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Katie Woolf spoke with Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce, Good morning, Alex.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Good okatie Alex.
• 0:05
  Speaker 3: How was the weekend for our hospitality sector?
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 0:08
  Speaker 3: Really good.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: I heard Catherine was cranking, nit Maluck was full. The
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: Gorge tours were back in full swing as well. So
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: right across the top end territories got out camping, fishing, hiking,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: all of those usual things. And there's one more thing
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: we can add to the list now, and that's staycations.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Our accommodation hotels in the city and down at the
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: waterfront all reported close to full or full capacity. A
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: lot of vouchers being redeemed because you had until the
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: thirtieth of April to redeem those vouchers if you were
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: lucky enough to jag one. So I think a lot
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: of families took advantage of that and came in. We
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: heard that a lot of ruralry families were making a
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: weekend of it in and around Darwin. Yeah, so yeah,
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: really positive.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was incredibly busy around the city and also
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: the waterfront on the weekend. I spent quite a bit
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: of time at the waterfront and it was fantastic to
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: see so many people around.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: That's it. I heard the Friday night, particularly down there,
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: a lot of restaurants were at capacity, So you know,
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: it is good that, unlike many many other parts of
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: the country, we have recovered to such a strong degree up.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: Here now in terms of the numbers of hotel bookings.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Were those numbers quite high.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: They were, And Todd from the Double Tree reported that
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: he's properly along the Esplana that's operating with at capacity Friday, Saturday,
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Sunday night, and I know a lot of the others
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: around town were close to full as well. So we
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: do put it down to three things. Those vouchers that
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: stimulated some of the local demand, the fact that you
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: can't go overseas right now with hard borders, and still
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: we do here. There is quite a lot there is
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: a risk of domestic border changes, so a lot of
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: territorianes are just waiting for things to calm down further
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: down south. They're up here and enjoying themselves in their
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: own backyard now.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: Obviously, in Queensland last week, you and I spoke towards
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: the end of last week about the situation there and
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: that lockdown and whether we'd sort of see a decrease
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: or not. As many people here in the territory as
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: a result of that lockdown. Did you find that that
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: had much of an impact on us in the end. No.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: I think a lot of bookings that were still in
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: the works for the weekend and then this week have
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: still occurred. And the flip side is Territorians aren't prepared
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: to take that chance of being the wrong side of
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: a water closure, so they're delaying their trips to Brisbane, Sydney,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Melbourne and other areas, and so we're probably getting some
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: of the benefits from that back up here. Hey.
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah, there's discussion this morning that we might.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: See planes back well back between New Zealand and Australia
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: or a potential travel bubble. Do you reckon that would
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: have much of an impact for us here in the territory.
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: I know, I've been talked about for a while and
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: when we did look at it the end of last year,
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: we aren't a big recipient of New Zealanders up here
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: into the territory. But you know, every extra positive sign
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: that we're developing bubbles where we're linking up with other
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: safe jurisdictions, we might end up getting more benefit from
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: our workforce shortage perspective out of that than the tourists
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: numbers themselves. But yeah, we as you know, we need
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: every cook, every chef, every barm and we can right now.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: So if that opens up another avenue for us to
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: be recruiting from New Zealand, we'll definitely be looking at it.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: So you reckon that could be more of an option
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: for us. We may not see a huge amount of
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: New Zealand travelers, but we could indeed end up with
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: filling some of those positions that we need to fill
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: in the hospitality sector.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a strong hospitality key we connection down at
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: some of the operators down in our springs already and
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: they could definitely be bolstered and grow and assist in
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: that town's workforce shortages. I just think tourism wise, for
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: whatever reason, a lot of we's get to Bondi and
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: that's where they stay. They don't make it this far north,
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: but for a job they will.
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: Hey, one of the other things that we've discussed this morning,
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: but also towards the end of last week was that
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: situation down at the waterfront where they're no longer allowed
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: to have the takeaway alcohol on the lawns at the waterfront.
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: What was your reaction to that. Look, we have.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: Had discussions with Sandberg from the Waterfront Corporation and our
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: restaurant members down there. We understand that there is a
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: pathway for that to be fixed quite quickly under the
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: existing legal framework that's there. I so it is just
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: a matter of the Waterfront Core and those restaurants getting
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: together and nutting out the best path forward. But yeah,
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: we're definitely keen to see innovation and adaptation everywhere we
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: can in the industry. I think it's clear that locals
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: are enjoying changing the way they play in our city.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: What about that delivery, So I know that some restaurants
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: were in a situation where they are obviously through COVID
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: delivering meals, but some locations are also delivering those cocktails
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: as well.
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: It seems like that's coming all that has come to
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: an end too.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: Do you think that that's going to impact many of
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: our hospitality businesses.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: I listened to Minister File, our responsible minister, what she
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: had to say on that, and from our look at
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: it, it does look like that probably needs legislative change. So
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: the Waterfront might be able to get itself sorted out
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: for that lawned area more quickly than legislation, you know,
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: And someone did crack wisely to me the other day.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: Imagine if they fast liquor law changes for the benefit
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: of this, but they can't fast track bail. So you know,
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: we are supportive of the legislative process focusing on those
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: key issues that the community are crying out for. And
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: this and other issues will be dealt with at the
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: technical review of the liquoric stage as that uses over
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: the next few months.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: All right, So you reckon it is one of those
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: ones that just needs to go through the due process
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: rather than being sort of fast tracked to allow that
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: alcohol delivery at this point.
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: Oh look, there's there's policy questions for government and the
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: community ultimately that I don't think are being settled. So
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: not only was it the cocktails, but so it's a
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: bottle of wine. So a restaurant can deliver a bottle
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: of wine to your door with no BDR. A takeaway
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: with a bottle shop attached that's doing it through their
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: drive through bottle shop or home delivery has to scan
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: the BDR. So are we going to turn it off
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: for both? Are we going to turn it on for both?
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: What does a community think about that. There are some
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: minutia detail that still needs to be worked out, but
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: we're supportive of being involved in that conversation.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and look, I probably hadn't even thought of it
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: in that sense before, but.
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you're right.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: You know, if you've got to go and scan your
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: license obviously to get a bottle of wine in the
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: bottle shop, should you be doing the same or should
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: it be a similar situation than if something's being delivered
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: to your home.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: Well, well, that's the thing. So there is home delivery
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: from from bottle shops and pubs and clubs that do
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: home delivery, and they do scan the BDR. So you know,
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: there is a question then well what's the difference between
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: that and the restaurant doing it to exactly the same customer?
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: So you know, again, we just think the work needs
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: to be done. There is a process. What we'll sit
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: down and go through that with the government, our members
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: and other stakeholders.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: All Right, Well, that one sounds like it's quite a
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: bit more extensive, I suppose, So no doubt we'll talk
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: more about that, but we'll see what happens down at
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: the waterfront. Hopefully they're able to reinstate that sooner rather
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: than later. Thank you, good on you, Thanks so much
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: for your time this morning. Alex Kattie All, thank you.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: That's hospitality. Nt CEO there, Alex Bruce