refurbishment - Hotel Business

au d i t b u re au ci rcu l at i o n ( 7, 8 1 4 - 1 s t J u l y 2 0 1 3 to 30th June 20 14)

MARCH 2015

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refurbishment | housekeeping technology | food and drink | news and views

Hotel Business www.hotel-magazine.co.uk THIS MONTH 12

Spring Cleaning Hygiene advice

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Breakfast Time Most important meal

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Bar Trends Keep up to date

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Phone Systems Improve efficiency 03 04 16 20 21

NEWS VIEW FROM THE TOP REFURBISHMENT BIG INTERVIEW HOTEL CLINIC

Looking for a job in hospitality? Check out our website www.hotel-magazine.co.uk for a choice of almost 150 new roles!

top story Welcome to the March issue of Hotel Business Winter’s nearly over and there are some welcome signs of spring in the air. In keeping with the theme, there is also mounting evidence that the economic climate is warming for the hotel industry, as the green shoots of recovery continue to grow. With the milder seasons approaching, you might be planning the traditional spring clean. As all good hoteliers know, high standards of cleanliness and hygiene need to be maintained every day of the year, but it’s still a good time to review cleaning practices, and to carry out a ‘deep clean’ – especially in the kitchen. With that in mind, you’ll find cleaning and hygiene tips on page 12. Elsewhere in the issue, there’s advice on satisfying guests with your breakfast and coffee offering (page 17), and keeping your hotel bar up to date (page 18). I hope you enjoy the issue.

Jerome Smail Editor @hotel _business

Exuberant transactional market as hotel sector comes back to life Christie + Co report reveals increased activity and prices exceeding expectations

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onfidence has returned across the hotel industry and transactional activity has accelerated, resulting in average business property prices in the hotel sector increasing by 17.2% during 2014 – that’s according to Business Outlook 2015, the annual state of the markets report by specialist property adviser Christie + Co. Christie + Co’s managing director, Chris Day, said: “We saw trading performances gradually strengthen and funding become more available. A number of portfolio deals were transacted during the year and in the majority of cases we were able to drive prices and exceed initial expectations.” Investors coming out of North America into Europe were principally responsible for driving this activity. According to Christie + Co, during 2014 hotel owners and debt holders rushed to capitalise on the demand for hotels, which are seen to offer attractive returns and opportunities to add value. Prices were driven forward, and the sale of 21 Holiday Inn hotels to Kew Green Holdings provided just one example. The deal was concluded on behalf of LRG Holdings by Christie + Co in September 2014, following a “highly competitive bidding process”. During a single week in 2014, Christie + Co sold 42 hotels with a total value of more than £500m – the busiest week the company has ever had in this sector. Christie + Co reports a “very dramatic” pace of recovery over the last year, both in terms of investment appetite and trading levels: “Looking at data from previous recessions, the recovery curve has never been quite so steep. Buyers have been bidding 10 to 15% ahead of where guide prices have been fixed.” Looking ahead to 2015, Chris Day feels there is much to be optimistic about: “There remains equity looking for more investment opportunities and plenty of buyers around who are willing and able to

“The pace of recovery has been dramatic over the last year, both in terms of investment appetite and trading levels” complete deals and so we can expect more opportunities to come to market. I think we can expect more single assets to come to market as hotel portfolios are rationalised. “The condition of hotel assets should also continue to improve, as banks and stakeholders recognise the power of customer feedback and reviews and the necessity of capex.”

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NEWS

The latest headlines from the industry

The Hotel Collection aims to cut bills by £360,000 a year Paul Nisbett, chief financial officer of The Hotel Collection, has announced the group expects to save £360,000 a year after investing £300,000 in energy and water efficiency projects across its 21 UK hotels. The Hotel Collection worked with SaveMoneyCutCarbon to identify projects which would cover their costs within two years, and has made savings by installing LED lighting, eco-smart showers and tap aerators across its estate, as well as an intelligent heating and cooling management system at The Hinckley Island Hotel in Leicestershire. Mr Nisbett, who is also finance community chair of HOSPA, the Hospitality Professionals Association for

finance, revenue management and IT, said: “Water and energy efficiency should be on every hotel’s agenda as it can generate substantial savings. We are already saving £360,000 a year across the portfolio by implementing simple efficiency measures that do not impact on our guests’ satisfaction. “These projects pay for themselves swiftly, deliver lasting savings and add value to the business so we are continuing to identify further ways to cut energy and water bills across our portfolio.” The Hotel Collection’s savings of £360,000 a year work out to £128 for each of its 2,800 rooms. SaveMoneyCutCarbon points out that if the UK hotel industry achieved only half that

across its 600,000 rooms, it could cut bills by more than £38m every year, while saving significant amounts of carbon to help meet UK carbon reduction targets. SaveMoneyCutCarbon has also been working on similar projects with other hotels. It has initiated a major LED installation programme across 32 Radisson Blu and Park Inn hotels – a project that will see 145,000 LED products fitted in restaurants, function rooms and bedrooms, with the aim of saving more than £250,000 a year and paying for itself within two and a half years.

Tottenham Hotspur Foundation helps Big Hospitality Conversation get closer to goal The British Hospitality Association’s (BHA) national campaign The Big Hospitality Conversation has teamed up with Tottenham Hotspur Foundation to generate over 2,000 job opportunities, work placements and apprenticeships in the hospitality sector for 16to 24-year-old Haringey residents. One hundred top business leaders, including household names like Bourne Leisure, McDonalds, Spirit Pub Company, Costa, Premier Inn, Hilton, Sodexo, Centreplate and Nandos attended the event on 10th February, pledging live throughout the day alongside Tottenham Hotspur Foundation’s education and employment team, who were on hand to offer practical employability advice and guidance on gaining relevant qualifications, interview techniques and career choices. Delivered in partnership with Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, Department of Work and Pensions and Haringey Council, this Big Hospitality Conversation is the first of its kind to be delivered in partnership

with a Premier League football club. Previous events have generated over 38,000 job opportunities and these latest pledges mark a significant 40,000 milestone. The Big Hospitality Conversation has an ambitious 2015 programme which seeks to generate a further 20,000 career opportunities across the UK at various venues, including Nottingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Swansea, Belfast, Lambeth, Cardiff, Hackney, Legoland, Bournemouth, Llandudno, Dundee/Perth, Preston/ Blackpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Exeter, Maidstone and the Isle of Wight – taking the total to 60,000 opportunities for 16- to 24-year-olds. Ufi Ibrahim, CEO of the British Hospitality Association said: “This event demonstrates that our industry is about action to grow jobs. We are going out into the community to demonstrate the range of exciting careers available across our industry. The BHA wants politicians to understand how important the hospitality and tourism industry is in generating high-quality careers for young people.”

VIEW FROM THE TOP Lone Star Funds acquires Jurys Inn for £680m The sale of Jurys Inn to US investor Lone Star Funds has been agreed by shareholders Oman Investment Fund (OIF), Mount Kellett Capital Management, Ulster Bank (part of the Royal Bank of Scotland), Westmont Hospitality Group and Avestus Capital Partners. The total consideration of the deal is £680m. The transaction is subject to approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in Ireland, and is expected to close during the first quarter of 2015. Jurys Inn operates over 7,000 rooms across 31 city centre hotels comprising 21 UK provincial hotels, four London hotels, five hotels in Ireland and one in Prague. It employs approximately 2,000 people. The company has also recently acquired three existing leasehold properties as part of its strategy to strengthen its portfolio of hotel assets and provide greater flexibility around their future development. The existing management team, led by CEO John Brennan, will continue to lead Jurys Inn. Mr Brennan said: “I would like to thank our existing shareholders for their commitment and support and welcome Lone Star Funds as our new owners. The substantial investment in our business and brand, coupled with the efforts of management and our employees, have allowed us to deliver record results in recent years.” He added: “We are now delighted to have attracted a new owner of the scale and calibre of Lone Star Funds, who are very committed to the future growth and development of the Jurys Inn brand and business and we look forward to working with them in realising our joint ambition for the business and to capitalise on the significant opportunities emerging within our sector.”

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Patrick Stapleton, general manager of Hilton Birmingham Metropole, tells us about his eventful career, from lunching with the Duke of Edinburgh to using his escapology skills How long have you been at Hilton Birmingham Metropole and what was your first job in hospitality? I have been managing Hilton Birmingham Metropole for the last six years. I have 13 years as a general manager of hotels that proudly belong to the Hilton Worldwide Brand. I acquired my passion for hospitality at the age of 18 when I started my hotel management and business studies at university, which is where my career in hospitality began. What have been your career highlights? I am lucky enough to have had the opportunity to work in wellknown hotel properties, such as Brown’s Hotel in London, and also iconic hotel buildings such as The Caledonian in Edinburgh. I have had so many career highlights, but winning the Caterer’s Manager of the Year Award in 2003 was a real honour. That same year I was voted in as president of the Irish Hospitality Institute. I was also on the Northern Ireland Tourist Board from 2002 to 2008, and in 2007 presented the Duke of Edinburgh Award in Edinburgh. I had the pleasure of having lunch with the Duke of Edinburgh himself. Another highlight was when, in order to promote the opening of

Hilton Dublin, I staged an escape from a straitjacket, having been placed in a locked trunk and suspended from a crane over the Grand Canal. I was able to use my skills as a magician to unveil the new signage for TV and press. What challenges do you face as a general manager at Hilton Birmingham Metropole? Hilton Birmingham Metropole is a large, 790-bedroom hotel with excellent conferencing facilities, but as customers become increasingly well travelled it becomes a challenge to meet their expectations. The hospitality business is very competitive and so recruiting skilled staff and maintaining sales is essential to ensure our continuing success. The hotel is the largest accommodation and conference venue outside London. The experience of Hilton Birmingham Metropole has been gained from almost 40 years of hosting leading corporate and association conferences and conventions and continues to be the preferred choice of event organisers. All these are the results of our constant work and improvement. What’s your favourite part of the job? Being the general manager of such a large hotel is such a fulfilling

role and often demanding. I love any kind of challenge and the hotel constantly seeks to be innovative by pushing boundaries, so I’m always busy with an array of tasks that I thoroughly enjoy. What has been the most important lesson learnt so far as a hotel general manager? I have learnt many lessons throughout my 33 years in hospitality. One of the most important was realising that due to the busy nature of hotels, I won’t always be able to make every decision. This has taught me to trust my colleagues and staff to make the best decision possible in my absence, and to then reward their initiative. What are your future plans? The hotel has recently redesigned its lounge and cocktail bar. This is not only a great opportunity for the hotel but also a huge step towards its mission in becoming representative of the best international hospitality standards. Hilton Birmingham Metropole always strives to be innovative. In 2015 we will continue to refurbish our conference space and food and beverage facilities to ensure we remain at the top of our game.

