HOTEL-KEEPERS VIEWS ON NEW TRIBUNAL TARIFF

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 September 1949, Page 2

HOTEL-KEEPERS VIEWS ON NEW TRIBUNAL TARIFF

GISBORNE, This Day (P. A.) Forty delegates attended the annual conference of the New Zealand United Licensed Victuallers’ Association in Gisborne. The discussions were not .public, but information gathered indicated that the conference discussed the recent ruling of the Price Tribunal on the grading and tariffs of hotels. It was pointed out that this was the first known occasion when any authority had attempted to establish standardisation of the hotel-keeping business. The annual report of the association said it was too early to assess fully the results of the experiment. Lt was pointed out that in its ruling the tribunal had admitted the new tariffs fixed for graded hotels were not likely to yield a profit to the hotel-keepers and that they would do no more than enable the hotels in the . higher brackets to break even on the I increasing costs. The public acceptance of the new tariffs scale had been generally favourable, the increases being regarded as inevitable and reasonable. . Delegates endorsed the view that had the tribunal permitted the increases in tariffs to take place step by step with the increasiing costs of hotel operations, the public would have been spared the sudden impact of a substantial readjustment. The following officers were elected: President, Mr F. H. Drewitt (Wellington) vice-presidents, Messrs J. M. Mackenzie (Canterbury), T. P. Smale (Gisborne), T. F. Mackie (Otago), D. Sloan (Wellington); treasurer, Mr S. Dunn (Wellington); executive, Messirs A. J. Empsom (Canterbury), P. Ryan (Wellington), F. J. Fay (Otago), S. J. Isted (Stratford), R. W. A. Lewis (Egmont), C. G. Rhimes (Wanganui), 1 W. H. Steel (Wairarapa), H. T. Carey (Palmerston North), F. Boyle (Southland), H. Cowdery (Nelson), R. B. Watt (Gisborne), A. Mitchell (Timaru), A. N. Mathieson (Hawke’s Bay), W. A. O’Connor (Waiktai), A. Beban (Greymouth), E. C. Haddock (Rangitikei), J. P. McEnaney (Westport) and A. Lulham (Inangahua).