A hotel boss insists its business as normal after his staff failed to renew their liquor licence on time.Managers at Coco Reef Resort nearly fell foul of the law by continuing to sell guests beverages without putting in the paperwork for their annual liquor licence. But the potential error was discovered at the 11th hour and hotel bosses quickly applied to the Magistrate’s Court for a temporary liquor licence.This means the hotel, which has 135 rooms, can continue to serve beer, wine and spirits at its restaurant, lounge bar and poolside bar for a 30-day period.The licensing authority granted the hotel a temporary liquor licence at Magistrate’s Court on June 1 the day after the hotel’s licence ran out. No one from Coco Reef attended the hearing.Temporary liquor licences are only usually granted for parties, concerts or one-off events.But this type of licence gives Coco Reef bosses the time they need to complete the paperwork to apply for an annual liquor licence.The Licensing Authority will decide whether to grant the hotel an annual licence at the end of June. Before then a legal notice has to appear in the Official Gazette and residents have to be given the chance to respond.It is not clear whether the licence oversight was discovered by the hotel itself or by police officers carrying out routine licence checks.Coco Reef owner John Jefferis said the hotel’s annual licence ran out on May 31 and its temporary licence began on June 1.He said: “We currently have a temporary liquor licence, because the hotel management were late with the application.“Everything is now perfectly in order. There was in fact never a time when we were unable to legally serve drinks to our guests over the weekend, during which the hotel was 100 percent full and had a wedding party for 80 people.”If police discover premises are operating without a liquor licence they have the power to close them down. The Liquor Licence Act 1974 also states that failure to abide by the law can result in a six-month imprisonment or a fine of $1,000.A liquor licence for a hotel with 100 to 300 beds costs $2,000 and it can be applied for up to about two months in advance.By law, all licensed premises have to display their liquor licence in “a conspicuous place.” The licence clearly states the date it starts and ends.