Australian Hotelier March 2017

Hotelier AUSTRALIAN

AUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL HOTEL INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

vol. 34 no. 2 - MARCH 2017

IN THIS ISSUE: PUB LEADERS SUMMIT | ACCOMMODATION | GAMING

FULL PAGE ADVERT

CONTENTS | ED’S NOTE

18 Vanessa Cavasinni

Editor’s Note

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hat a dynamic and ever-changing business the pub industry is. There is always so much happening in pubs across the country and so much evolution in various facets of operations, that operators must always be on their toes, ready to adopt a new business model or strategy. Just in the last six weeks, we’ve seen a reduction in Sunday and public holiday penalty rates (a win for publicans), some extreme premiums – between 50 and 70 per cent – being reached in the Sydney market, and hoteliers banding together to lobby state governments for lockout reform. To paraphrase one Malcolm Turnbull, these are exciting times.

With so much change afoot, we hope to see you at the Pub Leaders Summit in Sydney on 20 March, where many respected hoteliers will discuss various streams of pub operations, and notable suppliers will be exhibiting their products and services. At this oneday event, you’ll have access to plenty of information that can be translated into strategies within your business. To buy a ticket, visit www.publeaders.com. au. And if you’re attending, please say hello!

Cheers,

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Vanessa Cavasinni, Editor P: 02 8586 6201 | E: vcavasinni@intermedia.com.au

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Contents | March Special Features

Regulars

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6

ED’S PICK

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NEXT MONTH

Winter Cocktails • Pub Leaders Summit Review • Family Friendly

PUBLISHED BY:

The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd 41 Bridge Road GLEBE NSW Australia 2037 Tel: 02 9660 2113 Fax: 02 9660 4419

PLS Preview: What to look forward to at the Pub Leaders Summit.

Gaming: A sneak peek of what will be on show at the AHG Expo.

Accommodation: Keeping your rooms visible in a changing landscape.

Wine: Advice on all things wine from four operators who have got it covered.

MANAGING DIRECTOR: Simon Grover PUBLISHER: Paul Wootton EDITOR: Vanessa Cavasinni

GROUP ART DIRECTOR – LIQUOR AND HOSPITALITY:

NATIONAL SALES MANAGER:

HEAD OF CIRCULATION:

Jason Wild Tel: 02 8586 6213 • jwild@intermedia.com.au

Chris Blacklock cblacklock@intermedia.com.au

GENERAL MANAGER SALES – LIQUOR & HOSPITALITY GROUP:

PRODUCTION MANAGER:

vcavasinni@intermedia.com.au

Shane T. Williams

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Kea Thorburn kthorburn@intermedia.com.au

Jacqui Cooper jacqui@intermedia.com.au

LIVE!

News: The latest happenings around the country.

Design and Build: The Queens Hotel – where traditional and modern influences meet.

Sports Calendar: We bring you sporting highlights for March.

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Average Total Distribution: 5,420 AMAA/CAB Publisher Statement Period ending September 2016.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, SINCE 1862.

NEWS

FAIR WORK REDUCES SUNDAY AND PUBLIC HOLIDAY PENALTY RATES At the end of February, the Fair Work Commission announced that Sunday penalty rates for hospitality workers will be reduced to be in line with Saturday rates. Sunday pay rates for hospitality workers will be reduced from 175 per cent of their standard wage to 150 per cent. Public holiday rates have also been slightly reduced, from 250 to 225 per cent of standard wages for full- and part-time hospitality workers; and from 275 to 250 per cent for casual workers.

This decision has been welcomed by the pub industry where weekend trading is significant.

The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) has said that the reform is the first step in modernising hospitality trade.

“From the industry point of view we haven’t got everything we want. That is the nature of the Fair Work Commission,” stated AHA CEO Stephen Ferguson.

FOR MORE INDUSTRY NEWS FOLLOW US ON 6 | MARCH 2017 AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER

“We respect their decision and we will try and make it work. For us the objective was to modernise the award, not to abolish penalty rates, but to make it relevant to the 21st century as a means of employing more Australians.”

Ferguson added that the AHA supports workers being remunerated accordingly for working on the weekends, but that the decision is reflective of how we live our lives presently.

“Society and work patterns have changed significantly in 50 years. Today people expect to be able to shop, buy a meal or a drink at all hours of the day, while large numbers of workers actually prefer to work outside a ‘9 to 5’ weekday regime because it suits their lifestyle, studies or family circumstances.”

“Over recent years too many businesses have closed or reduced employment on Sundays or public holidays because of the cost of penalty rates. That is bad for workers, bad for business

and bad for the general public.”

This sentiment was echoed by Steve Howarth of Howarth and Associates and ex-ALH national operations manager.

“Tourism and hospitality is Australia’s largest industry. Australian businesses attempting to meet market demand for hospitality and retail services must be able to do so in a commercially viable way. The decision goes some way to assisting this outcome.”

Speaking from his own experience, Howarth added: “On too many occasions, I have deemed Sunday trade or the running of a discretionary event to be not commercially viable – or managers/owners would work themselves to save the excessive wage cost this day attracted – particularly in the regional Australian businesses I have operated.”

The reduction in penalty rates will begin on 1 July 2017.

CHECK OUT THESHOUT.COM.AU

NEWS The Local Taphouse, Darlinghurst

The bar is headed up by Rollo Anderson

FORMER KEYSTONE PUB REBRANDED POTTS POINT HOTEL

MARKET MOVEMENT FOR SYDNEY CRAFT BEER PUBS Within days of each other, it was announced that the Dove & Olive in Surry Hills had been sold, and that The Local Taphouse Darlinghurst had been placed on the market. Both pubs are two of the most popular venues in Sydney for craft beer enthusiasts, and both announcements were met with surprise when they were placed on the market.

Dove & Olive was sold for $11.85 million to an emerging pub group, borne out of the Murphy family. Sonja Murphy, her husband Chris Deale and Rod Taber purchased the craft beer haven.

John Azar, owner of the Good Beer Company, placed the Dove & Olive on the market last year, after beginning the transformation of The DOG Hotel in Randwick. Azar told Australian Hotelier at the time that he thought the Dove & Olive’s further growth was “probably a little bit limited in terms of where we want to go and what we want to do,” preferring to focus on the synergy between The DOG as a large craft beer hub, and the Keg & Brew, also in Surry Hills.

John Musca, national director of JLL Hotels & Hospitality, handled the sales campaign and suggested that the suburb has become one of the most popular for Sydney hoteliers of late.

