2 NSW Masonic Club April 2017 OFFICIALS & COMMITTEES Patron MW Bro AR (Tony) Lauer, APM, JP President Stephen G. Bates Vice President John J. Moore Honorary Treasurer Peter Read Directors Graham W Byrne Robert Eaglesham Allan G Ezzy Kate Foot Steve C Wearne Peter Zeilic General Manager Paul Brasch House, Supply & Staff Allan Ezzy (Convenor) Kate Foot John Moore Peter Zeilic Finance Graham Byrne (Convenor) Robert Eaglesham Peter Read Steve Wearne Magazine Design Sara Linden CONTACT US Street Address 169 Castlereagh Street Sydney NSW 2000 Phone: (02) 9284 1000 Fax: (02) 9284 1999 Hotel Reservations: 1800 801 576 Postal Address PO Box A1160 Sydney South NSW 1235 Websites & Email Addresses New South Wales Masonic Club Website: www.nswmasonicclub.com.au Email: admin@nswmasonicclub.com.au Castlereagh Boutique Hotel Website: www.thecastlereagh.com.au Email: reservations@thecastlereagh.com.au DRESS REGULATIONS Club members and their guests are asked to observe the following dress regulations which have been approved by the Board to preserve the dignity of the Club. Members and their guests attending “Cello’s” after 6pm should be suitably attired. For gentlemen, a collared shirt with trousers or slacks is acceptable. A tie is not compulsory. For ladies, smart casual attire is acceptable, including tailored slacks. Slacks or tailored shorts with long socks and shoes, tailored shirt with short or long sleeves, are acceptable in all other food and beverage areas. The Castlereagh Boutique Hotel guests, as Temporary Members, are expected to observe the above dress regulations when availing themselves of the Club facilities. The Club Management reserves the right to refuse any person not suitably attired admission to the Club. Cover: Cellos Grand Dining Room 2 NSWMC Magazine April 2017 PRESIDENT’S REPORT Dear Fellow Members, I am now more than 16 months into my term as President of our magnificent Club. Whilst this is the Club’s first magazine for 2017 we have supplemented this with a new “Club Chat” communication. This will now be a regular communication of matters and events involving your Club. From a financial perspective, your Club is currently generating substantial cash flows from its accommodation operations in line with the current boom in occupancy in the Sydney CBD hotel market. We are on target to outperform our strong 2015/16 financial year results. This is important for several reasons. A heritage building such as ours requires considerable money to be spent on repairs and maintenance as well as capital expenditure. Our results during the 2011 to 2015 financial years did not generate the necessary cash flow to meet our Club’s long term maintenance and capital needs. Also, our hotel rooms have not been given a full make over for many years and the time has come to do this ahead of what is expected to be greater competition in the hotel market over the next few years as more hotels come on line. A building improvements master plan has been formulated and we hope to roll out this building improvements program in stages over 5 years, commencing shortly. The hot Sydney CBD hotel market has also led to members having to pay higher room rates than usual, even after their 15% discount. As previously flagged, your Board of Directors have sought and received an interim report into improving member’s benefits, both short term and long term. This is currently under consideration by the Board and we expect to advise the outcomes of our deliberations over the next couple of months. As our General Manager has pointed out in his column our biggest issue has been, and continues to be, dealing with and mitigating the future impacts of the Pitt Street North Metro Rail Station. The adjacent building at 175 Castlereagh Street will be demolished over the next 8 months. Thereafter, site excavation and underground station development will commence. This will bring with it substantial construction noise at various times. A noise mitigation strategy is currently being negotiated with Transport for NSW and we have engaged experts to assist with this. The concern we have is the potential loss of room revenue over a considerable period of time whilst demolition and construction work progresses. The construction of the tower building adjacent to our northern boundary just a few years ago had a significant impact on our economic performance at that time. One positive that we expect to emerge from this Metro development is the replacement of the existing windows in our accommodation rooms with clear, double glazed glass. This will reduce external noise and allow guests the opportunity to look out from their window. Other windows in the building will similarly be replaced with clear glass. We have recently rolled out enhancements to our food and beverage offering throughout the Club including a new menu for Cello’s that was released on 5 April. Please sample our new offerings and let me know what you think. Some members have already written to me about their experiences and I thank them for their positive suggestions. We will continue to review and improve our food and beverage offerings in line with your expectations. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible next time you are in the Club. Our recent Wine and Dine luncheon at the Club was a great success and Bruce Tyrrell proved to be a great speaker. The food and wine were also terrific. The event was well patronised and another Wine and Dine event is scheduled for 3 May. I urge you to come along and enjoy this event. Stay safe and keep well. Best Wishes, Stephen Bates President, NSW Masonic Club connect with us Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheCastlereaghBoutiqueHotel Follow us on Instagram @CastlereaghBoutiqueHotel Sign up to eNews nswmasonicclub.com.au thecastlereagh.com.au