Hotel and restaurant times Aug - Sept 2014

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER ‘14

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MCGETTIGAN’S BAR

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AT THE CLANREE HOTEL, DONEGAL

BALLSBRIDGE HOTEL DALATA CONTINUES TO INVEST IN HOTEL STOCK

ENERGY MATTERS COMPETITIVE GAS MARKET IN IRELAND

BOOKASSIST LOSING CONTROL OF CUSTOMER OWNERSHIP

MARKETING ON A SHOESTRING 6 TIPS FOR A COHESIVE STRATEGY

www.hotelandrestauranttimes.ie

A choice of LP Gas or Natural Gas And That’s Just For Starters Now, thanks to Flogas, Ireland’s only supplier of both LP Gas and Natural Gas*, you can enjoy the benefits of cooking with gas wherever you work. Gas is clean, easy-to-control, instant and versatile.

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So it’s no wonder that Flogas is the choice of so many chefs, including Neven Maguire of MacNean House & Restaurant in Blacklion, Co. Cavan.

Remember, there’s much more to Flogas than cooking. It can also provide you with instant, economical central heating, hot water, gas fires, and even gas tumble driers... wherever you are.

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Flogas Natural Gas is available in ROI only.

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CONTENTS

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COVER: McGettigan’s Bar at the Clanree Hotel

CONTENTS NEWS

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FÁILTE FOCUS

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IFSA NEWS

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TOURISM IRELAND NEWS

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BALLSBRIDGE HOTEL

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ENERGY MATTERS

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BOOKASSIST

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RAI NEWS

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FÁILTE IRELAND NEWS

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DIY MARKETING

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MCGETTIGAN’S BAR

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BEWLEYS

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HYGIENE

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BIM

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GMIT NEWS

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POWERSCOURT HOTEL

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DIT NEWS

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EVENT TOURISM

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CATEX

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Hotel & Restaurant Times is circulated on subscription to Chief Executives, Directors and Proprietors of Hotels and Restaurants in Ireland along with Architects, Interior Designers and Suppliers to the Hotel and Restaurant Industry.

Managing Editor: Cyril McAree (01-6285447, cyril@hotelandrestauranttimes.ie) Business Development: Alan Doherty (01-2842909, alan@hotelandrestauranttimes.ie) Contributors: Pavel Barter, Cynthia Bifolchi, Susan Clarke, Frank Corr, Caroline Leddy, Cariona Neary, Conor O’Brien, Des O’Mahony, IFSA, Restaurants Association of Ireland, Tourism Ireland & Fáilte Ireland Printing: W G Baird All paper used in the production of this magazine comes from certifiably sustainable forestry.

ALL CONTENTS OF THE MAGAZINE ARE COPYRIGHT OF HOTEL & RESTAURANT TIMES: H&R HOUSE, CARTON COURT, MAYNOOTH, CO. KILDARE. TEL/FAX: 01 628 5447.

E-MAIL: editorial@hotelandrestauranttimes.ie WEB: www.hotelandrestauranttimes.ie H&RT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER ‘14

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Spectacular in more ways than one As we go to press the Dublin Horse show is gearing up for another spectacular event.

It is anticipated that over a 100,000 visitors will attend this year's show and in monetary terms over €40 million in revenue will be generated. A substantial amount of this will find its way into the hospitality sector.

editorial editorial editorial

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Organisers have identified hotel rooms, restaurants and corporate event dining as the main beneficiaries of this mini boom. Coupled with the sales of artisan foods and products within the exhibition centre, it confirms how this event has evolved into one of the country's major attractions. Credit to Fáilte Ireland who have been major sponsors of the event for the last few years.

On the matter of spectacular, it would be remissive if we didn’t mention the GB show: as in Garth Brooks. What a debacle. From the promoters to the venue to Dublin County Council, they created some of the most negative coverage the country has ever received. Normally we welcome wall to wall TV and newspaper coverage, but not when we are seen as naive, stupid and incapable of organising an event. This must have been nightmarish for the likes of Tourism Ireland who have worked so hard to successfully promote Ireland as a destination, and recent CSO figures reflect that success given the increase in tourism numbers.

The subsequent enquiry further highlighted the worrying position in which one person has the ultimate authority to refuse permission for any event. How was this allowed happen? Proper procedures aren’t in place. Nowhere else in the world can you sell tickets for an event you haven't permission for. Hopefully the damage and negative notoriety will be limited. No doubt when GB commences his tour in the US, ironically with 3 matinee performances, no mention will be made about the “Irish situation” and how it played out, or not as it happened. Full credit to Fáilte Ireland who organised the country festival for the week that was in it, in an attempt to save our blushes.

On a more positive note the tourism figures once again are showing continued and sustained growth from all markets. Figures from January to June 2014 showed an overall growth of 10.3%. The breakdown was as follows: main areas of growth included 14% GB, 11% North America, 6% Mainland Europe with Australia, and developing markets contributing 14%.

This is further reflected in the number of establishments currently engaging in refurbishment and upgrading of properties nationwide. A recent report from HRS, The Hotel Solutions Provider, has revealed that Dublin’s average room rate has increased by 16% in the last two years. Compared to Q2 2012, when the average room rate was €88, figures revealed that Dublin’s room rate in the same quarter in 2014 rose to €102 per night – an increase of €14. The rate increased in the same period in 2013 to 2014 by 6%. Hopefully this will be reflected in the coming months nationwide, but it's critical that the industry behaves in a responsible manner and not over-egg things by gouging the market with unrealistic rates.

Coupled with this are the recent increased sales and mergers within the hotel stock.

The outlook is looking good and, for the first time in a number of years, confidence has come back to the market. Some, including myself, were sorry to see Minister Leo Varadkar T D depart recently, but so far Minister Paschal Donohoe has hit the ground running and ably supported by Minister Michael Ring, who survived the reshuffle - no doubt he wants to put his mark on things.

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Cyril McAree Editor

NEWS

NEWS Ireland says Bonjour in Lyon

Taking part in a business tourism promotion in Lyon, France, were (back, l-r) Eileen O’Donoghue, Premier Travel; Susanne Reid, Dunboyne Castle Hotel; Áine Comerford, Waterford Castle Hotel & Golf Resort; Christophe de Patoul, Irish Horizons Conference & Incentive; Siobhán O’Sullivan, Fitzwilliam Hotel, Belfast; Cathy Joyce, Citywest Hotel Conference & Events Centre, Dublin; and Caroline Phelan, Tourism Ireland; (front, l-r) Monica Ramchandani, Aer Lingus France; Mylène Campalto, Abbey Incentive & Events; and Susan Sheahan, Clyde Court Hotel, Dublin.

