Against this backdrop, the Aurora Hotel Collection is growing its portfolio of boutique and exclusive use properties. With the recent opening of The Cairn Lodge and Hotel in Scotland, we catch up with Chief Executive Steven McLeod and ask why he’s drawn to the luxury segment.

Note: You can view our photo tour of The Cairn Lodge and Hotel here.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: You are investing heavily in boutique and exclusive use properties … why this sector and why now?

McLeod: I really look beyond the type of property and focus much more on its location, the character of the building and the potential. These are what we are looking for and are fundamental in our plans to build a portfolio of luxury hotels that are individual and bespoke and offer varied products. Our strategy is not to concentrate on one market, but to develop an estate that appeals to different audiences, whether that is weddings, conferences & meetings, leisure or corporate customers.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: What brand values make a great boutique hotel?

McLeod: I don’t distinguish between the different types of hotel and I believe that, to build the Aurora brand and customer loyalty, it’s vitally important that the same values are consistently delivered throughout all the hotels. As a luxury hotel group our values are simple and these are to look after our customers, provide high quality and outstanding service but always at a competitive price.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: How do you promote customer loyalty at Aurora? Is loyalty easier or more difficult for high-end hoteliers?

McLeod: We have recently launched The Vault, which is a loyalty scheme that rewards our customers and offers them benefits across the Collection. However customer loyalty and retention is not just built by offering deals. It’s a competitive market so we have to focus on meeting and exceeding their expectations so that customers know they’ll be looked after whenever they visit an Aurora Hotel and they’ll keep coming back.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: Why have you pursued the “exclusive use” business model at some of your properties?

McLeod: Exclusive use suits some of our properties at the moment, however they all have massive potential and this is the key to the future. There are opportunities to develop the properties, to expand the services we offer and thus attract new audiences, and this is what’s really exciting.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: What are your thoughts on the trend for branded boutique hotels from big name operators? Are they too big for boutique?

McLeod: Nobody is too big. If ‘boutique’ fits their business model, their brand and they can deliver, then why not!

Hotel-industry.co.uk: What is your strategy for moving Aurora forwards?

McLeod: My aim is to continue building the Aurora Hotel Collection as a portfolio of luxury, individual character properties. At the moment, I’m targeting to have about 24 luxury properties and I currently have eight properties in the Aurora stable (if you include Hotel Colessio in Stirling – which will open at the end of this year), but I am still on the acquisition trail. Ultimately I want to create a hotel brand which is recognised, nationally and internationally, as Scotland’s most welcoming, exciting and dynamic luxury hotel and leisure group

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3. Boutique Hotel Sector to Explode!

The Cairn Lodge and Hotel - £3 Million Investment

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The Cairn Lodge and Hotel in Perthshire is the latest five-star property to bolster Scotland’s passion for luxury, boutique hotel concepts. Over £3 million was invested into the project by Aurora Hotel Collection, headed by the flamboyant Steven McLeod. This 10 key property has been given a designer makeover with strong brand affiliations and a focus on luxury and exclusivity. Our photo tour of The Cairn Lodge and Hotel in Perthshire takes you inside this new boutique hotel.

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We speak to Graeme Davidson from Epson UK and ask what hoteliers need to do to effectively screen, market and profit from the 2012 Olympic Games and Queen’s Jubilee.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: Why should hoteliers consider broadcasting the Olympics and Queen’s Jubilee?

Davidson: This summer’s packed calendar of sports and royal events presents hotels with a huge opportunity. Having the right AV technology in place and creating the ideal atmosphere for guests to enjoy the action can ensure that they receive an experience they wouldn’t get in another hotel. Once you’ve got everything in place for one event, such as the Olympics, it will be even easier to broadcast subsequent events, such as the Queen’s Jubilee, Wimbledon or even the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race. Broadcasting these events also means that for guests that want to watch them, they don’t have to look for another venue in which to enjoy the action during their stay.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: What level of revenue and ROI could this generate?

Davidson: Such is the variety of spectator events taking place this year, it’s likely that guests from all walks of life will be interested in following the action. Subsequently, even hotels that wouldn’t normally see a big screen as part of their ambience need to consider catering to their guests by having at least one area where they can watch. Providing guests with the opportunity to view a major event can help a hotel create an additional revenue stream for itself. The level of investment needed to show these events isn’t necessarily high, and if done properly can deliver ROI by attracting additional guests and making your hotel a more attractive choice to stay during the Olympics and Diamond Jubilee.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: How would you characterise the quality viewing experience for this event?

Davidson: TV coverage has improved with every major event we have seen over the last few years. During the 2008 European Football Championships we saw a 20% increase in projector sales compared to the same period the year before, and during the 2010 Football World Cup that rose to a 30% increase. This year, the BBC is promising to bring us wall-to-wall coverage of London 2012 and will attempt, for the first time ever, to show every hour of every event via coverage on BBC One and on-demand on 24 live high-definition streams accessed via the red button.

For most guests, a quality viewing experience will be one that beats hands down anything they could get at home. With many people using widescreen HD TVs in their homes, hotels need to look at other technologies to show these events. A guest will be looking for a large, bright, immersive viewing experience with a great atmosphere. Hotels that steal the march on creating this will be the ones to reap the financial rewards.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: What would be the best technical set up for this type of event?

