The Deputy Premier and Planning Minister Steven Miles announced the surprise move yesterday (Thursday, 22 September), allowing Queenslanders to lease their granny flats on the rental market to create thousands of new housing options.

The initiative was suggested by stakeholders at a pre-housing summit roundtable last week to address the housing crisis. 

Given the state’s housing shortfall urgency, the planning change will skip the regular consultation stages. Mr Miles said the government would revisit the policy in three years to assess its suitability properly.

Our take on granny flat rentals

As a Noosa Housing Strategy Stakeholder Reference Group (HSRG) member, I am certainly excited to see the details as they come through. It is great leadership from the state to take on board what local governments have advocated for over the past 12 months to address the current housing crisis.

We are yet to see the fine print, but we expect this initiative to be enacted similarly to the planning instruments used during COVID-19, including an amendment or inclusion within the State Planning Regulations.

Each council will need to review the details as they emerge to determine what may be required to change within their own planning schemes. 

It may be as simple as a) changes within definitions; b) to amendments of Performance and Acceptable outcomes that sit within their particular planning scheme.

Not every property will be a winner in this circumstance but it provides those properties that already have an existing secondary dwelling/granny flat to be able to commence this use shortly.

Existing secondary dwellings will need to comply with existing fire and building provisions.

If you are considering adding a secondary dwelling to your property be aware that the state government has foreshadowed a review of this change in three years. 

RG Strategic will review all documentation and information supplied by the department and local governments so we can provide a clear, simple-to-understand process for existing or new constructions to ensure you are complying as required.

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In Brief

• Noosa Shire Council is facing a housing crisis
• Council have developed a new Draft Housing Strategy
• The draft Strategy is now open for community comment
• A Housing Stakeholder Reference Group (HSRG) has been established and has had its first meeting
• The HSRG will work with Council on implementing the Housing Strategy
• RG Strategic Director, Russell Green, has been selected to sit on the HSRG

Noosa is facing a housing crisis

The lack of affordable housing in the Shire has been blamed for keeping out workers and forcing some businesses to shrink or close altogether.

Noosa isn’t the first council to face these challenges as the region’s popularity skyrockets.

Byron Bay faces the same challenges, and in that location, some businesses have taken the extreme measure of bussing staff to work from neighbouring areas.

During peak seasons, some businesses are forced to source staff from further away and put them up in accommodation.

Housing stock pressured

The challenge hasn’t just been created by an influx of new money from metropolitan centres, increasing demand and hence price for housing in the Shire.

It is, for a better word, a perfect storm of a number of factors which include interstate migration due to COVID, some properties through platforms such as Airbnb going into the short-term accommodation market, limited land supplies, underdevelopment of land that has potential for greater density and simply the desirability for those at the end of their working career to seek a place in the sun for retirement.

The crisis will worsen

In December 2021 council endorsed a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA). The HNA identified seven key issues to be addressed in any amendments to Noosa’s Planning Scheme.

These issues are:

• Housing affordability, especially for low-income households and critical workers;
• A lack of accessible or adaptable housing for older people and people with special needs;
• A mismatch of housing size and household size (albeit some may be by choice or circumstance);
• A shortage of affordable and appropriate aged accommodation;
• A lack of housing diversity, particularly smaller dwellings;
• Low levels of social and emergency housing;
• A conflict between resident and visitor accommodation.

We know that housing affordability in the Shire has been impacted. We also know that not enough has been done to accommodate a growing need for housing for our older generation and those with special needs.

The significant finding in the report is the mismatch of housing size versus household size.

The highest proportion of two-person households live in 3 bedroom houses.

The second-largest proportion of two-person households live in 4 bedroom houses. The report does highlight that this may be either through choice or circumstance, but it’s a challenge for Council in any case.

In addition, there’s a need for an additional 6400 dwellings in the Shire over the next 20 years. With limited developable land available, this adds to the challenge faced by Noosa Council.

