM THE INDUSTRY? Yes, certainly. Our hospitality scholarship
programs aim to recognise and develop future talent in the Australian hospitality industry. This year will be the fifth anniversary of our Hostplus Hospitality Scholarship with the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, where we are expecting more than 200 applications from apprentice chefs through to budding winemakers. We are also proud to offer a Three-Star Scholarship and Indigenous Scholarship with the William Angliss Institute, providing financial support towards learning and development, travel, tools and resources. In 2017, we received over 270 applications from culinary students demonstrating excellence, passion and a love for our industry. Hostplus also offers a Hospitality Management and Sports Management Scholarship with the International College of Management in New South Wales, helping students kick-start their careers and preparing them for leadership roles.
HOW DO YOU THINK THE NATIONAL PUB MARKET IS PLACED FOR 2018? We know the hospitality sector is fiercely competitive. The rise of superior food, craft beer, unique customer experiences and convenience have created an arms race in the sector. This is great news for consumers but tough on operators. According to IBIS World, declining alcohol consumption and gambling expenditure may continue to constrain revenue growth. However, rising discretionary income levels and the shift towards consumption of premium, high-priced alcoholic beverages should boost industry growth.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM HOSTPLUS IN 2018? In the first half of 2018, we are very excited to open our Pooled Superannuation Trust option to self-managed super funds (SMSFs). It will allow SMSFs to invest directly in a number of Hostplus’ leading investment options, and will be the first product of its kind to give external investors access to unlisted infrastructure and direct property, with daily liquidity.
14 | FEBRUARY 2018 AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER
OPERATOR
SAM MCINNES, GENERAL MANAGER HURLEY HOTEL GROUP
On the good side we continued to fare pretty well despite Adelaide being in low growth and being exceptionally competitive. The food area of our business continues to grow well – we put a lot of time and resources into getting that right. Each of our hotels has its own identity, while at the back end we have common supplier agreements and similar practices and management. In business there are always challenges! Although we have a pretty stable workforce, finding kitchen staff remains difficult. The changes to 457 visa rules haven’t helped, and there also seems to be a growing reluctance for school leavers to start a chef apprenticeship. The Hackney Road O-Bahn Bus tunnel roadworks caused us a lot of grief, but thankfully was finished just prior to Christmas.
YOU LAUNCHED ACCOMMODATION AT PRETORIA HOTEL AT THE BEGINNING OF 2017 – HOW IS THAT FARING? The Pretoria Hotel is perfectly situated right on the mighty Murray River at Mannum. We have six pub-style rooms that we have stylishly renovated. Occupancy can be a bit up and down – we are always busy when the weather is good and when Mannum has one of its big events, like Sounds by the River in January and the Truck & Ute Muster in June. In 2018, The Bend motorsport park will open at nearby Tailem Bend, and with a round of the Supercars in August it’s a fantastic addition to the Murraylands region.
HURLEY HOTEL GROUP OFFERS ACCOMMODATION AT HALF OF ITS VENUES – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT AS A REVENUE STREAM? On-premise liquor continues to be ultracompetitive in South Australia, with lots of new, temporary and publicly funded venues. We have always had a strong interest in accommodation. Some of our hotels are well located to capture good rates and occupancy. With the challenges in on-premise liquor, if managed right accommodation can provide a
Arkaba Hotel and accommodation tower healthy income stream. It’s not a cheap business to be involved in, initial capital is big, refurbs are not cheap if you want to continue to offer a reasonable product, and front- and back-ofhouse staff need to be well managed.
ALMA TAVERN WON BEST ENTERTAINMENT VENUE AT THE 2017 AHA SA AWARDS, WHAT MAKES IT SUCH AN EXEMPLARY ENTERTAINMENT OFFERING? Entertainment venues come and go, but the Alma has been kicking goals for many years. Working with a long list of some of Adelaide’s best entertainers, as well as local AFL celebrities, and touring interstate/international DJs, the Alma continues to improve its capabilities to put on a great show across multiple entertainment nights through the week.
YOU’RE PLANNING A MASSIVE $13M REVAMP OF MARION HOTEL IN 2018 – WHAT’S INVOLVED? The last major renovation of the Marion was in 1997. Although we keep our hotels well maintained, the design and layout of the Marion is due for a change. The large open plan design for the bistro and gaming room has had its time, and now it’s about making interesting spaces and still having the capacity for the big occasions. Additionally we are adapting to changing markets. The existing large public bar was built to accommodate the
now closed Mitsubishi Factory nearby. Our Sip’n Save branded bottle shop has outgrown its original home and needs modernising. About half of the overall project relates to a new five-storey accommodation tower providing an additional 52 rooms. The revamp of the old Mitsubishi site at Tonsley and the SA Aquatic Centre at Marion are just a couple of growth drivers in the inner southern area that are giving us the confidence to invest.