Davidson: Projectors offer enormous images which are ideal when large numbers of people are watching the same event, unlike the fixed sizes you get on flat panel TVs. A key benefit of home cinema style projectors is that they enable you to achieve a much larger screen size at an affordable price, up to 300 inches on many models. The huge screen size brings sports and other events to life, and is the perfect partner for modern high definition content. They are also more easily hidden away when not in use, so provide hotels with a discreet option, especially where the room being used serves multiple functions. It is also important to remember that projectors use two main ways of beaming light: either DLP technology or 3LCD technology. 3LCD, which splits the white light from the lamp into its three primary colours of red, green and blue, offers benefits in terms of colour saturation, smooth video playback and overall brightness

Another advantage of projectors is that they do not necessarily need dedicated screens – most will work fine simply on a plain white wall. You can also get special paints to improve the brightness of the picture, much in the same way that a dedicated projector screen will do. These are widely available, with resellers offering anything from portable tripod screens to installed electric screens controlled automatically by the projector. It all depends on the required usage and budget. Also, don’t forget to check on-going running costs. For example, projector lamps can be expensive to replace.

A projector and screen can create an atmosphere that is so totally immersive for your guests that not only will they want to stay longer (and therefore spend more with you) but the experience will make them want to come back for the next big event. With a little careful consideration, you can build on that effect by offering some supplements to the viewing experience.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: How should hoteliers go about marketing their event?

Davidson: If your hotel offers a public bar, consider using banners and chalkboards outside your venue to let people know what you’re showing. Think particularly about how you can drum up local support – is there an athlete competing in the events who hails from your area? If so, call on customers to come and support their ‘local hero’. In addition, consider creating a calendar of events on your website, detailing what you’re showing. Also, ensure that these details are listed on any third party booking sites that you use. However, a word of warning here about the use of logos: no business, unless it’s an official sponsor, can be seen using an Olympics logo in order to suggest an association between their venue and the games.

It is also worth looking at how you will market the event on the day. Last year’s Royal wedding saw thousands of pubs and hotels throw traditional British street parties, fry-up breakfasts and even afternoon teas to ensure their customers could get fully into the spirit. This year, think about little touches like cucumber sandwiches for the Golden Jubilee, dressing your staff in tennis whites for Wimbledon, or stage your own opening ceremony at the start of the games. Make sure that your guests and potential guests know what you’re doing so that you can capitalise on the investment that you are making.

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PPHE Hotel Group has enjoyed a successful 23 years in the marketplace and now has over 2,500 employees operating in the Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Croatia and the United Kingdom. The company has always placed training and learning and development at the heart of its ambitious growth and talent attraction and retention strategy.

The new initiatives introduced this year include a new company-wide interactive intranet, student placement programme you:niversity Plus in the United Kingdom, and most recently the launch of the Inspirational Service Programme at an international level. Unique to PPHE Hotel Group, the tailor made programme with clear business benefits and return on investment outlined at the offset, focuses on hotel and corporate level employees carrying out a series of high energy, interactive training sessions surrounding key PPHE Hotel Group contexts such as ‘Feeling Welcome’, ‘Passion’ and ‘Surprise’ in order to deliver the ultimate guest experience.

The programme is led by dedicated employees rather than trainers, known as ‘Inspirators’ specifically chosen and trained to champion the course. The training aims to connect the company and individual hotels’ key messages as well as the value of individual performance and contribution to guest service. Again a first for the hotel sector, the programme focuses on developing transformational service benefits as opposed to generically trained routines and employees have the space and opportunity to display the behaviours that make the most difference to the service experience.

Following the first stage of training, you:niversity coaches will continue to roll-out the Inspirational Service Programme in different departments using small groups facilitating inspiring activities such as “In the Guest’s Shoes” and “Going the Extra Mile”. All activities have been designed to deliver the ultimate guest experience.

Jaklien van Sterkenburg, Vice President People Development & Human Resources PPHE Hotel Group commented: “Our people are at the heart of our service offering at PPHE Hotel Group and the Inspirational Service Programme enables employees to understand how, in any role, they fit into the service chain. Within the highly competitive hospitality industry it has never been more important to have a strong learning and development strategy in place in order to differentiate, retain talent and above all, deliver the highest level of personalised service and consistently achieve high guest satisfaction.”

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Dave Watts, who trained under Raymond Blanc and Gary Jones at Le Manoir aux Quats’Saisons, has joined the Cotswold House Hotel as head chef, where he’ll take responsibility for both of the luxury hotel’s on-site restaurants.

The Dining Room, which re-opens tomorrow (17 May), will offer customers an indulgent, fine-dining experience – perfect for special occasions and family celebrations – while The Cotswold Grill presents a more informal setting for breakfast, lunch with friends, afternoon tea or an impromptu meal out at the end of a busy day.

At the heart of both restaurants is Dave Watts’ passion for seasonal, simple, sustainable and responsible food. He describes his Modern British food as ‘rustic neat’ – allowing the quality of the ingredients to speak for themselves through natural shapes and textures, nothing over-complicated.

It’s this philosophy that saw him become one of the most talked about chefs in the country while working at Hurst House in Wales, and one that he is confident will translate well to his new Cotswold home.

“The Cotswolds is a brilliant place to source ingredients for the kitchen,” he said. “We have some extremely good local producers and suppliers, and I try whenever possible to support these guys within our community as they equally support me. That helps to ensure that the produce which arrives at the kitchen door is the freshest and consistently best we can find.

“I’ll be showcasing what we can do with exciting seasonal produce at both restaurants and look forward to welcoming customers to our relaxing, comfortable venues. Food should be an utter pleasure on every level and it’s a very important part of what we do here at Cotswold House.”

Set in the heart of Chipping Campden, the Cotswold House Hotel is owned by the UK’s leading hotel management company Bespoke Hotels. Offering all the elegance and charm of a traditional country hotel combined with luxurious, modern facilities, it is the perfect Spring getaway. With a choice of standard and deluxe rooms, suites and private cottages, the hotel is also home to a sumptuous spa and private, townhouse garden that is among the finest in the area.

Rooms start from just £120 per person, with main courses at The Cotswold Grill ranging from £9.50 to £23.00. The Dining Room (fine dining restaurant) opens tomorrow.

