Hospitality

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 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. 

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

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

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

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.

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

Entries are open for the 25th Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence 2023, run by Hospitality New Zealand and sponsored by Lion New Zealand.  

Sid Sahrawat’s Indian restaurant Cassia is relocating to SkyCity after its Fort Street location in Auckland was impacted by weather events and closed in January.

Hospitality businesses across the country are coming together to host New Zealand’s biggest dinner party support of those impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle. 

Retail sales volumes in the accommodation services sector rose to $828.3m in the December 2022 quarter, up 28.2% from the $645.9m during the same period in 2021 and just 5.8% down on pre-Covid 2019, according to Stats NZ.

Spending in the hospitality industry increased by 24% or $261m in December 2022 when compared with the same month the previous year, according to Stats NZ.

Hospitality sales growth has bucked the trend against a slowdown in New Zealand’s small business sector in November.

Employer accreditations are extended and bus drivers get a boost but there’s little for hard-hit hospo.

The government has approved a loan of up to $1.25m to hospitality software company Loaded Reports.

But the recovery could be stymied by labour shortages and increased costs putting pressure on businesses.

Go To Collection hospitality group has been put into voluntary administration and will be restructured to ensure the most successful parts of the business can continue.

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is seeking permanent, fixed term and casual staff at some of Northland’s premium heritage places over summer.

Online job advertisements for hospitality roles are growing faster than any other sector as demand for labour remains high.

There are just two days left until nominations close for the annual Iconic Auckland Eats programme.

Nominations are open for the best food experiences in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, from restaurants and cafés to markets, takeaways and food trucks.

Actual spending in the hospitality industry reached $1.15bn in August 2022, up 78.2% from $646m the same month last year, according to Stats NZ.

Electronic card spending in the hospitality industry reached $1.9bn during July, up from almost $1.1bn the previous month.

The average sale price for hospitality businesses has increased 40% to 284,050 in the 12 months to June 2022.

Fable Dunedin won the best hotel with lodges and holiday parks also among the winners.

The accreditation is for businesses that seek to promote an efficient, productive and harmonious workplace culture.

The online course aims to educate staff on how to minimise harm in environments where alcohol is served.

Hospitality and retail businesses in the Wellington central business district have received an extension on their rates payments under the $2.3m pandemic response package released by Wellington City Council.

Electronic card spending in the hospitality industry fell $6.0m between June 2021 and June 2022, a 0.6% decrease, according to data from Statistics New Zealand.

Let’s Get Wellington Moving is asking Wellingtonians to provide their feedback on a redesign of the Golden Mile.

The first Matariki long weekend provided a welcome lift for the hospitality sector, according to Worldline data.

Auckland’s city centre will come alive with food, nostalgia and fine dining to celebrate Restaurant Month from 1 – 31 August.

Hospitality New Zealand is calling for MPs to send a private member’s bill repealing Easter trading restrictions to a select committee so the industry can have its say on whether to stay open or not.

The relatively new Fable brand and Hotel Britomart, as well as vineyard accommodation and TOP 10 holiday parks, are among the finalists in the Lion Hospitality Awards for Excellence 2022.

A new food, wine and design festival called INDULGE will light up Auckland’s Wynyard Point and Jellicoe Harbour in March 2023.