“Surry Hills has become the city fringe precinct of choice for Sydney’s premier hospitality operators with residential density combining with the uplift anticipated from the soon to be completed light rail, driving continued hotel interest as seen in the sale of the Columbian Hotel, Gaslight Hotel, Trinity Arms and now the Dove & Olive.”

The Local Taphouse, owned by Guy Greenstone and Steve Jeffares, has been put up for sale, after the entrepreneurial duo continue to expand their businesses within craft beer.

“Our Stomping Ground brewery and venue has taken off much faster than we expected and it requires a lot of focus and capital so we are reluctantly letting the Sydney Taphouse go to concentrate on those plans,” says Jeffares.

He goes on to say that he and Greenstone hope to sell to someone who is as passionate about craft beer as they are themselves.

“After the love that we’ve poured into the venue, we want to give it every chance to continue to shine under new ownership and we are certainly hoping to sell it to someone passionate about better beer.”

Sugarmill, an ex-Keystone pub, has been relaunched by new owners, including Chris Jolliffe, as the Potts Point Hotel. Jolliffe was the licensee of the Sugarmill hotel under The Keystone Group since 2012, before becoming group general manager of hotels and bars for the now defunct group. Jolliffe and a few others purchased the Potts Point Hotel after Keystone was placed in receivership.

The pub has had a spruce since the change in ownership, with a new fit-out, dining space and outdoor seating.

“Potts Point residents needed a pub to make their ‘local’. They want somewhere they can go for a casual dinner or meet friends for drinks.

We’re a place for people to enjoy good food and drinks in a relaxed setting that is right on their doorstep,” said Jolliffe.

Jolliffe, who has taken on the role of general manager, is joined in the leadership team by head chef Tushad Bamji, who has designed a smokehouse menu including sticky beef spare-ribs, Carolina pulled pork shoulder, and Kansas style buttermilk chicken; and bar manager Rollo Anderson, formerly of The Rook, who has created cocktails named after infamous Potts Point characters.

Situated within the Kings Cross entertainment precinct, the hotel has been repositioned as a local pub for an area that has become more gentrified, as fewer late-night revellers venture into the area, but more residents do.

AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER MARCH 2017 | 7

NEWS

SYDNEY PUBLICANS CREATE CITY SAFE LOBBY A lobby of roughly 20 Sydney hoteliers and other stakeholders has formed the City Safe proposal – a strategy that will see manifestly compliant venues push for exemptions to lockout legislation.

The City Safe concept puts forth a two-pronged strategy to the New South Wales Government: firstly, that CBD and Kings Cross venues that can prove that they are compliant and implementing best practice policies through electronic incident registers will be exempted from the lockouts and return to their previous licensed trading hours.

Exemptions have already been catered for in legislation – both the CBD and Kings Cross Precinct regulations have made provision for exemptions.

The half-hour extension for live music venues, as implemented after the Callinan Review recommendation, uses these very provisions. The City Safe proposal would not need legislation to change, just Government policy.

The second facet of the City Safe proposal is to turn these exempted venues into ‘Sydney Safe Venues’. This program would work similarly to the Neighbourhood Watch programs prevalent in the 1990s. In essence, a Sydney Safe Venue would have a sticker on their façade announcing themselves as such, and would provide shelter to anyone feeling vulnerable on the street. The venue would provide refuge while you wait for transport, will call an ambulance or police if necessary, and provide basic first aid and water.

The hoteliers involved in the City Safe project have chosen to remain anonymous for now, however it is suggested that some well-respected publicans are involved. Jason Thomas and Clive Dillen, directors of AusComply, have volunteered to work as the public faces of the City Safe movement.

One hotelier involved in the lobby, Australian Hotelier: “The City Safe proposal makes an effort to make our streets even safer by utilising the safe house theme, whilst also providing a framework of criteria for venues to achieve should they wish to join other responsible venues trading late.”

Thomas believes that the City Safe concept is a win-win situation for all stakeholders, and that there is very little risk involved for the Government in trialling the proposal.

“There’s no reason they shouldn’t do it, because if it doesn’t work at a couple of venues, then they just withdraw the exemption to those venues and

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The high-vis vest worn by City Safe petition volunteers they go back to lockouts. It’s a win-win for the government. The industry is going to win obviously, because they get to increase trading hours. The public will win because they’ll have venues open later,” he explained.

“It’s almost a risk-free option.”

The next move for the lobby is to start a petition in the hopes to force the debate in Parliament. Ten thousand signatures are required to ensure it’s discussed - City Safe believes 50,000 or more is achievable given community sentiment on this issue.

At the time of publication, City Safe volunteers had collected signatures at the Keep Sydney Open rally in Martin Place, and were planning to do so throughout the CBD and several venues in the forthcoming week.

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AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER MARCH 2017 | 9

PREVIEW

COME ONE, COME ALL

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THE 2017 PUB LEADERS SUMMIT IS DRAWING NEAR, AND IT PROMISES TO BE EVEN BIGGER THAN THE INAUGURAL SUMMIT LAST YEAR.

he 2017 Pub Leaders Summit takes place on 20 March, at an even bigger location than last year – Royal Randwick Racecourse. The move to Randwick was made necessary as last year’s inaugural event was sold out. This year, Pub Leaders Summit is expected to host close to 400 publicans, group operators, managers and other industry players from across Australia for another informative and useful day for pub decision-makers.

The Summit is divided into two components – the mini-expo and conference. The expo again will host some of the most respected suppliers to the pub industry across a variety of operational facets.

Platinum sponsor Intrust Super – for the second year running – will engage attendees on all of their innovative and award-winning superannuation services for the hospitality industry. Also returning for 2017 are gold sponsors JLL Hotels & Hospitality, stalwarts in pub real estate; and CUB, which will be showcasing its range of beers.

Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss and enquire about a variety of different products and services that will be beneficial to their venue. The exhibitor list includes POS and operational technology providers such as AusComply and Bepoz; food equipment providers J.L. Lennard and Silverchef; workforce trainers Allara Learning; design service providers Cayas Architects and Meridian Construction Services; and security providers Prosegur – plus many more.

The conference is jam-packed with excellent content that any hotel operator will find informative and relevant to their business. This year’s program sees more than 25 respected hoteliers take part in 12 different panels and presentations. The subjects vary between evolving marketing and PR methods, to the increasing consumer expectations in F&B, to the current place of live music in pubs and the regulations surrounding them.

The speakers involved are representative of hoteliers across the country. Operators of large groups taking part include Antony Jones, COO of Merivale; Dan Brady, COO of Redcape; and Grady Patching, national operations manager for Colonial Leisure Group. Single venue

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operators are represented by the likes of Ben Pearce of the Beach Road Hotel and Luke Hiscox of Union Hotel.