For further information, hotel and restaurant reservations, visit www.cotswoldhouse.com or call 01386 840330.

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Paul Duggan General Manager of the Radisson Blu Edwardian, New Providence Wharf said, “We are very proud to receive this Award from one of the world’s most trusted travel brands. This accolade is testament not only to the outstanding services we provide at New Providence Wharf, but also recognises the unique and individual experiences we strive to offer our guests throughout the Radisson Blu Edwardian, London brand. It is important to know that we are catering for the discerning international customer, and the emerging Indian market is of particular significance.”

This prestigious Lonely Planet Travel Award was bestowed based on the experiences of India’s most sophisticated travellers. The award recognises New Providence Wharf’s successful combination of distinct location, unquestionable quality service and style, matched with the most modern amenities. Speaking about the Awards Tarun Rai, CEO of Worldwide Media said ‘We thought that it was time we asked our readers what they considered their favourite destinations and hotels in both the domestic and international spheres’.

A sleek riverside retreat, the Radisson Blu Edwardian, New Providence Wharf overlooks the O2 and is moments away from Europe’s most dynamic business location, Canary Wharf. This four star London hotel boasts seven fully equipped business meeting rooms, including a spectacular conference suite with break-out rooms holding up to 200. With stunning views across the River Thames, each meeting room features natural daylight and the latest AV technology.

The New Providence Wharf Hotel offers 169 individually designed bedrooms are generously sized, with many of the rooms featuring spectacular views of the River Thames. All rooms feature walk in wet rooms, with separate ‘rain showers’ and large baths. State of the art Bang & Olufsen televisions and full in-room entertainment systems are also included. In-room features include air conditioning, personal phone number with voicemail, modem connection and complimentary high-speed wireless Internet access.

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With these brands, Wyndham Rewards not only broadens its reach with uniquely designed properties in some of the most well-travelled locations around the world, but allows its members the benefit of staying and redeeming with properties that represent the full scope of Wyndham Hotel Group’s portfolio.

The Dream hotel collection offers an imaginative lodging experience with five properties in four acclaimed destinations including two hotels in New York City, N.Y. (Dream Midtown and Dream Downtown); and Dream hotels in South Beach, Miami, Florida; Bangkok, Thailand; and Cochin, India. These intelligently designed properties sit at the forefront of the industry’s concept hotels, highlighted by award-winning, locally popular restaurants and nightlife hot spots including roof-top bars with panoramic views.

Night Hotels is a bold lifestyle brand that turns the traditional hotel concept on its head. The brand is about transforming typical hotel concepts into casual and social spaces that offer amenities such as free wireless access, comfortable work areas and music program stations that allow guests to plug in and listen. Night is an affordably stylish brand that takes the best of the boutique and lifestyle concepts while being accessible to the value-minded traveller. Currently, there is a Night hotel in New York City, N.Y. (Midtown Manhattan) and in Dallas, Texas.

Wyndham Rewards members can both earn and redeem points or airline miles at all Dream and Night locations.

TRYP by Wyndham is an urban contemporary hotel brand catering to business and leisure travellers in cosmopolitan cities. Attuned to the distinct needs of today’s travellers, it offers several specialty guest room types including a Family Room with bunk beds and a Fitness Room complete with exercise equipment and a complimentary fitness kit. Wyndham Rewards members can currently earn points at all TRYP hotels. They can both earn and redeem points at three hotels in New York City, N.Y.; San Jose, Costa Rica; and Quebec City, Canada.

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Anyone in the hospitality business will put the safety and welfare of their guests at the top of their priorities. When your hotel is packed, all your staff are run off their feet and everyone wants some of your time, do your normal standards go out of the window? Health and safety should be paramount, however busy you are – the worst time for anything to go wrong is when you are already at capacity! So, let’s have a look at a few simple, sensible and pragmatic things you should be doing to make sure your guests have a great time and don’t end up in a hospital bed instead of one of yours.

Personal safety for lone female guests can be a real issue, and looking after them properly starts from Reception. Make sure your receptionist doesn’t tell guests their room numbers out loud, or allows others checking in to see room numbers on keys or key cards etc. Giving lone females an upper floor room is a simple way of reducing vulnerability. Also, some lone female travellers feel more comfortable if they have room service meals, rather than sitting alone in a restaurant – offering to waive the room service charge can be much appreciated.

At peak times, you may be obliged to use more than one taxi provider – make sure you are happy with recommending them, and that they are reputable – your local authority will maintain a list of licensed firms. And while we are looking at travel, when your car park’s full, are users parking in unsafe areas, and creating hazards to both drivers and pedestrians? Do you have any alternative parking areas you can use, or recommend? If guests decide to travel by public transport, do you provide timetables and assistance, so they don’t have to wait for long periods at bus stops and stations in unfamiliar areas? Are there any areas where it’s not really safe for people to walk after dark? These issues may sound dramatic, but remember your guests don’t know the local area, and whilst it may not be downtown Detroit, there are ‘dodgy’ areas in every city where care should be taken.

In summary, sensible and simple precautions will help to keep your guests safe and happy – and because they’ve had a great time, they’ll want to be your guests again. Good health and safety is always good for business.

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Sixty five of the new positions have been created to strengthen the Company’s ‘MIB’ function (maintenance), which is an industry first initiative that was successfully launched a year ago.

The Travelodge ‘Men in Black’ (MIB) team travel across the UK providing an in-house highly skilled maintenance support function to all the Company’s hotels. Their day to day responsibilities includes: plumbing, fixing hotel appliances, decorating and general maintenance within the hotel.

Paul Harvey, Travelodge Managing Director said: “I believe we are the only UK hotel company that invests in an in-house maintenance function.

