On the road Enjoy the feature story for the month. It’s a fantastic read and another story of innovation, resilience and longevity within the hospitality industry. THE FED ON SEMAPHORE The Fed is owned and operated by a partnership of Phil and Patsy who were introduced by mutual friends and associates. Phil and his family had recently returned to Adelaide for family reasons after twenty odd years on the Eastern seaboard in the corporate sector and Patsy had recently sold her part ownership of the McLaren Vale Hotel. They both had an interest in not only running their own business but in owning and operating a hotel in particular. Consequently, they entered into a partnership with the intention of purchasing a “renovators delight” venue and progressively introducing cultural change, building the business, improving presentation, elevating the image of the venue and renovating the premises. After considerable research they came across the Federal Hotel in Semaphore or the “Feral” hotel as it was quaintly known at the time.
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The Fed is situated in the heart of seaside Semaphore, less than 100 metres from one of the most beautiful beaches in the southern hemisphere. It is conveniently located close to public transport, the beach, shops, supermarkets, cinema, cafes, chemists, bakeries with many other facilities being only a “stone’s throw away”. Phil and Patsy were of the opinion that the hotel had enormous potential but were also aware that tapping this would involve considerable serious work. They considered themselves up to the challenge and successfully purchased the hotel in 2002.
They immediately implemented strategies designed to reposition the hotel. Formal processes, policies and practices were implemented, the name of the hotel changed to Fed on Semaphore, to distance the hotel from being known as the “Feral” Hotel, and the presentation upgraded as they transitioned the Fed to a family friendly, zero tolerance venue where anti -social behaviour was both discouraged and penalised. Formal barring orders became common place as they divorced the hotel from its previous reputation and market position. Having achieved what they set out to do in stage one, Phil and Patsy then proceeded to stage two which was to undertake a major redevelopment of the building. The strategy was to meticulously restore, renovate, extend and reconfigure this iconic 1865 heritage hotel. A core component was to retain the heart and soul of the old lady while sensitively integrating state of the art facilities which would sit in complete harmony with the olde world charm and architecture of the building.
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