Regional operators are also involved in a few panels this year, with Alistair Flower, owner operator of Settlers Inn in Port Macquarie speaking in two panels, and Sean O’Hara of the O’Hara Group, director of several regional New South Wales pubs also participating on the day.

While the Pub Leaders Summit is taking place in Sydney, the event is a national one, and operators from around the country are also joining in on the conference panels, including Alex Farquhar of The Caxton in Brisbane, Matthew Nikakis of the Racecourse and Rosstown Hotels in Melbourne, and Mathew George, who heads up JLL Hotels & Hospitality’s Melbourne office.

Last year, many attendees found the conference extremely useful, and we’re sure that this year will be no different. Stephen Hunt, director of Hunt Hospitality in the Newcastle region of New South Wales, took part in last year’s conference and this year will be sending down several members of his team to attend the Summit.

A delegation from Saturno Group in South Australia attended the summit last year, and Alice Hemming, marketing manager for the group, said that hearing the experiences of hoteliers in other states was a good way to gauge the issues that could potentially affect their business.

“For us, it was interesting listening to publicans from the east coast, particularly from larger groups, to hear some of the challenges they face that in SA perhaps we presently don’t have to deal with. It was good to see some of the faces behind the bigger groups and listen to their operating models - particularly on working and training staff, and staff interaction on the ground.”

Both Hemming and Hunt suggested that the sessions they were most interested in this year are the premiumisation of beverages, and the presentation from hospitality mystery shopper, Louise Heffernan, on the lessons she has to impart to hoteliers from her own experiences removed from the operational side of the industry.

PREVIEW INDUSTRY INSIGHT

THEN AND NOW

Australian Hotelier asked some of the Pub Leaders Summit participants a variety of questions as a small taster of the kind of content that will be covered at the conference.

Catherine Slogrove is the director of Papaya PR, and handles public relations and social media for Royal Hotels, among other clients. Slogrove attended last year’s Pub Leaders Summit, and is participating this year in the panel, Getting the Message Out There. We asked her for her thoughts on last year’s event, and what she’s looking forward to this year.

What did you like about the inaugural Pub Leaders Summit?

The 2016 Pub Leader’s Summit featured some of the stalwarts of the industry. It’s an extraordinary thing to hear, from the horse’s mouth if you will, how Pat and Angela Gallagher built an Irish empire in PJ Gallagher’s and how Arthur Laundy has grown pubs that locals love throughout the decades. The calibre of the speakers and their extraordinary stories provides such a captivating learning experience that you can’t get at any other industry gathering.

Were there any industry lessons/ ideas that you took away from the Summit?

I remember leaving with a real sense of rebellion. At its heart you’re hearing from real entrepreneurs who have gone against the grain and it’s paid off. It takes extreme guts and tenacity in daring to be different in increasingly difficult operating conditions, but those that do and get it right, remind us that it’s okay to be cheeky, fun and a little gutsy.

Are you looking forward to participating in this year’s program? Which other sessions are you looking forward to?

2016 saw some exciting social media developments and really creative PR campaigns in the pub space so I’m really looking forward to being part of that discussion.

The other session that’s really close to my heart is Blurring the Lines: Where Pubs and Restaurants Meet – I’m a great admirer of the groups involved in the discussion and can’t wait to hear their insights into how this evolution has impacted the industry.

LUKE HISCOX, UNION HOTEL What is the next big thing in craft beer?

Looking at beers, we can already see sours and barrel-aged twists on styles popping up. I think they’ll peak, then recede over the next 24 months. I imagine a number of brewers will really start placing emphasis on making that perfect sessionable beer, balancing robust and distinct flavours, but trying to get it to the customer cheap enough so they come back to it, schooner after schooner. But who knows, the craft beer industry is a wild beast!

LOUISE HEFFERNAN, GIRL FRIDAY SOLUTIONS What are some common mistakes you’ve found in pub operations, and how can they be remedied?

Here are a few issues that I think can sometimes be overlooked, that require management attention: • Social media is a killer for venues. People are quick to send off a negative rating on a venue rather than a positive one, causing issues for the hotel’s reputation. I personally wouldn’t allow ratings on my company Facebook page.

• Customer engagement is a big one – staff frequently forget to ask a patron how their day has been while pouring them a beer, and it can make a massive difference for the customer.

The same goes for clearing plates. Just asking a customer how their meal was shows another level of care.

• When a venue is quiet, there is no excuse for staff to be hanging around the bar chatting.

If they are not cleaning, checking toilets or sweeping the exterior of the venue, they could be offering tray service to the small amount of patrons on the premises.

• Gaming is so important. Venues cannot market their rooms; the only way to do this is by offering the best customer service, along with a clean environment. The gaming space is so competitive these days that punters will leave and not come back. The key is to remain attentive, offering patrons drinks regularly.

• In hotel bottle shops, attendants rarely come out from behind the counter and engage the customer.

This can go a long way with upselling.

• Toilet checks are also something that gets left behind – we ensure a toilet check at the beginning and end of each visit and 80 per cent of the time the restrooms are not checked in that 1-2 hour time frame.

DAN BRADY, REDCAPE How do you best communicate directives across multiple venues?

In the past directives were an accepted form of communication, used by managers to ensure staff were informed adequately. This was especially effective in a business world where a top-down approach was accepted by staff and customers alike. In today’s business environment, expectations are vastly different as to the type of relationship customers and staff wish to have with an organisation. ‘Out’ is the parent-child relationship and ‘In’ is the peer-to-peer relationship. This may not only manifest itself in marketing and other forms of interactions with customers, but also guide the framework by which an organisation should engage its staff to enhance decisions the business makes.

At Redcape, where possible and on increasing scale, decisions and their ensuing directives are made through ‘Agile Teams’ of people that represent a cross section of staff from varying levels within the organisation. Tasked to not only make important decisions that support business objectives but also how these decisions can most effectively be communicated to the wider organisation. This process helps not only better quality decision making within the organisation but is consistent with the needs of our staff and the type of connectivity they wish to have with the business.

KAINE BAYFIELD, BAYFIELD HOTELS What has been the biggest change in pub operations in the last five years?

Food was already an important component to the pub game five years ago but the importance has continued to grow. The focus to get your food right and do it well and consistently has become one of the most important areas. Patrons expect quality food done well from a pub and won’t accept anything less. If you get it right and do it well they will return and spread the word.

LAST CHANCE! Registration will close shortly, so make sure you grab your tickets now if you haven’t already!

