The two-week Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, recently came to an end. And for Delaware North, it was another year of more than 2,000 associates, managers and chefs creating special experiences at the world-class event, where the company serves as the food and beverage partner at Melbourne & Olympic Parks.
“The volume of stock that passes through our doors never ceases to amaze me,” said Assistant Retail 
Operations Manager Phil Davenport, who has worked at Melbourne Park for nearly 10 years and has worked a total of 18 Australian Opens (including 2015). “The 700,000 people who will attend the Australian Open will consume about 150,000 bottles of water, 35,000 servings of hot chips and 350,000 cups of beer, and I’m very proud to play a part in providing these products to them.”
Delaware North’s planning process for the Australian Open is quite obviously no small task. As one year's event comes to a close, preparing for the next almost immediately follows.
“I love seeing all our hard work and planning come together when the event starts; it’s great to see it all pay off,” Davenport added. “I love seeing our huge team of staff working together with a common goal, many working their first Australian Open or in their first job, whilst others are working their 27th tournament.”
Delaware North’s team at the tournament includes support from various company locations around the world. Among those who made the journey to Melbourne are Craig O’Shaughnessy, Delaware North’s general manager of hospitality at London’s Wembley Stadium, and Nadia Ulusory, head of Club Wembley restaurants.
“There are a lot of operational similarities in regards to service – one being GuestPath® (Delaware North’s proprietary customer-service platform), which sets consistent service standards across the two sites,” Ulusoy, who is pictured above (left), said, comparing the Australian Open operation to Wembley Stadium. “The obvious difference is the amount of temporary structure required in order to meet corporate demand and also the double service sessions for the first 11 days (which then drops to single sessions for the final four). Twenty-five sessions in total over 14 days – something we are not used to in the UK!”
“Other than a tan, I would like to increase the amount of secondment opportunities between our UK venues,” O’Shaughnessy, pictured above (right), said. “Utilizing secondments for major events helps strengthen the leadership team but also gives the recipients operational exposure that they may not receive in their day-to-day role.”