Earlier in the year we looked at the reasons why clubs have a food outlet, now having agreed they are a necessity for a whole range of reasons, we will look at the factors that influence what type of food operation they should have.

Part one finished with the recommendation that if you have a large number of people to cater for then you should have a variety of more intimate dining areas each with the different feel, perhaps some in different areas of the club, rather than one big, sterile environment. Let's continue now by looking at some options that may be considered to add some variety or point of reference to your food areas.

Las Vegas has always been considered as the gaming destination of the world with all the glitz and glamour attracting millions of gamblers every year. We often hear “Yes but its Vegas, what bearing does it have on Australian Gaming?” and sometimes this is true however on a recent visit to Vegas we learnt a great deal more after spending one-on-one time with local Casino Managers.

I was lucky enough to visit the Cannery Casino just on the outskirts of the main boulevard (20 minutes outside of Vegas) and was astounded on just how similar our industries are.

Over the past month the team at DWS have received quite a few worried phone calls from local Brisbane based venues dealing with on-the-spot audits. Clients have been visited by the Police or OLGR inspectors, in some cases both and often followed up with another visit a week later.

The manager on duty has tentatively produced the folder and low and behold Jenny’s RSA has expired, John has missed the RMLV sign in, nobody has seen the RAMP since it was submitted and don’t even mention the security register.

Even when you think everything is being done to the mark, a few sticky questions later you can find that some staff are not committed to the systems, training has missed the mark or the most common problem we encounter that sufficient records just are not in place to back up your systems and procedures.

We have conceded the two for one deal is here to stay. It’s everywhere and is now a part of the hospitality mid week entertainment fabric. For many venues it is great as a short term “shout out” to the market that we’re here and open for business.

But the big mistake hospitality managers make is a lack of any exit strategy or conversion initiative. Most introduce the “two for one Tuesday” and it’s still there in its original form 12 months later. That can’t be good for business?

Here is an example of why it should not be a long term plan for hospitality venues...

Progression of major resources projects in Mackay during 2010, following an initial stall during the global financial crisis has resulted in a significant growth in demand for accommodation over the past two years.

The following graph presents occupancy (OCC), average room rate (ARR), and revenue per available room (RevPAR) data for the 24 months to December 2011 for hotels, motels and serviced apartments in the Mackay tourism region. Data has been adjusted for GST.