When: Monday 20 March Where: Royal Randwick Racecourse Website: www.publeaders.com.au Tickets: Operators: $349 + GST; Suppliers: $559 + GST.

AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER MARCH 2017 | 11

PREVIEW

There are eight panel sessions at this year's PLS

Esther La Rovere

Networking drinks are sponsored by CUB

OUR SPONSORS PLATINUM

SILVER www.allaralearning.com.au

Intrust Super is proud to once again be a Platinum Sponsor of the Pub Leaders Summit.

We have worked side by side with Australian pubs for almost 30 years and have seen the industry grow and evolve.

Much like the industry we support, we continue to innovate and improve our products and services to ensure our clients and members receive the very best from their super fund. For example, the Fund’s insurance options continue to be viewed as the best value in the industry. At the end of 2016, Intrust Super won Money magazine’s ‘Best Value Insurance in Super’ award for the fifth consecutive year, as well as the Rainmaker SelectingSuper ‘Personal Insurance of the Year’ award.

Please visit the Intrust Super stand to see how we can assist you. www.intrustsuper.com.au

GOLD

Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), part of the Anheuser-Busch InBev family, is an iconic Australian brewer with a heritage dating back to 1832. CUB brews some of Australia’s most famous beers, including Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Carlton Dry, Great Northern Brewing Co., Pure Blonde, and the Yak Ales.

Our international portfolio includes premium global brands like Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois. www.cub.com.au

www.auscomply.com.au

www.bepoz.com.au

www.cayasarchitects.com.au

www.cellarcontrol.com.au

www.comcater.com.au

Arthur Laundy

www.dicksonsmill.com.au

www.jllennard.com.au

www.meridianconstruction.com.au

www.nufurn.com.au

www.plus5.com.au

www.prosegur.com.au

Kent Anderson will once again emcee the Summit www.silverchef.com.au

JLL Hotels & Hospitality’s experts partner with investors, owners and operators in all aspects of the hospitality market in Australasia to support and shape investment strategies, and broker hotel transactions. In the last three years, the Australasian team completed transactions totalling circa $4.5 billion. www.jll.com.au/hospitality

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EXPO EXPERIENCE

Cayas Architects will be bringing a unique experience to the Pub Leaders Summit expo – they will be demonstrating how Virtual Reality (VR) can make the design and construction process of redeveloping a pub significantly easier. Attendees will be able to experience VR for themselves at the Cayas Architects stand – make sure you check it out!

Serving up success In the last decade, JLL Australia has completed more pub and hotel transactions than any other hotel broker – totalling close to $13 billion.

As a global, multi-disciplinary market leading real estate advisory firm, we have the full suite of services to cover any pub transaction and penetrate markets in any region. Through this unique platform, our national transaction team combines its extensive experience, in-depth knowledge and on tap resources when divesting your hotel asset in any market environment.

For an industry leading standard of service with a history of achieving premium results, talk to us today.

John Musca

Mathew George Tom Gleeson Alex Richardson

0424 257 004 0400 663 840

jll.com.au/hospitality

0449 289 845 0403 959 730

GAMING

Gaming update LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE LATEST INNOVATIONS IN THE WORLD OF GAMING.

IGT GOES HYPER AT AHG IGT is set to go into ‘hyper’ drive at this year’s Australasian Hospitality and Gaming Expo (AHG) in Brisbane on 29-30 March. Hyper Hits™ will be a key launch at the expo, featuring a new series of games that deliver a hyper flexible gaming experience for the broadest range of Australian hotel players. Plus, new multi-game packs that offer players choice and maximise limited hotel gaming machine licenses and floor space will be introduced.

“Our presence at the show represents the ‘first wave’ of products from IGT’s increased investment here in Australia and New Zealand – especially into the hotel sector. This investment has included growing the game studios in Sydney and Melbourne, new product management teams and a strong boost to the systems technical and service teams,” said Nigel Turner, head of marketing, IGT. “This investment will continue into 2017.”

IGT’s new Hyper Hits games have been created with flexibility in mind for both the player and operator. Operators have multiple denomination and Return To Player (RTP) options to choose from, plus the choice of six jackpot start-ups.

And, it can be configured as a link or standalone.

For the player, the games offer five different bonus prizes and jackpots and great game play features like expanding wilds for up to nine times the prize in a single spin, or sticky re-spins for the chance to trigger extra multiple bonuses.

Plus they have the option of either multiway or line play.

Also launching at the show will be new multi-game products including additions to our successful Multistar Champion Series™ library, and a new product, Multistar Dazzling Diamonds™. Our Multistar games resonate with the hotel market as they provide multiple games and multiple denominations in one

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cabinet, offering players a diverse range of choice and maximising the game floor space for hoteliers.

In total, IGT will be showcasing over 40 games suitable for players who like time on device or want a more volatile experience. With food, drinks and IGT’s legendary hospitality plus ‘hyper’ promotions throughout the two days, IGT’s AHG stand will be the place to be.

ARISTOCRAT ENTERTAINS THE POSSIBILITIES AHG 2017 is rapidly approaching and Aristocrat can’t wait to display its vision for the future of gaming entertainment and reinforce its ongoing commitment to you, the loyal customers.

Aristocrat’s focus entering 2017 will remain on designing innovative solutions beyond the immediate future as it pushes the boundaries of content, cabinets and enabling technology for a longterm sustainable gaming industry. This year the team at Aristocrat looks forward to strengthening its relationships with customers and gaining your valuable feedback on the portfolio.

At AHG 2017 Aristocrat is inviting you to join the company

GAMING

“Our presence at the show represents the ‘first wave’ of products from IGT’s increased investment here in Australia and New Zealand – especially into the hotel sector.”

Nigel Turner, head of marketing, IGT.

AHG INFO WHAT: Australasian Hospitality and Gaming Expo 2017 WHEN: 29 and 30 March, 2017.

WHERE: Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre ADDRESS: Corner of Merivale St and Glenelg St, South Brisbane, Queensland WEBSITE: http://ahgexpo.com

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in “entertaining the possibilities” for your venue, as you immerse yourself in its most diverse portfolio yet. Aristocrat understands that each venue is unique, so it has developed a range of solutions including venue configurable content, cross-cabinet compatibility and commercial options that are accommodating to your strategy. To demonstrate this, the stand will showcase a new range of venue management solutions along with 13 different game families across four different cabinets signifying the flexibility and choice you have with Aristocrat.

