Lawler Partners Hospitality

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IS YOUR VENUE READY FOR THE CHALLENGES OF 2010? 

As hospitality venues commence the 2010 year they do so with a little trepidation. The new industrial era, increasing regulation in the gaming area, increasing restrictions on obtaining funding and the more aggressive policing of regulations by authorities will test the Strategies and ongoing viability of many venues.

 To ensure you have best positioned your venue to address these challenges contact Lawler Partners about developing professionally researched Operational & Strategic Plans.

As hospitality venues commence the 2010 year they do so with a little trepidation. This year is again looking to be yet another year in which the hospitality & gaming industry could be subjected to significant and challenging changes to their operating & regulatory environment. 

These changes are expected to come from:

• The expected environmental legislation which will significantly increase the energy costs of venues (expected to double in New South Wales in the next few years) and place environmental restrictions on the operations of some venues.                                

• The new industrial era which commencedoperations on 1 January 2010. The new National Employment Standards and the commencement of new national Modern Awards forhospitality venues will reshape the industrial landscape in whichvenues operate and increase the complexity of issues that venues will have to deal with over the next year. A mere technical breach in these areas could result in a venue being fined up to $33,000 for each breach.

• Restrictions in gaming operations. In October last year the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Gambling released its draft report which contained some very disturbing recommendations, which if implemented could cause significant detrimental financial impact to clubs& hotels throughout the State. Hopefully sanity will prevail with some of themore radical recommendations (which have not been supported by any research) being eliminated from the final report. However, venues will need to factor appropriate strategies in their planning to address any adverse regulation flowing from this report.

• Also in October the Productivity Commission released their report into not-for-profit organizations. Sections of the report focused on the club industry. In that report the Commission questioned some of the taxation concessions clubs receive and referred the matter to the Henry Report into Taxation for consideration. The Henry Report was completed in December and has been provided to the Federal Government, but is yet to be publically released. We expect this to be released in the first half of 2010. Again, clubs will need to factor in appropriate strategies in their planning to address any adverse regulation flowing from this report

• Aggressive policing of legislation. For example the aggressive policing of the Anti Money Laundering legislation & Liquor Laws is causing concern for venues.

• The continuing impact of the Global Financial Crisis, even though there have been some positive signs of the economy recovering, is still causing concern for venues in some locations.

• The increasingly aggressive competition between venues (clubs, hotels & casinos).

• The caution being expressed by bankers in lending to clubs and hotels. Many bankers now require significant supporting documentation to accompany any loan application or in some cases this is even required to justify their ongoing support of the venue.

In summary, venues no longer have any margin for error in their decision making; all major operational and strategic decisions now need to be carefully weighed up; otherwise the venue could be severely punished in their market.

As such many venues are commencing the 2010 year with a detailed review of all the Operational and Strategic Plans to ensure their initiatives are both relevant and focused to position the venue to address the challenges of the 2010 year.

Lawler Partners has been preparing professionally researched Operational & Strategic Plans for hospitality & gaming venues for over 20 years. Our Operational & Strategic Plans have been instrumental in assisting many venues improve their market penetration, improve operational and financial performance, with some exceptional results.

If you have not reviewed or prepared an updated Operational or Strategic Plan recently contact Peter McLean on 0425 266 120 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  or Margaret Carew 0409 909 999 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to discuss how Lawler Partners can help you negotiate another yet challenging year.