The Star Gold Coast chief operating officer Jess Mellor shares how she dealt with Covid-19 during their peak season

Behind the scenes on how the youngest ever chief operating officer of The Star handled Covid-19 during their peak season.

Picture this: You’re in charge of one of the Gold Coast’s biggest employers with nearly 3000 staff, you’ve survived two years of a tourism-killing pandemic and you’re about to emerge from the gloom.

A bright recovery in 2022 looms, kicked off by a New Year’s Eve period and Magic Millions horse racing festival tipped to buoyant.

Then bang, some new Covid strain called Omicron hits just as you’re coming into the first few days of January.

On top of all that, the adrenaline that helped you and your team get through Covid is all used up and people are running on fumes.

Star Gold Coast chief operating officer Jess Mellor at work at Broadbeach. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Welcome to the world of Star Gold Coast chief operating officer Jess Mellor, who likens Omicron’s arrival to the countdown ringing in the start of a new year: “It was like New Year’s Eve – three, two, one, bang, everyone was off on sick leave from January 3.

“Things became very tight. It was a time we weren’t managing week to week or month to month. It was literally hour by hour.”

Ms Mellor, the youngest COO Star’s ever appointed, said hourly decisions were being made on which venues to open and shut depending on staffing.

“It was all hands on deck. Even my leadership team went from 11 to five in one of the weeks. We had a designated ‘survivor’ who we sent home so if we all went down at least someone would be able to run the show.

“We all had to lead from the front. So we made beds, cleared tables, whatever our team needed us to do. We’re actually not as useful as we look because we don’t have special skills like our team. But whatever we could do, we really got in there and made it work.”

Ms Mellor said she and the staff were fortunate the Star continued a relentless pursuit of new developments at the Broadbeach Island site.

Star Gold Coast chief operating officer Jess Mellor at work. Picture: Glenn Hampson

It opened the doors of Australia’s first Dorsett hotel on Boxing Day last year, which also marked completion of the site’s first true high-rise. On-site Star Residences also opened.

“We’ve got new pools, new bars, all of these exciting new things and so it gives us a lot of energy to kind of keep thinking about the momentum, keep thinking about the future. And that does give us a lot of energy,” she said.

It also helped that Star management at a board level was very understanding of the difficult circumstances when Omicron hit at a typically busy time.

“It was our peak season, Magic Millions, so it was really important to us that the show went on,” she said, explaining the Star board and executive “essentially” told the teams “just survive – no expectations from us”.

“It was amazing to have that kind of top-level support. We were grateful we could stay busy and stay open, even though it was a very challenging time.”

Communication with staff was key, she said.

“During that period, every single day, we had a daily all in. ‘How are we going to attack today?’

“For the hotel, that would be first thing in the morning because we would think ‘How do we get people out? How do we turn these rooms?’

By 2pm, thoughts would move towards ‘what are we opening tonight? How many shifts? What are we even serving? Can we do the menu?’

Jess Mellor. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“Every single day, it was about getting people together, in one room, masked up, to make decisions and not second guess them - just agree in the moment and then move on. Create some certainty where there was a lot of uncertainty,” she said.

Fast-forward to now, Star Gold Coast site development continues – the next highrise is emerging on the skyline, having already climbed to level six, adding another hotel and on-site residences.

And at the time of the interview, Star Gold Coast had 200-plus jobs going – from senior roles to dealing, bartending, being a chef and more.

“It’s all on. Want a drink? I’ve got those. Want a job? I’ve got those,” she said.

If you’re passionate about helping people have a memorable time, Ms Mellor wants to hear from you: “Even people who are unskilled but want to have a crack. It’s more about do you care. Because the person you are interacting with is making a memory. So do you care enough to help them make a memory? If you do, I’m happy to teach you whatever you need to know.”