20 years assisting

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Mr. Paschal Donohoe was the keynote speaker at an event hosted by the Guinness Storehouse to mark the 20 year anniversary of the Irish Tourist Assistance Service (ITAS). ITAS was established in 1994 to offer immediate support and assistance to tourists who experience crime while visiting Ireland.

Speaking at the event Minister Donohoe said: “For the small percentage of tourists who become victims of crime while visiting Ireland, ITAS provides professional assistance and support. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved with this unique service - staff, volunteers and members of the tourism and hospitality industry for their continued support and goodwill towards ITAS.”

New Blu for iNua

CEO of iNua Hospitality, Noel Creedon, has bought the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa in Limerick for €3.5m. The hotel is the company’s second acquisition of a Radisson Blu property, having also purchased the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa in Little Island, Cork.

Fresh insight into travel policies New research by HRS, The Hotel Solutions Provider, looking into the needs, pains and wants, of Irish travel buyers and procurement managers, has revealed that cost reduction and traveller satisfaction is a high priority when putting together travel policies.

Commissioned by HRS and conducted by independent agency Circle Research, the survey polled procurement and travel managers as well as travel bookers with an influence on travel policies at companies across Ireland.

The research found that over two-thirds of those surveyed said that minimising travel costs and spend was a main objective when booking hotels, with 55% saying that the lack of hotels at the right price was one of their top three frustrations when sourcing accommodation. Meanwhile, 52% said that finding the lowest possible room rate was a key factor that they looked for from their hotel provider.

Talking about the findings, Jon West, Managing Director of HRS for the UK and Ireland, commented: “This survey has provided real insight into the needs and wants of the Irish corporate travel buyers. Not only are we able to work with hoteliers to address some of these areas to meet the needs of bookers, but the survey also revealed that the current economic situation is pulling companies in different directions, with some companies experiencing growth in hotel budgets, whilst almost as many are experiencing a decline.”

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NEWS

Black is the colour

The great outdoors Anne Speers, Finn Valley Cottages, Co Tyrone; Ann Phelan, Trailwalkers Ireland; Sam Andrews, Loughs Agency; Ellie Glennie, Belle Isle Estate, Co Fermanagh; Brendan Winters, River Mournes Guides (angling guide service), Co Tyrone; Margaret Mellor, Tourism Ireland; Stephen Moates, Loughs Agency; Maura Mullins, Trailwalkers Ireland; Lionel Knobbs, Loughs Agency; and Larry Swire, Loughs Agency, at the Tourism Ireland stand during this year’s CLA (Country Land Association) Game Fair in Oxfordshire, England.

Licence to chill Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism authority, has recently published their definitive list of Ireland’s top visitor attractions last year with the Guinness Storehouse once more topping the bill. The Storehouse welcomed 1,157,000 visitors in 2013 - an increase of 70,000 visitors on its 2012 performance. Amongst the nation’s fee-paying attractions, the Dublin attraction was followed by Dublin Zoo, with just over a million visitors, and the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience which had a 10% boost in visitor numbers.

O’Callaghan sponsorship for Temple Street Children’s Hospital reaches €10,000

Almost €10,000 has been raised this year by the O’Callaghan Hotel Group for Temple Street Children’s Hospital. Nine staff from the O’Callaghan Hotels raised over €2,000 recently when they did the Cycle 4 Life 55k charity cycle event.

Ireland’s leading fresh coffee company announced the launch of Bewley’s Cold Brew, coffee brewed without heat over a long duration and served with ice.

Growing in popularity across the world, cold brew is a major trend in the third wave coffee movement.

Cold brew, which is made using a slow drip laboratory glass called a Tower Brewer, involves steeping freshly roasted coffee in room temperature water for over 12 hours. Bewley’s Cold Brew is now available in Bewley’s George’s Street Café and costs €3 per serving of 200ml.

Eye of the tiger The four-star Talbot Hotel Group has announced the addition of The Dome, a family entertainment centre in Carlow.

Pictured at The Dome at The Talbot Hotel Carlow are Ken Battigan, General Manager, The Talbot Hotel Carlow, Cormac Pettitt owner of the Talbot Hotel Group, The Talbot Tiger, Philip Gavin Managing Director of the Talbot Hotel Group, Mary French, Sales and Marketing Manager, Talbot Hotel Carlow.

New Tourism Minister welcomes visitor growth Pictured (back row left to right): Bryan O’Callaghan, Chief Executive Officer; Mary Vaughan, Director of Human Resources; Paul McGreal, HR Manager; David Malanaphy, Group General Manager; Gerry Colreavy, IT Manager; (front row left to right) Graham Cooley, Davenport Hotel Manager; Catherine Bodley, Director of Sales & Marketing; Marian Lyne, Marketing Executive; Noel Healy, Head Chef Davenport Hotel.

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The Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, has welcomed the continued growth in overseas visitor numbers for the first six months of 2014, released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Minister Donohoe said: “These figures show that overseas visitor numbers are up an encouraging 10.3% compared to the first six months of 2013. Trips to Ireland increased by 12.3% in Q2 from April to June 2014. This is excellent news for everybody involved in Irish tourism and reflects the hard work carried out by Government and all those involved in the tourism industry and in promoting Ireland overseas.”

NEWS

To the manor born

Kerry food story

Ireland’s largest network of independently owned hotels - Manor House Hotels of Ireland and Irish Country Hotels - has reported a significant increase in summer 2014 bookings leading to strong occupancy and revenue growth due to an upsurge in the number of international guests staying at its 50 member hotels.

As of the end of May 2014, the Group had experienced unprecedented revenue growth of 25% and an increase in occupancy rates of 18% when compared to the same period in 2013.

Wi-fi versus water In a recent survey of hotel guests, 70% of Irish people said they are now ignoring the TV in their hotel room, and choosing to stream content through services such as Netflix on their own laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Irish tourists and business travellers said that reliable Wi-Fi is more important than hot water, breakfast and parking. According to the survey undertaken by Wi-Fi service provider Bitbuzz, 70% of people would forego having a kettle in their room in order to have reliable Wi-Fi; 20% of people would go without breakfast; whilst 36% would ditch the TV. To 5% of people Wi-Fi is more important than hot water during a hotel stay.

Over half of all people said the last time they stayed in a hotel in Ireland, the WiFi was slow (31%) or of a poor quality (25%). 62% of respondents said they would pay for fast and reliable Wi-Fi. 28% of respondents said social media is the main activity they use hotel Wi-Fi for, with 23% of respondents using Wi-Fi to check their emails. The survey was conducted by Bitbuzz, Ireland’s independent provider of Wi-Fi. Bitbuzz now has over 12,500 hotel bedrooms in its network and over two million registered users across the UK and Ireland.

