{"id":266835,"date":"2026-02-04T07:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T07:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/266835\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T07:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T07:58:09","slug":"restaurant-association-boss-marisa-bidois-to-step-down-after-14-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/266835\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Association boss Marisa Bidois to step down after 14 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking to the Herald, Bidois said she had been sitting with the decision for several months.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess it felt like big news a few months ago for me, but we\u2019ve been planning it for a while. I think I\u2019m just looking forward to a little bit of a change,\u201d Bidois said.<\/p>\n

\"RestaurantRestaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois said the last few years have been particularly tough on hospitality businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited but it\u2019s tinged with sadness as well because I have really enjoyed working with the industry for so long. I will certainly miss the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the decision was made in late October\/early November, and that recent data on hospitality business closures hadn\u2019t played a part.<\/p>\n

According to Centrix Credit Indicator report for December, the hospitality sector experienced the largest rise of annual liquidations in 2025, up 50% compared with the previous year.<\/p>\n

Bidois said the data were confronting, but that it wasn\u2019t a surprise to see.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know first-hand how difficult it has been. We\u2019ve seen businesses close, we\u2019ve seen members shut their doors and while we realise that things are definitely looking better and everyone is over hearing about the doom and gloom, it\u2019s the reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut like we\u2019ve always said, there are things on the horizon that are starting to come through that are looking really positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those positives include an increased investment in tourism and tourism-related projects, and the incoming arrival of the Michelin Star review system, championed by the association and Hospitality New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\"MarisaMarisa Bidois, the outgoing chief executive of the Restaurant Association, and Steve Armitage, the former chief executive of Hospitality New Zealand, attended the inaugural Hospitality Summit in Wellington in December 2024.<\/p>\n

As for any regrets or second thoughts, Bidois admitted she wished she could have done more to address the industry\u2019s ongoing skills shortage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that is something that I would have loved to have said we have a solution for. We\u2019ve got the people we need right now coming through the pipeline, but I think there\u2019s definitely been some really strong improvements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve invested in capability and skills training within the industry and put some things in place to help build a long-term workforce, but there\u2019s still a lot of work to be done. It\u2019ll always be an evolving piece of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Covid-19 pandemic and border closures certainly didn\u2019t help with addressing the industry\u2019s skills shortage.<\/p>\n

Bidois said the closure of the border highlighted how important it was to change perceptions about the industry.<\/p>\n

She said the industry needed to emphasise the long-term career opportunities that hospitality can offer, and fight back against opposing perceptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember a campaign that we started during Covid to help businesses that were really struggling at the time, and it was all about support local. The amount of support we got for that campaign was just overwhelming.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always knew that people love their local cafes and such, but it really came to the forefront at some of the most difficult times for the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Restaurant Association\u2019s current general manager Nicola Waldren will be stepping up to lead the organisation, having spent two decades with the group.<\/p>\n

In an interesting insight, Waldren\u2019s father Neville Waldren was the founding chief executive of the association.<\/p>\n

Nicola Waldren said Bidois\u2019 leadership had been unparalleled and acknowledged her service.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am excited to continue to champion the voice of our members and our sector to enable a more sustainable and resilient future for the hospitality industry, especially as we approach the election season,\u201d Waldren said.<\/p>\n

As for Bidois, she plans to take several months away to reconnect with friends and family after an intense few years.<\/p>\n

But she said she leaves the organisation knowing the group and the industry are in a trusted pair of hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will always be there as a champion for the industry. I keep saying that the people of this industry are what make it so special.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I think when you have done a lot of work in a space, there\u2019s always that part of yourself you\u2019ve invested into it. There is hope that things will continue to grow and improve, and I know that will happen with Nicola.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bidois will depart her role at the end of February 2026.<\/p>\n

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.<\/p>\n

Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter<\/a> \u2013 your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Speaking to the Herald, Bidois said she had been sitting with the decision for several months. \u201cI guess…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[22256,74,3110,4057,151945,4282,138,12974,14134,19343,6097,12514,66208,111,139,69,4989,2539,312,21694,61,1530],"class_list":["post-266835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-22256","tag-after","tag-association","tag-behind","tag-bidois","tag-boss","tag-business","tag-change","tag-decision","tag-desire","tag-down","tag-leave","tag-marisa","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-organisation","tag-restaurant","tag-says","tag-step","tag-to","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}