IS ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORKS FOR HURLEY HOTEL GROUP IN 2018? It’s shaping up to be a busy and interesting year. The Hackney Hotel apartment project approval has been a long-winded affair. In December the site was given State Government “Urban Corridor rezoning” which allows us to build proposed apartments higher than originally planned. We will revisit our plans now and work out what is best for the site, while retaining the original two-storey hotel. We have been involved in the Murray Bridge Racecourse redevelopment for many years, a joint venture that is relocating the Murray Bridge Racecourse out of the main part of town to a greenfield site. Our main involvement is selling the 400 lots at the old racecourse and potentially 3000 lots around the new racecourse. The new track is prepared, and the new racing club facility building started in December.
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WHAT WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES FACING HURLEY HOTEL GROUP IN 2017?
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What features make my business attractive to talented personnel? VISION AND DYNAMISM The internet/social media gives candidates more knowledge about your business than ever. They have an opinion before they even apply. That is if they apply. So what are we selling? The occupation of 30-40 per cent of their waking hours. The generation we are employing wants that time to not just fund the other 60-70 per cent, but to be a part of the experience. It’s no longer enough to just be a job. So what’s attractive about us? Online presence. Social media - they live by it, so we stay current, try to look professional, manage feedback positively and professionally, encourage engagement. Change. We are constantly on the move, with renovations, innovations and acquisitions. New menus, uniforms, specials, etc. There is always something happening to hold interest. We don’t do it all at once to try to avoid getting stale. Sharing the vision. Keeping them informed about what’s next, even engaging them in what that should be. Using their knowledge to influence our direction, be it a chef with a menu, or manager with a promotional idea. Buy in/ownership. Our key staff get to see the bottom line, the P&L. They see their influence on our business, the way that it really matters to us. This is the joining of the dots that shows the black and white results of the what and why of their work.
Nick Clark OWNER, Shortland Hotel Group
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ACKNOWLEDGE AND UPSKILL
A POSITIVE CULTURE
Every day presents a new challenge to engage more members and deliver superior customer service. Intrust Super is all about embracing that challenge. The fund thrives on being willing to go the extra mile for our members. Passion for our industry and dedication to customer service are the key values driving Intrust Super. That passion and dedication make our business a rewarding place to work. I’ve always believed hard work and creative thinking should be acknowledged and rewarded. Every person at Intrust Super has the ability to improve the fund and our members’ retirement outcomes. When someone is willing to try out a new idea, or displays real dedication to their job, acknowledging their achievements is so important. Innovative ideas to help members engage are essential in superannuation, so we always try to encourage creative problem solving. We’ve also found success in cultivating a variety of skillsets and talents in the fund. We encourage staff to upskill and expand their knowledge in areas they are interested in. Helping workers learn throughout their career is a great way to get the best out of your staff. And the ability to grow and learn on the job is a valuable initiative for any business to attract new staff.
Colonial Leisure Group is a market-leading hospitality group, employing over 1200 people, in a diverse range of venues Australia wide. At CLG, we believe that a positive and creative company culture must not only be carefully cultivated but also continually maintained. We operate in an innovative and rapidly evolving industry and believe our company culture needs to continue to evolve as our businesses do. At CLG, we operate under a relatively flat management structure for the size of our operation, which we believe increases open and constructive communication, inspires creativity and encourages team work. We embrace transparency and encourage our leaders’ creative license, in the belief that an inspired leader will effectively motivate their team, resulting in the best possible outcome for our customers. Our internal recognition and reward programs are designed around driving our team to experience our venues as a customer would, thereby increasing their understanding of our brands and the customer experience within them. We seek to understand our people’s strengths and weaknesses, so we may best continue to develop their skills, focus on retention and align their personal growth with ours as a company. Customers will never love a company unless employees love it first.
Brendan O’Farell CEO, Intrust Super
Grady Patching NATIONAL OPERATIONS MANAGER, Colonial Leisure Group
SUPPLIER
SUPPLIER BRENDAN O’FARRELL, CEO INTRUST SUPER WHAT HAVE BEEN THE HIGHLIGHTS AND THE CHALLENGES OF 2017 FOR INTRUST SUPER? After a challenging market in 2016, I was pleased the team at Intrust Super were able to deliver some fantastic returns for members in the 2016/17 financial year. Intrust Super’s Balanced option returned an impressive 12.15 per cent for the financial year to 30 June. Welcome news, I’m sure, for any staff members using Intrust Super. The figure represents the fourth year out of five that the fund has delivered double-digit returns, and the eighth consecutive year of positive returns since the global financial crisis. It was a fantastic result. As challenges go, 1 July 2017 brought some of the most significant changes to super I’ve seen since the inception of the system. The Government legislated the numerous changes on 23 November 2016. Some of these new rules included changes to contribution caps and super taxation rules, and the introduction of a transfer balance cap on pension products. The new rules had to be implemented by 1 July 2017, and communicated to any members that were likely to be affected. I was incredibly proud of the team for keeping our members informed and preparing for the changes in such a short timeframe. In addition, Intrust Super was awarded ‘Best Value Insurance in Super’ by Money magazine for the sixth year in a row! Protecting our hospitality partners, their staff and their super balances has always been a priority for Intrust Super. It was fantastic to receive this recognition from Money once again. Finally, Intrust Super has been rated as a Platinum ‘Best Value for Money’ fund by SuperRatings for the 12th consecutive year. The fund was also a finalist for SuperRatings’ ‘MySuper of the Year 2018’ award, the third consecutive year we have received the nomination.