Into the wild Finnish travel blogger Satu VänskäWestgarth (left) and her cycling companion Anne-Marit Storødegård, at Lisfannon Beach, Buncrana, as Satu sets off on her challenge to cycle the entire length of the Wild Atlantic Way.

A new Kerry Food Producer Book called The Kerry Food Story was launched at the Institute of Technology, Tralee, Co. Kerry by TJ O’Connor, Head of Section, Hotel, Culinary and Tourism Department and Tomás Hayes, Head of Local Enterprise, Kerry County Council.

The 68-page book and directory, which will be given out free of charge, contains a listing of over 150 local Kerry food and drink producers and includes specially-created recipes by eight of the top chefs in Kerry using local produce.

All of the chefs have studied at the IT Tralee.

Westin works magic For the third year, The Westin Dublin has been named as one of the ‘Great Places to Work in Ireland’ following an independent internal survey of the hotel’s employees. Four out of every five members of the workforce (86%) agreed that The Westin Dublin is a great place to work, with 92% highlight trust as one of the hotel’s best attributes.

Benchmarked against other major medium sized organizations - such as MasterCard Ireland, Volkswagen Group Ireland and Morgan McKinley - the Westin Dublin ranked 7th, and was the only hotel recognised within this category.

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NEWS

Casting the tourism net for Cork in Britain Thousands of angling enthusiasts across Great Britain tuned in to Cork and the Sky Sports coverage of this year’s World Feeder Fishing Championships, which took place recently at Inniscarra Reservoir, near Coachford. The Sky Sports crew - supported by Tourism Ireland broadcast from the event, including the opening and closing ceremonies. They also interviewed many of the coarse anglers competing in the event and captured footage of some other angling facilities on offer in this part of Ireland.

Talbot extends sponsorship The Talbot Hotel Group are delighted to continue their partnership with the Royal Dublin Society and 2014 Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show.

The annual hallmark event is currently running from 6th - 10th August and is one of the largest international show jumping events in the world this year.

The Talbot Hotel Group were proud sponsors of the Speed Derby International Competition on Ladies Day, August 7th in the RDS Main Arena which offered a prize of €20,000. The sponsorship agreement which began in 2011 has been extended for the next two years.

The winner of this event was Ireland’s Michael Duffy. With past entrants including Shane Breen, Capt Michael Kelly, Billy Twomey, Conor Swail, Roger Yves-Bost and promising Wexford rider Bertram Allen. It was great the title was reclaimed by an Irish Rider in 2014.

Ireland gets the Oz factor

Rob Hughes and Andy Forde, both Sky Sports presenters; with cameraman Jason O’Reilly, covering the World Feeder Fishing Championships at Inniscarra Reservoir, near Coachford.

Wild at heart As part of Ireland’s preparations to host the internationally renowned Adventure Travel World Summit this October (6th-9th in Killarney, Co. Kerry), Fáilte Ireland arranged for two of the sector’s leading authorities to get a hands-on experience of the Wild Atlantic Way. Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) President, Shannon Stowell and his Executive Director, Chris Doyle blogged and Tweeted as they explored the Wild Atlantic Way by motorbike and engaged in outdoor adventure activities along the way.

Country and Westin Leading hotel and hospitality group, Lalco Hotel Group, in partnership with John Malone of Liberty Global, has signed an agreement to acquire the five-star hotel, The Westin Dublin.

The acquisition is expected to close at end of August 2014. The iconic Westmoreland Street hotel will be operated by Lalco under a franchise agreement with Westin Hotels & Resorts.

John Malone is an internationally recognised business leader with investments including UPC, Discovery Channel, QVC Shopping Channel, expedia, Trip advisor and Virgin Media. He is also the largest individual landowner in the US, with close to 2.2 million acres in Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming.

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Australian travel agents at the viewing point on Slieve League, Co Donegal, with tour guide Josephine O’Keeffe (second left); Christian Hunter, CEO of Travellers Choice (third left); and Máire Áine Gardiner, Fáilte Ireland (fourth left).

Wheels of fortune Almost 600 Jurys Inn employees have raised €75,000 for charity, having walked, run, cycled, swam, golfed and abseiled their way through the Group’s 100 mile Charity Challenge. Monies raised by the Irish-based hotels, topped up by €30,000 pledged by Jurys Inn CEO John Brennan, will be split between the group’s long-term charity partner, Depaul Ireland, and several local Irish charities chosen by employees.

Lenka Kolova, Guest Service Staff Reception at Jurys Inn Custom House; John Brennan, CEO of Jurys Inn and Christine Littlefield, Senior Fundraising and Communications Manager, Depaul Ireland.

On a Silver platter 2014 marks the 80th anniversary of Newbridge Silverware. As part of the company’s milestone year, the Newbridge Silverware Visitor Centre has received a new look. The revamp includes a new-look award winning Silver Restaurant, which is located in the Visitor Centre.

The Newbridge Silverware Visitor Centre attracted 350,000 visitors last year and was recently announced by Failte Ireland as the 5th most visited free attraction in Ireland and the only attraction listed in the top 10 that is located outside of Dublin.

NEWS

Cooking up a storm The Executive Chef team from The Doyle Collection’s eight hotels in Ireland, the UK and the U.S., recently came together for the inaugural Chefs’ Forum at The Westbury Hotel. The team gathered together to share their knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm relating to all things culinary. Part of the day involved a baking workshop where the Executive Chefs combined their talents, shared their Doyle Collection signature dishes and recipes and served up some delicious cakes, breads and pastries including Guinness brown bread, afternoon tea scones and lemon rosemary drizzle cake - all of which were donated to Focus Ireland.

Moore success for the Tower Hotel

Salad days Alicia Maguire, General Manager at the Tower Hotel, Waterford with Executive Chef John Moore at The Tower Hotel Waterford, celebrating the award of the prestigious AA Rosette for culinary excellence at the Tower Hotel’s ‘Bistro Restaurant.

A nagging feeling Pictured are: Michael Murphy, Director of Markets Bord Bia; Adrian Crean, Managing Director Mc Donald’s Restaurants of Ireland; and Philip Cocoman, Origin Green Ambassador, Bord Bia.

Make both ends Meet Pictured at the launch of the 2014 Discover Ireland Horse Show are Michael Duffy, RDS; Orla Carroll, Fáilte Ireland; and Minister Michael Ring with Nicola Fitzgibbon on Elliot.