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nyone who manages a hotel knows that their service and their guests’ experience is only as good as the equipment, fixtures and fittings around them. Detail matters. The quality and comfort of the rooms, the amenities in the en suite, the services in the spa, the lighting in the lounge... This is where Workflow Asset Management (WAM) can make a difference . Spas, leisure centres and hotels are discovering the power of this web-based programme to ensure they maximise the effectiveness of their assets which in an average hotel can cover thousands of individual items and represent a large capital investment. WAM simply allows management teams to create their own asset inventory which interacts with a fault reporting and repair system and planned preventative maintenance task schedule. “This programme was created for our own leisure, health and spa facilities ten years ago and worked so well we decided to take it to others,” says Kris Price, who leads Halo Leisure Enterprises. “It has been taken up by hundreds of other leisure centres and now we’re receiving huge interest from hotels who’ve read about WAM or used it in their leisure complexes and now want to extend it across their whole business.” One of the many advantages is that it is so easy to use, says Price. Staff simply access prioritised work schedules and then hit a button, type in update (be it ‘checks made’, ‘fault reported’, ‘part ordered’, ‘work completed’...), hit a button and the system updates. Supervisors can see at a glance what is happening including the progress of repairs, depreciation values of their assets, contractor servicing and the planned preventative maintenance tasks being carried out. “What’s more,” says Price, “as organisations are being required to produce evidence that maintenance targets are being achieved, and

the value of assets maximised, more groups are swapping paper-based procedures for a system like WAM which improves efficiency and distinguishes between statutory and desirable commitments.” “There are so many good things about this system, says one customer, Avalon Leisure’s Malcolm Baker who manages spa and health club facilities in Somerset.

“I think what attracts people to the system in the first instance is the price, but when it’s in place managers see the real and lasting value for their business.” “We have one huge database of assets, but it can be programmed to incorporate checks and maintenance required once an hour, once a day, once a week, or once a year,” says Baker. “You simply write the brief and it’s done. If you wanted to you could list every single screw in the sauna. Once it’s on the system you can allocate jobs to anyone on the rota, from lifeguards by your pool to reception staff who might do an hourly quick check on an item, to your duty manager who might monitor things on a

daily or weekly basis to the technicians dealing with faults. But sitting here at my desk now I can instantly see the progress of repairs or maintenance,” says Baker. This Spring WAM has added even more efficiency features to its system including a place to add photos to asset inventories when teams raise a defect or repair issue; a record of the precise time spent making repairs (which can link into relevant reports); daily, weekly and monthly email notifications to users; additional reporting tools; a component for data capture; and tools for reprioritising work or for attaching files and documents (such as invoices, certificates, reports etc) to Assets, Work Requests/ Defects, Maintenance and Scheduled Tasks and Technical logs. “You can create different levels of access to the system for different groups of staff,” says Malcolm Baker. “But we can all look at our WAM page anytime and our worksheets are organised for us, and everyone is bang up to date. Everyone finds it incredibly easy to use. When you have multiple sites it saves so much time by streamlining worksheets, updating them with maintenance required as staff move around.” “I think what attracts people to the system in the first instance is the price,” says Kris Price. “Then when it’s in place clients tell us the additional, real and lasting value for their business.” WAM’s not charged per user but is accessible for all staff on site for a one-off set up cost per organisation (it’s less than an average room booking or gym membership) inclusive of training and helpline support. What’s more, there is no minimum contract term and the cost is comparable with an average monthly gym membership. To find out more about how WAM could support your business or to meet our team go to the new WAM website at www.maxyourassets.com www.hotel-magazine.co.uk

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PROPERTY NEWS IHG signs two hotels at Aberdeen International Airport InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the signing of two hotels at Aberdeen International Airport: Crowne Plaza Aberdeen Airport and Holiday Inn Express Aberdeen Airport. Both hotels will operate under franchise agreements with long-time owner partner Dominvs Group. The 165-room Crowne Plaza hotel will be newly constructed within a two-minute walk of the terminal building. The hotel, which will open in 2016, will feature a number of meeting rooms and an outdoor terrace, a gym, restaurant and bar, and ample car parking spaces for guests. The new-build Holiday Inn Express hotel will be located next door to the Crowne Plaza hotel and is expected to open towards the end of 2015. This property will feature 193 standard rooms and a breakfast/dining area. Anna Corkill, director of development for the UK and Ireland, IHG, said: “Aberdeen is a large hub for the energy industry in Europe and these two hotels are well placed to meet the needs of international and domestic business travellers who frequent the city.”

Hilton Worldwide plans modular hotel at Bristol Airport Hilton Worldwide has reached an agreement with modular building provider CIMC to develop the first hotel at Bristol Airport, under its economy Hampton by Hilton brand. In a new strategic partnership, the hotel will be financed and owned by CIMC, and managed by Hilton Worldwide. CIMC’s modular technique significantly reduces the time taken for construction by manufacturing and assembling portions of the hotel, including guest rooms and hallways, in China, before transporting them to the final site for assembly. Robert Sinclair, chief executive officer at Bristol Airport, said: “The development of a high-quality, on-site hotel to be operated under such a world-renowned brand will be a very welcome addition to our facilities for the growing number of passengers choosing to fly to and from Bristol Airport. Alongside the terminal extension currently under construction, this is another statement of our ambition to be a world-class regional airport serving the South West of the UK.” The 201 guest-room property is expected to open in spring 2016 and will be the first hotel at the airport. Hampton by Hilton Bristol

Airport will incorporate flexible meeting spaces for business guests, a 24-hour fitness room and parking for 120 cars.

New era for hotel Scarborough Fayre in North Yorkshire Leisure property specialist Fleurets has sold the freehold hotel Scarborough Fayre on Queen’s Parade, acting on behalf of owner Bob McKee. The property sold for an undisclosed sum off an asking price of £430,000. A substantial property forming part of a terrace of properties, the Scarborough Fayre has 27 letting bedrooms, residents’ lounge and a dining room with seating for 60, which offers views over the North Bay. Nick Thomas of Fleurets Leeds commented: “The Scarborough Fayre was acquired by our client in 2007, since which time it has been run at arm’s length, with live-in management and trading on a simple bed-and-breakfast basis. The new owner, after a programme of refurbishment, plans to continue running it as a bed and breakfast.” The new owner is Global Homes & Property Limited, a South-East based property investment company, which plans to run the establishment in conjunction with their other hotels based in the Midlands, Merseyside and West Yorkshire, after completing a refurbishment programme which will include external decoration.

Malhotra Group buys North East hotel A North East leisure group has saved more than 30 jobs after adding a North Tyneside hotel to its portfolio. The Rex Hotel, Whitley Bay, went into administration in early January and has now been taken over by the Malhotra Group PLC, which is planning a major investment to improve and upgrade the property. The seafront hotel – which launched in 1907 – has continued to trade and the new owners have told staff that their jobs are secure. Atul Malhotra, operations director for the Malhotra Group PLC, said it would be “business as usual” at the Rex. “We are always looking out for new properties and the Rex is the perfect fit to complement The Grey Street Hotel and the New Northumbria, our other hotels in the area,” he said. “We are looking at some substantial investment in The Rex to upgrade it.” The leisure arm of the Malhotra Group also includes the Three Mile Inn at Gosforth, The Albatross backpackers’ hostel in Newcastle, The Sandpiper at Cullercoats and The Runhead at Ryton.

Make your Gateway a great-way with Glasdon Gateways are a common sight on roadsides up and down the country. Used mostly as boundary markers to welcome visitors to towns and villages, gateways are used for signage in all kinds of places. Glasdon Gateway is an attractive, lower maintenance alternative to traditional wooden gates. While wooden gates require regular surface treatment to prevent cracking, rotting or elemental damage, the Glasdon Gateway is made from Everwood material. Everwood material has an extremely realistic timber grain effect that will last for many years with no need for painting or varnishing, and will never warp or rot. Glasdon Gateway is extremely versatile. With three colour options

and a wide choice of widths, heights, bar configurations and styles, the Glasdon Gateway can be specified to your exact requirements. Custom-made signage can be made to your specification, or if you’d prefer you can use your own signage. Contact: Glasdon UK Ltd, 01253 600411, www.safety4highways.com.

Scan Coin provides cash solution Cash remains a popular and enduring payment method and so it is still an important management issue for the hospitality industry. With a potentially high number of tills spread throughout the hotel (bar, restaurants and reception), manual cash handling can be labour and cost intensive. There are a number of time-consuming activities involved in keeping cash flowing through a long process chain from acceptance, checking for forgeries, change provision, and float supply to sorting, counting and reconciliation. The RCS solution from SCAN COIN handles these cash-office operations to streamline your cash processing. Repeated and time-consuming manual cash counting is eliminated and the risk of mistakes and shrinkage is reduced. Improving your cash management increases efficiency and allows staff to focus on the guests rather than back office operations. The flexible back office solution allows staff to select the cash mix for the day and in less than 30 seconds, coins and notes are automatically dispensed. During the day RCS serves as a continuous cash supplier, providing change when needed. All activities are recorded for extensive reporting. At the end of the day coins and notes are quickly deposited back into the RCS and stored securely, ready for future float dispensing. Working closely with you, SCAN COIN can undertake a thorough assessment of current cash-handling procedures and develop a strategy that optimises your cash processing performance. For more information contact 0161 873 0505 or [email protected]

Macdonald Hotels highlights top meeting trends for 2015 Macdonald Hotels & Resorts has shortlisted the top six meeting market trends they believe are set to impact the meetings and conference industry in 2015. The trends have been released after the group undertook research with some of its biggest agents and bookers. Gill Jackson, sales director at Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, said of the results: “2015 is set to be an exciting year for the meetings and conferences industry, particularly with the rapid development and emerging impact of social media and multimedia technologies. “These changes will mean great things for the industry, but budgets still remain tight and so the ability to offer clients great value, flexibility, responsiveness and effective enquiry handling will be more important than ever. “At Macdonald Hotels, we are adapting by undertaking some exciting developments with our ‘Meeting@’ delegate product, which means we’re starting 2015 with a very positive outlook.” The shortlisted trends are as follows:

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effects of the recession are higher expectations for value and efficiency. Agents and bookers will expect technology and fast broadband to be included in venue rates and to be of high specification. Venues will have to continue to work hard to win business.