With having over 500 Travelodge’s and growing at good pace, employing direct trade professionals makes good business sense. It ensures we have a dedicated resource on hand; whose main objective is to ensure all of our hotels are in good working order at all times.”

“Our MIB function has proven to be a valuable asset to the Company and I am delighted we have created a further 65 nationwide new positions within the department. This investment will certainly strengthen our maintenance resource, which will result in a better service for our hotel staff and customers.”

In addition to the 65 MIB positions, Travelodge is looking to recruit for 20 hotel team members and 15 head office staff.

The hotel team member roles are for hotels in the following locations:

London, Chester, Ipswich, Tamworth and Burton upon Trent. Positions include: Receptionist, Guest Room Cleaner and Bar Café staff.

The budget hotel chain also has 15 roles within its head office in Thame, Oxfordshire, which includes ten management positions. The roles include:

• Pricing & Strategy Manager
• Yield Manager (2)
• Revenue Manager (5)
• Inventory Manager
• Payroll Manager
• Pricing & Strategy Analyst
• Employee Relations Advisor (2)
• Senior Consumer Press Officer
• Credit Controller,

Interested candidates for the MIB position need to send their CV to: recruitmaintenance@travelodge.co.uk

Interested candidates for the hotel and head office positions need to send their CV’s to: careers@travelodge.co.uk

Travelodge has over 500 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain, This year the budget hotel chain is opening a further 42 hotels across the country.

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Rebecca Blair has joined the four-star Mercure Aberdeen Ardoe House Hotel and Spa as Sales Manager, bringing more than 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to joining the team at Ardoe, she worked in managerial roles for a number of other North-east hotels.

In her new role, Rebecca will be responsible for driving the hotel’s sales and marketing activities. She will also be working on developing new business relationships for the hotel, focussing on the corporate meetings and event sectors.

Rebecca said: “I am delighted to join the team at Ardoe House and am looking forward to promoting this hotel. It is a landmark property in Aberdeen, and I am excited to be able to sell a hotel that has such a great reputation in the city.”

General Manager Peter Sangster said: “We are thrilled to have Rebecca on board, and I know she will excel in her new role. She’s has the passion and determination to position the hotel as the exemplary destination that it is.”

The four star Mercure Aberdeen Ardoe House Hotel is a 19th century country manor house and is currently undergoing a £1.5million renovation to its public spaces and bedrooms.

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Food safety management must comply with internationally recognised safety measures known as the HACCP principles. The Food Safety Act 1990 governs food safety in the UK.

The Food Safety Act stipulates that establishments providing food must ensure, among other things, that the food is presented, labelled and advertised in a clear manner, without being misleading, the food provided must be of the quality and standard expected by the consumer, no substance must be added to the food or treatment given to the processing which may be injurious to the health of the consumer. Food must be prepared in a hygienic and commercial environment. Food premises must be registered and licensed with the FSA.

Businesses providing food are subject to visits from environmental health officers from the local authority. These visits can be prompted by a customer complaint or by an unspecified time lapse since the last visit. Environmental health officers have the right to take samples of the food in order to have them assessed and analysed. They are able to have access to food production and supply areas at any time.

The Local Authority are able to carry out the following measures if standards are not met:

An Improvement Notice can be provided.

This points out the failures of the particular establishment to meet the legislation. The requirements to rectify these failures will be stipulated and a time frame will be set in order to do so. It is a criminal offence not to comply with the notice.

An Emergency Hygiene Prohibition Order

This effectively closes down the business or areas of the business immediately. Equipment may be condemned or an aspect of processing halted. This is used if there is imminent risk to public health, such as rat infestation or the prospect of injury to staff or the public if the building or a piece of equipment is dangerous.

Prosecution

This occurs in the most serious cases where a business has repeatedly failed to meet standards. An individual may be fined up to £5,000 in a magistrates’ court but if the matter is taken to the crown court there is the prospect of an unlimited fine and or a maximum prison sentence of two years.

Meeting standards and presenting food efficiently, safely and effectively demonstates a companies competancy and maintains its reputation. It is therefore essential to ensure that food safety management procedures are in place; that standards are regularly scrutinised and assessed and that training is provided where necessary.

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I am amazed how few hotels and restaurants use e-mail marketing. It’s never too late to start building a database, and e-mail marketing is a great way to continue to build the relationship with your customers and keep you in their mind when the time comes for a return visit or when asked to make a recommendation.

Without a list, every time you want to get something in front of your guests or prospects you have to start all over again. Your list gives you the opportunity to tell every existing and potential customer about promotions, seasonal events and any other newsworthy information relevant to your target market.

The more detail you have on people who are interested in what you offer, the more often you can return to them with additional offers that are tailored to them. And the more often you do this, the more likely it is that this will result in business.

Offer incentives to build your list

To build your list, you may need to set up incentives for people to fill in a physical form or coupon, or sign up online and share their details.

Some ideas might be:

• Discounts or vouchers (ensuring they are attractive offers, but include time limits and offers that won’t leave you out of pocket once redeemed)
• Free information such as a pdf downloadable guide to something of relevance and of interest to your target market, your business or your local area. For example, recipes for your popular dishes, aromatherapy guide related to your spa, golfing tips if you have a golf course, 101 things to do with the kids during your stay….. You get the picture
• Prize draws or competitions, with relevant prizes from your own products or services, or those of your joint venture partners
• Access to exclusive offers or ‘members only’ offers

Whatever the incentive, it needs to be something that is of value and highly desirable to your target audience; something that will compel them to fill out the form and part with their details.

Where to find contacts

There are three key sources of names:

Existing customers: Simply ask them to leave their business card, or fill out a blank card which enables those who’d rather not give their business details to fill in their personal contact details. Present this with their bill so it gets their attention.

You may want to combine data gathering with gaining feedback on your customers’ stay or visit at the same time.

