Hospitality Summit 2024: What the “Serving Success” Report Means for Your Business
The strength of New Zealand hospitality has always resided in its people and their unified voice. The "Serving Success" report has now been released, a direct outcome of crucial industry-wide conversations after the Hospitality Summit in December 2024.
Clocking in at a substantial 65 pages(read full report), this isn't simply a recount of our sector's challenges.
Instead, view it as a comprehensive blueprint – a detailed roadmap, if you will – aimed at forging a more resilient and robust future for New Zealand hospitality.
While the report's breadth is certainly commendable, the reality is that most of us neck deep in the sector need the essential insights, the 'need-to-knows' that will directly influence your businesses, your teams, and let's be honest, your peace of mind. We've dug deep. Consider this your guide to everything you really need to know:
Clearing the Fog - The Urgent Need for Better Data & Direction
One of the clearest messages coming out of the summit process was just how fragmented and confusing basic operational information is for our sector. Where do you even start looking for reliable data, compliance updates, or even just understanding what the government's grand plan is for hospitality within the wider tourism picture? It feels like everyone’s running blind half the time, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities.
The big proposed solution here is the development of a central online platform, a 'Central Hub', spearheaded by Hospitality NZ and the Restaurant Association, with support from MBIE. The idea is simple but powerful: one single, reliable source consolidating information and resources from both government and industry bodies. No more hunting across ten different websites. Alongside this, there’s strong backing to expand the ongoing data domain project the Associations are working on – thankfully, the government actually announced funding support for this at the summit itself. This aims to finally address those frustrating data gaps and give us a clearer picture of our own industry, potentially leveraging existing platforms like the Tourism Evidence and Insights Centre.
What this means for you
If this Central Hub gets built effectively, it could be a game-changer for easily accessing compliance info, market data, and resources. Keep an eye out for its development. Better data across the board also strengthens our industry's advocacy efforts – it’s harder for policymakers to ignore problems when we have solid numbers to back them up. The call for regular industry forums with government reps is also key – moving beyond reactive crisis meetings to proactive dialogue.
(REFERENCE: Page 3)
People Power - Untangling Immigration & Building the Skill Pipeline
Let’s face it, finding and keeping good staff is the number one headache for most operators right now. The report dedicates significant space to this, tackling both the immediate need for migrant workers and the longer-term challenge of building a sustainable domestic workforce.
Immigration – Fixing the Bottlenecks:
The feedback was blunt: the current system, especially the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), is seen as confusing, expensive, slow, and often unresponsive to hospitality’s unique needs. The constant policy tinkering creates uncertainty that’s crippling for planning. The proposed solutions aim for practical improvements:
Bring back industry-specific immigration officers who actually understand hospitality roles – this is marked as a quick win.
Formalise industry advisory groups for ongoing feedback, not just crisis meetings.
Make Working Holiday Visas more practical by extending the maximum work period per employer (aiming for 12 months eventually) – another quick win.
Ensure international students graduating from NZ hospitality courses actually have a pathway to work here afterwards.
Crucially, fix the pathways to residency. Key roles like Chefs and Restaurant Managers need to be added to the Green List (currently based primarily on high wage thresholds many hospo roles don’t meet). The points system needs shaking up too: allocating points for international professional registrations (since NZ lacks a chef registration body), acknowledging qualifications below Level 7, and importantly, finding ways to recognise practical skills and experience that aren’t captured by formal degrees. The report also flags the known issue of ANZSCO codes often poorly reflecting actual hospitality jobs, recommending a review led by Statistics NZ alongside the industry associations.
Specific AEWV reforms (some already under review*) include replacing blunt median wage thresholds with more realistic market rates or a percentage above minimum wage, introducing tiered employer accreditation that recognises trusted employers (potentially linking to HospoCred to streamline checks – another quick win potentially), removing redundant job check steps for reliable employers (again, potentially leveraging HospoCred), reviewing MSD's role in job checks, issuing more visa tokens upfront, extending the standard AEWV duration to three years (potentially five), and reassessing the disruptive 12-month stand-down period. (*Actions noted as under consideration through the AEWV review in the report).