High noon

Pat Delaney, SoolELLA; Caitriona Lavery, Hastings Hotels; Rachael McGuickin, Visit Belfast; and Paul Kennedy, The Meetings Show; Joyce McElroy, Tourism Ireland; Ciara Gallagher, Fáilte Ireland; former boxer Barry McGuigan; Sarah Dallas, Tifco Hotel Group; Shane McGuigan; Mary Keating, Tourism Ireland; Donna Brogan, Dublin Convention Bureau; Evelyn O’Sullivan, Cork Convention Bureau; and John O’Neill, Lough Erne Resort, at The Meetings Show in London.

Ireland’s food and support services company Compass Group Ireland, has appointed Around Noon Ltd. as its preferred sandwich supplier.

The Around Noon sandwich offer will complement a large range of in-house freshly made sandwiches which Compass Group Ireland prepares daily in each of its client sites.

This new contract will see the Newry-based company supply freshly made sandwiches, wraps and salads to 90 of Compass Group’s units across the island of Ireland. The contract is valued at €1.25 million over the next 12 months and up to 10 new jobs will be created

by Around Noon on the back of this deal. The company currently employs 101 people.

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NEWS

Glory days for Deirdre Hayes

APPOINTMENTS Stephen Sullivan appointed Head Chef in Hayfield Manor Stephen Sullivan, a native of Dublin, recently relocated to Cork to assume the role of Head chef at Hayfield Manor. A former student of ITT Dublin, Stephen completed his studies in 2006.

Following college, Stephen worked in Chapter One, The Shelbourne, The Westbury, The Merrion and The Marker Hotel.

Sale of the century

Aramark Ireland has announced the appointment of Deirdre Hayes as Managing Director of Aramark Property. Hayes is responsible for property management and strategic asset management advice, including advising on redevelopment and refurbishment opportunities, lease renewals, surrenders, lettings, rent reviews, rating, facilities management, review of service charges, service charge optimisation, planned and preventative maintenance, dilapidations and space planning. Her portfolio will include office and industrial and business park properties throughout the UK and Ireland, including the 10m sq. ft Irish Life portfolio.

New direction for Compass group

Samantha Davies has joined the O’Callaghan Hotel Group as UK Sales Manager. She is based in London focusing on TMC and MICE from the UK to Ireland, Gibraltar and the USA markets.

Samantha has worked in the hotel industry for almost ten years.

From 2006 to 2012 she worked in a variety of revenue, sales and operations roles in the Ramada Jarvis Hotels and held the position of Cluster Sales Manager for three of the Hotel’s properties in the South West of England and Wales. In 2012, Samantha joined the Choice Hotels Europe as Global Sales Account Manager working in their London office.

Susan steps up at Sandymount Sandymount Hotel has recently appointed Susan O’Driscoll as Digital Media and Marketing Manager. In this new role, Susan is responsible for managing and implementing the hotel’s marketing strategy overseeing advertising, branding, website development, analytics, PPC, SEO and social media. Susan started her career in recruitment before moving into publishing, and working as a travel writer and editor for Woodfield Publishing. From there, she worked as an online editor for Tour America on two travel blogs before starting with D4 Hotels (currently the Ballsbridge Hotel), in 2011 as a Marketing Executive.

Aramarking his territory Aramark Ireland, the country’s integrated services provider has announced the appointment of Thomas Mulryan as Chief Financial Officer of Aramark Ireland. Mulryan joined Aramark in 2002 as a financial accountant and in 2005 was appointed Financial Controller, where he worked with now retired CFO Pat Cronin to achieve Aramark’s annual financial targets.

Mulryan played a key role in Aramark’s acquisition strategy. He is also a steering committee member of Aramark’s Global Business Services team which have responsibility for developing Aramark’s financial and operating platform in Europe. Working with CEO Donal O’Brien, as well as Aramark’s Global Vice President of Finance, Mulryan will be responsible for the development of Aramark’s overall financial and operational strategies in Ireland.

Laura fitz the bill

Compass Group Ireland, Ireland’s food and support services company, has appointed Patrick Mahon as Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Advisor/Lead Auditor. In his new role, Patrick will be responsible for managing the Silver Standard Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality (HSEQ) audit programme throughout Ireland. Patrick will also assist the Operations team and their Unit Managers to achieve silver standard and will lead the HSE mobilisation programme. Prior to joining Compass Group, Patrick was a Group HSE Advisor with CVV Group, a heavy manufacturing business, EHS Senior Inspector at Union Papelera, Risk Manager at MMC / FM Global and Group EHS Advisor with Amcor.

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Laura Kilcoyne has been appointed Corporate Sales Executive at Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel where she will be responsible for developing new and maintaining existing corporate relationships on behalf of the hotel. Laura will also be responsible for arranging the hotel’s advertising and maintaining its social media presence.

Laura joins Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel from the Trinity City Hotel, Dublin City Centre (formally the Trinity Capital Dublin) where she held the role of Sales & Marketing Co-ordinator for almost 2 years. Prior to this, Laura completed an honours degree in Business and Marketing at Galway - Mayo Institute of Technology.

Holy Trinity for Ailbhe Stephens Trinity City Hotel, formerly Trinity Capital Hotel, on Pearse Street, and Hilton Dublin Kilmainham have announced the appointment of Ailbhe Stephens as Assistant Director of Sales & Marketing to both hotels.

A Dublin native, Ailbhe began her career in the aviation industry which allowed her travel the world extensively and put her fluent French to good use. Over a seven-year period she worked with Air France, Ryanair and, during her time in Australia, Ailbhe worked for Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Malaysian Airlines.

“One spoonful of Create More can make a meal, it goes a lot further than my ready to use sauce.”

Jake McConville, Head chef and founder of Fittata

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FÁILTE FOCUS

Robust growth in visitor numbers Ireland set for best tourism season since the downturn began Fáilte Ireland have welcomed the robust figures recently announced by the CSO on figures for overseas visitor numbers from April-June showing that growth has accelerated in that period. These figures reinforce an emerging confidence in the industry after the very difficult years that followed the international economic crisis in 2007.

Welcoming the figures, Fáilte Ireland CEO Shaun Quinn emphasised: “The increase in numbers from the UK is extremely impressive and the performance of our biggest overseas market is exceeding all expectations. All our other key markets are also delivering extra visitors, tourism businesses around the country are upbeat and we seem set for our best tourism season since the downturn began.

“However, the key challenge to tourism growth over the next few years or so will be complacency and we need to work hard to maintain that balance of good value and quality which the sector has achieved in recent years.”