WHAT INNOVATIONS DID INTRUST SUPER INTRODUCE IN 2017? Staff members using Intrust Super will probably be very interested in our new rewards program. Intrust Super Rewards gives members access to over 4,500 discounts and special offers over a range of categories – many of them discounts for pubs, bars and restaurants across Australia.
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It’s a fantastic way to bring new business to our hospitality partners, while at the same time rewarding our members. Possibly the biggest update for any staff members holding insurance cover with Intrust Super was the announcement of two insurance premium reductions. On 1 October 2017, the insurance premiums for Intrust Super’s income protection cover were reduced by approximately 12 per cent.* Not only that, we were thrilled to announce another premium reduction, this time for our life and total and permanent disability insurance. From 1 January 2018, Intrust Super members paid seven per cent less for their life and total and permanent disability insurance. It’s so important to not only protect our members and their families, but also their super balances. And I’m so proud the fund continued improving our member’s insurance cover in 2017. We also introduced interactive Annual Statements to members in 2017. The interactive statements are easy to digest and accessible across multiple devices. For hospitality staff, this means being able to engage with their accounts whenever it suits them – even on a break at 2am. Members receiv personalised messages with their statements, to show them ways to improve their super situation. And finally, our financial planning arm, Intrust360°, introduced a new service called Phone360°. Making time to book an in-person appointment can be difficult, especially for time-strapped members in the hospitality industry. Phone360° is a convenient, low-cost alternative to receive simple super advice over the phone. It’s just another way we’re trying to make superannuation easier for hospitality staff.
HOW DO YOU THINK THE NATIONAL HOSPITALITY MARKET IS PLACED FOR 2018? The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games are sure to deliver a huge boost to the hospitality and tourism industries in Australia. And this shouldn’t be limited to Queensland. It’ll bring a boom in tourism, infrastructure investment and upgrades, and tens of thousands of new jobs. I’m really looking forward to watching
Australia show the world that our hospitality industry is second to none. Food trends continue to have a significant influence on the hospitality industry, and it’s likely this will continue in 2018. Innovative menus, healthy options and creative spaces are currently the big drawcards to hospitality businesses. The social-media-loving crowds of Generation Y spend a lot of their time drinking and eating and telling the world about it. Their enthusiasm can only mean more good things for the hospitality industry. Competition continues to be one of the biggest challenges in the industry, especially in attracting return business. It’s fantastic to see how the hospitality industry faces these challenges each year. There’s so much I, and Intrust Super, continually learns from the industry’s innovation and leadership.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM INTRUST SUPER IN 2018? The team at Intrust Super works hard to continue improving the super experience for our members. We are constantly developing ways to deliver superior customer service and easier interactions with superannuation for our hospitality members. Keeping our members engaged, especially younger members, is a challenge in an industry that’s built around saving for something far in the future. But, like the hospitality industry, we’re always up for the challenge. *This premium is for the member default 21 day waiting period
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BRAD JENKINS, GROUP GENERAL MANAGER LEWISLAND GROUP
WHAT WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES FOR DRINX GROUP IN 2017? 2017 was a great year for Drinx. We saw the Fiddler outperform as it goes from strength to strength. Belvedere Hotel showed positive signs from recent renovations, and at Camden Valley Inn we were finalising our development plans for 2018. We are fortunate to have some credentialed management and leadership at the venue level, and developed some proficient and loyal staff. We entered into some employment initiatives to place some long term unemployed and disadvantage people into our ranks, which is rewarding for the ownership. Customer growth and retention was great in 2017, as we continue to innovate to give reason for visitation.
frequent purchase and visitation by locals and greater Brisbane. We have seen some good improvement in all revenue streams, and are steadily building a solid base of loyal customers to grow further in 2018.
YOU ALSO INTRODUCED AL’S PIZZERIA TO THE FIDDLER AND THE BELVEDERE IN LATE 2017. WHY? We see this food option as a quick and quality offer for our customers, where the pizza cooks in less than two minutes. While it has complemented our existing food offers, we are seeing customers come in for a pizza, purchase a single drink then leave. The short stay dining market is not what our hotels have traditionally catered for, and we see new customers as well as increased visitation from existing customers developing from this strategy.
THE BELVEDERE UNDERWENT A MASSIVE REVAMP IN EARLY 2017 – WHAT WAS THE STRATEGY BEHIND IT?
YOU’RE A BIG BELIEVER IN THE ‘1/3 GAMING, 1/3 FOOD, 1/3 BEVERAGE’ MODEL – DOES THAT GIVE YOU A SAFETY NET IF ONE STREAM UNDERPERFORMS?
Belvedere Hotel is in a great waterside location, but you can’t solely rely on location. The property needed a refresh to bring it up to modern standards, as well as some consolidation of service points to improve internal efficiencies. We repositioned the hotel to cater for more
Yes it is principally a risk management strategy. All our properties have large operating areas, with multiple service points which require large amounts of staff to function. Our strategy to equally focus on food, beverage and gaming is aimed at maximising a customer’s reasons
Pizza from Al's Pizzeria for visitation. You cannot operate suburban properties of our scale with a single focus on one revenue stream. It also keeps you fresh and innovative as you are continually looking to develop new strategies across all revenue streams to increase customer visitation. As a result we have been fortunate this year to see growth across all revenue streams, so it hasn’t been a concern about the underperformance of one particular stream, but the lag one has in relation to the others.