Entertain the possibilities for your venue with products like Player’s Choice™ Emerald Edition, offering three configurable packs and four different cabinet options. Another product to watch out for this year is Gold Stacks™, the first Aristocrat gold license product to offer support to Viridian Widescreen™, Helix™, ARC™ and Helix+™ cabinets. Wild Fortune™ is set to be a new favourite offering a great banking opportunity with three titles available in four different cabinets.

Feel reassured by the diverse portfolio that Aristocrat is offering, with content category support across all cabinets to ensure you have the best performing products on your floor at all times.

The diverse portfolio strategy endeavours to cater to all player segments within your venue. The multigame category is perfect for driving occupancy and you can expect to see some new Player’s Choice™ additions, as well as Retro Fever™ and 5 Dragons™ Empire to take the stand at AHG. After the successful launch of Dragon Link™ and Dragon Cash™ in Queensland, Aristocrat is thrilled to roll out this market-leading product to other regions across Australia in 2017, to support the growing linked progressive and standalone progressive categories. Look out for the strong presence of Dragon Link™ and Dragon Cash™ on the Aristocrat stand.

At Aristocrat, the dedicated insights team ensures that the company keeps its finger on the pulse of current trends and identifies segments ripe for innovation. This year, it endeavours to become a serious contender in the mid-denomination SAP category and believes this is a great opportunity to innovate within. Aristocrat will showcase Pure Cash™ at AHG; its first dedicated multi-mid denomination, standalone progressive range to include on-trend mechanics such as scalable bonus prizes and wilds scalable to the denomination.

Come and join Aristocrat in experiencing both new and approved product on the Aristocrat stand at AHG. The Aristocrat team is confident that you will find solutions to suit the preferences of your players, and aligns to your venue strategy. Your feedback is important, so the team looks forward to hearing your thoughts about their newest innovations.

Bridgeview Hotel Willoughby

ACCOMMODATION

t s e u g r u o e B

ACCOMMODATION IS BECOMING A MORE ATTRACTIVE REVENUE STREAM FOR PUBS – BUT IS YOUR STRATEGY KEEPING YOUR OFFERING COMPETITIVE?

F

or regional hoteliers, accommodation – regardless of how large or small – has always been a significant revenue stream. In metro areas, where traditional accommodation hotels are a dime a dozen, having rooms for guests to stay in has not been as necessary a stream of operations.

This has changed in the last eighteen months, as metropolitan operators, like their regional colleagues are now seeing the value in accommodation, and offering potential guests an alternative to the bigger chains or expensive boutique hotels. And it’s not just Aussies that are turning to pub accommodation, but international tourists as well, who are looking to budget on that one main expense so they can spend more on other activities.

“It was clear back [in 2014], that not a lot had been undertaken in the pub industry to utilise empty guest rooms for short-term stays as opposed to long-term stays. Short-term stays are far more viable to the pub, with higher nightly rates being achieved, and the

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flow through of revenue from those guests into food and beverage downstairs in the pub,” says Jeannie Armstrong, general manager of Pub Rooms, a marketing and booking system provider for pub stays.

While renting out rooms long-term may seem an easier and more convenient option, the revenue possibilities are nowhere near as large. So what can operators do to make their short-term accommodation stand out? First and foremost, you’ve got to get the basics right.

WHAT GUESTS WANT Working with more than 50 pubs across the country offering over 700 rooms, Pub Rooms have a gained a sense of what guests are looking for in pub accommodation: “Guests look for clean rooms and facilities, a friendly smile, a helping hand with their bags and a good meal.”

Inclusions within a room can vary greatly, depending on the market that’s being catered for. Free wi-fi is one of the biggest requirements guests have from their accommodation providers. At Pier Hotel in Coffs Harbour, on the North Coast of New South Wales, owners Warren and Benita Walker have gone a step further, introducing free wi-fi throughout the entire hotel. The Walkers completely

refurbished their accommodation offering a few years ago as part of a larger refurbishment of the entire venue. Since then, Benita Walker has said that accommodation “plays a vital part” in the hotel’s revenue.

Cleanliness, attentive service and the basic amenities are all required to bring guests to your hotel, but it’s the extra inclusions that can make a venue stand out from its competitors.

At Hotel Palisade in Sydney, there are four standard and four deluxe rooms at the highly regarded venue. All the rooms include coffee/ tea making facilities, a hair-dryer and an iPod dock; and the deluxe rooms add extravagance with a hand-painted wall mural by artist Neil Mallard and a Nespresso machine.

What also can make pub accommodation more enticing than traditional hotels, are the discounts and extra benefits available from the wider venue, which are included within room rental. At Hotel Palisade, guests are offered a complimentary beer or wine on arrival, and they are also allowed the exclusive privilege of booking a table at the venue’s cocktail lounge, Henry Deane, outside of normal booking times.

These kinds of discounts and bonuses are a win-win, adding to the attraction of your accommodation, and encouraging further spend within your premises.

ACCOMMODATION KNOW YOUR MARKET Just like any other stream of pub operations, accommodation should be tailored towards the market you attract with your venue. Where high-tech gadgets and wi-fi might impress most demographics currently, this does not mean that it is essential for every hotel.

Case in point is Rudd’s Pub in Nobby, in the Toowoomba region of Queensland. Robyn Little and her husband purchased the pub 11 years ago, and immediately set about refurbishing their three accommodation rooms. Halfway between Toowoomba and Warwick, and a twohour drive from Brisbane, the area sees plenty of grey nomad tourism – an opportunity which the Littles took advantage of.

“We refurbished the rooms in 2011 and made them as quirky as we could. You shower under a rain water tank, pull on a beer tap for water in the basin, and enjoy a home cooked hot breakfast to finish off your stay,” says Little.

Twelve months after refurbishing the accommodation, Rudd’s Pub won an AHA award for their accommodation, and have done so every year since, either at the state or national level.

“I believe we have won the awards due to the careful consideration we gave the planning of the rooms,” says Little. “We wanted them to be comfortable, with ensuites, and we wanted them to be quirky so that people walked in and said ‘wow’. We wanted our customers to have an experience – not just a stop-over.”

It’s little touches like home-made jam drops and photographs of yesteryear within the town, that make this hotel a fave with the caravanning crowd. And Little says it takes very little technology on the venue’s part to keep the rooms booked.

“We have many repeat customers and we always get great feedback when we farewell our guests after breakfast. Our rooms are very rarely empty at weekends, we don’t actively market them, mostly people find out about our rooms from word of mouth or from our web site.”

THE AIRBNB ISSUE For traditional accommodation providers, the prevalence of share economy giant Airbnb – where private citizens rent out accommodation – has been a major disruptor. While this has not had much of an impact on pub accommodation (in fact none of the publicans that Australian Hotelier spoke to said it had any effect on their business), Frank Sorgiovanni, head of research Asia Pacific for JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, suggested that publicans should be on their guard.