Skills & Training – Building for the Future
Parallel to fixing immigration is the need to make hospitality a genuine career choice for Kiwis and ensure our training system actually delivers work-ready graduates. The turbulence from the recent Vocational Education and Training (VET) reforms hasn't helped. Key actions here focus on:
Establishing clearer career pathways from secondary and tertiary education right into hospo jobs.
Better promotion of hospitality careers, leveraging resources like Ringa Hora’s planned service sector hub and addressing common misconceptions through case studies.
Making training more accessible, potentially through more scholarships.
Reviewing and possibly extending the hospitality unit standards taught in schools to make them more relevant and remove assessment barriers for schools.
Crucially, fostering structured, ongoing consultation between industry (us!) and the education providers (Ministry of Ed, Ringa Hora, polytechs etc.) to ensure training actually meets real-world needs. Flexible models like blended learning and micro-credentials focusing on specific skills are also proposed. Introducing food education earlier via the EATucation program is another long-term suggestion.
What this means for you
These people-focused proposals, if implemented, could significantly ease recruitment pressures over time. Immediate impacts might come from quick wins like better visa processing or extended working holiday permissions. Longer-term, reforming residency pathways and aligning training with industry needs are fundamental. Operators need to stay engaged in the consultations around VET reform and AEWV changes. Supporting initiatives like HospoCred might also pay dividends if it leads to streamlined accreditation.
(REFERENCE: Pages 4-6 and 14-15)
Untangling the Red Tape - Tackling Compliance & Licensing Nightmares
If staffing is headache number one, then navigating the complex, costly, and often duplicative world of compliance and licensing must be a close second for many operators. The report dedicates significant space to this, reflecting the sheer administrative burden felt across the sector, particularly by smaller businesses.
Streamlining Processes & Reducing Duplication: A recurring frustration is having to submit the same information multiple times to different council departments or government agencies. The solutions focus heavily on integration and recognition:
Leveraging industry accreditation like HospoCred to streamline government application processes – if you're already vetted by the industry, why repeat hoops for council or central government? This is noted as a potential quick win.
Expanding the use of MBIE's Business Connect platform as a potential central hub for submitting compliance info once, to be shared across agencies – another quick win if uptake and integration improve.
Establishing formal industry representation on regulatory committees to ensure hospo voices are heard during policy development, not just after the fact.
Ensuring hospitality is a specific focus area for the new Ministry for Regulation – a crucial step to tackle the fragmented rules we face. Endorsing the BusinessNZ Reducing Compliance Report adds collective weight to these calls.
Developing a page within the proposed Central Hub to consolidate info on local government compliance processes is also a practical suggestion.
Specific Pain Points Addressed:
Food Safety (MPI): Calls to scale food registration fees based on business size (turnover or FTEs) rather than the current one-size-fits-all levy. Simplifying the complex Risk Management Programme process, especially for minor changes, moving away from paper forms, and allowing quicker approvals. Reviewing potentially over-strict FSANZ standards (like gluten-free definitions) against international norms. And importantly, allowing more flexibility in kitchen licenses for testing product variations without needing costly, complex variations approved (like needing a new licence variation just to sell cut produce).
Alcohol Licensing (Ministry of Justice): Major concerns around District Licensing Committee (DLC) processes. Key proposed fixes include repealing the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Community Participation) Amendment Act to restore certainty around renewals and relevance of evidence. Developing better training for DLC members and setting clearer threshold criteria before applications are forced into costly hearings. Offering mediation as a less adversarial alternative to formal DLC hearings.
Updating outdated legislative requirements: Removing the sometimes enforced six-month in-country work requirement for Duty Manager certification. Allowing more flexible scheduling or sharing of Duty Managers. Amending the Act to formally recognise 0% alcohol beverages alongside low-alcohol options (addressing the current nonsensical situation where venues must stock mid-strength options few customers want). And finally, repealing the restricted trading days for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. There's also a sensible push for mandatory, accessible online training (like Servewise) for all staff serving alcohol to improve compliance.
What this means for you
This is potentially where operators could feel the most direct relief. Reduced paperwork, fairer fees, less ambiguity in licensing, and rules reflecting modern realities would free up significant time and money. Progress on HospoCred integration, Business Connect, and MPI/MoJ legislative fixes are key areas to monitor.
