2023 TRENDS

After a frenetic year of being hustled and bustled in and out of venues in 90 minutes, this year catering for a longer, more leisurely lunch may be the way to go for many venues. Data from ResDiary shows that two-hour bookings are most popular, with 150-minute seatings gaining popularity.

Pubs with a second dining offer besides the bistro can use this to their advantage, targeting everything from the corporate lunch to small gatherings of friends and families for special occasions such as a birthday or anniversary. You might not be turning those tables over as quickly, but with increased stay comes increased F&B spend, which could then spill over into other areas of your venue.

While the NOLO category has been growing for a few years now, it’s only just in the last 12-18 months that it’s begun to really be taken seriously within the on-premise market – and the category still has a lot of growing to do.

New data from IWSR is predicting consumption of the no and low alcohol (NOLO) category to increase by a third by 2026, with non-alcoholic products in particular driving this growth. Australia in particular is tipped for double-digit volume CAGR growth in the period leading to 2026.

The majority of this growth is likely to be spearheaded by non-alcoholic beer and cider, which the IWSR has specifically identified as providing nearly 70 per cent of the total growth in the NOLO category. Nonalcoholic wine is also expected to expand but in a more fragmented way, while non-alcoholic spirits will see ‘more dynamic growth’, with an emphasis on innovation in this sub-category.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to give some serious thought to your NOLO offering, with the same sort of consideration you would with any other part of your drinks list.

Whether it’s for your dancefloor or for a live music act playing, having the right audio set-up has always been a must. But to make your entertainment offer stand out, a good light show is also key. For Elliot Solomon, CEO of Solotel, including top-notch light show capabilities within the club space at the new Abercrombie Hotel was essential for a comprehensive entertainment experience.

“That’s a big difference now. It’s not just about going into a little dirty basement and having a dance, it’s about a multi-faceted experience through sound, the light, the food & beverage product.”

Many people have taken the time over the last few tough years to put their lives in perspective, and for many people that means prioritising things that bring joy. And what’s more joyful than dancing?

Between compliance regulations and security woes, many pubs have moved away from a nightclub offer over the last decade. But with consumers focused on fun and entertainment in their late-night choices, it could very much be worth your while in taking the time to put together a well-executed, safe nightclub offer that brings the party back to your pub.

There are some major events happening across Australia this year, including WorldPride, SXSW Sydney and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, just to name a few. With these events comes an influx of overseas and domestic tourism, not to mention locals just generally being out and about more.

Venues can get directly involved with these festivals and tournaments, by hosting related side-events, after parties, viewings and more. Even if your pub doesn’t get involved directly, there are plenty of opportunities to market your venue to the crowds that come out for these big cultural and sporting festivals. Everyone’s got to eat!

For pub groups with more than one venue, using customer data to cross-promote your various pubs is a key way to grow your business – by providing your patrons with variety of place and offer. There are various ways to market other venues to your guests, whether its through something as simple as a social media post, or something as sophisticated as a company-wide app that promotes tailored deals to each user.

The former has been employed by Australian Venue Company, who moved from a third-party app to one developed in-house – and the cross-venue sales have increased since.

“One of the key things that we really wanted to develop is a much better venue discovery experience. There’s a great map, you can see your favourite venues, and you can see what’s nearby at any point in time with location services switched on,” explains CXO Marianne Mewett.

“We do monitor that cross-shop data piece very closely so we know that loyalty customers are more likely to visit more than one AVC venue.”

Consolidating data across venues is a key priority for Flower Hotels in 2023 – particularly as the group has all of its venues in the one LGA.

“Loyalty is a big one for us. Because we’ve got all of our venues in the one location, how do we really take the digital and loyalty experiences to the next level through our scale in the region? We need to be able to use the data that’s provided to assist with our decisions,” suggests managing director Alistair Flower.