“Overall, alternative accommodation operators like Airbnb are a threat to the hotel industry at all category levels now. Airbnb has started to go after business travel as well with some success.

The only way to combat the ‘disruption’ is for the hotels to partner with Airbnb (or the like) and

Hornsby Inn

Pretoria Hotel rooms

REVENUE RAISER

Pier Hotel

Don’t underestimate the revenue that properly utilised accommodation rooms can bring. Jeannie Armstrong sets out a scenario to show just how much revenue short-term rooms can raise.

“Depending on the location of the property, revenue streams can be significant. From a pub with 12 rooms at an average nightly rate of $80, a 60 per cent occupancy will yield a gross revenue of $210,240 per annum. ”On the higher end, a pub in the CBD with 20 rooms, at an average nightly rate of $100, at 80 per cent occupancy will yield a gross revenue of $584,000 per annum.”

AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER MARCH 2017 | 19

ACCOMMODATION increase their own distribution by advertising their own competitive hotel products in markets popular with alternative accommodation.”

Marketing is indeed a vital component of getting your rooms booked (more on that below), and Sorgiovanni suggests that operators who introduce ground-breaking concepts to their accommodation offerings, will also prevail. He gives an example below offered by traditional hotels.

“Last year Accor Hotels acquired Onefinestay. Onefinestay is a Londonbased start-up that provides an Airbnb for high-end homes combined with a hotel-like service for hosts and travellers. They plan to expand aggressively in Asia and beyond. No reason why this can’t happen as well in budget accommodation operators, particularly in Australia.”

Rudds Pub

The ensuite facilities at Rudds Pub

TECH TALKS Integrating technology into your booking systems matters more than ever. The latest Hospitality Vision Study from Zebra Technologies found that 66 per cent of guests report that they have a better experience when staff use the latest technology, and 68 per cent of guests expressed a desire to use their smartphone to speed up check-in.

THE ONLINE REVOLUTION

Criterion Hotel room Sydney

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While share economy accommodation is definitely something for hoteliers to monitor, Armstrong of Pub Rooms suggests that the biggest thing that is currently holding back pub accommodation is the lack of online advertising – where the majority of consumers search for options.

“What has affected the pub market is the industry’s lack of mobility in making the change to online reservations systems. To make your pub standout from the crowd, you’ve now got to be transacting bookings online. Over 60 per cent of all bookings are now made online, and this is increasing year on year.”

Armstrong suggests that it’s not enough to just have your accommodation on your own website, as – just like when looking for somewhere to eat or drink – consumers will do their research and compare several options.

“Potential lookers are Googling for accommodation in a certain location. If you’re not listed then you’re not even making the shortlist!

When a pub commences with us, we ensure that they are listed on all of the major search engines – Google, Trip Advisor, their local state tourism site and so forth. You must never just rely on your own website. People search in multiple ways to find accommodation.”

While there is plenty to consider, the basics remain the same – make sure your rooms are clean, greet your guests with friendly service throughout their stay, and take heed of any feedback, whether negative or positive.

Bridgeview Hotel, Willoughby NSW

TURN YOUR UNOCCUPIED ROOMS INTO CASH! With more than 60% of all accommodation bookings being made online Pubs and Hotels can no longer ignore this valuable revenue channel.

Its time to throw the old paper diary away and turn your rooms into cash! Pub Rooms does all the work to get your accommodation bookable online and selling to new customers worldwide.

Your package includes: • • • •

Front Desk, Booking Button & Channel Manager Pub Rooms connects you to the key online web sites Group marketing - www.pubrooms.com.au Make your hotel visible and bookable 24/7

Want to know more?

Contact: Jeannie Armstrong E: info@pubrooms.com.au P: 02 9046 0989 W: www.pubrooms.com.au

ASSOCIATE PARTNER 2017

Criterion Hotel, Sydney NSW

AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER MARCH 2017 | 21

WINE

The public bar at East Village Sydney

WINE BUZZ FOUR PUB OPERATORS THAT ARE SERIOUS ABOUT WINE DISCUSS THEIR PHILOSOPHIES AND STRATEGIES WHEN IT COMES TO THE GOOD DROP.

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eece Griffiths, bar manager of East Village Sydney; Peter Baker, general manager of Colonial Leisure Group’s The Botanical in Melbourne; Mark Brown, duty manager of Kingston Hotel in Canberra; and Lucinda Brown, owner/operator of Royal George Hotel in Kyneton, Victoria; discuss the strategies they employ at their venues in regards to wine.

WHAT IS YOUR VENUE’S WINE ETHOS? Griffiths: Both Lee Potter Cavanagh (general manager at East

Village Sydney) and I come from a predominantly craft cocktail background, but we both grew up around wine and have a huge passion for it, so we saw a gap in the market. When we get a day off, we want to hang out with friends and drink really interesting wine.

So that’s what we have tried to create. A wine-pub, where you can drink amazing wines, without the bullshit. Although we lean towards more hands-off winemaking, we don’t limit ourselves to that style. The classic styles are well represented but we tend to want to work with producers with best practices in mind.

Mark Brown: We ensure there is a good base selection of wines from different regions including local Canberra wines to appeal to both our local customers as well as interstate and international visitors.

We have a good selection of both red and white wines and promote weekly specials for variety.

Baker: We have the same wine

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list throughout the venue – in the dining room, bistro and at the main bar. Our aim is to enlighten and enhance your wine experience through a carefully chosen list that highlights the winemaker, perfectly accompanies our cuisine and adds a little comfort into everyday life in the form of wine!

Lucinda Brown: Because we’re a craft beer pub we like boutique wines. We like our local wines as well. We predominantly have local wines on our pour and on our bottle list, except there is a couple from the Strathbogie Ranges – which is not so far away.

ARE PATRONS BECOMING MORE ADVENTUROUS WITH WINE? Griffiths: The amount of skincontact wine and left of field varietals we sell here to me personally is mind-blowing.

When I look out on the floor of our wine-pub and see bottles of

BOTTLE-SELLING TIP Reece Griffiths and the team at East Village Sydney have instituted a semi ‘try before you buy’ strategy, that helps them to sell bottles of less well-known varietals.

“We open up to 12 cellar wines a day, so there’s the opportunity to gamble on a glass, before you commit to a bottle of something you can’t pronounce.”

Gruner-Veltliner and Vinho Verde on tables, it brings a huge smile to my face; we love seeing that our patrons are open to the experience.