DRINX GROUP HAS REBRANDED TO LEWISLAND GROUP– WHY WAS THIS CHANGE MADE? Drinx initially operated out of Queensland as a standalone business. In recent years it has been integrated into the management and operations of Lewisland Group which has been highly beneficial to both businesses. It made sense to change names now.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM LEWISLAND GROUP IN 2018?
The Belvedere
The Fiddler will see a 78-room hotel constructed during the year, which will see new reasons for customers to come to the venue. With this development we will be upgrading our function facilities, to cater for conferencing and major events. Belvedere Hotel will undergo some minor adjustments to the property as we continue to build trade. Camden Valley Inn should realise the commencement of a major upgrade to the facility.
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Editorial note: Drinx Group changed its name to Lewisland Group in late 2017.
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CRAIG SHEARER, DIRECTOR OPEN ARMS HOSPITALITY WHAT IS YOUR ASSESSMENT OF OPEN ARMS' FIRST YEAR OF OPERATIONS?
Riverland in Brisbane
The year has been really exciting as we transitioned from the old Beer DeLuxe/Armada Hospitality company to the new Open Arms business. We ramped up pretty quickly as we brought two new venues to life and acquired a third venue for the portfolio.
HOW HAS BUSINESS BEEN SINCE OPENING PUBLIC HOUSE ALBURY? OPERATOR
Public House Albury has been received extremely well and trade is exceeding our expectations. It was nice to see the teams efforts rewarded at the recent AHA New South Wales awards with the venue taking out Best Redeveloped Venue (Regional).
OPEN ARMS ALSO CONSTRUCTED RIVERLAND ON EAGLE ST IN BRISBANE – CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE CONCEPT? Riverland opened in mid-November along the Brisbane River and is also far exceeding what we hoped it would achieve. We have a great mix of street food providers in the venue delivering authentic, genuine, flavoursome and well-priced food from around the world. We have five vendors currently covering a wide range of food styles. We still have the original five in place and will have for a couple of months. The bump-in process was very smooth and seamless. This offering is combined with an extensive beer, wine, spirit and cocktail list; great entertainment; and an unparalleled view of the Story Bridge. The venue is licenced for 675 pax and we have been running at capacity most nights. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive towards food and beverage, staff and the venue fitout. The biggest thing people comment on is the amazing views of the river and Story Bridge, with a high number of selfies being taken with this aspect in the background.
YOU ALSO PURCHASED THE PLOUGH INN IN BRISBANE – WHAT MADE THAT VENUE ATTRACTIVE? What’s not to love about the Plough? It is just
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a good old fashioned Aussie belter of a pub set along Brisbane’s picturesque Southbank. We were looking for a strong business with large turnover and solid existing cash flows. The Plough ticked every box. We will give the venue a quick tidy up in 2018, as we plan for a larger-scale structural fitout down the track to allow for more capacity, as the pub is trading at its maximum capacity currently.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE LOGISTICAL EXPERIENCE OF OPERATING VENUES IN DIFFERENT STATES, BUT NOT WHERE YOU’RE BASED? Obviously we had a fair bit of experience with the Beer DeLuxe Group, which has allowed us to implement some great systems and procedures (we call it Rhythm & Data) which allows us to operate the venues efficiently. It involves a bit of travel for us, but we love getting out to the venues to catch up with the staff as often as possible.
YOU HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH US-BASED DELAWARE NORTH, LOOKING TO CREATE AN AUSTRALIAN GAMING PORTFOLIO – HOW IS THAT COMING ALONG? We are absolutely loving the partnership with Delaware North. They are a wonderful company to work with and have some really great people. And working with Simon
Gardner (ex-Pegasus Leisure Group) has been great. Simon is such a well-respected professional operator and this has really helped us to understand and work in a slightly more corporatised environment. We are working hard to bring some exciting acquisitions to fruition in early 2018 which will build a nice platform for growth for many years to come. It’s quite exciting to think of what this business can grow into.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM OPEN ARMS HOSPITALITY IN 2018? We are actively looking for new greenfield (or brownfield) sites to develop on, and would ideally like to tack on some more large-scale F&B businesses to the portfolio, hopefully with one a little closer to home in Victoria.
“WE ARE ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR NEW GREENFIELD (OR BROWNFIELD) SITES TO DEVELOP ON, AND WOULD IDEALLY LIKE TO TACK ON SOME MORE LARGE-SCALE F&B BUSINESSES TO THE PORTFOLIO.”
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JESSICA MCGRATH AND MARK PRATT, PUBLICANS THE PALACE HOTEL, SOUTH MELBOURNE WHAT WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES FOR THE PALACE HOTEL IN 2017?