“The demand for conference and events venues is likely to grow in 2015” 1. There are green shoots but budgets remain tight. As many sectors are experiencing signs of economic recovery, the demand for conference and events venues is likely to grow in 2015, but the resulting

2. Added value is not just a focus – it is expected. For agents, added value isn’t really ‘added’ any more – it is simply expected. Added value offers are set to be increasingly important as clients look to maximise budgets at every step in 2015. Wi-Fi will remain an important trend for added value in 2015. However, personal relationships and service from highly qualified and experienced individuals who understand a client’s business needs inside out remain a top priority for clients. 3. General managers are an integral part of an event. Having the venue’s general manager present for a meet-andgreet at the beginning of an event has a significant impact on the

agent or booker’s confidence in a venue. Sixty percent of the agents and bookers interviewed by Macdonald Hotels & Resorts said that a meet-and-greet was a positive way to start an event, while 80% said the larger and more significant the event, the more integral the general manager’s presence. 4. Response times remain crucial for booker satisfaction. Prompt responses and clarity of information were among the most crucial factors affecting bookers’ and agents’ satisfaction with a venue, with tight time constraints likely to remain in 2015. Bookers are expected to turn around events more quickly than ever, suggesting that a key focus for venues in 2015 is to be consistent with communication, enquiry ownership and keeping the agent fully informed at each stage of the booking. Those interviewed commented that each enquiry is unique and should be treated with a high level of attention, ensuring clarity of information to a strict time schedule.

5. Well-sourced healthy food and drink make for satisfied guests. Client satisfaction is most heavily impacted by well-sourced, highquality food and drink, with 85% of bookers interviewed highlighting the food offering as the most important part of the customer’s conference journey. Of the agents and bookers interviewed, some pointed out that when asking clients for feedback, the first comment is nearly always about food quality. With businesses becoming evermore health conscious, sourcing quality, nutritious food will be a key trend for conference and events bookers in 2015. 6. The need for speed in Wi-Fi connection is increasing. Free Wi-Fi is now expected in the conference and events industry and agents and bookers are looking for speedy and reliable services. Fuelled by the increased use of technology in events and the higher number of delegates using tablets and mobile devices, this trend is set to continue in 2015.

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Colliers issues warning on business rates appeals deadline Businesses face losing out on five years’ worth of refunds on their business rates because of the government’s controversial imposition of a looming deadline for appeals, warns real estate advisor Colliers International. John Webber, head of rating at Colliers International, fears most businesses are unaware of a government-imposed deadline of 1st April 2015 for appeals on their business rates valuations. The deadline was “almost lost in the small print” of the chancellor’s Autumn Statement in December 2014 with “certainly no attention drawn to it”, said Mr Webber. He explained: “Despite having extended the time period for the revaluation of businesses on the ratings list from five to seven years (extended to 2017), they haven’t extended the period where businesses are entitled to appeal. This means that while businesses will still be able to appeal between April 2015 and 2017, any refunds or savings will only be backdated to

April 2015, meaning that businesses could lose out on five years’ worth of rebates. “Making this announcement only weeks before the cut off is scandalous. The government wants it both ways – an extension to the list but no extension to the appeal deadline.” Mr Webber said the government had not explained why this decision was made but believed it was designed to curtail the ability of businesses to appeal, while giving it more certainty about what it collects in tax. He added: “No-one is ready for the impending change, neither businesses nor the Valuation Office, and the government doesn’t want the appeals to be made so it’s not highlighting this deadline to businesses.” Colliers International has set up a hotline for businesses to call to find out more about this issue and to find out whether they are entitled to a rebate: 0800 3583230.

BHA highlights importance of aparthotel and serviced apartment sector

Back to The Grove The Grove luxury five-star resort in Hertfordshire has announced the return of Michael Helling as its new general manager. The Grove first opened in September 2003, with Mr Helling as director of food and beverage. A decade on, he has been welcomed back after serving as general manager at The Aviator, Farnborough, which he helped to launch in 2008.

Marketing maven Luxury boutique hotel The Arch London has appointed Amber Virani as its new marketing manager. Ms Virani’s previous role was as e-commerce manager for the fivestar Bentley London. Prior to this, she worked with the K West Hotel & Spa as marketing executive for two years, where she was nominated for Employee of the Year.

DIARY DATES 4th-5th March 2015 ScotHot SECC, Glasgow 17th-18th March 2015 Hotel & Catering Show 2015 BIC, Bournemouth

19th March 2015 British Water Cooler Association conference & trade show Nottingham Belfry 22-25th March 2015 The International Food & Drink Event ExCel, London

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International real estate advisor Savills has reported that total transaction volumes in the UK hotels market reached £6.1bn in 2014, marking an increase of 55% on the previous year and the highest level since 2006. The firm cites renewed investor confidence in regional markets as a key driver behind the overall growth, with 71% of deals taking place outside the capital. However, the London hotels market remains strong, particularly in value terms, with Savills reporting that 60% of single asset transaction volumes were in the city last year. The firm also highlights an increased appetite for portfolios, with deals involving multiple assets accounting for 53% of hotel investment in the UK in 2014, equating to £3.2bn. Major portfolio transactions last year included LRG’s sale of 21 Holiday Inn hotels to Kew Green from a guide price of £70m, in which Savills acted for the purchaser. Martin Rogers, hotels director at Savills, comments: “Investor demand returned with gusto in 2014 and we expect it to remain strong in the year ahead. In London, the demand and supply imbalance will put downward pressure on yields while regional activity is likely to be fuelled by the break up of portfolios purchased in recent months.” Meanwhile, accounts and taxation specialist Kilsby & Williams is reporting an uplift in the hotel sector. Simon Tee, partner at the South Wales-based firm, said: “There are a number of likely reasons for this, such as a stronger economy overall and a resurgent service sector across the UK. Trading in the UK is a more attractive option compared with a troubled European economy and demand for London hotel rooms from international tourists is strong. “Provincial regions too are reporting record occupancies. With commercial property returns still precarious, there is an increased investment demand from Asia, the Middle East and USA, particularly in London.” Kilsby & Williams advised Topland Group in the acquisition of the 12-strong UK Menzies Hotel group. The Topland Group has recently acknowledged the value of the sector and embarked upon a £1bn hotel business acquisition programme at the beginning of last year.

Award-winning chef turned hospitality and leisure expert Gordon Cartwright has joined the Wordsworth Hotel & Spa as the Lake District hotel’s new general manager. Mr Cartwright was appointed by new owner Guyzance Hall Ltd, which recently acquired the fourstar property to add to its portfolio of five country house hotels in Northumberland and Scotland.

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UK hotel investment reaches eight-year high at £6.1bn

aparthotel and serviced apartment sector as Birmingham, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle. Max Thorne, CEO of CL Serviced Apartments, who is representing a PE fund that is investing over half a billion dollars into this sector and is also chairman and founding member of the BHA’s sector programme for aparthotels, said: “Aparthotels and serviced apartments represent one of the fastest growing sectors of the hospitality and tourism industry, particularly in London and the UK’s leading regional cities, so it’s important that our group has a strong voice in shaping key issues. For our sector, this year we see these priorities as sector brand-building, jobs and skills, the sharing economy and cutting tourism VAT.”

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branded ‘cook-in’ plus sleeping accommodations, with various degrees of hospitality services offered. This sector of the industry often has very specific customer target markets such as the increasingly mobile business traveller, family leisure travellers, retirees or even university students. Marie Hickey at Savills commented: “While the sector in the UK remains small compared to hotels, accounting for only 3% of hotel bed supply, expansion has been picking up pace, with almost 50 new site openings over the last two years as opposed to the five openings reported back in 2005, with 3,200 new units in the development pipeline through to the end of 2017.” Savills has identified the fastest growth markets for the

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According to the British Hospitality Association (BHA), branded aparthotels and serviced apartments will be at the forefront of new hospitality innovations and have already started to gain solid recognition as a core part of the hospitality industry. Ufi Ibrahim, CEO of the BHA, said: “Independent apartmentliving, with all the benefits of expert hospitality services, is a popular and fast-growing trend, particularly for young people and business travellers. As well as dedicated new brands, many of our international member hotel brands are adding serviced apartment offers to their brand portfolios. That’s why it’s vital to have a dedicated representation within our membership.” The BHA defines aparthotels and serviced apartments as

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An automated cash office that increases staff efficiency with a rapid & significant return on investment www.scancoin.co.uk/hotels [email protected] 0161 873 0505 www.hotel-magazine.co.uk

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A DAY IN THE LIFE Hugo de Castro, head concierge at The Grand Jersey Hotel & Spa, gives us an insight into his busy schedule 8am By 8am I have been at The Grand Jersey for an hour, planning the day ahead. This involves looking through the night concierge handover and briefing my team on the day’s events. From VIP arrivals and special room requests to additional services for disabled guests and airport transfers, every day brings something different to organise. This work is quickly followed by a large espresso! I drink three espressos every morning to kick-start the day before heading to the hotel lobby. Here, I will meet and greet guests as they go to breakfast or check out early. For the last 32 years, I have met and helped so many different people – it’s my job to give people the best advice on what to do and how to get around. 10.30am The busiest part of my day is well underway by 10.30am as my team and I finish up our morning meeting. From departmental objectives to today’s events, we use this time to cover everything we need to in order to be prepared for the day ahead. From 10.30am onwards, things heat up as I meet and greet guests, help with checkouts and plan itineraries. 12.30pm By 12.30pm a steady stream of guests are continuing to check out of the hotel, so it’s non-stop for all of the team in concierge. We aim to keep all of our guests happy but over the last three decades I’ve learnt that if you keep the children happy, you keep the adults happy too! I frequently dish out buckets, spades and fishing nets to help keep restless children occupied. Another part of my job is keeping track of customers’ likes and dislikes in order to build up an accurate guest profile. I will spend much of the afternoon noting whether

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a guest likes a feathered pillow, or prosecco instead of champagne, and add these observations to their profile to ensure they receive a personalised service on their return. 4pm Between 2pm and 4pm, check-ins are now flooding in. This part of my day can involve suggesting restaurants customers can visit – I’m always sure to recommend our own first, of course! I will also deal with lost luggage, car parking, planning excursions for visitors, as well as booking taxis, hire cars and transfers. The list really is endless! 6pm Later in the day I will look at how concierge approaches any issues and complaints. I always try to be three steps ahead to ensure we are solving problems in the best possible way in order to enhance the guest experience and ensure people return to The Grand Jersey. I work very closely with the team at reception to guarantee we have a solution for any questions or queries, no matter how trivial or unusual. I don’t have a regular time to clock-off, and depending on the day’s events I will leave the hotel anywhere between 5pm and 7pm. 8pm 8pm and I’m home. I tend to relax with a glass of wine and have dinner with my wife. With so much wonderful seafood on our doorstep in Jersey, we’re blessed to frequently enjoy fresh, local fish for dinner. Although I’m normally home by 8pm, my job is never done. I never switch off my phone and my team can call me any time they require support. In reality, concierge is a 24-hour service, but it’s something I am passionate about. I believe this round-the-clock passion and dedication is what makes a successful five-star concierge service.

IN BRIEF

What else has got people talking this month?

