The application sought minor changes to the internal layout, including:

• The use of the small new deck extension for dining;
• Relocating the bar to adjoin the existing kitchen;
• Removing the gaming room (poker machines) and replace it with dining, and
• Enclosing the rear deck and use the area for storage.

The proposal resulted in an increase of 52m² of Use Area (12m² storage + 40m² deck); however, for the purpose of calculating carparking demand, the total increase in Use area is only 40m² as the storage area is excluded from Use Area.

The approved renovation of the Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club will see pokies make way for more dining space, with the club deciding to remove all pokies from the premises.

As part of the approved application, Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club propose using an exterior deck extension for dining.

RG Strategic drafted the proposal showing the Minor Change is consistent with the intent of the original approval and the Planning Scheme. The proposal resulted in an improved internal configuration and:

• The selling of food and drink remains an integrated part of the club, supporting the primary use, which is the active outdoor recreation use of sailing and rowing;
• The club is REMOVING ALL GAMING MACHINES from the premises, which results in real benefit to the community;
• Provides essential community infrastructure contributing to the social fabric of Noosa;
• The whole of the lower floor and surrounding open areas are used for the storage of boats, gear, first aid, change rooms and ablutions;
• There will not be any additional noise to that which already exists. The new deck’s location faces the river car parking and Pirate Park, and any noise emanating from the site does not impact any sensitive land uses.
• Carparking on site is sufficient for the intended use.

RG Strategic worked with the following specialists to deliver this project:

• Architects: Hot Concepts

Town Planning Expertise

RG Strategic is your town planning expert with decades of on-council and on-the-ground experience. Contact us today for all your town planning needs.

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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.

BIRD came to RG Strategic with an uncompromising dream.

It was a dream borne from what some would call a macabre vision… but it has delivered what is undoubtedly Noosa’s best takeaway chickens.

Chris and Peter spent over 65 years in the fashion industry between them. When their last fashion project finished, they looked at each other and knew they were done with fashion.

“It was a great ride,” Chris says. “But it was time to do something different.”

The question was what.

A love for food and a macabre obsession becomes the inspiration.

“We have always loved good food. In the past, I have helped friends with catering businesses and worked in restaurants at times. I have always loved cooking for myself and my family,” Chris says.

“When we decided to call it quits on the fashion industry in Sydney, we knew we could only move to Noosa. It’s the one place you can get really good food,” she continued.

In discussions around what Chris and Peter were going to do next, food was at the core. And importantly, discussions kept coming back to Peter and his somewhat macabre inspiration for the next step in their business careers.

“I have always said that if I was on Death Row, my last meal would be a real charcoal chicken, a baguette with smoked butter and a fine bottle of burgundy,” he jokes. “And when we came to Noosa, we realised no one was doing really good, authentic charcoal chickens.”

Knowing what you don’t want

“When we first started looking at this idea, we knew what we wanted. We also knew what we didn’t want,” Chris says.

“We didn’t want to be on Hastings Street. It is too hard to get the facilities needed for a charcoal shop, but we wanted something that felt more ‘local’. We live here now and we want to be involved with the local community. And that’s when we found this site,” Chris says.

The site is a small shopfront in Noosa Junction previously used as a hairdressing salon. It is nestled amongst other restaurants and bars and seemed like the perfect location.

Where to start building the dream

Chris and Peter knew now was the time they needed help to progress the dream.

“We needed help with all the planning applications, the design and fit-out of the shopfront. And we needed someone up for a challenge because we found and bought this charcoal rotisserie in Spain we were getting shipped over. We had no idea how it was going to go in the shop,” Chris says.

Chris and Peter finally found someone when they were speaking to the owners of Puncheur Coffee Roasters who recommended Russell at RG Strategic.

Intriguing challenges

“I remember when Chris and Peter came to us,” Russell Green, Director of RG Strategic town planners, says.

“They had this really focused vision of what they wanted to do, which I loved. And then they had this crazy charcoal rotisserie from Spain, which they needed to accommodate in the shopfront they had found,” he continues.

“I was intrigued, to say the least.”