Baker: One hundred percent – but it also comes down to the person selling the wine! People are finally shifting away from Sauvignon Blanc and moving towards Pinot Gris, Riesling and Chardonnay. A lot of the big red

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WINE drinkers have moved to Pinot Noir and Grenache.

Lucinda Brown: If the staff can sell it. One of things we do, if someone isn’t sure about a wine, we’ll give them a taste before they buy it. There’s nothing worse than buying a glass of wine that you’re not going to enjoy. We’ve had Gewürztraminers and Fianos on the pour. Once people try it they generally will take it, but they have to taste it first. The Gewürztraminer does cost a bit more than some of our other wines that we’ve got on the pour, but they’re prepared to pay that because it’s a new experience.

HOW ARE BOTTLE SALES GOING? Griffiths: We are still pouring heavily by the glass but our bottle sales, while they lack a bit in volume, are right up there in revenue. That’s a benefit of a large cellar list. We have over 150 by the bottle options to choose from.

Mark Brown: We do have high sales of wine by the glass but we have more and more customers coming in groups that prefer to buy a few bottles of wine to share across a table, particularly through the festive season.

Baker: We actually sell a very high volume of bottles across the venue.

We do sell more glasses than bottles in the main bar but across the rest of the venue bottles are king.

HOW ARE YOU STORING OPEN BOTTLES OF WINE? Griffiths: All our wines are tasted and dated upon opening and then sealed under wine cap. In our pub we don’t have the luxury of a Vintec, so it’s pretty simple from a storage point of view.

Fridge and back-bar works for us, plus a dedicated fridge for our chilled reds. At the end of each service we gas our wines with Wine-Life, a simple preservation method which helps extend the life of open wines and refrigerate.

Sparkling is capped after every glass and kept in the fridge; we keep a small amount by the glass which helps ensure minimal wastage. But we’re not shy of opening a bottle if a customer wants a glass. So it’s about giving your staff the tools and confidence to sell the rest of the bottle.

Lucinda Brown: The whites we store in a wine fridge, the reds are in the bar. Our pub is a bluestone pub, so the temperature is fairly consistent. At the end of service they’re taken into the wine store room, where we store all our wines. It’s a double bluestone room. We’ve got a local sparkling by the glass, and we don’t get much wastage with that.

It’s really popular, it sells really quickly.

Rosé continues to be a best seller at many pubs

Wines on display at The Kingston

WINE BEST PRACTICE Here are some tips from the pros on how to best select and store wines.

1. With your wine selection, consider what surrounding competitors are selling. If another venue in the vicinity specialises in Italian or Spanish wines, ensure that your wine list has a point of difference.

2. Have a detailed organisational system for your wine storage – this will reduce wastage and increase stocktaking efficiencies.

3. Avoid fluctuations in temperature when storing wines, even if the bottles are unopened.

4. Anything under a cork, store horizontally.

Wine storage at The Botanical

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DESIGN & BUILD

Roast duck is a specialty of Queens Hotel

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

MERIVALE HAS UNVEILED ITS LATEST PUB, QUEENS HOTEL, WHICH FUSES A TRADITIONAL TAVERN WITH A MORE UPMARKET F&B OFFERING. 26 | MARCH 2017 AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER

I

n its most recent pub offerings, Merivale has blurred the lines between pub and restaurant – most notably at The Paddington; but also at Coogee Pavilion and The Newport, where their larger formats allow for several kiosks serving up a range of food options.

Queens Hotel in the inner west suburb of Enmore is the newest pub in the Merivale portfolio. While the most traditional in terms of style, it continues the Merivale trend of pushing the boundaries of what constitutes pub food. There are no pies, steaks or schnitzels on the menu here, but rather the pub’s restaurant, Queen Chow, offers up Cantonese dishes to go with your pint or glass of wine.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT From the purchase of the venue, it was always clear that the hotel would have a distinctive food offering, but exactly what that offering would entail was yet to take shape. Within the group, executive chefs Patrick Friesen and Chris Hogarth had worked at several Merivale restaurants, including Mr Wong and Ms G’s.

They currently work together at Papi Chulo’s, which specialises in American barbecue.

DESIGN & BUILD In 2016, Patrick Friesen led a pop-up in another Merivale venue, Work In Progress, focusing on Hong Kong style roasted meats, something that Merivale CEO Justin Hemmes thought should be explored on a more permanent basis.

“Justin was there and it was pumping, and he said ‘Why don’t we do this, but bigger?’ And then a couple of weeks later we got summoned to a meeting at Queens Hotel, and they just went ‘Ok imagine this is your space – what do you want to do?’ And that’s how it all came about,” explains Friesen.

He and Hogarth presented three different concepts for the food offering at Queens Hotel, and it was the Cantonese-style cuisine that was chosen.

As research, the two executive chefs took a short trip to Hong Kong, where they sampled a large variety of the food it had to offer. While definitely inspiring, Friesen said it was not as glamourous as it sounds.

“It’s awesome but you have to eat a lot. You only go for a few days and you’re trying to try and see as much as you can. So it’s like two plates for breakfast, two plates for lunch. You go for dinner, then you go for supper. By the fifth day, we woke up so full, we didn’t want to anything, but you have to.”

The biggest takeaway from the trip was vegetable-based dishes.

Friesen has been to Hong Kong on several occasions, and has sampled many roasted meats – which do star on Queen Chow’s menu – but what struck him this time around were the dishes where vegetables were the main component, and meat and seafood were used as a seasoning. This observation has been translated into several dishes at Queens Hotel, including steamed garlic chives seasoned with soy and schmaltz, which is a chicken fat.

While the menu, which also includes Cantonese-inspired seafood and dim sim – from dumpling master Eric Koh – may not be representative of typical Australian pub food, for Friesen, the general pub ethos still drives the menu.

“We just thought about if you’re having a cocktail or a beer, what do you actually want to eat?”

The upstairs terrace area

TAPPING INTO A GAP IN THE MARKET With any hotel, it’s good to have a point of difference, not only to neighbouring pubs, but to any neighbouring hospitality venues. With the design of Queens Hotel, Merivale have tapped into what they identified as the gap in the local market.

“We were trying to create quite a sophisticated and refined environment, also somewhere that felt a little bit more elevated than some of the other venues in the area, in a complementary way. Definitely somewhere where there was a lot of attention to detail to the design elements.”

Some of the dishes at Queen Chow

KITCHEN PLANNING While the bones of the venue were in good nick, the biggest structural alteration was to change the relationship between the kitchen and the rest of the venue – the space was opened up so that it was more visible to patrons and better connected to the venue. However, Friesen says the kitchen is still quite small and so purchasing of equipment and menu planning had to be strategic.

