News & Views
GroupLeader. com Goes Live
Irish Appeal Remains Strong as Tourism Continues to Recover The annual Visitor Attitudes Survey, conducted by Millward Brown on behalf of Fáilte Ireland, reveals that almost four out of 10 (39%) overseas visitors reported that their experience in Ireland exceeded their expectations while a further six out of 10 (60%) said that Ireland met their expectations. Over half (56%) said they would definitely return in the next few years while a further four out of 10 hoped to return at some time in the future. Over half of overseas visitors (51%) found Ireland to be good or very good value while a further four in 10 (39%) found the value for money levels here to be fair. Food and drink costs,once a bugbear during the Celtic Tiger years, were mentioned as competitive disadvantages by only 9% of visitors (down further on last year where drink costs had been cited by 16% and food costs by 13%). The full survey, conducted with 1,514 overseas visitors to Ireland throughout 2013, is due to be published in the coming weeks.
Tim Fenn, Chief Executive, IHF; Richard Sears, Business Development Executive, GroupLeader. com; Michael Vaughan, Outgoing President, IHF; Charlotte Fenning, Account Executive, GroupLeader.com; and Fergal O’Brien, Managing Director, GroupLeader.com.
New travel technology company GroupLeader.com, which is based in the digital docklands area of Dublin, is now live and ready to start sending group bookings to hotels in Ireland. The website provides a mobile responsive platform to find and book hotels, ground transport, tour guides, and visitor attractions. Brands such as Radisson, Marriott, Ibis, Ramada, The Doyle Collection, Holiday Inn, Bewleys and Jurys Inn are already on board, together with independent hotels and resorts such as Hayfield Manor, The Merchant Hotel, Parknasilla Resort & Spa, The Europe Hotel & Resort, Fota Island Resort, Carton House, Brooklodge Hotel and Castleknock Hotel & Country Club. The site will be multi-currency and multilingual and will be promoted globally. Further roll-out will include partners such as ground transport providers and tour guides by mid-2014. New destination territories including mainland Europe and the US will go live later in 2014 and 2015.
O’Callaghan Hotels Bake for Temple Street
Pictured at the O’Callaghan Hotels Great Irish Bake for Temple Street are (l-r): Noel Healy, Davenport Hotel, David Malanapy, Group General Manager, O’Callaghan Hotels, Robert Clarke, Alexander Hotel and Anne Cooney, Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
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Over €2,000 was raised in just three hours at the Mont Clare Hotel in Merrion Square on April 4th in aid of Temple Street Children’s Hospital. It was the O’Callaghan Hotel group contribution to The Great Irish Bake for Temple Street event as the hospital encouraged people to bake and raise funds. A total of 200 cakes, 50 each baked at the group’s four Dublin hotels - Mont Clare, Alexander, Davenport and Stephen’s Green - were purchased by members of the public between 10.30am and 1.30pm on the day. The proceeds will go towards three OmniBed incubators for premature and newborn babies fighting for life. Temple Street Children’s Hospital is one of the O’Callaghan Hotels selected charities for 2014. In its first partnership earlier in the year the hotel group donated €5,000 to fund a complete infusion pump for the neonatal ward at the hospital.
hotel & catering review
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16/04/2014 10:58:58