£400m tourism development announced for Chesterfield

New apprenticeship academy in North Devon

A new £400m tourism development that will bring more than 1,300 jobs to Chesterfield has been welcomed by the North East Derbyshire town. The investment is a partnership between UK development company Birchall Properties and US firm Grand Heritage Hotel Group. The project, close to the Birchall Estate at Unstone, will have 600 holiday apartments, hotel and hostel units and 250 woodland lodges.

HIT Training and West Country hotel operator The Brend Group have launched a new apprenticeship academy. The new Brend Training Academy will be based at the group’s flagship Saunton Sands hotel in Braunton, North Devon, where HIT’s expert trainer assessors will deliver a range of hospitality apprenticeships and provide access to government funding for eligible learners.

QHotels celebrates VenueVerdict honours

Hospitality Show sees 20% increase in visitors The 2015 Hospitality Show in January was pitched as a celebration of the best of British, and visitors came from across the UK to join in the festival of innovative new products and attractions, contributing to a 20% rise in attendance compared with previous years. The three-day show featured attractions such as the Business Briefing Stage, playing host to bigname interviews and panel sessions.

QHotels has scooped three VenueVerdict accolades and nine of the group’s hotels have received Gold Standard Accreditations. The group retained the Gold Standard Group award for the second year running and won the Number One Large Group award for the fourth consecutive year. It has also kept the Number One Hotel crown, passing this from its Westerwood Hotel and Golf Resort to Ashford International Hotel.

Redefine BDL Hotels widens ambitions following prosperous 2014 A leading hotel industry figure has predicted a positive 2015 for the sector, and revealed renewed expansion ambitions following a successful 2014. Stewart Campbell, managing director of UK hotel management company Redefine BDL Hotels, said: “2014 was an extremely strong year for Redefine BDL Hotels – we smashed our targets in terms of contracts secured. “The announcement of our partnership with LRG for 19 Holiday Inns and three Crowne Plazas is the largest ever hotel management-only deal in Europe, and has significantly increased our portfolio. We rounded off the year with a successful festive period which saw a 20% increase in revenue across the portfolio compared to the same period in 2013. “Our strong position means our strategy for European expansion will step up a gear in 2015 and is likely to follow one of two routes – either following an owner with a portfolio of existing hotels in Europe, or buying a small hotel management company on the continent.” Campbell also revealed that the company’s growth aspirations

now have the potential to reach beyond Europe. He said: “In addition to our existing ambitions, and in light of our success in 2014, our long-term vision has adapted. We are now exploring the potential to expand into the USA. “Six months ago, plotted against similar companies in the USA, Redefine BDL Hotels would have ranked around 40th in terms of portfolio size – but with our recent expansion we have jumped to around tenth. This opens up massive possibilities and, while very much in its infancy, a move to the USA is being considered.” Commenting on the sector in general, Campbell said growth had far outstripped the company’s predictions for 2014. He said: “This time last year we forecast an 8% year-on-year increase in RevPAR (revenue per available room) in the UK, outside of London. In fact, we’ve seen a 16% year-on-year increase in the regions – 20% in Scotland. “We’re also seeing evidence that hotels are being built and developed once again, which is good news. From Redefine BDL Hotels’ point of view, we had the launch of Aloft Liverpool

in November 2014, our first partnership with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, and the first ever UK franchise agreement for any Starwood hotel. “There was also the recent £4m development and rebrand of The Point Hotel in Edinburgh to DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre. We recently announced our first partnership with Accor, which will see the opening of Glasgow’s first Ibis Styles hotel in August 2015, and we have just confirmed our first partnership with Marriott International, via the signing of a new 240-bedroom Courtyard by Marriott hotel, which will open in Edinburgh during 2016.” This upward trend will continue in 2015, according to Campbell, who predicts RevPAR growth in the regions of around 6% year-onyear, despite an expectation that London’s growth may slow a little, to around 3%.

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housekeeping

Time for a

spring clean For hotels, cleanliness and hygiene are top of the agenda 365 days a year, not just the spring. But there’s no better time to review your cleaning practices than right now. And there’s no better place to start than the kitchen, says Luke Rutterford, technical manager, Rentokil Specialist Hygiene

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aintaining a clean working environment is one of the most important considerations for hotel managers, who must uphold the strictest hygiene standards for the safety of customers and staff. Not only must catering managers ensure their premises are spotless and free from contamination, but they must also maintain the consistent excellence of their cuisine.

Consistent cleaning In order to avoid heavy fines, and any other negative effects on profitability, every kitchen across the hotel and hospitality industry needs to carry out daily and weekly cleaning routines, to make sure good hygiene is maintained. Regular cleaning, when conducted in isolation, will not eliminate all of the build-up of dirt, grime and bacteria in hotel kitchens. The gradual accumulation of grease and dust on less accessible surfaces such as walls, ceilings, lights and kitchen fittings can provide a potential breeding ground for bacteria. In the warmer spring and summer months this can lead to unpleasant odours, which can put off customers and demotivate staff. The collection of food waste, fats and grease is inevitable in commercial kitchens, and therefore kitchen managers need to make sure they follow practical measures to avoid this build-up.

One of these measures is employing an expert supplier to completely deep clean the kitchen and catering facilities, which is recommended as a minimum at least once a year. This can be booked to coincide with a ventilation clean to reduce fire risk, and can form part of the fire risk assessment that commercial kitchens in restaurants are required to undertake in line with their insurance provision.

Dirty ducts It is commonly known that cooking generates airborne grease, carbon and steam, which can form deposits in hard-to-reach areas like ceiling surfaces and ventilation ducts. If specialist cleaning is not carried out, these deposits can build up, creating foul odours, reducing airflow, and even blocking grills and vents altogether. Any build-up of these residues poses a serious risk of fire within the kitchen, and can also lead to temperature control issues and equipment deficiency. The air supply ducts in kitchens, in particular, if left unattended, provide an ideal environment for the accumulation of mildew, dust, mould, pathogenic bacteria and other micro-organisms which can spread to the food being prepared. Certain ducts can also become a harbourage for pests and can accumulate their associated droppings. Not only is this in contravention of the Food Safety Act 1990, but it can also be hazardous to staff working in the

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kitchen, violating the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. In other words, if kitchens are not kept in a hygienic condition, they will end up in breach of regulations. But having them regularly deep cleaned at least once a year can significantly reduce the risks and the potential threat of closure of the business.

Essential advice for maintaining ducts It is strongly recommended that, for a thorough deep clean, hotel kitchen managers consult a professional service provider. In addition, managers can take the following steps to keep their ducts in good shape: ■ Be vigilant in daily cleaning regimes to limit the amount of dust and grime getting into the ducts. ■ Schedule yearly inspections according to current fire prevention regulations and, if necessary, employ ventilation-cleaning professionals. ■ Change filters at regular intervals – a blocked kitchen vent can cause the fans to overheat and potentially start a fire. ■ Clean vent covers thoroughly – start following a deep clean, maintaining them in-house to avoid outsourcing as frequently. ■ Call a professional pest controller at the first sign of an infestation – a Blattella germanica cockroach can have 35 to 40 offspring in their egg case per female and an infestation can rapidly become out of hand. A stich in time saves nine!

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housekeeping Equipment longevity Kitchen hygiene is essential, as without regular cleaning, carbon can build up on ovens and cooking equipment, reducing efficiency and lifespan significantly as well as productivity. Regular cleaning can save you thousands of pounds. The benefits of specialist deep cleans can significantly outweigh the costs involved, while also offering managers complete peace of mind. If unsure of how regularly your establishment requires cleaning, it is best to consult a professional. As with any external contractor, they will be trained to understand the latest legislation requirements in their area of expertise, so if it is unclear how best to tackle kitchen grime, make sure to call in the experts.

The death of scaffold? Thomann-Hanry reveals why 2015 should see the end of scaffold in the building cleaning industry As falls from height remain among the biggest risks in the construction industry today, Mark Styles, managing director of building cleaning and restoration company Thomann-Hanry, calls on the property industry to avoid scaffold where possible in 2015, especially when cleaning the exterior of buildings. He says: “In the building cleaning industry today, the use of scaffold is largely avoidable, bringing huge benefits to the safety of workers who can instead work from the more secure environment of an enclosed cabin. The reassurance of cleaning a building without the use of scaffold is appealing to the workforce as well as the proprietor. We want to highlight this in 2015 and help reenforce this message across the industry.” In addition to the safety implications, avoiding unsightly scaffold when exterior cleaning work takes place helps the business to run as usual, minimising loss of trade, maximising profit potential and maintaining a ‘business as usual’ appearance – especially beneficial to those in the hospitality trade. Mark also observes that a lack of scaffold can vastly improve security during the operational period – a particular benefit to the hotel industry. He continues: “When considering an exterior clean, using a unique system that does not require the use of scaffold, such as the non-abrasive ‘facade gommage’ by Thomann-Hanry, is a huge benefit not only to the safety of workers but to the functioning business as works take place. We have a number of high-profile banks and hotels as clients and interestingly, many leading property companies have chosen the scaffold-free technique when cleaning their own buildings, which has to be simply the best endorsement that going scaffold-free can get.” Earlier this year Thomann-Hanry cleaned the exterior of the head office of Grosvenor Estates in Mayfair and was previously commissioned to clean the headquarters

of Land Securities. Located in a busy central London location at 5 The Strand, the work needed to be effective while creating minimal disruption. ThomannHanry cleaned the building without the use of scaffold in 14 days from start to finish, rejuvenating the 3,000 square metres of the Pale Rose Marble and returning the whole building to its former glory. Eamon Condon, contract administrator, Land Securities, commented: “Restoration work does not come more high-profile than this! Land Securities is the largest property company in the UK, with a 40m-high ‘head office’ building on one of London’s busiest streets, with retail tenants below, so when ThomannHanry approached us saying they could not only clean all the stone, aluminium and glazing from platforms but also replace sealant and defective grout without scaffold as well, we were intrigued. Their systems performed exactly as they said they would and were a perfect fit with our image as an industry leader.”


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housekeeping

Harnessing the power of colour Dr. Peter Barratt, technical manager, Initial Washroom Hygiene, says choosing the right colour for washroom products can encourage more positive hygiene practices among staff Poor hygiene cost UK businesses an estimated £4.2bn in 2013 alone due to employee illness and absence, a large proportion of which could have been easily prevented. It is therefore in the interest of business owners, facilities managers and individual employees alike to find ways of improving their hygiene practices in their workplace. Harnessing the persuasive power of colour is one new way of doing this. The concept of colour affecting human behaviour is not a new phenomenon, and as the number of studies in this area increases, so too does our understanding of the different behavioural responses colour can elicit. Coloured washroom products, such as Initial’s new Signature COLOUR range, are designed to harness the power of colour psychology to provoke improved hygiene habits. Angela Wright, colour psychologist and author and founder of the Colour Affects System, highlights the fact that there are universal, psychophysical reactions to colour that are common to us all – and they can be predicted. Angela has worked with Initial Washroom Hygiene to identify colours that can improve behaviours in the washroom and, in consequence, workplace health and business performance. Through following these scientifically accepted colour principles, we are able to identify colours that inspire activity and cleanliness. By then applying these colours to hygiene products, our aim is to leverage their power to drive improved hygiene behaviours. All the colours chosen for the Signature COLOUR range have been selected to drive positive, proactive behaviour in washroom users. While altering the colour of washroom equipment may be considered superficial and purely for the benefit of the aesthetics, this small change should have a direct impact on washroom behaviour, which will in turn significantly reduce the chances of bacteria spreading among the workforce via cross-contamination. To further enforce this, antibacterial materials have been incorporated onto the surface of the Signature COLOUR units as an added level of comfort for those using the washroom products. Harnessing the power of colour and realising its benefits really does have the potential to benefit your business.

