A Melbourne restaurant has been slammed for charging a “peak season surcharge” during summer.
Pavilion, a waterfront venue on Geelong’s Eastern Beach, is charging a surcharge of 10 per cent between December 27, 2023 and January 26, 2024.
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The restaurant also charges a 20 per cent surcharge on public holidays, according to their menu.
Sunday and public holiday surcharges have become increasingly common in the past few years among hospitality venues.
However, some on social media have slammed the move.
“No need for a peak season surcharge,” one customer wrote on a Reddit thread in response to Pavilion’s surcharge.
“Set your prices year round and absorb this bulls***,” another person said.
“I wouldn’t eat here,” a third wrote.
While the surcharge has sparked a heated argument among Australians, Fleur Brown from the Australian Retailers Association told Sunrise the surcharge issue is “a good debate to have”.
“It’s been a horror few years for small businesses, and we all love our local cafes and local shops, and we want them to survive,” she said.
“There are so many increased costs for these businesses to continue to operate over the past few years … so they are doing what they need to do to get by.”
Brown added that overall, the retailer sector has “remained quite resilient”.
“Small retailers have toughed it out, but it’s come with some really sharp edges this year … they’ve had to carry a lot of extra cash burdens and increased wages, energy costs, supply chain distribution costs and the costs of distribution from overseas.”
Australia’s consumer watchdog said venues are free to set their own surcharges, but there is one rule: businesses cannot hide the surcharges on the menu.
“Restaurants, cafes and bistros that charge a surcharge on certain days do not need to provide a separate menu or price list or have a separate price column with the surcharge factored in,” the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said.
“However, the menu must include the words ‘a surcharge of (percentage) applies on (the specified day or days)‘ and these words must be displayed at least as prominently as the most prominent price on the menu.”
According to the ACCC, businesses must also “display a total price that includes taxes, duties and all unavoidable or pre-selected extra fees”.
The surcharge notices are clear on the Pavilion’s menu.
7NEWS.com.au has contacted Pavilion for further comment.