“Russell was brilliant with everything,” Chris says.

“We had to fit in the rotisserie and get extraction sorted for it. We needed a cold room space as well, and there were issues with plumbing and even 3 phase power which we needed.”

“The lease we signed stated that 3-phase power was available, but it wasn’t, so we had to wait to get that sorted as well.”

“But working with Russell was a breeze,” Chris says. “We were still running the other fashion business at this stage. So we had to be careful. We weren’t on-site every day. But we just let it run, and they all knew what to do. It was a very pleasant experience.”

Chris also says that perhaps RG Strategic was too efficient.

“I saw this email from Russell one day to Peter saying that our liquor license had been approved. I knew nothing of it. But Peter had apparently asked Russell to apply for a liquor license for us. That was a surprise, but now we are the only chicken shop in Noosa with a liquor license.”

“It was a delight working with Chris and Peter on BIRD, but there were certainly some issues to solve,” Russell says.

“It was a small old tenancy and we had to work closely with the building owner to overcome some issues we discovered during the process.”

“There were termites, asbestos, and insufficient power. We also had issues with construction going on at the tenancy next door at the same time. This caused some headaches in terms of site access. But Build4U was commissioned to do the construction and fit-out, and they did a great job dealing with any restrictions and issues we came across.”

“The liquor license was an interesting development,” Russell says.

“In passing, Peter asked if he could sell wine to take away. We knew this could be achieved in an off-premises liquor license where the sale of wine, cider, or beer with a meal to take away could be achieved. So that’s what we suggested. What we didn’t know was that this wasn’t part of the agreed vision between Chris and Peter. Not sure that was Peter’s best day. But it does mean that BIRD is the first takeaway chicken shop in Noosa to have a liquor license.”

Local architects Zest Design committed Chris and Peter’s vision to paper. With a background in interior design, Peter already had a clear vision for how the shop should look, and there was no expense spared. From the “chicken-wire” windows, the single hydraulic lift front window, the substrate for the counter, the unique subway tiles on the walls to the amazing rotisserie centerpiece. Zest’s biggest challenge was fitting all the facilities and amenities needed in the shop around the rotisserie.

Of course, a bigger issue for everyone was getting the rotisserie into the shop when it finally arrived from Barcelona.

“That was an exercise in itself,” Chris says. “We had to get it off the truck and then into the shop. This meant that we had to get it in before we finished building the front counter.”

A bird delivered with a singular vision

BIRD is now operating and offers a true representation of Chris and Peter’s uncompromising dream.

They sought out the best free-range chickens from Elgin Valley, crusty baguettes from Tanglewood Organic Baking Co., and a selection of wines selected by Peter for their quality and ability to complement the smoky yet delicate flavour of the charcoal chickens.

To give the right smokiness, Peter has sourced a range of charcoal, including mangrove charcoal. This is sorted and stacked by size to allow the perfect stoking of the charcoal rotisserie every morning when the first batch of chickens go in the oven.

Chris prepares the smoked butter in-house and a single daily salad based on the freshest in-season produce. Their gravy is also made in-house using the drippings from the cooking birds to give it a rich homemade flavour complementing the roasted chat potatoes perfectly.

“You must try the potatoes,” Chris says. “We cook them in the rotisserie along with the chickens. They get so crispy and full of flavour.”

“We don’t cut corners. We are not that kind of people,” Chris says.

The simplicity and quality of what’s on offer at BIRD is a testament to Chris and Peter’s uncompromising vision. BIRD has added yet another dimension to the food offerings at Noosa Junction. From the quality of the produce to the lovingly crafted smoked butter, the crusty bread, and a wine selection to suit every budget — including those with expensive tastes — BIRD is a must-try for authentic charcoal chicken.

Ready to build your dream?

RG Strategic is proud to have assisted Chris and Peter with all town planning, plumbing, food premises, and liquor licensing applications.

Talk to the expert town planners at RG Strategic today if you have a dream that you wish to make a reality.

For expert town planning assistance and support with your next food or hospitality project, talk to RG Strategic today.

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