The HNA report correctly points out the challenges and opportunities faced by Council:

• Meeting the housing needs of residents in the light of competing demand for tourist accommodation;
• Making optimal use of remaining land through smaller lot sizes and minimum density requirements for attached dwellings in some locations;
• Considering new built form controls and any appropriate incentives to achieve objectives while preserving the integrity of the Noosa Plan;
• Exploring new and innovative solutions, some of which may be challenging to accept;
• Considering other ways to pursue housing objectives.

Council acts with draft housing strategy

There is a need for Council to intervene and develop a plan that will accommodate the need for affordable housing and deliver the additional dwellings needed over the next two decades.

The first step Council took was to endorse the HNA report. Council has now taken the second step and developed a Draft Housing Strategy, which is now subject to community consultation.

Noosa Shire Council’s Draft Housing Strategy aims to address the pressing housing crisis impacting the region.

The Draft Housing Strategy outlines Council’s role in delivering better housing outcomes to meet the diverse needs of people in the Shire. Council has recognised its role to monitor this challenge; advocate for increased investment in the supply of affordable housing; plan and regulate to ensure appropriate provisioning of housing and housing choice; and partner with State and Commonwealth governments to increase the provision of social and community housing.

Council, however, does also make it clear that it will not become a direct housing provider.

Have your say

You can now have your say on the draft Strategy by accessing the survey form on Council’s website.

We encourage everyone to review the draft housing strategy and then lodge any relevant comments or concerns via the community feedback portal.

Community feedback is sought until 7 August 2022.

Housing strategy outcomes and actions

The draft Housing Strategy outlines several outcomes and actions that will help Council address the housing crisis.

Broadly, these outcomes are:

• Noosa community benefits from industry expertise, best practice and local knowledge in the housing sector;
• Sufficient housing is provided to accommodate the planned population of the Shire;
• New housing is located in areas that are accessible and well-connected to services, employment, and infrastructure;
• Development and redevelopment for housing is diverse, meeting varied and changing needs of people across their life;
• Housing is available for all members of the Noosa Shire community, including individuals and households on low to moderate incomes;
• Housing is well designed and adds to residents’ safety, security and wellbeing;
• Housing is enduring and resilient to natural processes and changes without putting people or property at risk of hazards;
• Sustainable tourism accommodation is facilitated where it is complementary to, and compatible with other land uses, including housing, and maintains a community’s sense of place.

A Housing Strategy Stakeholder Reference Group

The third step was establishing a Housing Stakeholder Reference Group (HSRG), which will work with Council on implementing the Housing Strategy and a range of housing issues.

The HSRG seeks to draw on local expertise and will include representation from a variety of sectors, including:

• State member/s;
• Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy;
• QShelter;
• Registered Community Housing Providers;
• NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation providers;
• Residential Care providers;
• Homelessness support services;
• Business and Tourism sector;
• Permanent Rental Property Managers;
• Local private housing developers.

Council has selected RG Strategic owner and director Russell Green to sit on the HSRG as a local town planning consultant and we are excited to be part of this group to help Council promote, shape and implement the new housing strategy.

First meeting outcomes

The first meeting of the HSRG has met, and it was refreshing to see such a broad, representative group come together to tackle this crisis.

We believe that a bold approach is required in order to have an impact on this issue. Nothing should be off the table, including a review of the current planning scheme informed by the population and housing data we already have access to.

We also echo the sentiments of other representatives of the group including:

• Getting information about the draft housing strategy to as many people as possible;
• Council’s response needs to be rapid, but we recognise that a change in available housing stock will take years to appear;
• Many who are affected – renters, low-income residents – will be less likely to participate in the community engagement process so additional attention needs to be given to this cohort;
• The need for community champions to help amplify the message and Council’s response.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, this housing crisis is one of the most challenging and urgent problems Council faces.

There are inherent risks in addressing a crisis that will play out over 20 years or more by looking at what has been done and what can be done today.