(REFERENCE: Pages 10, 13, 16-17)
Supporting Our People - Shaping a Fair Future
Beyond the immediate pressures, the summit report addressed crucial underpinnings for a healthier industry: the wellbeing of our people, better integration with tourism, and tackling market fairness issues.
Workforce Wellbeing: Recognising hospo's demanding nature, there's a focus on mental health. A key initiative is the industry-developed wellbeing resources, meant to launch via an app in May 2025 (a collaboration with Helmet). Making existing mental health support easier to find via the planned Central Hub is also proposed. Addressing fairness, the report flags the issue of part-time sick leave accrual, calling for pro-rata sick leave based on hours worked (currently part of the wider Holidays Act review). Improving employment agreement templates is also seen as a way to reduce workplace stress.
Integrating with Tourism: The report pushes for hospo to be treated as a core pillar of tourism, not an afterthought. This includes demands for clearer allocation of International Visitor Levy (IVL) funds and potentially renaming funding streams to explicitly include hospitality. A critical ask is for Tourism New Zealand to specifically allocate budget to market NZ's food and beverage offering internationally. Attracting lucrative business events, especially off-season, is highlighted as strategically important. The bold idea of investing to bring the Michelin Guide to NZ (perhaps in partnership with Australia) is also on the table to elevate our culinary status.
Addressing Market Imbalances: The report tackles competitive fairness. Concerns about the largely unregulated Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) sector (like Airbnb) lead to calls for better data collection, a potential national register, and policy development to level the playing field with compliant accommodation providers. The dominance and practices of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are also flagged for review by the Commerce Commission, citing issues like restrictive rate parity clauses and soaring commission rates (up to 15-30%). Finally, the unfair cost disparity faced by licensed bars and restaurants compared to liquor stores is raised again, suggesting solutions like lowering tax on kegs or reviewing risk weighting in alcohol licensing fees.
What this means for you
The focus on wellbeing is welcome – watch for the May 2025 resources. Better tourism integration could drive targeted visitor spending. Progress on regulating STRA/OTAs or fixing alcohol cost imbalances could materially impact competitiveness for relevant operators.
(REFERENCE: Pages 10, 13, 16-17)
Spotlight: Joint Association Action & Quick Wins
It’s important to note the areas where Hospitality NZ and the Restaurant Association have explicitly committed to working together first, indicating potential for focused momentum. These include developing that crucial online Central Hub, establishing clearer career pathways, and creating those dedicated mental health resources.
Throughout the report, certain proposals are highlighted as "quick wins" – actions requiring relatively low effort or no legislative change but offering tangible impact. We’ll already seen sweeping changes in Immigration such as the removal of the minumum wage requirements, keep an eye on progress around other proposal like:
Reintroducing industry-specific immigration officers.
Extending Working Holiday Visa work durations.
Better promotion and integration with Business Connect.
Achieving some of these lower-hanging fruit early on could build confidence that the more complex, systemic changes are also possible.
To Conclude
The "Serving Success" report is significant not just for its 65 recommendations, but because it represents a unified industry voice speaking clearly to government after extensive consultation. The challenges laid bare – particularly around people, costs, and compliance – are intense. But the proposed solutions, ranging from immediate 'quick wins' to fundamental systemic reforms, offer a potential pathway forward.
The real test, of course, lies in the implementation. Will government agencies act decisively on reforms like the AEWV or alcohol licensing? Will the industry associations succeed in building the data hub and career pathways needed? It won't happen overnight. But for perhaps the first time in a while, there's a collaboratively designed roadmap. For operators, staying informed, engaging where possible, and adapting to the changes as they come will be crucial for navigating the evolving landscape of New Zealand hospitality. The pressure remains high, but maybe, just maybe, there's a clearer path towards serving success ahead.
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About the Author
Joshua Thomas is the founder of Hospo HR, an experienced hotelier, and an advocate for New Zealand's vibrant hospitality sector. Always immersed in the latest hospitality trends, news, and updates, his passion stems from his lifelong love as a devoted foodie. Connect with Joshua and his community of hospitality professionals.
