Auckland-based investor Cindy Hao owns the Black Swan Boutique Hotel at Kawaha Point, Rotorua. Photos / Supplied, Laura Smith
Auckland-based investor Cindy Hao owns the Black Swan Boutique Hotel at Kawaha Point, Rotorua. Photos / Supplied, Laura Smith
The boss of a luxury Rotorua restaurant estimates the business has lost more than half a million dollars in its seven-month battle to get a new liquor licence.
But one agency involved in the process has said changes to the application led to a new review having to be donemonths after it was initially lodged.
A Government order introduced at the start of the pandemic also means the agency has no required timeframe to report on the application until after the Epidemic Notice is lifted.
Auckland-based investor Cindy Hao leads the Princes Gate Hotel Group and bought the Black Swan Boutique Hotel in Kawaha Point in December last year.
The high-end lakefront hotel mainly caters to visitors from the United Kingdom, United States and Europe who pay about $1000 a night per room in the peak season.
Auckland-based investor Cindy Hao leads the Princes Gate Hotel Group. Photo / Laura Smith
For the first month of the wait for the licence the restaurant stayed open, but guests complained about the lack of alcohol.
"It's a luxury lodge, if there is no alcohol, no dinner, we can't run it at all," Hao said.
Then there were complaints the restaurant was closed, but marketing and events manager Cynthia Fang said with no licence it was not feasible to take event bookings as customers wanted the full experience.
It cost about $1000 a night to stay at the hotel in the peak summer season, and on average a person would spend $200 at the restaurant. A bottle of wine was about $100.
The estimated loss each day from diners was about $2000.
The average room rate is $400 per night and on average it had lost about 10 rooms a week.
"It's a very significant loss for us," Fang said.
She worried about future business and bookings. Only operating the tea rooms was not enough to cover overhead costs and the business had missed out on marketing opportunities for next year's peak.
"We just feel really sad our clients have to go somewhere else."
In April they made a "small variation" to the application to include the outside garden.
In June, there was an on-site inspection that also included the two other reporting agencies involved in liquor licencing; police and Toi Te Ora Public Health.
But the licence has yet to be approved.
A police spokesperson told the Rotorua Daily Post it did not intend to oppose Hao's application.
Toi Te Ora Public Health medical officer of health Dr Phil Shoemack said it received the initial application in January and responded to it in March without opposition.
"In April, the applicant varied their licence considerably, leading to a subsequent review of the application," Shoemack said.
The variation was to extend the licence area.
He said Toi Te Ora was considering the amendments and expected to finalise its report this month.
"Liquor licensing is one of the ways we can help keep our communities safe from alcohol-related harm, by the sale, supply, and consumption of alcohol being undertaken safely and responsibly," Shoemack said.
Council community and regulatory services manager Kurt Williams said there was a legislated process it was required to follow for the application and it would continue to deal directly with Hao and her agent regarding her application.
"We do not intend to run the process through the media - that would be inappropriate."
Among the questions the Rotorua Daily Post put to the council was if it was waiting on reports from other agencies on Hao's application, as well as what the average duration was from application to decision.
He said alcohol licensing reporting timeframes were subject to the Immediate Modification Order 2020 (IMO) for the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, which remained in force as long as the Government's Epidemic Notice remained in place.
The Black Swan Boutique Hotel at Kawaha Point, Rotorua. Photo / Supplied
It removed previously required timeframes for police and public health to produce reports on applications due to these agencies' roles in the Covid-19 response.
The starting date for reporting changed from the date of receipt of the application to the date of the ending of the Epidemic Notice.
It also extends the time for the agencies to report on applications from the date on which the notice is lifted by an extra 15 working days, to 30 in total.
Police and public health are required to make a report on every application, whereas before they were not required to if it was not opposed.
This is reviewed every three months by the Government, with the next review due this month.
Williams said last week there was a backlog of 25 applications waiting for reporting from partner agencies.
"Please note this number is not static as the agencies are still reporting on applications when time permits."
The required process for a liquor licence application
- Application received from applicant;
- Application vetted by council;
- Once vetting is complete and payment has been made the application is sent to the police and Toi Te Ora, who must provide an independent report. The council's inspector also produces a report, liaising with the applicant or their agent if/as needed;
- Once the council has received the reports from these two agencies the council's inspector finalises their report for the District Licensing Committee (DLC);
- If there is no opposition to the application it is generally approved by the DLC;
- If there is opposition or the DLC has some other reason for wanting a hearing, a hearing is held to assist the DLC in its decision-making;
- The final decision on any application is made by the DLC, not the council.