But this is a step in the right direction. Council needs to act and is doing so. The key now is to ensure we can get all the respective parties to the table and make decisions for the whole of the community for today and tomorrow.

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There is no doubt that hospitality businesses have faced numerous challenges over the past two years. Covid-19, the accompanying lockdowns for local, national and international visitors, and the necessary isolation periods for victims of COVID and their close contacts have had a devastating impact on many operators in the industry.

When lockdowns eased and travel restrictions lifted, many thought they could see the light at the end of the tunnel. But then cases spiked, isolation was mandated, and operators were left operating with a skeleton staff, if they had any, or had to close up just as bookings started to see life again.

Some operators said that the post-lockdown case spikes have had a bigger impact on their business than lockdowns. When you plan to open and are suddenly left with no staff, losses compounded, especially with government support drying up.

The industry has been, some believe, irrevocably changed.

A report by the shift work platform Deputy showed an 80% decrease in hospitality shift-work hours in April 2020. Since then, hospitality businesses have rostered on average 30% fewer shift work hours compared to pre-pandemic operations.

We don’t believe that the industry won’t recover. Already there are signs things of improvement with increasing international arrivals, and lockdowns now a thing of the past (fingers crossed) in all states and territories.

Innovation has helped businesses stay resilient

However, some operators used the COVID challenge as an opportunity to reexamine how they operate and improve things with new processes and innovations. Innovations that will help them grow more resilient and address visitor concerns going into the future.

Businesses should review their operations and the landscape they operate in regularly.

COVID allows you review your operation with a focus on what the future may hold and what your customers desire going forward. It’s an opportunity to understand your customer segments and how they wish to engage with your business or how they may want to experience your offering.

In aid of this, we reviewed several articles discussing new trends in the hospitality sector, and we list what we feel are important opportunities below.

COVID-19 has changed the hospitality landscape.

Technology is key driver

The consistent trend across all articles we reviewed is the growth of technology in all sectors.

The business magazine Entrepreneur listed six trends they identified, driven by the evolving demands of tech-savvy, hygiene-conscious travellers. All of the trends, which we cover below, were technology-based solutions to customer concerns.

1. Gamification of Travel Planning: using game mechanics like challenges, chance and rewards, with elements like points, quests and sharing, companies can capitalise on human motivation. Entrepreneur points out that “using gamification for online advertising is proven to boost data driving, customer loyalty, brand awareness, user-generated content, online engagement and revenue.” That seems like a pretty decent hit parade of which we’d all want a share.
2. Virtual Reality Tours: We know that virtual reality tours work in the real estate sector. Real estate listings offering virtual tours receive 87% more views than properties that don’t have any. They were also shown to reduce wasted viewings by 40%. But virtual reality tours are now also taking off in the travel industry. Omni Hotels and TIG Global conducted research revealing that when hotel websites featured a virtual tour, bookings increased, and conversion rates were boosted between 16% and 67%.
3. Going Contactless: Most consumers are already comfortable with the concept of contactless payment systems like tap and pay. Some operators are now pushing the idea of contactless to other areas of their hospitality businesses, including self-check-in, in-room technology, and mobile keys. The use of these contactless systems increased by 66% during the pandemic, according to a Stayntouch/NYU Tisch Center of Hospitality Report The report highlighted that customers’ expectation of increased hygiene wasn’t the only factor for adopting these technologies. The automation of many of the basic functionalities of the administrative side of the hospitality experience also helped the business overcome lower levels of available staff.
4. Chatbots: With staffing resources scarce, removing unnecessary interactions with staff allow businesses to do more with less. Chatbot systems can adequately handle many standard concierge-style interactions customers or visitors may have with the business. By triaging and filtering customer requests, staff can be left to address priority concerns and requests and allow automated systems to handle others.
5. Internet of Things (IoT): Improving the bottom line is all about efficiencies. With the demand for sustainability and increased customisation of the customer experience, IoT devices can help deliver on all fronts. IoT devices allow operators or visitors to operate room facilities like lighting, air conditioning, and more remotely or automatically based on rules which can be permanent or modifiable. It’s all about giving the visitor the most control while not relinquishing it completely.
6. Location-Based Services: Entrepreneur’s report highlights how visitors can use location-based services to find the nearest corner store or the best pub. Anyone with a smartphone can Google these independently without intervention from their hotel operator. However, where we see opportunity is location-based services’ ability to deliver location-aware offers and specials directly to the visitors’ smartphones. This can include in-house services like day spa or rooftop bar offers and select partnerships with other operators. Now you can deliver offers to your visitors from a range of providers as your guests walk down the street and pass by a partner restaurant or tour operator.

