'Pumping' in Spa Country
AN EXTRA public holiday, with respect to the Queen, has proven a bonus in Spa Country, a popular getaway destination that became a pandemic ghost town in lockdowns.
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Struggles to find a car park near Daylesford's Vincent Street were a welcome sight for retailers and hospitality venues with a reprieve in cold weather drawing visitors to enjoy outdoor dining spaces and filling the town's greens unlike scenes seen for a long time.
This time last year, AFL Grand Final weekend marked the region's first tentative step out of lockdowns and strong COVID-19 restrictions were still in place.
Daylesford Holiday Park manager Cate Johnstone arrived in the area about 12 weeks ago to ease into the role in what was typically a quiet period before the summer. Her time in the town had been anything but quiet, and this extra long weekend had been a fun, crazy boost for business.
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"A lot of people were booking to arrive early, not so much in cabins but those who were camping. It's made quite a difference," Ms Johnstone said. "We've been sold out every single weekend - I think Borealis [light show] on the lake really helped."
Ms Johnstone worked in accommodation in gold mining town Mount Perry, in-land from Bundaberg, throughout most of the pandemic. She said it was noticeably tough in Daylesford to find staff, given a lack of access to rental properties, but there was plenty of work given the number of visitors.
Nearby, Jubilee Holiday Park co-manager Raychell Dess is about six months into her new role and said the unexpected extra long weekend had been great for the town.
"[Sunday] morning was reasonably quiet but the whole place was alive and buzzing by the afternoon," Ms Dess said. " Everyone was arriving on Friday but we had a lot of phone calls with people booking an extra day...It's been huge. The Park had the pandemic and then was hit by storms last year so it's great to bounce back and grow the park and enhance what we've got."
Hepburn Shire chief executive officer Bradley Thomas said most towns across the region were "packed" on Thursday and the weekend had been helped by some "fantastic sunny days" to get places "absolutely pumping."
Mr Thomas said the Borealis Northern Lights-inspired show on Lake Daylesford had been a big help to entice visitors back to the region in winter months. An estimated 35,000 people had travelled to see the night art work.
"The region is starting to open up to spring and summer and Christmas parties in nicer weather now," Mr Thomas said. "People still have to be careful [with COVID-19] but they're getting on with life a bit more now."
Facing the unknown
When The Courier last spoke to restaurant owners about the Thursday public holiday for the Queen they were unsure how patrons would respond to the day.
Would they want to go out and celebrate or was it more of a time to stay at home?
Restaurant owner Tim Matthews said he saw an equal number of locals and tourists come through The Forge and 1816 Bakehouse on Thursday.
"I think a lot of people took advantage of the extra day ... we sold out of some of the products in the bakery quite early," Mr Matthews said.
He said there were not a lot of bookings for the evening so there was still some uncertainty.
"We went in optimistic but we did not really know how it would turn out."
He said he thinks most people went out and enjoyed their time.
The weather would have been a helpful factor with minimal rain across the weekend in Ballarat.
"There was a genuine increase in sales and it was probably one of our busiest days," Mr Matthews said.
"It suggests to me, a lot of people did not have plans for that day specifically, but just made the most of it."
On Sturt Street The Turret owner LeRoy Hand said they had two record days of sales over the two public holidays.
While the Thursday was unkown it was also the first time the new owners were operating on a public holiday.
"We were really uncertain, we staffed up expecting the best possible outcome and thank goodness we did," Mr Hand said.
"When you roster a lot of people expecting to be busy and you are paying them public holiday rates, it is petrifying. All your eggs are in one basket".
Speaking to the patrons coming in, Mr Hand said a number of them were from out of town and attended key holiday attractions like Kryal Castle or Sovereign Hill.
Their booking service is more often used by locals and on Thursday morning only one table was booked.
Instead more people chose to walk in spontaneously and eventually they had to start turning people away.
Triple expense; should they open?
Australian Hotels Association Victorian president David Canny said he heard many reports of good trading on Thursday and across the long weekend.
He did say there were some logistical problems and challenges in the lead up to the long weekend.
"Some suppliers went into a bit of panic and chaos to try and get things in three days," Mr Canny said.
And then there is also the consideration that businesses need more business than normal to make up for the increased wages needed on a public holiday.
Added to this grand final weekend is not usually earmarked as a big day unless you are a sports bar or running an event.
"It is not just about the grand final but a combination of things, a long weekend and school holidays as well which creates great trade," Mr Canny said.
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