As featured in the November edition Showcase of QHA Review.
Mullins Lawyers have worked alongside Queensland publicans and hoteliers for more than four decades, providing specialised legal, licensing, transactional, and regulatory advisory services.
In an industry as full of opportunities as it is challenges, planning for the future has never been more crucial for venues than it is today.
For this edition, the QHA sat down with Curt Schatz, Partner at Mullins Lawyers, who reflected on the firm’s extensive industry experience and how venues can best position themselves for the future.
One of the biggest shifts in how successful venues operate today has been the move from simply operating a pub to creating a complete customer experience. While good service remains critical, successful venues now invest heavily in staff development, food and beverage offerings, entertainment, accommodation, technology, and venue presentation.
We’ve also seen significant capital investment across Queensland’s pub sector, with operations continually upgrading and repositioning assets to meet changing consumer expectations.
Identifying issues
Succession planning remains one of the most underestimated issues, particularly for family-owned hotels. Many successful businesses have been built over generations, and planning how ownership and management will transition is critical to protecting long-term value.
Another area frequently underestimated is the level of scruitiny applied by buyers, lenders, and valuers during legal and financial due diligence. With pub assets continuing to increase in value, purchasers are undertaking increasingly comprehensive reviews before committing significant capital.
Emerging AI regulation and Australia’s expanded anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing requirements will also become increasingly important considerations for hospitality businesses in the years ahead.
Future focused
The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games represent far more than a short-term event. They’re a once-in-a-generation catalyst for investment, tourism, infrastructure, and population growth across Queensland.
Publicans should be preparing for two key opportunities:
- Firstly, the influx of visitors and the opportunity to secure new customers, particularly in South-East Queensland; and
- Secondly, the increased spotlight that will remain on Brisbane and Queensland both during and after the Olympics.
Publicans should be prepared to take advantage of any trading-hour changes introduced for the Olympics, particularly if those changes continue beyond the games. There may also be opportunities to develop accommodation offerings, particularly where they own adjoining or nearby land that’s surplus to the operational requirements of the pub.
The venues that thrive over the next decade will continue evolving into hospitality destinations that combine food, beverage, entertainment, accommodation, and technology-driven customer experiences.
The best guide to the future is the highly themed, extensively renovated, and newly developed venues already setting the benchmark for design, innovation, and patron experience.
Gaming could also drive significant change. Any increase to gaming machine entitlements could prompt further investment and redevelopment, with operators expanding gaming offerings and reconfiguring venue layouts to maximise new opportunities.
Recognising value
A valuable adviser understands both the legal issues and the commercial realities facing venue operators. Hospitality businesses regularly navigate acquisitions, developments, succession planning, leasing, liquor and gaming approvals, workforce challenges, and regulatory compliance. The most effective advisers combine deep industry experience with access to specialist expertise.
We help clients not only manage legal risk, but also identify opportunities and make informed commercial decisions as their businesses grow.
Four decades and counting
For more than four decades, we’ve worked alongside generations of Queensland publicans, hoteliers, and developers, supporting acquisitions, developments, succession planning, and major hospitality projects across the state.
Many of our hospitality clients have become long-term relationships, built over years of working together through growth, change, and opportunity. We’re proud to continue supporting an industry that plays such an important role in Queensland communities and regional economies.
