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BBFA Media Release

July 8th, 2010 Editor

CHANGES TO LIQUOR LICENCE LEGISLATION FOR VICTORIAN BED & BREAKFASTS
BBFAA welcomes today’s announcement by the Victorian Premiers Department that from 2011, bed and breakfasts who supply alcohol as an incidental part of their operations will no longer have to pay liquor licence renewal fees.

Following a 400% increase in the annual licence renewal fee over the last two years BBFAA lobbied for changes to the legislation on behalf of the industry in Victoria. This was to bring it in line with provisions for bed and breakfasts in South Australia and New South Wales where a liquor licence is not required providing those businesses comply with set criteria.

BBFAA Chairperson, Geoff Chapman, said “We acknowledge that excessive alcohol consumption in some parts of the community presented the Victorian Government with a real social problem, but indicated in our meetings with Consumer Affairs Minister Tony Robinson and his Department that bed and breakfasts pose a very low risk and the increased fee was a major impost on business causing many operators to cease serving alcohol to their guests.

“The new legislation will make it easier for bed and breakfast owners to comply with the legislation and will contribute significantly to the quality of the hospitality that this important sector of the tourism industry provides.”

The details of the criteria for Victorian bed and breakfasts have yet to be finalised and BBFAA will continue to consult with the Department to assist in this process.

BBFAA congratulates Minister Robinson and the Victorian Government on this encouraging outcome.

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Tags: BBFAA, Liquor License, Victoria
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It is very tempting

June 30th, 2010 Editor

To increase one’s rates when there is a special event on in the area.
Why not make hay while the sun shines?

Planning your rates to allow for all the various commissions and expenses that will need to be accounted for if you are to make a profit, is a fine art.

Most of us who are small operators, tend to look at what the local competition is charging, look at our (or their) point of difference and set a price accordingly. We then hope that it is sufficient to cover all expenses and leave a reasonable margin for us.

That is the main reason why it is so tempting to increase rates for a “Special Event”.

There are downsides to taking this step - a current example is the number of complaints about the huge increase many accommodation suppliers have made to the rates they charge for the current FIFA World Championships in South Africa.

Another example is the way many providers are increasing their rates for the Rugby World Cup to be held in New Zealand in 2011. The downside in this case is that some oversease wholesale travel providers are finding that it is cheaper to do package tours to Australia - Sydney and Melbourne - and then charter a plane to fly across to New Zealand for the matches and return to Australia afterwards.

The result? All, or almost all, the spending on food, accommodation, entertainment and other “normal tourist” behaviour will be done in Australia and not in NZ where the games are being held.

It is relatively simple for your previous details of rates and offers to be found - have a look at the Wayback Machine.

Our own website has several different iterations going back to 1991 with 50 snapshots during the 9 or so years. If your rates were displayed on your site (rather than using a booking agent like we did) there could be a fairly reasonable trail of how your increases were implemented over the years.

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