Collecting phone numbers at the time of booking will allow you to make follow up calls, and having a mobile number allows you to confirm reservations.

Online: This may be existing customers, but more likely will be for people in response to an advert or people who have just stumbled on your website. You’ll need an ‘opt in’ or ‘landing’ page to capture their details.

As there is no relationship yet with these people you need a really enticing offer to encourage people to share their details. Remember, some of these may be those who may not want to buy right now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be potential customers in future.

In order to track the effectiveness of your marketing activities it’s useful to be able to identify the source of the contact. So you may need to include a ‘how did you hear of us?’ field, unless you have dedicated urls for different adverts or press mentions to help you keep track.

Your joint venture partners: Ask your JV’s to give their customers your discount vouchers or an invitation to receive your exclusive offers. Then ask customers to complete their details in order to redeem them with you.

Never compromise your contacts’ trust by giving or selling your list to anyone else; if a joint venture partner wants to offer something to your contacts do it through you, and vice versa.

Permission to Communicate

Always seek permission to use guests’ details for any marketing activity. And of course if any guest asks not to be contacted at any time, you must respect this, and record their preference on your database.

Whichever way you capture prospects’ and customers’ contact information, under the Data Protection Act 1998 you must have permission to communicate with them. The Information Commissioner’s Office website (www.ico.gov.uk) shows what you need to do.

What information you really need

The more information you have the better in order to tailor your mailings to suit the needs of your customer. Asking for a lot of personal detail up front is, however, not very practical (and likely to be very off putting) so it’s better to gather it over time.

What you gather first off will depend on how you want to contact them, so if emailing is your preferred option start with just their name and email address. But if knowing who is local and who is not is important, you may want to gather mailing addresses too.

This opens up the opportunity for a physical mailing, which although more expensive is certainly more eye catching than an email and may be a better match for your audience.

So balance what you ideally need with what is reasonable for people to share with you.

What to do with your list

Once you have your list, don’t just leave it in a drawer somewhere. There are two things to do:

1. Firstly have a system for safeguarding your valuable contacts and managing your list. This is confidential information and should be treated as such.
2. Then use it to keep in touch! If you intend to contact people on your list by email, the easiest way to set this up is with an email management system. Make a schedule of what to communicate and by what method. Then keep it up.

Your mailing list is a key asset to your business, but only of you make use of it!

About Caroline Cooper: Caroline is a business coach with over 26 years experience in hospitality. She is the founder of Zeal Coaching, specialising in working with hospitality and leisure businesses, helping them get more of the customers they love, and is author of the Hotel Success Handbook. For more information and articles from Zeal Coaching, please visit www.zealcoaching.com.

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Businesses providing food to the public in towns and cities hosting Olympic or Paralympic events will be visited by a specialised team of environmental health officers to ensure that all food sold is stored, prepared and heated responsibly to minimise risks to public health.

The squad is part of the ‘Play it Safe’ campaign raising awareness among businesses and visitors of the importance of good food safety management. The squad will ensure that our food represents high standards of quality demonstrated across all aspects of the visitors’ experience of our country.

Sarah Appleby, head of enforcement and local authority delivery at the FSA said:

“London 2012 is about celebrating everything that the UK has to offer and food is an important part of this. We have so much fantastic food to showcase to Games visitors, and we want food business owners to ensure that everything they sell is the best it can be. It will be an exceptionally busy time for a lot of these businesses, and the FSA is providing extra support and advice to make sure they are well prepared to meet the challenge.”

The FSA will be providing a food safety coaching programme for small businesses in Olympic areas in need of improvement as well as funding and training for local authorities and extra equipment and resources for enforcement officers working in Olympic areas.

Food businesses who do not do well in inspections will be given one to one training in order that they are aware of and follow food hygiene regulations. Tough action will follow where public health is put at risk. Link to our article on Food Safety Management Standards: What can go wrong? In order to find out what can happen if standards are breached.

Ben Milligan, an environmental health officer from LB Tower Hamlets said, “the Games are seen as a real opportunity in terms of business and profits. At the same time, having to serve more people than normal can create situations that don’t arise under normal circumstances, such as the need to produce and store lots of food in advance.”

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Significant differences have been seen in India compared to the global picture, for revenue generation from the food and beverage  sector. International hotel chains, Marriott and Accor Group are witnessing a large slice of their India revenue coming from F&B.

Marriott Hotels have revealed that 50 per cent of their revenue in India is coming from the F&B sector, compared to just 20 per cent from their international overall earnings. A large number of international hotel chains show similar figures as they start to focus their attentions on the restaurant and bar offerings a hotel can provide in areas where dining out was not always an option.

F&B: Big Revenues!

It is the view of many hospitality experts that internationally, the F&B option is primarily only offered by hotel chains as an additional service for guests, rather than viewing it as a profitable revenue stream. However, in India, F&B is now being seen as a real opportunity and hotels are beginning to see the benefits and rise in incomes that walk-in-guests can provide.

For example, Ibis Hotels, Accor Group’s economy brand has developed an all day eating concept called Spice It, which provides an extensive Indian menu. The hotel chain has also started to offer an F&B room service delivery option in India and introduced the Hub bar across all of its hotels.

An Accor spokesperson said, “It is not uncommon for our hotels in India at times to have up to 50 per cent of the revenue coming from the food and beverage operation. Our upscale brands such as Pullman would typically have such a weighting, whilst our economy Ibis brand will be much lower. This is due to larger hotel conference facilities and a higher number of outlets in our India hotels.

A Fresh Look at F&B

Hospitality companies are now recognising the important role that restaurants and bars can now play, when not only looking for additional income sources, but for positioning their hotels from a brand and product perspective, particularly in India and is a viewpoint that needs to be adopted on a global scale.

