Preparing for a Big Summer: A Risky Bet on Good Spirit Hospitality

Hospitality group Good Spirits Hospitality is looking overseas to secure much-needed staff and anticipates a busy summer trading season.

NZX listed company with 11 Auckland and Hamilton venues including Auckland Elevated Bar
Danny Doolan’s and O’Hagan’s, along with Doolan Brothers, Union Post and Cock and Bull, have since been forced to close and have reduced hours as a result of staffing issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. We have not fully reopened our stores yet.

In order to reopen venues and bring back operating hours to 24/7, we have started advertising ‘Working Holiday Packages’ in New Zealand, the UK and Ireland to fill key vacancies.

The company has started recruiting staff on working holiday visas to fill an additional 30 vacancies in a range of roles from front of house, chefs and kitchen hands to managers, payroll and human resources. did.

The company will be happy to pay for the applicant’s visa and two nights accommodation upon arrival in New Zealand, and assist in setting up an IRD number and bank account. So far, he says, there’s been a lot of interest.

Good Spirits Hospitality posted a net loss of $6.6 million for the year ended June 30, following a net loss of $5.8 million the year before. Recent losses included his $1.5 million one-time expense from due diligence costs related to the failed acquisition of Nourish Group.

In the year to June, operating revenue fell 24% to $17.7 million. This is mainly due to Covid-19 lockdowns, capacity restrictions and travel restrictions affecting the number of international travelers. However, the company said that the year-to-date trading has exceeded expectations.

Sarah Harry, head of people, culture and well-being at Good Spirits Hospitality, said the group was positive about the deal following recent good deals.

She said the deal was much better than expected during a typically difficult winter month, especially compared to the same period last year.

Good Spirits Hospitality recorded 7,600 bookings at the venue in July and 6,000 bookings in August.

“We’re definitely doing a lot better than we expected. I think we’ve had a bit of a recovery period and I’m happy with our performance,” Harry said.

Bookings at the company’s bars and eateries soared after the country transitioned to an orange traffic light setting in April.Good Spirits Hospitality has said it will continue to do so now that the Covid-19 protection framework has been completely phased out. We expected this to increase further.

“I have no doubt that our team members are no longer needed by us. [masks and restrictions], and saw a dramatic drop in the number of cases within our own business as well. “

She said the move to lift restrictions will provide a much-needed boost to hospitality and signal a return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

“There is a higher level of confidence that the risk is not that bad, [transmission] Because it’s declining, more people are coming out and feeling more confident going out.

“We are gearing up for a big summer. We are happy to see cruise ships reopening and tourists starting to pick up. And we’ve had a great response from people who are interested in Ireland.”

According to Harry, it has been very difficult to operate multiple venues amid the labor market crisis over the past nine months.

Businesses have had to temporarily close some venues and have changed their hours of operation over the last three months.Dooran Brothers in Newmarket still remains closed with partial hours open 7 days a week has been shortened to 5-6 days, while another is now only open 4 days.

“Like many hospitality companies, we have struggled to get people to work.

“We had to prioritize our staff over deals to keep them from working too long, and we had to do everything we could for them,” said Harry. I was.

Before the border reopened in July, Good Spirits Hospitality faced significant setbacks in recruiting and retaining enough staff.

This was because there were more jobs than people doing them, and the student market was usually more picky.

We recently hired German staff, and Canadian and British staff are expected to start work in the coming weeks.

The company expects all venues to be open and at full capacity by the end of October, depending on its overseas recruitment program.

Good Spirits Hospitality believes trade could return to pre-pandemic 2019 levels this summer.

“Inflation makes things even more difficult, but we take seriously what we can offer and what we do to make it the best possible. Makes it attractive to come to a place..”

Harry said Good Spirits could see that period of struggle coming to an end. is.”

The wider hospitality industry has experienced a mixed recovery so far, with a pool of businesses like Good Spirits doing well, but many are still in “survival mode,” she said.

“Across the industry, some will get through the summer just fine, others will need help in their recovery.”

Good Spirits Hospitality shares are trading at about 49 cents per share, down from their recent high of 90 cents before the Covid-19 pandemic. The company has 200 employees.

It acquired The Fox to open in late 2020, and recently acquired Velvet, which has been operating the venue since August.

Restaurant Association CEO Marisa Vidois said the hospitality industry has reported a general recovery in business in recent months.

She said operators are optimistic about the upcoming strong summer trading season. He warned us that we would have to operate with reduced business hours.

“Trade is picking up, which is encouraging, with some businesses reporting busier than expected at the moment… the last few years.”