How to keep your hotel rodent-free Top tips from David Cross, head of technical training, Rentokil Pest Control Hotels are at constant risk of rodent infestations, but by knowing the signs to look out for and taking practical preventative steps, hoteliers can greatly reduce the chance of playing host to these unwanted guests. In winter in particular, rats and mice will move inside to seek out dry harbourages and new food sources. As hotel kitchens, bars, and sometimes even guest bedrooms are abundant food sources, these can quickly become prime targets for hungry rodents. With rodent infestations being a risk to business reputation and public health, guarding against them is critical. There are a number of ways in which you can tell if your hotel has become a shelter for these small mammals:

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Smell and sound. Rats and mice have a very strong ammonia stench. On top of this, rodents are often very noisy, making audible scrabbling noises in the premises.

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Droppings. Rats excrete dark, pelletshaped droppings up to 14mm. Mice droppings are typically 5mm and spindle shaped. Smears. Rodents use established routes along skirting boards and walls due to their poor eyesight. You may notice grease marks where rodents brush up against your walls and surfaces.

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Footprints. Rats can leave foot and tail marks in dusty, infrequently used areas such as the attic or basement. Shining a strong flashlight at a low angle should reveal tracks clearly. To establish if an infestation is active, sprinkle fine flour or talc along a small stretch of floor near the footprints and check for fresh tracks the next day.

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Burrows. Brown rats are well known for digging and excavating extensive burrow systems for shelter, food shortage and nesting. They build burrows next to old objects or structures, such as rubbish stores, and are also found in secluded, well-vegetated areas such as herbaceous borders in the hotel grounds.

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Damage. This is perhaps the most dangerous aspect of rodent infestation, but also one of the most difficult to spot. Gnawing marks, shredded paper and damage to food storage containers are all common signs of rodent activity. While infestations can be eliminated, it is of course preferable to prevent them in the first place. You can do this by going back to basics and making sure you don’t provide these creatures with the ideal conditions in which to thrive. Simple things like ensuring food waste is properly sealed and stored can make a big difference, as can sealing any obvious holes in the exterior of the building with wire wool, caulk, metal kick-plates or cement. If you spot a rodent in your hotel or fear you may have an infestation (even after taking the necessary preventative measures mentioned above), it is best to contact an external pest control surveyor, who will be able to advise you on the best course of action. There are a number of customisable, targeted treatments available that can eliminate rodents quickly while also ensuring complete safety for your guests. With hygiene such an important factor in the hotel business, it is essential guests receive an impression of high sanitation at all times. This relies on the visible appearance of the property, but also its smell. In some circumstances, once a rodent has consumed rodenticide it may expire in an inaccessible location, such as a cavity wall or under a floorboard, causing an unpleasant odour for several weeks as it decomposes. In this situation the Rentokil Rodent Odour Control Service, which uses unique scenting cubes to mask the odours associated with rodent activity, can provide the perfect solution. Beyond looking at the hotel’s interior, guests also base their assessment of the property on its grounds. With external measures important in any pest control strategy, hotel managers should consider how these can be seamlessly integrated into the hotel’s grounds without compromising aesthetics. This can be achieved by installing innovations such as the Ambius Hideaway, a large exterior planter that has been designed to also incorporate a hidden rodent bait station.

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refurbishment

Capital investment Ciaran Lavery, head of technical services at Jurys Inn, discusses the vision and challenges behind the multimillionpound transformation of the DoubleTree by Hilton London – Islington What was the thinking behind the refurbishment? The decision to complete the extension – adding 143 rooms to bring the total up to 372 – was driven by market/economic conditions and business projections, which identified a strong demand for additional high-quality, mid-market hotel rooms in central London. We carried out the refurbishment of the public areas and the upgrades to the original 229 bedrooms in order to meet rising expectations of our guests and also to integrate core Doubletree by Hilton brand standards.

How did you decide on the desired look of the hotel? The preference was to achieve a balance between modern bespoke and contemporary designs while still maintaining the required comfort levels in the public spaces, along with durability and operational functionality. The interior design developed over numerous presentations, including photomontage imagery and samples of finishes. Specifications and spatial arrangements were discussed and agreed with input from all the relevant parties.

What did the refurbishment involve? Some of the changes were cosmetic only but the majority of the refurbishment and extension project required building and structural modifications. The extension element included the construction of 143 additional en-suite guestrooms and associated circulation corridors, stairwells and a new guest lift at the upper first floor to level five. The work involved extending existing bedroom corridors through to the new extension at each of the five original guestroom levels. The ground floor of the extension area added four new meeting rooms ranging in size from a 90-seater theatre-style conference room to a 12-seater boardroom-style suite, a new conference breakout area, new public toilets, new fitness suite, new kitchen storage areas and also an executive lounge, which offers dedicated buffet service as well as TV lounge and IT workstations. Work on the ground floor also included an extension to the existing kitchen and the refurbishment/reconfiguration of the original kitchen area, along with a new breakfast buffet section with feature skylight above the new island servery. The refurbishment of the original lobby, bar, dining and reception area included the opening up of the bar to achieve a more flexible bar/dining space. The work also included the integration of new contemporary lighting designs and a combination of new floor finishes to selected areas, including carpet, tiling and timber. New reception pods have replaced the original long, continuous desk to make the reception more contemporary and more inviting. New finishes to the reception back wall and the bar feature wall incorporate artwork graphics. Feature timber screens have been installed to distinguish the different areas while still maintaining an open feel to the areas, and a new feature ethanol fire has been installed to add comfort, warmth and a focal point to the soft lounge.

What proved most challenging about making the changes? The most difficult challenge was to maintain hotel operations during the transformation. This was particularly difficult during the kitchen works, which required the use of temporary facilities. We also had to set up a temporary bar during the works. We overcame various other challenges, such as maintaining fire safety and fire escape routes at all

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“The preference was to achieve a balance between modern bespoke and contemporary designs while still maintaining the required comfort levels in the public spaces” times, and ensuring compliance with building control requirements.

What new technology was incorporated during the refurbishment? The ethanol fire was installed, which uses a vapourburning chemical that does not require exhaust and can achieve a naked flame in a safe and controlled manner. We also introduced a VRV leak detection system in the bedrooms, which is an added safety precaution involving room sniffer sensor technology that senses refrigerant gas in the event of a leak from an air conditioning unit. The latest in video conferencing technology, including 50in TV screens, has been incorporated in the meeting rooms. A CHP unit has been installed, which contributes to the heating of water as a byproduct while generating electricity. Also, a rainwater harvesting system has been introduced in order to reduce mains water supply requirements.

What would you say are the key improvements resulting from the refurbishment? It has increased the guestroom inventory from 229 to 372, which ensures we meet the demand. Our new range of executive and deluxe bedrooms feature upgraded guest offerings including mini fridge,

in-room safe and 40in LCD TV screens. New guest facilities include an executive lounge and a fitness suite to further enhance our guest offering and help target specific guest preferences when booking hotel accommodation. Our improved public areas encourage guests to spend more evening time in our bar and lobby areas, encouraging more casual evening dining. We now offer greatly improved meeting and events facilities, and guest safety has also been enhanced with the introduction of new VRV detection.

What kind of feedback have you had from guests? Guest feedback has been extremely positive. They love the new look and the additional facilities the hotel now offers. Doubletree by Hilton London – Islington 60 Pentonville Road, Islington, London N1 9LA Name of interior consultant: Design Squared (Dublin), Consarc Design Group (Belfast) Date of project completion: September 2014 How long did the project take from start to finish? 52 weeks Cost of refurbishment: £12.5m

Key Suppliers Soft furnishings: Balmoral (Moffat & Sons) Ltd provided the side chair and desk chair in the guest bedrooms. A combination of Andreu World, Cavigiali and Morgan furniture supplied the seating to the dining and bar areas in the lobby. Innov8 provided the furniture in the executive lounge and meeting breakout area. Burgess provided the furniture for the meeting rooms. Furniture: Fitted furniture in the bedrooms was supplied and fitted by Balmoral (Moffat & Sons Ltd). Fitted furniture for both the original refurbished ground floor areas and the extension ground floor areas was provided by Edgewater Contracts & Specialist Joinery. Kitchen: Equipment was provided by KCCJ. New technology: Rainwater harvesting system and CHP unit was installed by Kane Heating & Plumbing. VRV leak detection system in the guestrooms was installed by Temperature Control. State-of-the-art fitness equipment was supplied and installed by Precor. Lighting: Decorative/feature lighting to ground floor areas was supplied by Wink Lighting and installed by O’Hanlon & Farrell Electrical. Flooring: Carpets to all guestrooms, corridors and meeting rooms were supplied by Ulster Carpets. Carpets to selected areas in the bar and dining areas were supplied by Ege Carpets. Wallpaper: Supplied by Textura and Dixon Turner.

food and drink

The most important

meal of the stay David Rose is the owner of a boutique hotel – the New White Lion Inn, Llandovery. He’s also the man behind luxury granola brand Sensible Dave. He believes breakfast is key to a hotel’s offering. Here’s why…

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good breakfast sets you up for the day ahead. First impressions count and it is vital that guests start their day with a smile, fuelled with nutritious energy. Final impressions also leave their mark – breakfast could be the final experience of your venue before departure. I understand why many hotels don’t include breakfast as part of their standard packages; it is often about reducing the amount of commission paid to booking agents. However, that can mean missing a valuable opportunity to make your clients feel special and spoilt. In my opinion, a hotel breakfast is more important than the evening meal. A greater percentage of visitors will eat breakfast than dinner. Besides, if the breakfast is poor, then they’re not going to stick around for second helpings later in the day!

At the New White Lion we include breakfast in our rates and we really do pull out all the stops. We’ve even won awards for it: in 2012, the Daily Express selected us as one of the four hotels in the world that provided a superb breakfast – we were the only UK hotel, up there with hotels in Rio, Cape Town and Portugal!

