Sydney restaurants renting empty dining rooms to increase revenue

Sydney restaurants are finding new ways to ramp up their revenue by renting empty space through third party apps

RESTAURANTS are finding new ways to ramp up their revenue and it has nothing to do with food.

Third party apps repurposing unused space are serving up restaurants a side of extra income.

Two Space is a local start-up that rents empty dining rooms to freelancers when a restaurant or bar would normally be closed.

The rooftop of the Kings Cross Hotel, Rocker restaurant in Bondi and Havana Beach in Manly are some of the venues where you can log on from $69 per week.

CEO Tashi Dorjee said it’s based on the sharing economy.

“A restaurant that’s only open at night is empty the rest of the time. It’s under-utilising space that could be a co-working space for freelancers and entrepreneurs,” he said.

As well as renting out the venue, restaurants are creating food traffic and awareness.

“When they open in the evening at 5pm, the restaurant is filled with 20 people working all day and are hungry. A restaurant may not get busy until 6.30pm so from 5pm-6.30pm they offer discounts and special deals so everyone is happy.”

For the owner of Neighbourhood cocktail bar, Simon McGoram, it’s about connecting with locals.

“Getting revenue from our space during the day when we aren’t using it is a win,” he said.
“Outside of that though it’s a great chance to network and build a community of like-minded entrepreneurs and business people. It reinforces the important role restaurants and bars play in bringing people and ideas together.”

Working off the same rent-a-space principal as accommodation booking site Air BnB, a new service lets you store luggage at local cafes or restaurants.

Bag BnB is a third-party app making inroads into the Australian market.

It recruits a network of restaurants, cafes and bars that will store your bag for $8 a day.

Restaurants get 40 per cent of the fee, but the appeal lies in upselling.

Approximately 30 per cent of app users who drop their bags off at Ze Pickle in Surry Hills also order something from the restaurant.

Owner Adam Cheers said he only had a few customers a week after initially signing up six months ago, but now averages 30 a week.

“Owning a restaurant means ongoing costs and I am always looking at different opportunities outside the box,” he said.

“Any of these little partnerships help to create a separate income and exposes us to new customers.

“It’s good branding for the business. A lot of customers who drop their bags off have been travelling and may want to sit, have a drink and something to eat. A lot of customers are purely using it as bag drop service, but about 30 per cent have something to eat and that’s 10 new customers we get to look after, which is better than zero.”

Rome-based Bag BnB CEO, Alessandro Seina, said the 18-month-old app is now used in 20 countries and has had more than 60,000 bookings.

It targets bars, bistros, hotels, bike rental shops, souvenir shops and restaurants in central locations or popular tourist precincts.

There are currently 16 partners in Sydney, including the Sir John Young Hotel Bar in the city and Arch Café in Darlinghurst, with projections to expand to 40 by the end of the year.

“Bars and restaurants are our ideal partners because our customers can also have a local experience in these locations, such as have a quick bite to eat, or ask for suggestions and advice to make the most out of their vacation,” he said.

“At the same time, the bars and restaurants open their doors to new clients.”