A return to the days of a dress code at the pub has prompted public outcries in favour and against, but Hervey Bay’s Beach House Hotel is taking no slack.
The elegant Beach House Hotel at Scarness offers views of beautiful Hervey Bay, and the jetty and park. It offers multiple bars, bistro, gaming and live entertainment.
Last week the venue, operated by the Persal family, announced the new policy on social media, which it explained was “for the enjoyment and safety of all our patrons”.
The Hotel requires patrons adorn themselves in a “neat, fashionable but casual style of dress at all times”, but things get stricter after 8pm, refusing any workwear (including steel-capped boots), thongs, slides, tracksuits, singlets and fleeced hoodies.
And some items are specifically about women’s attire, with tank tops and lingerie also forbidden.
A predictable rabble of the unimpressed were vocal on the pub’s Facebook page, complaining about the new measures and questioning what constituted banned items. Amid comments asking about ‘boob tubes’ and strapless dresses, reportedly the biggest upset was in relation to stopping lingerie worn as outerwear.
Less vocal were the many that approved of the move, and “getting some standards back”.
Either way, Yahoo News Australia reports the Beach says the policy is “here to stay”.
It’s understood the updated policy has been in part prompted by the attention sparked by OnlyFans* star Naomi Tibbles, who went online to scream over being kicked out of the Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel in February for wearing only a bikini and crocheted pants.
While many patrons – particularly at venues close to a beach – would gladly wear whatever they already have on to a licensed venue, research shows that standard of dress has a marked impact on both the individual and group behaviour. The often strict dress codes of the 70s and 80s, requiring leather shoes and collared shirts for men, have largely been replaced by an ‘anything goes’ and all-welcome attitude.
But the increasing push to attract families, and the opportunity for some venues to differentiate themselves by shunning sub-standard attire, could see the dress code make a come-back.
An online poll by Yahoo, counting 6,554 votes at time of publication, reports 80 per cent of respondents vote the Beach’s dress code is definitely not ‘too strict’.
*OnlyFans is a paid content service based in the UK, used extensively by sex workers to provide pornography, but also other creators wishing to sell content, such as fitness instructors and musicians.
Updated 18 April – originally published incorrectly attributing the Beach House operation to the Raw Group. Our apologies to the Persal family for the error.