What’s on the menu? It is important to offer a wide selection of quality produce for breakfast. People love choice and want to feel they are being offered something special that they wouldn’t get at home. Hotels should cater for all, whether they are looking for a wholesome cereal or a full English (or equivalent) breakfast. Where possible, a cooked breakfast should be made to order. Eggs and bacon that have been sat on a hotplate for half an hour are not doing justice to the initial ingredients. It is also important that customers who prefer a healthy option aren’t neglected. A selection of delicious cereals, fruit and yoghurt are essential.

Sensible option People are increasingly health conscious and demand a speciality cereal that’s nutritional and delicious. That is why we started making our own cereal. Sensible Dave granola was born out of a need to offer a healthier option that still delivered on taste and luxury. After 25 years in the making, we now have four varieties. New for 2015, we’ve launched The Wholesome One with no added sugar. This latest addition joins The Original One, The Strawberry One and The Berry One. Contact: Sensible Dave, 0333 320 7035, www.sensibledave.co.uk

Sweet success for Snowbird’s Kids Stuff Snowbird foods’ hugely successful Kids Stuff range of products has been enhanced with the launch of two exciting and innovative fully cooked and frozen products. Certain to deliver the sweet taste of success are Kids Pork & Apple Meatbites, which feature 60% top-quality British pork flavoured with iconic Bramley apple plus onion, garlic paste, wheat flour, black pepper, ginger, nutmeg, marjoram, parsley and sage. Its golden coating contrasts with the darker hue of its new sister product, Pork & Chorizo Meatbites. The chorizo delivers an exciting hint of heat, thus introducing young palates to its adult taste. Both Meatbites weigh 8g and the pork and chorizo variant boasts a meat content of over 90%, which is accompanied by a complex mix of the dozen flavourings. Both products are also suitable for adult buffets and can also be eaten cold. Contact: Snowbird foods, 020 8805 9222, www.snowbirdfoods.co.uk

Wake-up call John Broad, barista training and development manager for Ringtons Beverages, says hoteliers need to meet the growing demand for quality coffee The coffee market has been growing steadily for the last few years. To keep at the top of their game hotels need to be able to serve a quality coffee to guests and visitors across their whole hot drinks portfolio. These days, sophisticated in-room options include ground coffee sachets for use with individual cafetieres. We are also seeing a growth in the number of hotels putting coffee pod machines in bedrooms, providing guests with a great variety. More than 53% of meals served in hotels are for breakfast, conference and banqueting, so bulk brewing coffee machines can play a very practical role. In hotel bar and restaurant environments, the best way to produce top quality coffee is to use a professional espresso machine and train staff in using the equipment properly. There is a wide range of espresso equipment on the market, and great advances in technology in recent years – such as turbo steam wands, on-demand grinders and the perfect grinding system (PGS) – can make coffee creation easier and reduce the likelihood of serving an inferior beverage – if, of course, it is used correctly; you need a skilled barista who is able to use each element and produce top-quality coffee. Training by a specialist is essential to achieving great coffee every time. Because beverage selection, equipment choice and the environment in which coffee is being served to guests and visitors is so specific to individual hotels, it is advisable to seek advice from a third party as to what would work best for your particular hotel. Final decisions should ultimately be based on the type of service needed, customer base, available space, facilities and staff resources. Contact: Ringtons Beverages, 0800 0461 444, www.ringtonsbeverages.co.uk


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hotel bars

Keeping your

bar on trend Mark Holness, drinks buyer at Beacon, highlights the latest tools and tips for making sure your hotel bar offering stays relevant and contemporary

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eeping the bar up to date can be a tricky business for hoteliers and bar managers. With ever-changing bar trends and new products emerging constantly, it’s all too easy to fall behind. At Beacon, we have the advantage of being able to draw upon insights from across our varied and expert supplier base, to identify current market trends and offer insight into the latest tools and technology available to hoteliers.

Traditional trends It’s always important to keep an eye on trends within the beer and wine scene – these are bar staples and an area that can really affect the bottom line. According to Beacon supplier Bibendum, towards the end of 2014 the on-trade saw a real rise in the sales of sparkling wines (+17%), with still wines dropping by 1% – showing that consumers are increasingly willing to spend a little more for higher quality, celebratory wine. Understanding sales figures like this means bar managers can keep ahead of

the game, rather than waiting until the consumer demand is there.

juice that can be offered around the hotel – why not offer a glass of champagne on arrival, or position coffee machines near meeting rooms?

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Merchandise effectively

Try not to see the bar as just somewhere for consumers to flock to after their evening meal. Considering the need for different drinks at all times of day gives hoteliers the opportunity to drive sales with breakfast bars and lunchtime menus, which will help to increase their profitability. We’re seeing a real trend emerging at the moment for healthier options at the bar, with natural fruit juices and water becoming very popular. Oranka Juice Solutions is launching its unique Hydration Station offering to hotels, which will enable hoteliers to take advantage of this growing, healthfocused trend, with the added bonus for Beacon customers being that they only have to purchase the juice, with no added investment in the dispensing system as this can be provided free on loan.

It might seem like a basic tip, but effective merchandising can be key to meeting customer needs and driving sales at the bar. Beacon supplier Matthew Clark suggests using menu hangers to highlight which products are recommended, and taking the time to ensure your staff are knowledgeable and confident when speaking to customers. It also

Think outside the bar Another benefit of the Hydration Station is that it can be easily relocated to suit your needs; it doesn’t just have to sit behind the bar. Placing it at the hotel reception can offer guests a unique welcome on arrival or something to remember when they check out. If the hotel has leisure or spa facilities, something like the Hydration Station would be a great way to provide a unique offering of something more than just water. By far the best application, though, would be at business events such as conferences or banquets, for example. The station can be quickly located outside meeting rooms or conference venues to provide hoteliers with something different to meet the needs of their business customers. But it’s not just water or

“It’s always important to try to create something that is specific to your hotel bar that can’t be recreated elsewhere” pays to think about how to drive footfall to the bar from other areas of the hotel – using digital screens at reception can work brilliantly for this, and using digital frames on the bar itself gives a much more interactive experience for customers than a simple tent card. The added benefit of going digital is that it becomes quicker to launch different deals or promotions and in the long run becomes a much cheaper way to drive marketing activity than printing new point-of-sale material each month.

Technology Technology plays a huge role in the successful running of a hotel bar. The iRiS digital wine lists and menus enable drinks suppliers, such as Matthew Clark, to deliver multiple layers of information about their wines at the time of purchase, giving the average on-trade wine consumer in the UK the confidence to trade up past the entry-level offering. By using the iRiS digital menus, restaurants have typically seen a 19% uplift in wine sales, and for some a 100% increase in premium wine sales. Besides the typical drinks and merchandising tactics, it’s always important to try to create something that is specific to your hotel bar or to a particular time of year to offer an experience that can’t be recreated elsewhere. Getting guests through the door is one thing, but keeping clientele in the hotel bar is one of the biggest challenges that hoteliers face, so it’s crucial to offer that point of difference to keep your guests coming back. For more information about Beacon visit www.beaconpurchasing.co.uk

Let there be light Paul Nulty, head of practice at Paul Nulty Lighting Design, provides some tips on enhancing a bar’s atmosphere through illumination

for every occasion www.diningchairsuk.com

diningchairsuk Contract Furniture Solutions

Contract Furniture Solutions

t: 0115 965 9030 e: [email protected] Contract House, Little Tennis Street South, Nottingham NG2 4EU

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A good bar has the power to make people remain in the same place for hours. High-quality service and products are key but it is its lighting that creates the ambiance, mood, contrast and drama. It is inaccurate to believe that good lighting is achieved through expensive fittings; a positive atmosphere is created through the careful placement of light, its flexibility and ability to enhance depth. Good quality lighting that highlights surfaces and materials can be fresh and invigorating, creating gleam, vibrancy, energy and exhilaration. Accent lighting, such as spotlights, give texture, focus and shape to general lighting, adding depth and shade; ambient lighting creates overall warmth. When the two are combined, spaces are transformed into areas that are engaging and emotive – exactly how a bar area should be. However, one uniform concept shouldn’t be used across several areas. Zoning – breaking down the lighting and adapting it – for the lobby, concierge, bar, etc, means environments will be distinctive. All these areas require different lighting to meet the various needs and really stand out.

hotel bars

The return of the dimpled pint pot Paul Crowley, marketing manager at Winterhalter, offers advice on looking after your fashionable glassware In the parts of East London where they like to set a trend rather than follow one, there’s a newfound love for a traditional pub favourite – turns out that oldschool beer jugs with dimpled glass are making a comeback. While this is great for the nostalgic, it’s not necessarily so good for bar staff. An average bar has a broad range of glassware, from fragile wineglasses to the solid, intricate shapes of the traditional beer mugs and a proliferation of shaped lager glasses, often featuring decorations. These require different cleaning styles to maximise their lifespan. While most places won’t need a different glasswasher for each kind of glass they use, looking after the different types needs a little planning. So here are some tips on getting the best results from your glasswasher: ■ Some modern machines have adjustable controls, letting them easily adapt to different types of glass – so make sure your staff know what setting should be used for the particular type of glass. ■ If you find your glasswasher isn’t cleaning properly or is damaging the decorations on the glass, make sure it’s on the correct setting. If the problem persists, you might have to get an engineer in to have it checked out. ■ If glasses are still coming out dirty or streaky after making these changes, check the dosing of the detergent and rinse aid and make sure they are correctly proportioned. ■ Busy bars where a fast turnaround is required might want to consider using lower temperature settings for the cleaning cycle. This allows glasses to come out cool and ready for instant use. Winterhalter’s UC series of under-counter glasswashers have easily adjustable washing pressure, with three different programmes controlled from the icon-driven touchscreen. Fine wine glasses are washed gently while more robust glasses and mugs are washed more vigorously, all within the same amount of time. Other elements of the wash – temperature, dosing, etc – are adjusted automatically dependent on the programme. At a time when hoteliers and bar managers are thinking further outside the box than ever before to attract customers, it’s good to know that more unusual fashions or revivals of traditional glassware can be integrated with modern kitchen technology. Winterhalter provides a total solution for warewashing, from pre-sales advice to after-sales service, training and maintenance. Alongside its dish and glasswashers, the company’s range includes utensil washers, advanced water treatment machines, cleaning chemicals and detergents. Contact: Winterhalter, 01908 359000, www.winterhalter.co.uk

