Hospitality scene serves up hope

The hospitality industry is still recovering from a lethargy brought on by the global financial crisis, but industry leaders are cautiously optimistic about the outlook.

Australian Hotels Association Western Australia chief executive Bradley Woods noted the past 12 months had been tough for the industry, with discretionary spending at low levels, but said the corporate market was helping to buoy hospitality in the state, with food and beverage demand growing in the CBD.

“The local market is a reflection of the national economy. Mums and dads and couples are being cautious but I think we are moving out of that now. We are starting to see the industry emerge,” Mr Woods said.

The level of capital investment in refurbishment of existing venues and the establishment of new venues reflected the confidence in the market.

“There are a lot of smart people reinvesting in their businesses and they wouldn’t be doing that unless they believed there were some very positive signs on the horizon,” he said.

Must Wine Bar founder and chef Russell Blaikie said Perth’s hospitality scene had become more vibrant, with more small-bar licences.

Mr Blaikie said that, while the signs for the industry were good with more venues being established in Perth, it still faced some economic hurdles. 

He said the volume of customers was still at a good level in Perth, but they were spending less on each visit.

“In my opinion, there is caution and economic uncertainty, job uncertainty. There is a feeling in the press that people want to build their bank balances up,” he said.

“The volume of their per-head spend is a bit less than what I have seen in the past.

“I have only ever had one strategy for dealing with that and making sure my business is going forward; and that is making a quality product and serving that quality product in a quality environment with a great level of service and attention to detail.”

He said Must Margaret River, his second venue established in 2009, recorded its most successful winter this year, something he and his fellow hospitality operators in the area put down to a growth in tourism numbers from South-East Asia and intrastate tourism.

“That is welcome after the past few winters, which have been pretty cold,” he said.

Sentinel Bar and Grill and BarOne founder Steve Scaffidi said the industry had grown quickly in the past two or three years compared with the past decade. 

“I think we were plodding along for almost a decade but maybe in the last two or three years it has grown almost threefold,” Mr Scaffidi said.

“That said, we can’t underestimate our isolation and population. It is not an excuse, it is a fact. We don’t have the large population cities like Sydney and Melbourne have. 

“Without that, it is hard for us to measure against Melbourne and Sydney as food capitals. 
“I think Perth is a long way off from those giddy heights of food and service.”

Mr Blaikie said he believed Perth was catching up, but agreed that a critical population mass was a factor in development.

“It (Melbourne) has a very vibrant culture which is driven by the population, multi-culturalism of the city, their relaxed liquor licensing laws and the fact that you can set up a small bar for quite a limited budget,” he said.

Mr Blaikie said small bars had changed the way people were socialising in Perth and he hoped there would now be a broader relaxation of the liquor licensing laws in WA.

Mr Woods said there was growing recognition from the eastern states for the food quality in the west.

“It is never going to be the same size as the eastern states simply because of the population but, in terms of the trends and quality of the venues, I think they will continue to grow and develop,” he said.

Mr Woods said trends in the hospitality industry were steering toward locally grown produce and locally sourced meat and seafood along with an increasing importance placed on sustainability would offer WA hospitality operators an opportunity.

“These are the types of restaurant trends that are becoming more evident in terms of what consumers are looking for,” he said.

“I think WA is well positioned as the economy grows to hold its own in respect to the eastern states.”

The boom in 2007-08 helped to bolster the industry, among other elements.

“The growing up is a range of different factors and I think it is a sense of self confidence, the capacity to deliver fine produce in very good venues,” he said.