The figures show: • At over 3,469,100 visits, overall trips to Ireland were up 10% in the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013; • Visits from Mainland Europe grew by 6% to over 1,218,100 visits; • North America registered an increase of almost 11% (over 574,500 visits); • Visits from Great Britain were up by 14% (1,473,200 visits); • Visits from the rest of the world, mostly long-haul and developing markets, were up by 13%, totalling over 203,300 visits.

Comprehensive look into the minds of our visitors Fáilte Ireland has published a comprehensive set of reports capturing holidaymakers’ views of Ireland and its regional destinations - the Fáilte Ireland Holidaymaker Study 2013. Analysing the views of nearly 10,000 overseas and domestic holidaymakers who visited eleven holiday areas across the country between May to October 2013, the reports provide insights into what visitors experienced and thought about Irish tourism’s key regions.

Insights provided include: • Regarding the overall visitor experience of each area, all regions scored above 4 out of 5 across a range of factors including friendliness of locals, landscapes and the availability of things to see and do.

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• While all regions scored impressively for value for money, when asked where they found exceptional value for money (‘very good value’) when eating out, West Cork (45%) and Clare (42%) performed impressively.

• Hotels were the leading source of accommodation in all regions with B&Bs putting in strong performances in the Dingle peninsula, the ring of Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo and West Cork.

• Hotels, restaurants and pubs were the main venues for eating out - cafés were particularly popular among holidaymakers in Kerry.

Caeman Wall Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Research stressed the importance of research like this towards the future development of Ireland’s tourism sector - “If we want to continue to attract more overseas visitors to Ireland, tourism needs to be ‘visitor-centric’ and based around what they think, what they like and what they want. In that respect, research like this is a valuable help to all of us in the sector as we continue to develop and improve Ireland’s tourism offering.”

To view all the detailed studies on our destinations visit our research page http://www.failteireland.ie/Research-Insights.aspx

FÁILTE FOCUS

€8 million conference boost for Dublin

Fáilte Ireland has announced the securing of three conferences with a potential revenue boost of almost €8 million for Dublin. The announcement underlines the fact that business tourism - including conferencing - in Ireland is going from strength to strength.

Worth €579 million a year, the business tourism sector grew 9% in 2013 and supports 19,000 jobs in Ireland. Already this year Fáilte Ireland’s Dublin Convention Bureau has secured 40 conferences worth almost €30 million for Dublin with many more in the pipeline.

THE SUCCESSFUL CONFERENCE BIDS INCLUDE: • World of Coffee, organised by SCAE (Speciality Coffee Association of Europe) secured for the RDS in June 2016 with 4,000 international delegates • IBTTA (International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association) coming to the Hilton

by Doubletree in September 2015 with 800 delegates • British Elbow and Shoulder Society secured for June 2016 bringing 750 delegates for their annual meeting Sam Johnston, Fáilte Ireland Dublin Convention Bureau emphasised that the winning of conferences such as these events showed that Ireland was positioning itself well to grow the business tourism sector - “With the news of another great revenue boost for Dublin, this clearly shows that our work to pitch Ireland as the ideal business

destination is paying dividends. Fáilte Ireland intends to build further on this growth, with a particular emphasis on incentive travel as well as a highly focussed and energetic approach to targeting and winning more large-scale international meetings, conferences and events to Ireland.”

These figures were released by Fáilte Ireland, which works with Irish members of many international associations and societies (through its Conference Ambassador programme amongst other means) to bring international conferences to Ireland. Last year Ireland welcomed 84,000 international association conference delegates. The estimated value of an international association conference delegate at €1,400 is more than twice that of a leisure tourist in 2013.

Are you considering inviting an international conference to be hosted in Ireland?

To avail of Fáilte Ireland’s assistance visit www.meetinireland.com/conferenceambassador or call Jennifer or Azeta on (01) 8847 256/189 and see how we can help.

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IFSA NEWS

IFSA tees off 50 year anniversary celebrations at annual golf day The popular IFSA Annual Golf Classic 2014 will take place on 29th August in Newlands Golf Club, Dublin 22. Following the success of 2013 we will be continuing The Industry Association Golf Challenge & The IFSA Contract Caterers Trophy - A crack 3-ball IFSA team will host and challenge teams from all of the trade bodies within the Foodservice sector. These IFSA challenges will

Leading the way in Intelligent Environmental Compliance Kingspan Environmental Services launch brand new iFOG solution Kingspan Environmental Services has recently launched iFOG, an innovative and unique solution for managing fat, oil and grease.

With the spotlight now more firmly than ever on the pitfalls associated with non-compliance, businesses across the hospitality sector are searching for ways to manage their FOG regulatory needs efficiently with the help of iFOG. With several key groups across the hospitality and retail industries having already installed iFOG - including the Heritage Group and Marks and Spencers to name but a few - the demand for a cost effective, ‘fit and forget’ FOG solution among traders is clearer than ever to see.

Recognising the immediate need for a cost effective FOG management solution, David Anderson, Kingspan Environmental Service Director comments: “Our aim is to help companies who prepare food (for sale or for staff canteens) to minimise their costs and environmental impact from dealing with Fat, Oil and Grease, whilst giving them the peace of mind that comes from a fully managed remotely monitored service. From the phenomenal response to iFOG so far and from listening to traders, we know there’s a real need for a cost effective solution which completely removes budget and reputational risk when it comes to FOG compliance - we’re confident that our investment in iFOG will help businesses save money, maintain their high reputation and provide complete control and peace of mind.”

Kingspan Environmental offer a completely managed solution with iFOG - an economical ‘fit and forget’ package tailored to suit the FOG management needs for any kitchen without involving your staff. iFOG is professionally installed, complete with innovative monitoring functionality, which allows Kingspan to remotely manage your FOG solution. The intelligent system provides information on consumption levels, and uses environmentally friendly multi-strain bacteria to literally ‘eat’ your fat, ensuring complete peace of mind via this fully packaged solution.

With the growing number of environmental regulations the importance to comply has never been so crucial. From hefty fines, damaged reputation to interrupted business time - we’re all only too aware of the impact non-compliance can have for any trader.

Kingspan’s iFOG solution could help your business save money, time and hassle when it comes to ensuring total compliance - find out more by emailing the Kingspan Environmental Commercial Service Team on compliance@kingspan.com For a limited time only Kingspan are offering free on-site consultations for iFOG. To book yours, email compliance@kingspan.com or Lo-call 048 3025 4077.

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add an additional competitive element to the day and increase networking opportunities for all participants.

The day’s golfing will be followed by a dinner and prize giving at 8pm. Places can be booked for Golf and Dinner or for dinner only. Book your place before 22nd August by logging on to the Upcoming Events Section at www.ifsa.eu.com.