Billy the Dog
YOU BOTH WON AND BEEN NOMINATED FOR PUBLICAN AWARDS – WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES YOU GREAT PUBLICANS? We have been asked this question before, not sure we still know how to answer it! We just try to be ourselves. We make sure that one of us is always here, we are present and working within the business and not just on it. While back of house is a necessity, a pub, in its true sense of ‘public house’ is not run from an office. Let’s be honest though, at the end of the day, it was probably because of Billy (the dog)!
YOU SHARE THE ROLE OF PUBLICAN – HOW DOES YOUR PARTNERSHIP WORK? We both focus on different parts of the business but at the same time have our heads around the business as a whole. We both work in the business day to day, serving customers, choosing beer lists, wine lists and food etc. Then we branch off to focus on different parts. Pratty’s nick name is Macgyver. He fixes everything! He is behind the jump a little more as well. Jess’ nickname is The Glue, she holds it all together. More in the office, functions, admin etc. We are best friends at the end of the
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Highlights definitely included Good Beer Week, ANZAC Day, the AFL Grand Final and probably the Mayweather v McGregor fight. On a more personal level, winning Publicans of the Year with TimeOut. A very humbling experience and gives us that extra bit of validation that what we are doing is paying off. We were pretty familiar with the TimeOut awards but had never been nominated in the ALIA awards before, so that was pretty cool. It also gave us a chance to go to Sydney for a couple of days. Days off are always a highlights. Challenges are there all the time, staffing, pricing, patrons. But it’s how you go about those challenges that makes this all worthwhile. For us, ensuring that our product is delivered the same way all the time is a big challenge. Managing staff and expectations is never ending. day and respect each other. Most importantly we talk about everything, all the time. Constantly floating new ideas and allowing each other to run with things when inspired.
WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES THE PALACE HOTEL SUCH A WELLLOVED MELBOURNE PUB? We believe that The Palace is well received due to its approachability. It welcomes all walks and all ages of people. It lends itself to offering at least one thing everyone can relate to: music, sport, dog- and family-friendly. We are able to reserve multiple areas for various functions. We had two weddings in 2017, as well as birthdays from 18-80 years of age, private dining functions, Christmas functions, office meetings, and much more. Our food has really stepped up in the last couple of years as well. Our head chef, known only as Rambo, has nailed our menu. Everything is made in house, we are priced accordingly and it appeals to everyone in the area.
PALACE HOTEL IS KNOWN FOR ITS SPORTS VIEWING – HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR SPORT OFFERING STAND OUT? We believe it’s very simple, be able to view a
screen from all angles of the pub, especially while at the bar. We are able to split the sound in different areas so we can show more than one event at a time. We make it known that you can approach us and ask for a different game in a specific area. We are always take bookings for sporting events and offer both tables and standing room. We support the local footy team and have a wall of signatures that’s dedicated to all sporting legends that have visited us. We lend ourselves to all sports as well, which we believe is important: AFL, rugby, tennis, cricket, NFL, basketball, soccer and anything else you can think of.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE PALACE HOTEL IN 2018? We are really excited for 2018. We open the year with The Australia Day BBQ, GABS Hottest 100 beer count down and roll straight into Super Bowl and The New Zealand Craft Beer Symposium. ANZAC Day will be here before you know it and then our favourite, Good Beer Week, where we get to show off South Australia’s finest ales. It’s also our fifth birthday which is a massive achievement for us, so stay tuned for that party!
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How do you see pub gaming changing in the near future? AN INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE
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We have started to push hard to get alcoholrelated activities out of the gaming rooms, like TAB, while keeping the sports focus in the rooms, as these punters are the perfect gaming demographic. Many of our venues are also breaking off the gaming business from the main hotel, allowing a different demographic to be attracted to a gaming venue, as it is not seen as being a pub. Our rooms are really pushing the design barriers as well, the fitouts are extensive and very detailed and the results of these developments have seen massive financial returns for our customers (Gregory Hills and Bidwill Hotels for example). The next step in gaming for Paul Kelly Design is going to be more about service and about creating completely individual experiences that can be controlled, and allow for the maximum performance of the machines. The gaming market will chase the big and frequent punters, who want to have nothing to do with hotels but everything to do with gaming-focused entertainment. If you look at where casinos make their money, it’s not on the main floor. It’s in the areas that offer a lot more for the customer, with perceived give back and delivery on an amazing experience.
Paul Kelly DIRECTOR, Paul Kelly Design
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The gaming room at Bidwill Hotel
MILLENNIAL MANIA Gaming in pubs is competitive, you always need to find something that sets you apart from your competition. This can include but not be limited to: environment, accessibility (location or entry), reward schemes and technology. I have been lucky enough to have visited Vegas twice in the last year. The first time I went with the AHA NSW study tour and we were given a behind-the-scenes tour of the MGM gaming area. They had recently invested in a new area inside the casino aiming to target millennials. They had created the whole environment differently (décor, targeted gaming machines, new technology) compared to the more traditional gaming areas. This theme was also apparent at the Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE), with larger screens on machines and more machines that replicate at-home console gaming (e.g. Xbox, PlayStation). In October I went to the G2E Global Gaming Expo. What I took home from this expo is that the focus was on technology. Pubs are going to need to continue to evolve and upgrade systems to stay competitive. The introduction of CRT machines allows quick payouts for players. We have found upgrading machines with bigger screens and brighter colours attracts the attention of players from other machines.