Support your guest experience by developing localisation services and partnerships.

Food premises trends

A report by hospitality advisory services group EHL echoes these trends but focuses on food premises.

EHL discusses the increased uptake of technologies like online ordering systems and delivery apps, contactless payment, online table reservation systems, automated inventory management software and, as part of the increased hygiene demands, air purification systems.

Tap and order and pay

One trend EHL discusses can be seen in many venues in Queensland after a furiously fast rollout by different providers. Table ordering “pucks” or stickers, utilising QR codes and NFC (near field communication) chips, can be seen in many casual dining establishments.

Self-help ordering systems, like this one from me & u, help drive increased spend, especially for casual dining venues.

From big national players like the ALH Group to small independent restaurants, cafés and bars have adopted these at the table, no-touch, order and pay systems. This kind of technology addresses hygiene concerns by eliminating physical menus and also reduces the number of staff needed on the floor. As a bonus, operators find that the spend per customer using the self-serve systems is anywhere up to 20% higher than ordering via a paper-based menu and staff member.

This increase in sales is attributed to the system’s ability to show attractive photos of menu items and present extras and add-ons as simple click boxes, increasing people’s desire to add to their orders.

What does the future hold?

As pandemic challenges slowly recede, it may lull some operators into a false sense of comfort that the good days are coming back. But we think there’s a need to be cautious and do what you can now to plan for leaner days ahead.

Internationally we see economic storm clouds gathering, and the challenges faced by consumers grow daily: inflation is rising and interest rates are going up.

This challenges growth in consumer spending habits already curtailed by the lasting effects of the pandemic.

As recently as mid-May 2022, research and consultancy group McKinsey found that, while Australians have been on a spending spree post covid, they are feeling less optimistic about economic recovery than last year. Australians remain cautious on spending and this negative sentiment could have a bearing on discretionary spending such as on holidays and eating out.

While the report found a negative spending sentiment, it also found a tentative return to out-of-home activities.

Interestingly high income earners had improved confidence in our economic recovery, whereas low to middle-income earners had a decline in optimism.

Look to trends to help identify opportunities for your hospitality business

We don’t profess to have a crystal ball to foresee what the future holds. But the trends we are seeing and the solutions and efficiencies they offer would likely benefit many operators over both the short and the long term.

Operators should be seeking to improve their offering continually and should be looking to industries other than themselves to identify new opportunities for improvement.

This is not an industry where it pays to sit still.

Feel free to contact us to discuss any of these trends or other solutions for your business.

The post Stay ahead of the curve: Top trends in hospitality 2022 appeared first on RG Strategic.

RG Strategic’s town planners worked tirelessly on the project to get it off the ground and ensure consistent progress.

Check out the video and images below. Congratulations to Bounce Noosa and Sunshine Coast commercial builders Build4U for a job well done bringing this project to life.

RG Strategic assisted with the Material Change of Use (MCU) application and the Operational Works (OPW) application. We prepared and submitted all paperwork for the Liquor Licence, Food Premises Licence, Building Approval, and Plumbing Approval.

To read more about how Bounce Noosa came to be, check out our case study on the development project, which also discusses the challenges faced by the developer, and our interview with Mark Baldwin, GM of the group developing Bounce Noosa.

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