ScanBox Food Transport Systems ScanBox (UK & Ireland) ltd, a branch of ScanBox Sweden, is focused on providing a range of lightweight, easy to use food transport systems. With over 20 years of experience, ScanBox can offer customised and cost effective solutions for distributing food in the catering industry.

With particular focus on ergonomics, safety and ease of operation, ScanBox can provide solutions for food transportation in many settings including care homes, hospitals, hotels and schools.

A unique and innovative range of products allowing effective distribution and holding of hot, cold and ambient food, ScanBox can build trolleys according to customer specific requirements without incurring high additional costs.

The aluminum inner structure and fiberglass reinforced plastic laminate outside, as well as protective bumpers, make the product highly impact resistant and provide protection.

Each trolley has exceptional insulation properties, meaning food stays warmer/colder for longer periods of time, and detachable runners which allows for easy cleaning of the trolley.

Most recently we have been able to offer our unique ‘signature concept’ - giving customers the possibility of customising the exterior look of the trolley to fit any unique brand. As well as this, ScanBox are introducing a completely new glass door for their transport trolleys, providing an exclusive appearance where the food is deliciously presented with led lights mounted on the inside.

Overall, ScanBox can provide top quality, sustainable products at exceptional prices.

To find out more, visit our website www.scanboxuk.com, or contact info@scanboxuk.com for any enquiries.

IFSA NEWS

Brewing up the biggest buzz the city has seen this September!

- details of Dublin’s first coffee & tea festival announced To celebrate the news that Ireland has been chosen to host the prestigious World Barista Championships in 2016, the coffee and tea industry will give the public a fascinating insight into café culture this September with the launch of the inaugural Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival 2014. A first-time event for Ireland, it will celebrate the ever-more sophisticated tastes for coffee and tea in the country An all-encompassing show, the Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival will be brimming with events for all to enjoy including The Roasters’ Village (sponsored by Marco Beverage Systems - a hub of coffee and tea micro roasters and retailers all keen to engage one on one with the public), The People’s Stage (from farmers at origin to Patrick Bewley, Garath Scully, Stephen Morrissey and Colin Harmon at the launch roasters to fairtrade and of the Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival. green been farmers this is a platform for all the experts and enthusiasts in the field to share their wealth of knowledge and answer questions), The Festival Roastery (a micro-roastery at the show where the public can experience the roasting process first-hand) The Food Village (to whet the appetites even further there will be a range of pastry and chocolate makers on hand to share their latest offerings for all to taste), Fringe Events (live music etc).

Sean Martin, Chairman, IFSA said, “This is a very exciting event for the coffee and tea community in Ireland. Through the platform of the Festival we will be focussing our efforts on educating and inspiring the public and the national media to embrace speciality coffee and teas and the associated culture and lifestyle. Both IFSA and SCAE have worked together for over 14 years now in staging the Irish Barista Championship and have sent many competitors to the European and World championships with high levels of success recorded annually. We are very excited that this collaboration has also presented the Irish Coffee community with the opportunity to stage the largest coffee event in the World in 2016 - the staging of the World of Coffee exhibition in Dublin and the hosting of the World Barista Championship 2016, where over 65 Nations will compete and over 5000 International coffee and tea professionals will spend a week in Dublin enjoying the event and all that Dublin and Ireland has on offer.”

The Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival has also just announced that it is set to launch the first ever Home Barista Competition in Ireland. The competition, which presents the public with the opportunity to demonstrate their skill at making speciality coffees themselves at home, has been designed along the lines of the infamous World Barista Competition for professionals.

Competitions scheduled to take place so far include The National Brewers Cup and the semi-finals of the much-lauded Irish Barista Championship and the National Latte Art Championship (the finals of which will take place at CATEX 2015).

For further information on features, competitions and exhibitors check out www.dublincoffeefestival.com For further information please contact: Garret Buckley Event Director 01-8460020 086-2465093 garret.buckley@eventhaus.ie Elaine Roddy Press Relations 01-8460020 087-8272373 elaine.roddy@eventhaus.ie

Some key companies on the Irish coffee and tea scene are supporting the festival including: 3FE Coffee Ltd Alpro Api Chocolate Ariosa Coffee Badger and Dodo Coffee Bailies Coffee Company Basilur Tea Benders Paper Cups Bewleys Coffee & Tea Ltd. Brita Broderick Bros Café Warehouse Chez Emily Clonakilty Chocolate Cloud Picker Coffee Coffee Culture Coffee Perfection Cottage Pride Preserves Dairyland De Longhi Delpac Ltd. Embassy of Indonesia Espresso Supplies Espresso Tech European Water Fair Trade Ireland First Draft Coffee Fitness Coffee & Tea Food For Thought Gourmet Tea Shop Hancock & Abberton Hausbrandt Heavenly Tea & Coffee Co. Insomnia Italicatessen Ltd Java Republic Joes Coffee Kingfisher Tea La Marzocco Lily’s Tea Shop Marco Beverage Systems Mariko Marley Coffee Matthew Algie McCabe’s Gourmet Coffee Mrs Doyle’s Tea Company NevPak Niks Tea Ponticelli Coffee Ratio Brand Vending Robert Roberts SCAE Scanomat Ireland Ltd Severin Simply Wild Solaris Botanicals Square Mile Coffee Sticky Fingers Bakery Suki Tea TeaPigs Third Wave Coffee Source Tim Horton’s Two Spot Coffee UCC Coffee Ireland

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TOURISM

Tourism Ireland unveils unknown Irish family connections of H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco Tourism Ireland has unveiled previously unknown Irish family connections of H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco. Research commissioned by Tourism Ireland and carried out by genealogy researchers Eneclann has revealed that Princess Charlene’s ancestors can be traced back to the 1520s and a prominent Dublin family called the Fagans.

Princess Charlene was presented with a Certificate of Irish Heritage by HE Rory Montgomery, Irish Ambassador to France, in the Prince’s Palace in Monaco, with her husband, Prince Albert, also in attendance. The Certificate is an official recognition by the Irish Government of those who are proud of their Irish ancestry and heritage.

Tourism Ireland is sharing the news on its international website, Ireland.com. The story is also being shared with Tourism Ireland’s Facebook fans (about 2.25 million fans worldwide) and Twitter followers (131,000+). Finola O’Mahony, Tourism Ireland’s Head of Europe, said: “We are delighted to announce the Irish connections of H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco. We hope that the princely couple will consider a visit to Ireland in the near future, to see for themselves the places associated with both of their family histories. With an estimated 70 million people across the world claiming links or affiliations with the island of Ireland, Tourism Ireland is actively reaching out to the Diaspora. We are inviting them to visit Ireland, to trace their ancestry and learn more about their Irish roots and then explore the places their ancestors came from.”