Stephanie Grace LICENSEE, Pippi’s at the Point
NETWORK-BASED GAMING One of the key drivers of change for gaming in the near future occurred in the final month of 2017 with the rollout of the new CMS in New South Wales by Maxgaming. A network of 2570 venues with gaming machines are set to gain efficiencies in their regulatory obligations through the connection to the CMS, and the introduction of this new technology will no doubt enable the industry to leverage the network over the coming years to offer a range of new applications. The greatest area of possibility from the CMS lies within network-based gaming that allows for downloadable games. This is not going to happen tomorrow but it is not unrealistic to think this scenario is not too far into the future, when we see the major manufacturers being able to offer more flexible commercial arrangements for gaming products now that the infrastructure exists to support it. Manufacturers are in a much better position to explore a wide range of adaptive gaming products, in conjunction with regulators, that are customer focused now that the vehicle is available to deliver them. I’ll be interested to see how close we get to realising downloadable gaming this time next year.
Adrian Halpenny SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AUSTRALIA AND ASIA, SG Gaming
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SUPPLIER PAUL KELLY, DIRECTOR PAUL KELLY DESIGN WHAT HAVE BEEN THE HIGHLIGHTS AND THE CHALLENGES OF 2017 FOR PAUL KELLY DESIGN? We have had an amazing year in the gaming market – all of our renovated venues have increased turnover by between 30 and 50 per cent in the first quarter, some achieving more. We have really struggled with the planning on some venues and the timeframes for approvals - the quantity of paperwork is driving up the costs of approvals for our clients and blowing out our time programs. In saying that, we have worked with some really good certifiers that have seen our direction and are assisting us to get around the laws.
WERE THERE ANY INNOVATIONS IN ANY OF YOUR PUB DESIGNS OF 2017? We are really focusing on keeping our patrons in the gaming rooms so have been working hard on sporting concepts to achieve this with Sportsbet. We are also really working hard on food concepts with some exciting operators. Some of the biggest innovations in the hotel market have come from the operator and their request to go harder in the food market, riding on the The new gaming and wagering area at Bidwill Hotel
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success of higher profile projects. We are finding a lot more opportunity in the food sector predominantly as there now seems to be a greater amount of staff that can actually pull off the concept. The trained skills are flowing down the line to a wider section of the market.
YOU HAVE WORKED ON A LOT OF GAMING AREAS THIS YEAR, IS THIS A SHIFT IN YOUR BUSINESS OR A SHIFT IN DEMAND? Our gaming rooms return a higher result to our clients, so our product is becoming higher in demand due to this. At one stage we were working on eight gaming rooms at once all over New South Wales. It was a little tricky to make sure we serviced the projects properly and made each room individually successful, but we got there with some fantastic results.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST DESIGN FACTOR CONTRIBUTING TO GAMING AREA SUCCESS? There is no doubt that the new machines are contributing to the success, however we are finding that the more we make the gaming rooms look and feel like the machines
the better they are working. We are taking the rooms towards Crown Casino as the benchmark, where before it was about the operation and the full smoking option, now it’s about a complete experience. The control of the elements has also been very important, creating seamless spaces that are luxurious yet compliant outdoors.
WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE BIG PUB DESIGN TRENDS OF 2018? Food and beverage will make it big this year, keeping customers within their own catchment areas as the competition is going to be fierce. We will see a lot of venues with multiple offers for a wider variety of customers, not necessarily just alcohol-focused but more in making the customer part of the culture of the hotel. The interiors will be looking towards lifestyle and matching the requirements of the customer and their social media habits.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM PAUL KELLY DESIGN IN THE NEXT TWELVE MONTHS? We have some really exciting large-format, multi-outlet entertainment venues we are working on out west [of Sydney’s CBD], which will be game changers. Also in the gaming area with some of our new concepts starting to roll out, we’re looking forward to making some great spaces. We have a really large development in Ambarvale which when completed will be quite an eye opener. We have two large city developments with multiple outlets. The Evening Star Hotel is in construction in Surry Hills which we are calling the ‘Evil Star’, as is the Verandah Bar in the city and Bankstown Sports for the Oscars Hotel group. A really large food, beverage and gaming project in Griffith will start construction soon, as well as an extensive accommodation project in Tamworth for the Powerhouse Hotel. We are doing some work with JDA Hotels in Jannali which should be a great development. We are also working a lot in the restaurant sector, opening our tenth Bettys Burgers and some really great projects in the Pyrmont area.
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MARYANNE AND CLIVE JOHNSON, AND PETE COULTAS DIRECTORS AND OPERATIONS MANAGER, THE PRINCE ALFRED HOTEL WHAT HAVE BEEN THE HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES OF 2017 FOR PRINCE ALFRED HOTEL?
Seating at Tap'd
The highlight of 2017 was winning Hotel of the Year at the national AHA Awards. The challenge for 2017, as it is every year, is staying ahead of trends so we remain relevant and exciting for our customers.