Marriott Hotels and Accor Group are not expecting a decline in the contribution that the F&B sector provides to the overall picture for the foreseeable future, however they are aware, as all hoteliers should be, that factors such as wealth creation, urbanisation and globalisation has created a more sophisticated consumer with interests for fine dining, new cuisine and wine.

F&B will continue to be a key factor to top line income streams that drives awareness in the local market, while the sale of rooms drives greater bottom line revenue and so the two can and should go hand-in-hand for a successful and prosperous business.

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New research, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Caxton FX, reveals that the £3 million campaign has had no impact on 67% of the population – the percentage of people who intend to holiday abroad this summer.

More worryingly, 13% are not aware of the ad campaign at all and one in every 25 people claimed that the ads discouraged them to holiday at home.

“In spite of substantial investment, it seems that Brits are still committed to holidays abroad,” explained Caxton FX MD, James Hickman, “and with the pound currently very high against the euro, holidays abroad can offer good value – especially for those people who would prefer to avoid the Olympics this summer!”

Holiday At Home: A Regional Breakdown

• the North East and North West are the region’s most positively affected by the advertising campaign – with a fifth (19%) of people in both regions now more likely to holiday in the UK
• Scotland was the least positively affected area, where 1 in 10 (9%) said that the advertising campaign has made them less likely to holiday in Britain.

Holiday Turn Offs

The research also looked at the factors that would put a holidaymaker off visiting a particular location. Across the UK, political unrest affecting a travel destination, such as the recent riots in Greece, were cited as the biggest reason not to visit somewhere.

However, there were noticeable regional variations in other factors that would influence holiday-making decisions. Brits in the North East are the biggest sun-seekers, with a quarter (33%) citing unseasonably bad weather just behind a bad review from a friend (35%) as a resort turn-off, much higher than the UK average of 26 per cent.

• People in the West Midlands are the most cost-conscious, citing cost of accommodation (36%) and flights (30%) as the two top deterrents (after political unrest – 54%). Londoners, Scots and the Welsh also appeared to be frugally minded, with costs of flights featuring second in the lists for these Brits.
• The East Midlands has some of the most tech-savvy people, with almost half (43%) stating that a poor online review would be their biggest holiday turn-off; followed by a poor review from friends and family (35%).

“Summer holidays are a costly luxury for most and it’s evident that when Brits are spending their hard earned money, they want it to be a faultless, dream holiday,” continued Hickman.

“Clearly, consumers are increasingly sensitive to the news agenda, as the Greek riots, the euro zone crisis and the ever growing importance of peer-to-peer review sites such as Trip Advisor are all affecting our holiday making decisions in 2012.”

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According to a study undertaken by hotel portal HRS, mobile reservations tripled between 2010 and 2011. The company report that of total sales, mobile reservations reached around 3% in 2011. They expect this to double in 2012. HRS predict that by 2014, one in five business trips will be booked from tablet PCs or smartphones. They report that nearly one third of business travellers have made a hotel reservation from a mobile device.

In a recent article in hotel-industry.co.uk it was  reported that 19% of all hotel queries occur through a mobile device, according to early estimates from Google.

Jon West, Managing Director of HRS UK and Ireland said:

“Mobile applications have become a significant sales channel for HRS and its hotel partners. The high annual growth rates confirm the increasing significance of mobile solutions.”

Mobile Reservations ‘on the go’

The spontaneity and flexibility of using a mobile booking tool is ideal for the busy business traveller who can make reservations ‘on the go’ to accommodate a last minute meeting or reschedule their stay due to circumstantial changes.

Mobile Marketing

Hotels can also harness mobile technology to send reminders and promote their restaurant offers. As reported in a recent hotel-industry.co.uk article Premier Inn have reduced their ‘no show’ rates by 21% and increased restaurant bookings by sending text reminders and restaurant offers. An average text message is read within 4 minutes as opposed to an average e mail which is read within 48 hours, demonstrating that mobile technology is essential for growth and success in attracting the customer and obtaining bookings.

Robert Dawson, Vice President of Internet Marketing and Web Development for Sabre Hospitality Solutions states;

“The exponential growth in mobile traffic reinforces its role as a consumer tool to navigate life across cultural and geographical boundaries. As smartphones get smarter, they present infinitely more opportunities to empower the hospitality industry and their consumer.”

The growing trend for using mobile reservation tools should certainly be explored. The evidence and arguments for investment in mobile reservations technology should clearly not be ignored by today’s hotelier.

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The hotel industry should embrace new research which suggests that a food’s origin is an important aspect of a sophisticated F&B experience.

Food Provenance: Menurama’s Research

The Menurama survey, undertaken by food service analyst Horizons, found that there is a growing trend for restaurants listing the provenance, local sourcing and weight of meat and fish on their menus.

For example, Wayside Inns list Croxton Manor Cheddar & Ruddles Ale Tart, Smith & Jones has a Tuxford & Tebbutt stilton burger, Little Chef has a ‘rich steak and Abbot’s ale pie’ on its menu, as well as ‘outdoor reared British pork sausage’, while one independent gastro pub lists a ‘Herefordshire snail, chicken and smoked bacon pie’.

Consumers’ tastes are becoming more sophisticated and an awareness of ethical and health issues relating to food provenance indicate that they have a desire to know the origins of their food. British diners have been exposed to unusual ingredients through supermarket advertising and TV cookery programmes. According to the research, consumers are attracted to trying new flavour combinations as a result.

Old Favourites Remain

Although the research, which surveys the menus of 115 high street operators across the UK, reveals a growing number of new dishes on menus, the top 10 most commonly listed dishes remains largely unchanged, with burger, pizza, and fish and chips once again filling the top three slots.