“It’s a very tight space, and to get our and Eric’s equipment in was a bit of a challenge, but the kitchen set-up is pretty simple.”

The kitchen gear consists of a traditional style, Chinese roast meats oven; several wok burners; a few deep fryers, and a combi-oven. Both the restaurant and bar menus have been compiled with the kitchen limitations in mind – while still producing phenomenal food, based on stir fry and roast meats.

MASCULINE/FEMININE When coming up with the aesthetic for Queens Hotel, the Merivale design team – Justin and Bettina Hemmes, Kelvin Ho of Akin Creative and stylist Amanda Talbot – wanted to ensure that the Queen Chow restaurant did not dictate the design for the entire pub – it was important to remind patrons that the food offering was only one

AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER MARCH 2017 | 27

DESIGN & BUILD component of the venue, and play on the traditional tavern aesthetic on the ground floor.

“Just somewhere that was quite moody, had a lot of dark timber panelling and was quite traditional. We were going down that sort of road and we had a strong process to make sure it wasn’t too inspired by the food. We wanted to ensure that there was always a bit of a contradiction between that food offering and make it feel a bit unexpected,” states Ho. To create that moody vibe, a lot of dark timbers were used in the downstairs public bar and restaurant, along with recycled timber flooring. Combinations of rough sawn and polished timbers were used to create a welcoming and textural environment. The space is also home to a long zinc bar top and an oil enamel-painted panel ceiling. Vintage pendants, shades and wine bottles scattered throughout the space finish it off.

Upstairs houses the Smelly Goat cocktail bar and terrace seating for diners. The aesthetic is much lighter, more feminine and quirky – between taxidermy, statuettes, paintings and vases, there is always something for a group having a few drinks to look at.

Smelly Goat’s décor is comprised of fabric panelled walls, rust and petrol blue leather banquettes, and a yellow onyx bar top. The aesthetic continues on the moodiness of downstairs, while adding several pops of colour – making it the natural progression between the public bar and the terrace.

The terrace takes advantage of natural lighting, where the other areas shy away from it. Encaustic and inlay tiles from the Middle East bring plenty of colour to the space, while retrofitted shutters sourced out of Europe add pops of white. The area is finished off with greenery throughout.

As with other Merivale venues, the design of the venue has been deliberate in ensuring that there is a journey through the different spaces, to encourage a more holistic experience and repeat visits, as Ho explains.

“The idea is that as you move from the entry through to the terrace upstairs. Downstairs is a bit more masculine and upstairs is a bit more playful and a bit more eclectic.”

The Smelly Goat cocktail lounge

USING DARK MATERIALS 101 A dark space can look great and create an intimate atmosphere, but get it wrong and it can feel claustrophobic. Kelvin Ho explains how that was avoided in the Queens Hotel public bar: “It’s playing with the texture, and the combination of them. So some timbers might just have a stain finish and some have a paint finish, and then there’s the lacquer that we’ve used. We used a lot of gloss finishes to create a lot of reflection as well. So although it’s a very dark palette, it’s also with lighting and little accents of brass here and there. So while the space feels quite intimate, by being conscious of texture and reflection you can create a lot of depth as well so it doesn’t feel claustrophobic.”

JUST A BIT FANCY While playing with the concept of a traditional pub versus the more trailblazing concepts that Merivale is known for, the one thing that Queens Hotel continues to do is create elegance through attention to detail in styling. Every curio combines with the others to create an elegant space that is still welcoming to all – from the mosaic queen’s silhouette on entry to the pub, through to the small tassled lampshades on some of the tables. For Ho, this is best represented in the Smelly Goat cocktail bar, where the design team pushed the boundaries of what they would normally create in a similar space.

Patrons have also been impressed by the venue, which brings a slightly more refined feel to that end of Enmore.

“I think there have been a lot of people in the area that have wanted a place that feels a little bit more grown up, so it’s been a good response from the local community as well as people who have been going there as a destination,” states Ho. And of course, the pub gets all the fundamentals right – it’s welcoming to all, has some great (albeit untraditional) pub food, and is a great to place to have a few drinks in, regardless of the occasion, or lack thereof. In fact, Friesen has the perfect night out planned at Queens Hotel.

“If I was going there for dinner, I’d want to sit upstairs in the terrace. But then I would migrate to the bar downstairs after dinner. There’s lots of little dark corners. You lose an evening there pretty quickly.”

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The public bar

The Gregory Hills Hotel.

Paul Kelly Design have been recognised for their work creating a custom designed, luxuriously appointed entertainment venue in Gregory Hills.

Discover it for yourself.

CALENDAR

SPORTS FIXTURES CHECK OUT THESE HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – THEY’RE SURE TO BRING IN A CROWD TO YOUR VENUE!

NRL

AFL

The 2017 Rugby League season kicks off this month, much to the delight of fans and publicans alike. Get ready for a season of big hits, biff and some intense match-ups. The action kicks off with reigning champions the Cronulla Sharks taking on the Brisbane Broncos.

When: Starts Thursday 2 March, 8pm.

Channels: 9 and Fox League.

It’s definitely footy season, with the Aussie Rules season also starting up this month. The comp kicks off with a match between Carlton and Richmond on 23 March. Before that, get your fix by watching the last rounds of the JLT Community Series and the NAB AFL Women’s tournaments.

When: Thursday 23 March, 7:30pm.

Channels: 7 and Fox Footy.

FOOTBALL

FORMULA 1®

The Socceroos continue with their World Cup qualifying campaign this month, starting with a late night game against Iraq on 23 March.

They’ll quickly back this up with another game against the United Arab Emirates on the 28th.

When: Iraq v Australia: Thursday 23 March, 11pm; Australia v UAE: Tuesday 28 March, 8pm.

Channels: 9Go! and Fox Sports 4.

The FIA Formula One World Championship® revs up this month, beginning with the Rolex Australian Grand Prix. Aussie Daniel Ricciardo is still Red Bull’s top driver and he will be out to make a statement in the season opener on his home track.

When: 24-26 March, from 12pm.

Channels: 10 and Fox Sports 5.

NEXT MONTH

April will be massive for boxing fans, with Aussie Jeff Horn facing boxing legend Manny Pacquiao in Brisbane, while Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko vie for the IBF, IBO and WBA Super Heavyweight titles.

When: Horn v Pacquiao: Sunday 23 April. Joshua v Klitschko, Sunday 30 April.

Channel: Main Event. *All times are AEST

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