Case Study – Champagne Central, Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow Choosing feature elements that never go out of style can go a long way towards ensuring a bar remains contemporary Glasgow’s four-star Grand Central Hotel is home to Champagne Central, one of the city’s finest champagne and cocktail bars. On the challenge of keeping a hotel bar offering up to date, Euan Wilson, Champagne Central’s manager, says: “So many different elements have to come together to make sure a hotel bar remains relevant and attractive as a destination bar to non-guests as well as a residents’ bar. Some – such as drinks menu, events and music – are easier and less expensive to change in response to ever-changing trends and developments. Updating more permanent elements, such as the overall décor, can incur huge expense and upheaval for staff, guests and other customers – so they have to be carefully considered. “Classic, clean and simple is definitely the way to go. Luckily, that’s what we have at Champagne Central. The décor is understated and sophisticated with a few stunning, standout features that fit with the hotel’s historical architecture – for example, the marble flooring and pillars along with the feature chandelier suspended above the bar. “We’ve also focused on classic staples – champagne and prosecco never go out of fashion. Keeping these core fixtures, along with quality spirits, means we can focus on updating the more fun products

– like cocktails – in response to trends. Our new cocktail list is very creative, but we’ve stripped things back as our previous menu was very extensive, making it difficult for our customers to make a decision. So I’d definitely recommend focusing on a small number of drinks that you can really do well as opposed to adding superfluous items to try and cover too many bases. We’ve kept many of the ‘old faithfuls’, but we’ve also introduced some of our own creations and some new variations on classic cocktails. “For bar snacks and food, an element of consistency in quality and type of offering keeps regular customers happy – but you do have to keep things fresh. A lot of the hotel’s food and beverage offering uses fresh and local produce, so we manage to keep things up to date quite easily.” Euan also believes “softly-softly” works well in terms of creating an atmosphere. He continues: “As Champagne Central is more of a luxury bar experience, the customers and staff keep the bar buzzing with chat, laughter and atmosphere. Subtle music that is frequently updated and mixed up creates a laid-back atmosphere that encourages people to stay in the bar, rather than being an overbearing feature. Letting people create the atmosphere they want night in, night out, never goes out of style.”

Premium wine by the glass Jascots Wine Merchants is a specialist supplier to restaurants, hotels and caterers. As well as supplying a portfolio of exclusive wines, Jascots offers client support with a range of services, including market insight, training, and food and wine matching. Miles MacInnes, director of Jascots, believes the increasingly popular practice of selling premium wine by the glass is an effective way of keeping customers happy and maximising profit. He says: “By-the-glass offerings are a great opportunity in hotels – you might be surprised at how much premium wine you can sell in small measures. So offer a broad choice by the glass and don’t be afraid to include some of your top wines in the selection.” However, Miles adds: “You will need a good wine preservation system to keep wastage to a manageable minimum (Le Verre de Vin or Enomatic, for example), and make sure your staff know how to use it properly! “Wines by the glass can offer a better gross profit and a value-over-volume sales opportunity, so try offering 125ml of a top champagne and 175ml of some of your best wines.”

Smart move from Lucknam Park Hotel, having the new 690 series of SAMSUNG Premium Slimline Smart LED TV’s in all their rooms with information channels and options to satisfy guests requirements with Wireless connection of Guest’s devices, to give upgraded guest experience. Contact us for a free survey and site visit and quote.

Chantry Digital Ltd www.chantrytv.co.uk 0800 373246 [email protected] S A L E S / R E N TA L / L E A S E / S E R V I C E www.hotel-magazine.co.uk

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HB meets

The

BIG Interview

Expedia’s Isabelle Pinson, senior director, market management – northern Europe, discusses the impact of digital technology on the hotel industry, the importance of anticipating customer needs and the value of personalised service Can you tell us about your background and how you came to your current role? I was born in France, and natural curiosity made me eager to learn and discover new cultures. I enjoy travelling and have lived and worked in France, America and the UK. After studying for my MSc and MBA – at HEC Paris and Stanford Graduate School of Business respectively – I worked at Boston Consulting Group. I joined Expedia more than five years ago, attracted by the company culture and the speed of innovation within the business, seeing Expedia as an industry leader. I spent several years working for Brand Expedia, most recently as managing director for the brand’s points-of-sale in France, Netherlands and Belgium, and I now oversee Expedia’s relationships with hotel partners across the UK and Ireland, Benelux and the Nordics.

What do you find most challenging about your job? Adapting to the pace of change. As Expedia continues to grow its hotel portfolio, we also grow internally. Ensuring that our entire team is well equipped to advise hotels on changing technology trends and shifting booking behaviour is crucial to our partnerships.

What is the best part of your job? Although I just said it’s a challenge, the pace of change is also one of the things I love the most.

I work with some of the most fascinating minds in the travel business and seeing our analysts and developers come up with exciting new products and then sharing these with our hotel partners and consumers is great.

What do you see as the most important elements in developing Expedia LPS further in northern Europe?

Quick fire questions Last hotel you stayed at? Scandic Anglais, Stockholm.

Your favourite food? Cheese. I’m French, I love cheese.

Building and maintaining long-term relationships with our hotel partners; finding a win for both parties and really understanding their needs in order to help them tailor their own distribution strategies. We must also make sure we work with Expedia’s brands to drive international travellers to northern Europe and make the hotels there ‘discoverable’.

Have you noticed any travel trends emerging this year? We’re seeing multi-device usage as key to travel. Travellers often start their online research on their smartphone, shift to PC while at work then continue researching on a tablet in the evening while they watch TV. They want the same experience across all devices and they don’t want to have to start their search from scratch. One of my favourite Expedia innovations is Scratchpad, which saves your searches across any device you use and will also send you deals pertaining to those searches so you don’t miss out.

What makes a great hotel? Three things: providing great customer service and a great experience; having a thorough understanding of revenue management and the different channels used to sell rooms to different types of guests; and having the best possible online presence. Prospective guests do their research online, so a hotel’s online image must be pristine and reflect its offering, and it should always respond to reviews, whether positive or negative. Expedia has just launched Real Time Feedback to help hoteliers respond to negative, and positive, feedback while a guest is still in the hotel, via Expedia PartnerCentral, our supplier tool.

The one item of technology you can’t live without? My iPhone. Ironically, I’ve left it at home today. I feel naked without it.

What is the most important life lesson you’ve learnt? Not to worry or complain about things you’re unable to change or affect. They’re not worth wasting time on and will just make you unhappy. Life’s too short, so I focus on the positives instead.

Is it becoming possible to anticipate travellers’ needs? Yes, as the shift from pull to push marketing takes hold, crucial to the travel sector will be maintaining personalisation and relevance for the traveller. As a global travel business with scale, we have masses of data and an expert analytics team who will continue to explore how to offer travellers the best deals that resonate with them. So if someone has looked at hotels in Madrid, we’ll send them Madrid flight details. Because it’s absolutely relevant, we believe they won’t consider it spam or in any way intrusive.

How can hotels attract more international guests? By understanding the different demands of travellers from different parts of the world. How many hotels know that Americans have a long break to mark the Fourth of July, so that’s when they travel; or that breakfast is very important to the French? Localisation is incredibly important – the Spanish want to read about a hotel in Spanish, the Japanese want to pay for their hotel with the Yen, and Brazilians prefer to pay for their holiday in instalments. Understanding cultural nuances is crucial.

In general, how do you think the hotel industry is performing at the moment? What are your main goals for the next year with Expedia LPS? Things are looking positive, certainly, and are heading in the right direction. People like to travel, and as soon as they have disposable income, travel and going on holiday are things they want to do. I can’t ever see the day when people won’t want to travel, so from that perspective this is a good industry to be in.

How do you see the future for the hotel industry? I see a digital, mobile, interactive future. Guests now expect and demand speed and convenience; they don’t want to be left waiting upon arrival or departure. Their expectations nowadays are high, and tech will help hotels meet those expectations. It won’t be for everyone, though; a boutique hotel offering exceptional levels of personal service risks alienating guests by putting too much tech between it and its customers.

There’s going to be even more investment in technology, particularly where it’s partner-facing. We’re keen to make things as easy as possible for partners to work with us and help them maximise what’s available through Expedia. There’ll also be more tools to alert hotels to opportunities they may not have considered, helping them make better, more informed decisions. And of course, we always want to partner with more hotels, so creating mutually beneficial relationships is crucial.

What are the future plans for Expedia LPS in northern Europe? Growing our hotel portfolio will be key. Hotels continue to see the value in working with OTAs like Expedia and we’re constantly partnering with new hotels. The other thing we’ll be doing is cementing and growing our existing partnerships.

Industry Insight We have embarked on election year so the hospitality industry must assert a powerful and united voice, says Ufi Ibrahim, CEO of the British Hospitality Association The general election is approaching and both David Cameron and Ed Miliband have described it as the most important for a generation, and it’s true that there are significant factors surrounding it. Notably, it is widely anticipated that no party will win an overall majority. What’s more, whoever takes office will inherit an ageing population and significant national debt. With the prospect of fewer taxpayers and low public funds in the coffers for several years to come, indications are that the incoming government will aim to continue to transfer more financial burden from the state to the private sector. Against this backdrop, the BHA, together with hospitality and tourism businesses across the board, is buckling up to champion even more assertively policies including the National Minimum Wage, skills shortages and taxation. What’s more, we need to make sure that the economic and social importance of the hospitality and tourism sector is understood by all political parties and representatives at both a national and local level; and that our issues are on their agenda for the future.

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Here’s what’s top of the BHA’s agenda for 2015: ■ The development of a robust skills agenda to ensure this industry is able to attract the right people to achieve our growth potential. ■ The need for enlightened employment legislation that does not jeopardise industry growth and jobs. ■ Price competitiveness. UK VAT at 20% means we are not operating on a level playing field with the rest of the world. Join the Cut Tourism VAT Campaign, which asks the government to make the UK more competitive in Europe with a lower tourism tax. ■ The UK is failing to gain its fair share of visitors from international markets like China, and visa policies must be improved. ■ Managing our industry’s reputation on food sourcing, security, nutrition and health matters. ■ The need for a more efficient planning process, which encourages rather than restricts further development. The tourism and hospitality industry has vast growth potential, already employing one in ten of the UK workforce. Now, more than ever, we must assert a

powerful and united voice, in a bid to compete with other industry lobbies such as manufacturing and engineering, where the government has historically tended to focus its investment. It has been predicted that the sector could grow at an annual rate of almost 4% over the next ten years, significantly faster than forecasts for the UK economy as a whole and quicker than sectors such as manufacturing, construction and retail. To maximise our industry’s potential, the BHA, as the voice of hospitality in the UK, continues to work collaboratively with organisations. And we are looking for new members who can support our mission to positively raise the profile of our industry and champion our growth in both job creation and economic terms. The future of our industry depends on it.

hotel clinic

Tempting tourists

away from

London Neil Quigley, managing director at Quality in Tourism, the official assessment service for VisitEngland, offers advice on encouraging overseas travellers to venture outside of the capital

T

he vibrant, metropolitan city of London is the most popular choice for visitors heading to the UK from overseas. London is a fantastic city; there’s no doubt about it. It has tourist attractions for all ages and for all interests, with the royal family and the associated sights among the main draws. London consistently tops polls of the best cities in the world to visit and while this may be both true and deserved, there’s no denying that it’s also an expensive place to spend time in while on holiday. However, there are plenty of sights, attractions and places to visit outside of the capital too. The UK is blessed with breathtaking diversity when it comes to what it can offer to the more intrepid tourist. So what can tourism businesses situated outside London do to attract those holidaymakers who are willing to travel further afield? There are a number of things that can be offered to encourage some exploration of our fantastic towns and countryside.

