Sonnel Hospitality has appointed Tim Fitzgerald as COO and Jacqui Corbett as general manager of operations as it undertakes major redevelopments to several of its pubs in western Sydney.
Sonnel Hospitality has made two key appointments – Tim Fitzgerald as COO and Jacqui Corbett as general manager of operations – in a bid to lead the group through a period of significant redevelopment.
Fitzgerald, who most recently was CEO of Morris Hospitality in Melbourne, will drive revenue growth across the 18-venue portfolio, as well as lead its expansion. Corbett, who was most recently COO of Momento Hospitality, will focus on building strong relationships with venue teams, as well as creating top-tier guest experiences.
Fitzgerald and Corbett sat down with Australian Hotelier to discuss Sonnel’s plans and focuses as a group.
Elevating Western Sydney pubs
Spurred on by CEO Simon Meers, the main focus of Sonnel Hospitality is creating world-class pub experiences within western Sydney, where the majority of the group’s venues are located, which was a big part of the appeal for Fitzgerald.
“The opportunity to reset and to improve the offering for Western Sydney was just so exciting to me,” said the new COO.
“I think for a long time, in terms of key hospitality offerings, Western Sydney has kind of been seen as second tier, which really doesn’t befit the fact that it’s one of the leading areas of the country in terms of growth and population.”
Tim Fitzgerald, COO, Sonnel Hospitality
“So the opportunity to match a rapidly changing expectation of people throughout the west of what they can expect from pub is such a great challenge.”
Corbett said the opportunities in western Sydney lay in creating that sense of community unique to each venue, as well as offering multiple experiences in the one venue.
“These huge communities just don’t really have that sense of place around their local, and the opportunity to deliver really diverse, multifaceted offerings within that context is great. So you can offer vastly different experiences under the same roof, which is a really popular concept for the community. Once we lay our foundations and we get the pub experience right, then we can do some really fun and interesting things that speak to the individual communities that we serve,” suggested Corbett.
An example is the Guildford Hotel, acquired by Sonnel Hospitality in early 2024, and renovated soon after. The venue has had a makeover, but the work continues in making it more ingrained as part of Guildford’s social fabric.
“It’s really beautifully presented now, where historically, the pub hasn’t had a great presence before. We need to invest not only kind of the capital and the effort to get the space right, but also the time to see it really re-cement its place. And we know that’s going to be the case pretty much every time that we go out and reset or renovate and look into these venues. We’re not just resetting a venue, we’re resetting expectations around it,” stated Fitzgerald.
The other challenge is that western Sydney is viewed as ‘club land’ – big, sprawling club groups enjoy a lot of membership and patronage throughout the region. Fitzgerald sees this as another opportunity to provide something different.
“I think clubs are great. They have served in serve those communities for a really long time. But I also think there’s something pretty special about pubs. So it’s a real opportunity to show people what the difference really is between those two experiences, between club and pub, being the pub is just a lot more personal. So the opportunity to bring that to Western Sydney again is such an exciting thing,” he stated.
Immediate focuses and expansion plans
Operating 18 venues and a brewery, for Fitzgerald the immediate priority at Sonnel Hospitality is ensuring that group-wide systems and procedures work smoothly and efficiently, allowing for more creativity and individuality at the venue level.
“What’s most important is we try to get everything out of the way for our venue teams to deliver great experiences. If you can simplify all of the things that make a business tick, it allows people in venues to be focused on the guests. So that’s really where we’re at at the moment, building all of that operational excellence and allowing the people in venue to really focus more on the people. When you get that right, you can really let your teams at the venues to do what they do best,” said the COO.
For Corbett, a big part of that is investing in the Sonnel team – creating leaders within its own ranks via a leadership program, as well as upskilling staff.
“Rather than it being a top-down approach, it’s very much a lift-up approach with our teams, and then just focusing on having a really great balance. Structure is really important – particularly for scale – as is consistency, but also innovation,”
Jacqui Corbett, GM – Operations, Sonnel Hospitality
“It’s a really bold, ambitious plan, and there’s a lot of opportunity for us to take our cues from inside our teams on that front.”
These focuses coincide with some big renovation and redevelopment plans already underway at several of Sonnel’s pubs, with DA lodged and at various stages of advancement.
A renovation at the New Victoria Tavern in Wetherill Park will begin soon, and is hoped to be complete before the end of the year. Ashfield Hotel will then starts works in mid-2026, with a complete rebuild of Ermington Hotel slated for 2027. Meanwhile, the Crossroads Hotel – the jewel in the Sonnel portfolio – currently has a DA lodged with Liverpool City Council for a major renovation and expansion, adding in extra accommodation and event spaces.
“While we’re doing all of these things… we’re also looking at our programming and what we actually do with our venues: our menus, our drinks, kids play areas, live music, accommodation. All of those facets need to be not only just from a physical point of view, from a build perspective, but the experience that goes with them and what we’re actually offering. We’re working really hard on those offers now,” stated Fitzgerald.
And expansion of the group is always on the cards.
“We’re still looking to acquire businesses too. No rest for the wicked!”