Hospitality & Retail

Growth in restaurants and hospitality businesses across the country are being tempered by higher costs, according to the Restaurant Association.

Wellington Airport’s Lyall Bay and Rongotai precincts are being redeveloped to include new food and beverage outlets, as well as a new airport services centre.

Cancellations and the expense of water workarounds are among the challenges for the resort’s operators.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has approved Tourism Industry Aotearoa as an employer bargaining party under the Fair Pay Agreement Act.

Closer integration with businesses and stakeholders is also a top priority for the association’s new CEO.

Christchurch hospitality and accommodation provider Springs Junction Café and Motor Inn has been fined $36,000 for breaching multiple employment standards during the 2020 Covid pandemic.

The pandemic’s lingering impact has driven people back to agents to help cope with uncertainty.

Rotorua restaurant Atticus Funch has taken home the top gong at the Rotorua Hospitality Awards.

Good Spirits Hospitality is selling its portfolio of nine venues for $20.7m to another hospitality operator, Brew On Quay.

Tourism and hospitality businesses from Waiheke Island and Aotea Great Barrier Island have celebrated completing the Taurikura Initiative.

QT Queenstown is reopening the doors to its Lil Red restaurant this month.

New Zealand Venue Co has bought the Morningside Tavern and neighbouring event space, Glasshouse, in Auckland.

Hospitality New Zealand has welcomed new legislation that will enable venues to extend trading hours during the Rugby World Cup without needing a special licence.

Hospitality businesses can open longer for the men’s Rugby World Cup after the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Rugby World Cup 2023 Extended Trading Hours) Amendment Bill passed its third reading.

Electronic card spending in hospitality reached $1.18bn during June 2023, according to the latest data from Stats NZ.

SkyCity will open a new Pacific-inspired restaurant in October headed by chef Michael Meredith.

The unique floating coffee and burger stop on the popular Lake Dunstan Cycle and Walking Trail is up for sale.

InterContinental Auckland has appointed former My Kitchen Rules New Zealand host Gareth Stewart as partner chef and design elements of the luxury hotel’s restaurant.

After steering Hospitality NZ through the pandemic, White signs off on an ’empty tank’ but with high hopes for the resilient industry.

Christchurch venues win both the Supreme Award and the People’s Choice at last night’s gala dinner.

SkyCity Entertainment’s general manager of Auckland hospitality, David Allot, has been named the Hospitality Industry Leader of the Year.

A minister of hospitality is among the requests to the government elected on 14 October in Hospitality New Zealand’s election manifesto.

Hospitality New Zealand has applied to become the bargaining agent for hospitality employers, which would see it enter negotiations on an industry pay arrangement under the Fair Pay Agreements Act.

Hospitality New Zealand is calling for the government to take a second look at the potential ramifications if the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Community Participation) Amendment Bill becomes law.

May card spending in the hospitality industry increased by 7.6% to $1.176bn compared to the $1.094bn transacted during the same month last year, according to Stats NZ.

Australian industry stalwart Sam Egerton will be speaking at Hospitality New Zealand’s conference, alongside others including Kevin Biggar, Melissa Muirhead, Ashley Fell, and Dan Te Whenua Walker.

New Zealand hospitality businesses are feeling increasingly pessimistic about the state of the economy, according to the latest survey conducted by the Restaurant Association of New Zealand.

The hospitality sector has led an increase in the number of filled jobs for the March 2023 quarter, according to Stats NZ.

The former Auckland tourism boss and the chair of BEIA will take over from Julie White.

Auckland Airport’s is moving to a single operator model with LagardèreAWPL as its duty-free partner. 

The number of filled jobs in accommodation and food services rose by 17,138 in April 2023, up 12.2% on the same month last year.

SkyCity is opening New Zealand’s highest bar in partnership with champagne brand Moët & Chandon. 

The three businesses are among 120 finalists across 24 categories to be honoured at the awards.

The Hospo Hui will bring together leaders in New Zealand food and hospitality to help chart the future of the industry.

Hospitality New Zealand says the government’s Wellbeing Budget 2023 does not do enough to support small businesses.

Google head of travel and financial services Michelle Allen will be a keynote speaker at the Maximum Occupancy New Zealand and Hospitality New Zealand 2023 conferences.

Chef Celia Drummond of Floriditas has won the Visa Wellington On a Plate’s Next Gen Cook Off.

Investment in hospitality upskilling, infrastructure development, and the removal of GST on food would be a welcome boost for the sector, says Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois.

The Mānawa Bay premium shopping destination near Auckland Airport will be home to the country’s first fully electric foodcourt, with no gas facilities on site.

Licensed hospitality businesses will be able to stay open for longer during the Rugby World Cup from September.

Electronic card transactions in hospitality for April have increased by 15.5% compared to the same month last year, according to Stats NZ.

Auckland Airport’s $200m Manawa Bay retail destination is now under construction.

ServiceIQ has joined the Pride Pledge commitment to support the rainbow community.

InterContinental Wellington will open the doors to its new GPO restaurant on 21 April.

Visa has launched a $30,000 scholarship for young hospitality workers.

Electronic card transactions in hospitality reached $1.34bn in March 2023, up about 50.6% from the $891m generated during the same month last year, according to Stats NZ.

The hospitality industry’s inaugural Cooking up a Storm event led by chef Al Brown has raised $370,000 to support those impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.

An associate minister for hospitality is one priority that could help position the sector for the future.

Kathmandu owner KMD Brands Limited has reported record first-half sales of $547.9m for the six months to 31 January 2023, up 34.5% on the previous corresponding period.

She has led the association through Covid, lobbying hard for support and speaking often of hospitality’s challenges.