Value for money One of the key benefits of leaving the capital is the fact that accommodation costs can, in many cases, be considerably cheaper. This reduced expense can go some way to helping visitors to the UK stretch their budgets, enabling them to either stay longer or spend more while they’re here. There’s a huge range of options available to travellers, including hotels, guesthouses, homely B&Bs, holiday cottages and caravan parks. VisitEngland National Quality Assessment Schemes ensure that quality provision on whatever style of holiday accommodation the visitor prefers is equal in whichever region they choose to visit.

To make the most of your own offering, consider specialised advertising that not only highlights your business but also the attractions and interests in your area. This will help to entice visitors to experience something that they hadn’t initially thought of doing on their holiday.

Culture and arts in a different setting The UK is a land of culture and is steeped in the tradition of theatre and the arts. The most synonymous representation of this is London’s West End, but it doesn’t end there. Theatre and art abounds in all of the major cities and in many smaller towns. Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle-upon-Tyne (to name but a few) all offer ‘West End’ type shows in fabulous theatres. There are innumerable galleries and museums across the country, and not only in the larger cities. There are also fascinating discoveries to be made in regional towns and villages, which can be a wonderful way to generate local tourism.

Stratford-upon-Avon is thronged with Shakespeare fans all year round.

A wealth of history

Dining delights

One of the richest aspects of the tapestry that makes up the UK is its history. Wherever in the country a tourist chooses to visit there will always be a site of historical significance in relatively

The UK is known for many foodstuffs, from fine dining to fish and chips, chicken tikka masala and cream teas. The cities, towns and villages of the UK offer incredibly diverse dining experiences with excellent and innovative food prepared by worldrenowned chefs inspired by global cuisine, but also holding true to British staples.

“To make the most of your own offering, consider specialised advertising that not only highlights your business but also the attractions and interests in your area”

Traditional British holiday

close proximity. Our Roman history is very much in evidence in cities such as York and Chester. A visit to Hadrian’s Wall, a spectacular structure from our Roman past, can be incorporated with the peaceful serenity of the Cumbrian and Northumbrian fells. And if Roman history doesn’t appeal, then how about exploring our medieval offerings? From Bamburgh Castle, to Warwick Castle to Windsor Castle, there are hundreds of examples that are open to the public. Our property portfolio of stately homes is one of the finest anywhere in the world. What about our country’s literary heritage? Our wordsmiths are globally renowned and their work attracts thousands of visitors to our shores. The words of William Wordsworth send people to the Lake District, while the Bronte sisters keep accommodation providers in Yorkshire busy, and

London offers many and varied attractions, but it’s outside of London where you’ll find the truly quintessential British holiday. Traditional seaside holidays are still very popular, with bustling towns like Blackpool, Bournemouth and Brighton offering a wealth of vibrant and fun activities for holidaymakers to partake in. For those looking for a more peaceful experience, we have Cornwall’s Jurassic Coast, the White Cliffs of Dover and many other examples of stunning beaches at almost all of our coastal points. As a business, take the initiative. Find your key selling point and couple it with everything your area has to offer. By making it easier for people to see what they’re missing out on, you should hopefully encourage them to take the trip and discover something new. Quality in Tourism (QiT) is the official assessment service provider for VisitEngland. With a field force of around 40 experienced assessors and a highly dedicated in-house team, the organisation carries out assessments and handles the administration of the National Quality Assessment Schemes on behalf of VisitEngland. For more information either email [email protected], phone 0845 300 6996 or visit www.qualityintourism.com

Cashing in on global tourism James Frost of Worldpay UK provides tips on attracting overseas visitors through your payment and currency options With over 30 million tourists arriving in the UK each year, the benefits that British business enjoys from overseas visitors show no sign of stopping. The AM:PM Hotel Snapshot for the first half of 2014 revealed that operating profits per room rose by a remarkable 25%. What’s more, VisitBritain reported that overseas visitors spent £2.61 billion during August last year, beating the record set in 2013 by 7%. Visitors from emerging markets such as China, the UAE, Malaysia and Russia were all singled out as big spenders in Worldpay’s Rules of Attraction report and the same is likely to be true for 2015. Hotel owners would do well to anticipate spikes in demand coinciding with key international holidays, whether it’s China’s Golden Week or Eid-al-Fitr. Across the UK, however, there is an unfortunate tendency to stereotype those from abroad as low spenders or one-off customers, when neither is true. This mindset needs to change because it is preventing hotel owners from winning the hearts and minds of a growing number of wealthy tourists. To reap the benefits of foreign guests, there are a number of measures hotels

can introduce. As always, great service begins with understanding the wants and needs of your guests. A common criticism is that tourists can’t pay with the cards they’re used to using back home. Another is that billing is made in the currency of the country they are staying in, making it difficult to work out how much they’re being charged. These might sound like minor issues, but peace of mind could make all the difference between a visitor choosing your hotel or a rival’s. Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) is an easy way for hotel owners to allow their international customers to pay in their own currency, while saving them the potentially high service charge levied by their card issuer when paying in sterling. Providing more certainty and transparency on costs, DCC also allows hoteliers to benefit from a share in the foreign exchange revenues. Worldpay offers DCC via its myCurrency service with a guarantee that the rate of exchange applied to a myCurrency transaction is the same or better than that offered by the customer’s bank on the same day. Another way to improve the overall experience for international visitors, and potential revenue, is to accept

payments from some of the more popular card providers outside of the UK. One of the biggest names is China UnionPay, while for US travellers, hotels should think about accepting Amex, Diners Club and Discover cards. There’s more to catering for international tourists than just payments. Social media monitoring can help you better gauge the interest of international visitors, and setting up a presence on foreign platforms – like Sina Weibo or Renren in China – could give you an edge over the competition by helping you appear more accessible.


21

technology

Make the right call Nick Galea, CEO of 3CX, shares ten tips for boosting customer service and sales by improving the efficiency of your hotel’s phone system

T

echnology in hotels continues to move rapidly, both internally and externally, including everything from booking systems to entertainment, communications and service automation. One important trend in the market is that hotels are moving away from expensive, inflexible phone systems, to software-based VoIP systems. By using SIP trunking, it’s possible to turn the phone system into a profit centre for hotels. Hoteliers tend to neglect the importance of their phone system these days. Thinking customers exclusively use their mobiles, the phone system is seen as a cost centre rather than a profit centre. Even though the phone system is indeed used less frequently by guests to make outbound calls, it still plays an important and growing role in providing good customer service, including room service, restaurant reservations and international call opportunities. And with a bad TripAdvisor review quickly translating into lost revenue, the hotel PBX will quickly justify the investment. So how can a modern IP-based phone system help hotels work more efficiently, while improving customer service? Here are ten ways:

1

Reduce workload for your front desk

Guests will understandably have questions, but poorly configured phones with unclear dial plans cause still more calls to busy front desks. With the increasing importance of efficiency and guests being impatient to check in or out, receptionists can all too easily miss that guest call – making a poor impression on the customer.

2

Queue busy room service calls

How many of your guests have called room service and got no answer? Well, that’s lost revenue right there. And with room service staff busy preparing orders, it’s not surprising that a call is missed. Why not queue the call, inform the customer that he or she is going to be serviced soon and promote the daily special? This gives room service personnel time to answer the call.

3

Manage room reservations better Why lose a booking because of your phone system? Reservations or front office might be too busy to take the

call – but that’s no reason to lose a booking and reduce your occupancy rate. Queue the call, informing the customer of the latest offers to give staff time to take the call. Or at least have the phone system record the customer’s number automatically, send an email to reservation staff to call them back and recover the revenue.

4

Lower guests’ phone bills with a room DID

5

Queue restaurant enquiries

6 7

Make a personal impression

A modern IP phone system gives you easy and low-cost access to DID (direct inward dialling), so you can provide guests with a personalised number to use during their stay. This significantly reduces their international mobile phone bill – a neat way to boost customer satisfaction.

Guests wanting to reserve a table or those who invariably have a question about the restaurant or menu will call the restaurant. During peak times, staff might not be able to take the call. No answer might cause the guests to take their food order elsewhere and lose the hotel significant revenue – call queuing gives staff more time and maintains a professional image.

Modern phone systems make it easy to link the guest name to the phone system and display it on the screen to greet the customer personally. It makes the guest feel special and improves customer service… and your review ranking!

Promote your hotel services

An outdated phone system with few options on the phone leaves your customer unaware of the services your establishment has to offer. Provide one-touch speed dials for all the F&B services and other facilities you have to offer and entice guests to use them.

8 9 10

Don’t ruin the look of your designer room

Clunky, old-style phones will ruin the carefully created image for your hotel. An integral part of each room, a professional-looking yet easy to use IP phone creates a better image and maintains customer satisfaction.

Airwave shows off at the Exhibitionist The recently refurbished Exhibitionist Hotel has had a fantastic array of the latest hotel SMART TVs implemented by Airwave – brought to life by the Samsung 55in and 40in screens in each guest bedroom, controlled by the latest Samsung LYNK SINC 3.0 content management system. LYNK SINC allows the hotel to create its own information system, incorporating its branding and offering comprehensive access to a selection of options, including: browsing for hotel information, wake-up messaging and current weather. It can also highlight the facilities, allowing guests to browse information regarding the bar, restaurant, concierge and much more. Additionally, the hotel guest has access to a wide range of apps including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, BBC iPlayer and a choice of interactive games, making them feel truly at home. Guests can also mirror their mobile device securely and push content onto the screen, or of course simply watch a huge variety of free-to-air TV channels including Freesat, foreign language services, sports channels and a full Freeview offering, all of which can be grouped and accessed together by channel type, or by language/country. Contact: Airwave Europe Ltd, 0845 555 1212, www.airwave.tv

Ease frustrating dial plans

Make it easy for guests to call family and friends in other rooms and save your front desk unnecessary work – and don’t frustrate your guest by making it hard to call the front desk!

Improve staff teamwork

A good modern hotel phone system doesn’t just help your guests – it helps your staff do their job better and more efficiently. Unified communications (UC) features for presence, easy transferring and taking of calls, message taking and more will help reservations close those bookings faster, front desk speed up check-in and F&B and housekeeping work more efficiently. As customers increasingly demand more, staff have to work more efficiently and as a team. A modern IP PBX phone system, with UC features, can help hotels meet those challenges and send your hotel to the top of the customer rankings.

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