While the Irish connections of Prince Albert, and his mother Princess Grace, are well documented, this latest research shows that Princess Charlene descends on her paternal line from the Fagans of Feltrim, one of the most successful gentlemenmerchant families in Dublin in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Fagans made a number of enduring contributions to the

development of Dublin, which are still visible in the city today. In 1592, Richard and Christopher Fagan, the Princess’s great (x 12) grandfathers, were key figures in the foundation of Trinity College; and in the 1660s, Christopher Fagan, the Princess’s great (x 9) grandfather, sold the manor of Phoenix to the Duke of Ormond to create a royal deer park - which we know today as the Phoenix Park.

At the end of the 17th century, the Fagan family moved to Killarney, where they continued to prosper in international commerce, trading with the East Indies and colonial America; they had homes in both Kerry and Cork. The last of the Princess’s direct ancestors born in Ireland was her great (x 4) grandfather, Christopher Sullivan Fagan, who was baptised in St Mary’s, Shandon, in Cork in 1781.

Princess Charlene was presented with a Certificate of Irish Heritage by HE Rory Montgomery, Irish Ambassador to France, in the Prince’s Palace in Monaco, with her husband, Prince Albert, also in attendance. Pictured (l-r) are Albert II Prince of Monaco; Princess Charlene; Finola O’Mahony, Tourism Ireland; HE Rory Montgomery, Irish Ambassador to France; and genealogist Fiona Fitzsimons, Eneclann.

Chinese officials in Ireland for government training A group of 12 Chinese Government officials and executives from state-owned enterprises based in Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing and Beijing were in Dublin for a six-week training and briefing programme, organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in co-operation with Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and UCD. The Senior Officials Training Programme is aimed at promoting and developing Ireland’s economic interests in Shanghai and elsewhere in China.

The group was briefed on Tourism Ireland’s programme of promotional activity to grow visitor numbers from China. China is an important emerging travel market and one that Tourism Ireland is committed to growing over the coming years. The Chinese group is pictured with Peter Nash, Tourism Ireland (second left); Joyce Xue, Irish Consulate in Shanghai (second right); and Conor O’Rourke, UCD.

10 million Indian TV viewers to see Ireland in HD Some of our major tourist attractions will be broadcast across India this autumn to more than ten million people. A major Indian TV channel, travelxp HD, visited Ireland recently to film some of the wonderful experiences that their viewers can enjoy on holiday here. The travel programme, which will air this autumn, will be seen by more than 10 million viewers across India who have a passion for travel and adventure.

Jim Paul, Tourism Ireland’s head of Australia and developing markets, said: “We are delighted that travelxp HD agreed to come and film in Ireland, showcasing some of the unique experiences Indian holidaymakers can enjoy here. Travel programmes such as this are an excellent way for Tourism Ireland to get positive exposure for the island of Ireland in India.

This programme will be seen by more than ten million potential Indian holidaymakers - enthusing them about Ireland and encouraging them to come and experience it for themselves.”

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TV presenter Olivia Cox gets a surf lesson from Ben Bennett, Ben’s Surf Clinic in Lahinch, Co Clare; also pictured are producer Santosh Singh; cameraman Abhishek Surendra Jain; director Joseph Panikulan; Arundhati Sawant, Tourism Ireland; and Karen Goggin, Fáilte Ireland.

TOURISM

New online film promotes flagship event of Limerick City of Culture Tourism Ireland has produced a new online film to highlight the flagship event of this year’s Limerick City of Culture programme. The event - ‘The Giant’s Journey’ presented by renowned French street theatre company Royal de Luxe - will take place over three days and three nights in Limerick this September. It promises to be a wonderful spectacle which is sure to appeal to Tourism Ireland’s international audience - on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and on Ireland.com. The 60-second ‘teaser’ film features the giant, elaborate marionettes of Royal de Luxe winding through the streets of Nantes, in France - giving people a flavour of what to expect when this dramatic pageant comes here this autumn and urging prospective travellers everywhere to “join us in Limerick”.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “We are delighted to unveil this online film, highlighting the flagship event of Limerick City of Culture and whetting people’s appetites to come and visit. Throughout 2014, Tourism Ireland is taking every opportunity to shine a spotlight on Limerick in our promotions around the world - leveraging the tourism benefits of this year-long celebration of culture and showcasing the city as a cultural and historic destination.

“We are also capitalising on important access developments - promoting the new, as well as existing, flights from Britain, the US and Mainland Europe to Shannon Airport - to The elaborate marionettes of Royal de Luxe’s ‘Giant’s Journey’ come to Limerick in September. continue to grow overseas tourism to Limerick and the Mid-West.”

Business ‘BUZZ’ in Germany!

Spotlight on the Wild Atlantic Way in Britain

Twelve Irish tourism enterprises took part in a business tourism workshop and networking event in Düsseldorf - organised by Tourism Ireland to highlight Ireland as a world-class conference and business tourism destination. The Irish delegation met and did business with more than 60 senior representatives of German companies involved in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) industry, who are responsible for organising international conferences, meetings and large-scale incentive events around the world for their clients.

Attending Tourism Ireland’s business tourism workshop and networking event in Düsseldorf were (l-r) Aoife Kernan, Tourism Ireland; Christoph Haustein, TIFCO Hotel Group; Paula Carroll, Ashford Castle; Cathy Joyce, Citywest Hotel; Bronagh McKee, Ballsbridge Hotel; Stefanie Bück, Advantage ico; Susan Sheahan, Clyde Court Hotel; Karina Dunne, Druid’s Glen Resort; Michelle Blake, The Marker Hotel; Julia Rozenberg, Aer Lingus; Gina Passi, Royal Marine Hotel, Dún Laoghaire; John Callely, Odyssey International; and Áine Comerford, Waterford Castle Hotel & Golf Resort.

Online ads are promoting flights to Knock in GB

More than 2 million people living in Manchester and Birmingham have been hearing radio ads for the Wild Atlantic Way this summer. Tourism Ireland teamed up with Flybe and Ireland West Airport Knock, to highlight great airfares to Knock from Manchester and Birmingham. The campaign is running during July and August reminding potential holidaymakers living in and around both British cities why they should put this part of Ireland on their wish-list for a holiday or short break. The ads have been airing on popular radio stations like Capital FM, Heart West Midlands and Key 103, urging listeners to come and explore “Ireland’s most beautiful beaches, harbours and headlands”. The campaign also includes online advertising on popular leisure, travel and outdoor websites.