Paul Backman, Horizons’ Director of Services said:

“While consumers like to think they will try something new when they eat out, often they opt for their old favourites, so the top 10 most commonly listed dishes don’t change much from year to year. However, the descriptions of them do – a burger, for instance, is more likely to be listed by weight and provenance and fish and chips are often described as being from a sustainable source. Some 39% of establishments now include calorie information on their menus or websites,”

Pricing

The survey also noted that traditional price disparities between the north and south of the country are narrowing. They suggest that this is due to more consistent operational costs and that chain restaurants often operate a single pricing structure. Their findings are listed below:

Overall, the average price of a dish has risen nearly 3% year-on-year from £6.19 to £6.41, with the cost of a main course rising fastest in quick service and restaurant establishments.

The average price for a three-course meal in a restaurant has risen 7.1% to £20.90, up from £19.52 last year, while a three-course meal in a pub now costs £16.15, up 4.2% from £15.50.

New and unusual dishes can showcase a hotel restaurateur’s ability, imagination and innovation. However, it is important to acknowledge Menurama’s findings that customers will opt for what they know they like. Supported by the evidence that the top ten main course dishes in the UK have remained the same year on year including the Beefburger (no 1), Pizza (no 2), fish and chips (no 3) and Rump steak (no 6).

Providing details regarding the origin of the food and whether it is a sustainable source, the nutritional value and whether it happens to be organic will enthuse and encourage the customer to make informed choices. This information demonstrates the hoteliers’ attention to detail and suggests that they care about where their food is coming from and therefore provides the consumer with a sense of ownership and reassurance about the establishments’ sensibilities and quality assurance.

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Understanding consumption of technology in hospitality management is not just about understanding high tech; it is about insightful leadership and creating an organisational culture that fosters the possibility to create positive memorable experiences. Hoteliers must realise that the technologies that may have been considered luxury extras in the past are now considered basic needs by consumers.

In this article, part of my Hotelier 3.0 series, I put the hotel technology and IT strategy of ten of the most expensive London hotels to the test. The ten most expensive five-star hotels in London are chosen (The criterion was the most expensive published rates of suites in the hotels).

Taking a snapshot of how the high-end London hotels react to technology can allow us to draw comparisons and give us some understanding to what the industry benchmark may be.

Hotel WIFI Policy

The first part of this test involved calling the hotels to find out their WIFI policy. The call was made early February so the WIFI data may be slightly inaccurate if some hotels changed their policy between February and May 2012.

Hotel Web 2.0 Activity

The second part of the test is conducted with the help of twenty undergraduate hospitality management students, studying Hospitality Management at the University of Brighton. Their demographic captures the technologically savvy consumer of today and I feel represents a fair view of how consumers interpret hotel online activity.

Five focus groups were created, each focusing on one web 2.0 application. The groups scored each hotel by giving them a High, Medium or Low score. Their judgment is influenced by evidence of content and interaction as well as communications consistency in each hotel web 2.0 activity.

For each hotel, the focus groups examined content and activity for the three first months of 2012. The focus groups also had to indicate the one hotel they would suggest as their favourite for the web 2.0 site they were examining (highlighted in red in the table). A high score gives a hotel two points, whilst a low score gives zero points. The potential maximum points for each hotel is 12 points.

The following table summarises the scores for each hotel:

As we can see from the table, only four out of ten hotels offer free WIFI to their clients. This is quite surprising when even independent cafes now offer free wifi, one would expect all five-star hotels of a major city to also offer free wifi. The problem with NON-free WIFI or even VIP-only free is that often a customer will be frustrated with the setup procedures required to allow them to use the WIFI.

The problem is not price; the problem for your customer is lack of convenience.

Hotels that promise luxury must realize that WIFI today is a necessity and not having it readily available damages your brand.

What is also interesting in the table is that there is no clear correlation between in-house technology and web 2.0 interactivity. It is highly likely that web 2.0 is considered solely a marketing function when in fact it can have great operational applications.

Although digging deeper in Tripadvisor comments suggests correlation however of negative comments in social media and absence of basic technology such as WIFI.

Hotel Technology: Missed Opportunities

If we were to rank the type of applications that hotels overall make better use of, we can argue that the order would be Twiter, Tripadvisor, Facebook, Linkedin. Google+ is very much underutilised and potentially a missed opportunity, with only one of the ten hotels posting some content.

I shall not over-analyse these findings but let the readers make up their mind as to what the results communicate to them.

But one though must wonder: if our most expensive hotels do not invest resources in a technologically savvy strategy then what does that say for the overall hotel sector? Perhaps it suggests great opportunities for four-star hotels, or perhaps something less optimistic to the whole sector.

If you are a hotel manager, a simple audit like this one should tell you a lot about your property and how it can be perceived by the technologically savvy consumers of today.

My final thought as I examine these results is that with such proximity to the Olympic Games, hoteliers in London and the rest of the UK should be ready for “gold medals” at all levels of the guest experience.

I can’t help but feel that we may still have a long way to go till we can claim that we are true champions.

By Ioannis S. Pantelidis

About Ioannis S. Pantelidis: Ioannis is a senior lecturer in Hospitality and Culinary Arts at the University of Brighton and is co-author of the best selling book, Food and Beverage Management. His PhD topic focuses on the personality of the hospitality consumer and technology acceptance. He has published and presented papers in numerous international conferences and established academic journals such as the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly.

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The advances being made in the field of Audio-Visual (AV) equipment, which can be used in the hospitality sector, means that hoteliers have to be aware of what is being released to the market, to ensure their hotel is kitted out with the best possible equipment to meet the needs and expectations of their guests.

Samsung: Hospitality TV

Samsung has been a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies and is working with hotels towards delivering an optimised guest experience. In December 2011, Samsung announced its plan to strengthen its proposition for the hotel industry to help hotels to distinguish themselves in the market and enhance their guest’s enjoyment during a stay by offering businesses a full technology package of award winning Hospitality TVs.

