Commonwealth Games a hit for Sin City, Swannies, Nineteen at Star
Many businesses lost out during the Commonwealth Games but not everybody is complaining about the flop in patronage during city’s biggest event.
Gold Coast
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IT was a tale of two cities a year ago, with Gold Coast businesses delivering a split verdict on the benefits of the billion-dollar 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Griffith Business School researchers have revealed results of an exhaustive post-Games business study, showing while some local operations benefited, many were over-prepared and underwhelmed.
However, despite their personal losses, many businesses acknowledged the long-term value of the Games in terms of its legacy and infrastructure.
The researchers’ interviews of business owners from Coomera to Coolangatta revealed some did not know their premises would be physically blocked by security barriers, with others not adequately informed of transport restrictions, and many given wildly-inaccurate projections of how many visitors would come to town and how they’d behave once they were here.
Some in the real estate industry also suffered from the inaccurate forecasting distributed by organisers, with locals holding off listing property as they expected an upturn during the Games which did not eventuate.
Among the winners was Southport bar Swannie’s, which enjoyed good crowds through the two-week event.
“A lot of venues struggled but luckily ours was one of the only ones that did well during the Games,” Swannies partner Simon King said.
“Unfortunately after the Games it went back to normal Southport — there was definitely no boom.”
Sin City nightclub, a hotspot for visiting celebrities, was given money-can’t-buy publicity by Usain Bolt’s repeat visits which VIP host Ric Gibson said only added to its already international profile.
New Star Gold Coast venue Nineteen became the place to be for athletes and after-parties, hosting the Dolphins swim team privately. Nineteen partner Billy Cross: “It was something the Gold Coast did not have and we provided it.”
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Griffith researchers Dr Joan Carlini and Professor Andrew O’Neil found that some businesses which serve other businesses, including food suppliers, property developers, arts and culture entities, advertising and media, experienced increased demand leading up to the Games.
Others, however suffered a drop in demand due to access restrictions and heightened security which, in some cases, separated them from potential customers.
“Because businesses took (Games organisers) information on board, they put in place extensive plans, putting on extra staff and security and changing deliveries,” Dr Carlini said.
“But when demand was completely the opposite what they expected, that’s when the real harm was caused.
“(For some businesses) if they were told they weren’t going to have people walking past because of the security barriers, they could have cut staff and costs.”
The verdict was less split when it came to customer-facing businesses like hospitality and retail businesses, for which there was “overwhelming evidence of unmet business expectations”.
GAMES ORGANISERS WARNED OF BUSINESS DOWNTURN
Dr Carlini said business had reported the “double whammy” of locals and regular Easter visitors avoiding town after a too-successful anti-traffic campaign, along with those who did visit not spending as much as regular leisure tourists.
In the months since the Games, businesses say they have also noticed a drop in discretionary spending by local customers, which they believe is due to residents taking last April as an opportunity to holiday, and spend, away from the Coast.
“In contrast we found that some businesses continued with their business as usual strategy and fared well,” Dr Carlini said.
“For example, a hotelier commented that they committed to a competitive room rate which proved to be successful.
“In another example, a business benefited by moving an existing trade event to coincide with the GC2018 which resulted in increased patronage and guests staying longer.”
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Dr Carlini said one of the biggest impacts for Gold Coast business had been the expense of preparing for the Games, preparations which in many cases were reversed during the event as the projected number of customers did not eventuate.
She said some business that reported an increase in work leading up to the Games, but in doing so had created less work for themselves going forward.
For example a company that renovates hotel rooms enjoyed a bumper two years before GC2018, but now reports no room renovations will be needed on the Coast for years into the future.
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“That person now has opened an office on the Sunshine Coast and said `oh well, that’s it for the Gold Coast’,” Dr Carlini said.
“I think the temporary nature of the event is a disadvantage for the host city.
“It gives organisers the opportunity to come in with these promises that are over-estimated and then there’s no-one to answer for it.”
The researchers undertook 39 comprehensive interviews for the qualitative study and plan to back it up with an extensive quantitative survey of hundreds more local businesses, which can be completed online now, with results planned for release by July.
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