Service not Brisbane's forte

Will there be enough hotels in Brisbane during the G20? Picture: Tourism Queensland

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has sent the tourism community into a tizz with her announcement that Brisbane will host the G20 summit in two years.

Rival states read NSW and Victoria claim that Queensland, and more accurately Brisbane, is just not up to the task of hosting the world's most powerful and discerning leaders.

Brisbane doesn't have a lot of 5-star accommodation. That's a fact. But if the love is spread across southeast Queensland (the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast), there are probably enough rooms -  just.

I've stayed in the $4000-a-night presidential suite at the Stamford Hotel and I'm pretty sure US President Barack Obama will be more than comfortable there, tinkling the ivories of the room's grand piano.

What might bring Brisbane unstuck, though, is its level of service not just in hotels but in restaurants, bars and taxis. When you hop in a cab at the airport, more times than not the driver will ask how to get to where you are going. They have no idea and speak very limited English. That never happens in London, Paris or New York.

I spoke to the representative of a leading hotel chain the other day about the poor service offered in Australia compared with their overseas properties. This insight sums up the problem.

"In our Asian hotels, we have three staff for every guest -  that is the basic level of service we offer," she said. "In our Australian hotels, we have one staff member for every three guests."

You do the maths.

It doesn't take much to work out why service here is second rate compared with most Asian countries. And service is considered a career in most European countries. They are good at it.

Perhaps Queensland Premier Campbell Newman could make raising standards through training a priority before the world takes a close look at Brisbane.

Source: Courier Mail, 22 July 2012