Our success comes from staying ahead of the trends. We aim to be proactive, not reactive. We utilise every resource offered through the AHA and QHA – networking events and conferences – to stay informed and innovative. We also attend trade events nation-wide to find new produce and technology to implement in the hotel. We have found digital tools extremely helpful in researching trends because you have the world at your fingertips. With just a few clicks, you find design and food trends using apps like Pinterest and Instagram. Our staff are also extremely important to our success. People will always remember how you make them feel – we want everyone to feel uplifted when they walk out of the doors of the PA and that ultimately comes down to our staff. We try to keep our staff engaged by including them in the hotel developments, menu changes and events. The Tap'd craft beer offering
CHAR’D AND TAP’D ARE YOUR MAIN FOOD AND CRAFT BEER OFFERINGS WITHIN THE PA – HOW HAVE THEY PERFORMED OVER THE LAST YEAR? Great! Both Char’d and Tap’d have increased on the previous year. Everything is linked together, we constantly change the offerings in both areas to give customers a reason to come back. We focus on making these changes positive, working on improved product and menu experience rather than focusing on discounts. We had over 250 beers offered in Tap’d in 2017, and worked with local farmers to constantly change the menu in Char’d. We look at what the industry is
doing and offer something completely different on our menus. You need to have a point of difference to stand out.
YOU ALSO HAD A LARGE RECRUITMENT DRIVE AT THE END OF 2017, WHAT NECESSITATED THAT AND WHAT RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES DID YOU EMPLOY? Growth – we had a busy holiday period. We are lucky to hold on to our staff for long periods of time but we also had to factor in the natural attrition rate with this growth and the demand on services. We advertise on Seek, and we always screen applicants before hiring them. The PA is a great work environment, so we also have a lot of professionals come to us individually for work opportunities. We love to support locals around Ipswich.
WHAT’S IN STORE FOR THE PRINCE ALFRED HOTEL IN 2018? In 2018, we will continue to give each area of the hotel an identity, personality and goal for the year. We are opening up a new growler station in retail, where we will continue to focus on craft beer. Char’d will continue to focus on local and niche products that offer something different to our customers, like working with family bakeries, local olive and lime farmers and ordering local red claw. Overall, the hotel will continue to evolve as we find new opportunities in 2018.
AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER FEBRUARY 2018 | 25
OPERATOR
WHAT DO YOU PUT DOWN TO WINNING THE NATIONAL HOTEL OF THE YEAR AWARD?
SUPPLIER
SUPPLIER ADRIAN HALPENNY, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AUSTRALIA AND ASIA SG GAMING WHAT HAVE BEEN THE HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES OF 2017 FOR SG GAMING? The highlight for SG Gaming in 2017 was our ability to execute on the delivery of blockbuster brands. It was about striking the balance between the razzle dazzle and game mechanics so what started as a challenge quickly became a highlight. By August we had three big brand titles all working well complementing the inhouse brands like Locked & Loaded that had been such a big part of our 2016 releases. Our ability to access our international brand library and create games in our Sydney studio that suit Australian players included Iron Man, Monopoly Grand Hotel and the reinvigorated Pink Panther brand went on to make for another successful year.
WHAT INNOVATIONS DID SG GAMING INTRODUCE IN 2017? The Quartz cabinet from our Electronic Table Systems range was developed on a new platform. Designed and tooled from the Australian office, Quartz is the second product line from Scientific Games to use the Argos platform. This was a company-wide collaboration that allowed us to go from concept to casino floor in a matter of months. The cabinet was designed to transform Fusion game play, a product that is available in casinos, through improved technology that gives players a more enhanced gaming experience. We first displayed it at the Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE) in August and by December it was on the floor at The Star Gold Coast. To our customers the new platform will be seamless but as an organisation it makes us a lot more efficient and effective.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM SG GAMING IN 2018? On the game front we’re looking at a consistent flow of titles that we see as maintaining our core brands. The early part of the year will be geared towards strengthening the Locked & Loaded and Pink Panther themes. While we maintain our core brands, we also have a second stream that looks to innovate. Late last year we released Silk Moon that introduced new game play with the Hold the Gold repeat win feature. Our sequel to Silk Moon is another strong Asianthemed game called Ingotcha. In our other key Australian segment we will roll out the new Quartz cabinet into Vegas Star venues throughout 2018.
WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR SG GAMING IN THE NEXT TWELVE MONTHS? This year we are strategically focused on making a bigger impact in the hotel
26 | FEBRUARY 2018 AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER
“This year we are strategically focussed on making a bigger impact in the hotel segment… We are confident that we can deliver a number of new games that will significantly boost hotel gaming room performance and continue to build customer confidence.” segment. While we have made significant headway in the club and casino markets in the last couple of years in terms of product performance and market penetration, the hotel segment remained challenging due to the dominance of one manufacturer. The positive effect of this for SG Gaming is that it has inspired more creativity and innovative thinking in our game development process. We are confident that we can deliver a number of new games that will significantly boost hotel gaming room performance and continue to build customer confidence of SG Gaming as a key supplier in this segment. Another important opportunity lies in the expansion of our systems footprint in Australia. We already have a robust system that reaches the ALH network that has given us experience in providing an enterprise solution in the hotel market. This technology is scalable for smaller operations and has a lot of flexibility with its applications. It’s an exciting development that will no doubt have a big impact on both our business and our customers business in the near term.