Vice President of IT at Samsung UK, Graham Long said, “Having built on our success as the UK’s number one consumer TV brand, we already have a compelling TV offering for hotels. We have now developed a full suite of other products, solutions and industry partnerships that will represent the future of technology for the hospitality industry including the latest guest interaction technology such as Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface.”

Samsung is planning to increase its network of hospitality customers and is already working with more than 350 hotels in the UK and 15 global chains, which include CentreParcs and Premier Inn.

Bang & Olufsen: BeoVision 10

Last year, Danish company Bang & Olufsen launched the BeoVision 10, which they claim to be the smallest flat screen TV they have created and is designed to be easily hung on a wall similar to hanging artwork. Available in 32, 40 and 46-inch models, the TVs are curved exactly right to give almost an optical illusion. There is a wall bracket on the back of the TV, which allows users to swing out the screen at an angle of up to 45-degrees, so it can be viewed from different areas of the room. Using the latest LED backlight technology means that the screen is slimmer, so hoteliers can take advantage of this and use the chance to free up space in compact rooms with this model.

Electric Mirror

At the up-scale end of the hotel market, Seattle based Electric Mirror has launched the first hospitality mirror TV for the hotel bathroom, which can network with major IPTV and VOD providers. The expectation levels of guests are always rising as new technologies are used more and more in their own homes. They therefore, now expect to have the same luxury when visiting hotels and this innovative bathroom mirror certainly provides this.

This is the first hospitality mirror TV that facilitates high-definition free-to-guest (HD-FTG) channels, video-on-demand (VOD), playback and channel recording, Internet protocol TV (IPTV), in-room control and hotel-information services. Using Electric Mirror’s BridgePort solution, all of these features are available in an upgradeable format, to respond to changes in IPTV and VOD partners, with whom BridgePort interfaces. Being able to upgrade as changes in technology occur will mean that hoteliers can avoid the replacement costs of having to buy in new models.

Audio-Visual technology is always changing and adapting, so it is important that hoteliers can respond to this and keep alert to the latest upgrades to remain competitive.

By Phil Benson

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We speak to Mark Williamson, sales and marketing director for PH Media, and ask why hoteliers should pay close attention to on hold marketing.

Note: Click here to hear an example On Hold Marketing track from PH Media

hotel-industry.co.uk: What is “on-hold marketing” and what can it do for hoteliers?

Williamson: It is inevitable that callers are placed on hold or transferred in a business environment.
Businesses place a lot of emphasis on their visual appearance but what can often be overlooked is how a business sounds. For example, research has discovered the average business will spend 94 per cent of their marketing budget getting people to phone in but only six per cent handling that call when it does come in.

What callers hear when they are placed on hold or transferred is very important. If they are forced to listen to beeps, silence or poor quality music, then it may adversely affect their perception of your business. Telephone messaging is an important aspect in how your brand is presented, so it is important to consider if your service represents an image that accurately reflects your business.

By providing a series of short pieces of information, designed to inform, engage and entertain callers, you can improve call retention, and the up-sell and cross-sell of products. Furthermore, research has shown 60 per cent of callers will be sat in front of the computer so a message directing them to your website can help them quickly find necessary information and have a serious impact on web traffic. This on-hold space is a medium that simply cannot be ignored.

Think about how a business sounds, is the voice and music used congruent to that business, brand and is it consistent across all touch points?

hotel-industry.co.uk: Can on-hold marketing improve the guest experience?

Williamson: On-Hold Marketing can set expectations for a guest when buying into a hotel stay. If they are greeted on the phone with poor quality music, silence or beeps, this could leave the guest expecting a low standard of service during their stay.

If greeted with a professionally scripted, voiced and produced auto-attendant message that is brand congruent, the caller is more likely to feel welcomed by a professional and friendly hotel.

By using On-Hold Marketing to up-sell to your callers, you can offer promotions on breakfast, access to the spa, table bookings for evening meals or drinks promotions in the bar. All of a hotel’s facilities combined will help to offer a guest the best possible experience and 20 per cent of callers are likely to make a buying decision while on hold.

hotel-industry.co.uk: What are the challenges of integrating on-hold marketing into the hotel brand?

Williamson: Logistically speaking, the process is very simple – a professional engineer will install the equipment in no time, usually in under an hour.

In terms of the audio being brand congruent, we have a tried and tested process that will help you choose the best voiceover and music to represent your brand. We’ve made it very easy without compromising the outcome.

hotel-industry.co.uk: Is it easy to measure the ROI of an on-hold marketing campaign/product?

Williamson: You can certainly test it by having an offer that is unique to your on-hold marketing. This way anyone who asks for that offer has plainly only heard it while on hold.

It would not represent best practice to follow this method long-term, however. Greatest yield is always achieved through an integration of all marketing channels, reinforcing your brand identity through each touch point.

It is useful to test on-hold marketing in order to gain a better understanding of which messages work best and which offers are more appropriate. But ROI can be maximised through repetition and reinforcement of core messages across all platforms

hotel-industry.co.uk: How do you envisage on-hold marketing developing in coming years?

Williamson: In an increasingly competitive marketplace, businesses are always looking for an edge – a way to increase profits and bolster their brand.

More and more businesses are realising on-hold marketing can help them increase the amount of time a customer is willing to wait on hold, improve customer satisfaction and increase customer spend.

Considering all of these factors together, it is easy to see why on-hold messaging can play such a crucial role in a firm’s overall marketing strategy.

As a business, PH Media has grown year-on-year for the past decade and we are confident that’s because the product is strong and businesses are getting to grips with the benefits it can offer.

Click here to hear an example On Hold Marketing track from PH Media

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