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SUPPLIER
SUPPLIER JUSTINE BAKER, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER SOLOTEL WHAT HAVE BEEN THE HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES FOR SOLOTEL IN 2017? There have been so many highlights but probably the biggest this year are opening Little Big House and Barangaroo House, and the acquisition of the Marlborough and Clovelly. We’ve had a big and rewarding year: our venue teams continued to deliver a great experience in our existing venues while the project teams focused on creating two brand new venues. I am so incredibly proud of the entire Solotel team for what they’ve accomplished this year. Easily our biggest challenge was opening two new venues in different states two weeks from each other, in December… will try not to do that again!
YOU MADE A COUPLE OF PUB BUYS THIS YEAR (MARLBOROUGH, CLOVELLY) – WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GOOD PUB? We look for venues that reflect the culture and diversity of the people and the area it lives in. A pub as authentic as its locals with scale and a strong food and beverage offering. Entertainment is another important factor which makes a pub a destination and a gaming offer too where it fits.
YOU’VE JUST OPENED LITTLE BIG HOUSE IN BRISBANE, CAN WE EXPECT MORE OF A FOCUS ON THE CITY FROM SOLOTEL? Little Big House joins our existing venues RiverBar & Kitchen and Aria Brisbane. Little Big House is in Southbank which is a new area for us to connect with. Our other two businesses are located in the CBD, whereas Southbank has a broader mix of demographic with tourists, university students and destination drinkers. We have no immediate plans for a new venue in Brisbane but believe in the city and hope to grow in the following years. We are focused on making sure our existing venues are delivering a great customer experience and maximising their potential.
28 | FEBRUARY 2018 AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER
The three-level Barangaroo House
BARANGAROO HOUSE IS ANOTHER MASSIVE NEW VENUE FOR YOU – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF WORKING ON THESE BIG CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS? We haven’t attempted anything of this scale before – it really is three distinct venues in one. What I can say about working on a big project is you’ve got to have patience and stamina. Barangaroo House has been four years in the making, but it has been the last six months where we’ve really had to throw everything (and everyone) we had at it. We were really fortunate to have such an experienced and dedicated team of contractors and consultants working on the build along with our passionate team delivering the customer experience. Without them we wouldn’t have been able to open such a remarkable venue. It’s really exciting to see a project of this size come to life.
YOU DID A BIG RECRUITMENT DRIVE FOR BOTH VENUES – WHAT STRATEGIES DID YOU UTILISE? For Barangaroo House we needed to find a workforce of over 140, with a handful of unique roles which required a variety of strategies to fill. Our existing Solotel team are our biggest ambassadors and we rely heavily on their networks to spread the word across the food, wine and beverage channels. As a result we received a number of expressions of interest from top talent in our industry
wishing to join the team months before we went to the market. When we did go to market we advertised across all digital media platforms and industry specific publications which delivered over 2000 applications. Our approach to recruiting for Little Big House was slightly different because we were looking for a less seasoned, more fun, young (at heart) team that reflects the venue. We held a number of recruitment open days/group interviews with a focus on finding a team who wanted to be a part of the fun-house. Brisbane being an entirely different market with less competition, the applications came through thick and fast, with over 1300 applications for bar and floor roles alone.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM SOLOTEL IN 2018? This year’s focus is on fine-tuning our two new venues and planning the renovation projects for our 2017 acquisitions. We are also planning an end-of-2018 opening for the Abercrombie in Chippendale, which will be an entertainment, youth-focused pub concept. I’m incredibly conscious with our recent growth that you need to ensure the whole group is moving together, that our existing venues are continually evolving, our revenues are maximised and our people are being developed and feel part of the growth. I think we have enough planned to keep us busy and excited for 2018!
WANT YOUR PRODUCTS IN THOUSANDS OF PUBS AND BARS? BAR BO X MAGAZ IN E SUMMER 2017
Book a slot in Bar Box today! Bookings for the second Bar Box are open now. Space is limited so get in quick!
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SUMMER 2017
BAR BO X
Your booking includes
WELCO OUR SU ME TO YOUR FI MMER 2017 ED RST BAR BO X, ITION!
• Delivery of your product to over 4,000 key pubs and bars across Australia • DPS ad in the Bar Box magazine, delivered with Bar Box
SUMMER 2017
PAGE 2
• Your deal on the Bar Box Deal Sheet to encourage sales
CONTE NTS
Flying Brick
See inside for details and head to http://thebarbox.com.au/survey
PAGE 1
COMPLETE THE BAR BOX SURVEY & YOU COULD WIN!
Watch the Bar Box video at www.thebarbox.com.au to see how it works. Bar Box is a sales-driving and sampling system, targeting over 4,000 key pubs and bars across Australia. You can include full size bottles of wine, spirits, beer or non-alcoholic beverages.
Decanting Service We can help you rebottle your spirits into smaller, sample-sized packs.
Contact Melanie Harwood for more information Telephone 0477 109 007 Email info@thebarbox.com.au