Ireland in focus ‘Down Under’ Tourism Ireland promoted the island of Ireland to influential Australian travel agents, at the inaugural Travel Industry Exhibition, which took place recently in Sydney.

The two-day, B2B event was attended by approximately 1,300 travel agents and travel industry professionals. Diane Butler, Tourism Ireland (right), is pictured with an Australian travel agent visiting the Ireland stand.

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REFURBISHMENT

A great grá for the Ballsbridge Hotel Hotel & Restaurant Times looks at a Dublin 4 success story.

The Ballsbridge Hotel, formerly Jurys Ballsbridge Hotel, has gone from strength to strength in recent times. The Hotel is now managed and part-owned by Dalata Hotel Group, the largest hotel operator in Ireland, and has been substantially refurbished over the past eighteen months.

Hotel and Restaurant Times met with Des McCann, General Manager of the Hotel, and Stephen McNally, Deputy Chief Executive of Dalata and President of the Irish Hotels Federation, to talk about the refurbishment programme as well as Dalata’s vision for the Ballsbridge Hotel amidst the challenges of an everchanging industry.

The refurbishment works were carried out while the Hotel remained open due to the volume of business booked. For this reason, the refurbishment was carried out on a phased basis. As Des explains – “We had Austrian corporate business of 120 bedrooms booked for a period of more than six consecutive weeks, followed by a number of incentive group bookings and had to ensure that the business was fully operational for these guests while the works were in progress. At the same time, we were very conscious that we had to meet a deadline of having 300 bedrooms refurbished in time for the arrival of the International Rugby Board conference, which we achieved. I am pleased to say that all of these events were a great success.”

Other improvements have also been made to our service offering in tandem with the bedroom refurbishment programme, including a new fire alarm system, refurbished ballroom, new state-of-the-art meeting rooms, and a new restaurant offering. The refurbishment cost to date is in the region of €4.5m but investment in the product is critical for any hotel to flourish. In addition, we have employed new departmental managers ably supported by an energetic and enthusiastic team with a real “can do” attitude, and a new focused business plan.

Stephen added, “I’ve noticed that hoteliers around the country are now implementing light refurbishment programmes as their cashflows allow.

They’re spending a few hundred euro on bedrooms - painting, carpet, grouting, etc and improving public area presentation. We

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all know that, fundamentally, the customer wants a clean room, and a good shower, bed and TV. In the case of the Ballsbridge Hotel, it went through a period where funding was unavailable to refurbish the product resulting in a drop in physical standard and Fáilte Ireland grading and, consequently, room rate was severely reduced. Many hotels around the country have been similarly starved of investment.

If we don’t improve our room rate level limited product investment will continue and businesses will decline or even disappear.For example, within Dalata, we had to replace over 200 TVs in one of our hotels at a cost of €40,000. If we hadn’t made this commitment guests would deem us old fashioned and move their business elsewhere.

“In general, business levels in the Dublin area have dramatically improved over the past twelve months,” he says, “which is reflected in the capital’s rising room rates. It is important that hoteliers are able to reinvest this additional revenue back into their businesses which have had little or no investment over the past seven years.”

“For Ballsbridge Hotel the past twelve months have been tremendous, in part as a result of rebuilding good business relationships, the success of the Convention Centre Dublin, improved corporatebusiness, e.g. Google and Facebook, and increased activity associated with events such as The Dublin Horse Show. There’s also a great grá in the area for the Hotel,” Stephen adds, “people want to see the Hotel return to its former self.”

REFURBISHMENT

“We talk about the importance of providing a good guest experience but that is not possible without a good team effort,” Des says. “We invest time in training our staff to listen to our guests to ensure we provide the best possible service. At the end of the day, it is our customers that keep our business alive. We have an excellent team of 240 employees in Ballsbridge Hotel and in this area the Dalata influence is significant in terms of enabling us to hire the future stars of the hospitality industry.

Dalata now has almost 4000 employees across the Group and continues to grow.

There are great opportunities within the Company for people to progress their careers. We have the training model that will allow them tomove to the next level; it’s a full career path.”

We all knew that the focus for the Hotel’s first year under Dalata management had to be on building up the business that had been lost previously. Thankfully, our efforts have been rewarded and people have voted with their feet. Business is buoyant and we are very satisfied with trading levels to date. This success is a result of a very positive customer experience which, of course, is linked inextricably to our staff.”

So with such a positive eighteen months where do Stephen and Des see the Hotel in the next eighteen?

“Success doesn’t happen overnight,” Des tells us, “but I can already see huge growth in conference and banqueting bookings for 2015. Although there has been a hotel located at this site for many years we, as the current operators, are still the new

kids on the block so we must continue our efforts to generate new business. For example, every week for four months of the year we welcome a coach party from New Zealand, in addition, every second week we welcome groups from Iceland and Sweden which is an indication of new markets opening up.”

Stephen finishes: “We’ve made tremendous progress in the last eighteen months. Business has been fantastic; the increase in customer footfall is amazing.

Looking forward to Autumn/Winter 2014 we have twenty-five gala dinners already booked, compared to five such events for the same period last year, and our Christmas party nights are already full. It’s all about delivery. If you deliver service and value your customers will keep coming back.”

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ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Energy matters H&RT looks at the competitive gas market in Ireland.

Energy remains a major expense for homes and business alike across Ireland, both of which have been hit hard over the last few years by spiralling energy costs; according to a report released by Eurostat earlier this year, Ireland is the fourth most expensive country for electricity in the EU. For businesses such as hotels and restaurants, which can consume vast amounts of energy between warming the guest rooms, lighting the myriad hallways and keeping

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the kitchen ticking over, securing a low-cost deal on their energy should be of paramount importance.

When it comes to restaurants, cooking consumes one third of all energy used according to information published by Calor Gas - followed by refrigeration (20%) and lighting (15%). However, restaurants who streamline their energy consumption can reduce their bill by up to 40%.

Efficiency is pivotal in reducing energy costs, and so - according to Calor Gas’ ebook on energy saving in the restaurant sector - staff should be trained in the correct usage of all relevant equipment to keep wasted energy to a minimum.

Equipment needs to be regularly maintained to optimise energy consumption - for instance, seals that are not maintained can lead to heat loss, demanding more energy from the appliance in question.

In both hotels and restaurants the kitchen (the most energy-guzzling organ of the business) should be monitored separately due to its high consumption of gas, electricity and water. Heat generating appliances should be set up beneath a ventilation hood and fridges/freezers should not be filled to capacity, allowing cold air to circulate longer, while infrequently used equipment can be switched off.

Refrigerators and freezers in kitchens can also force increased ventilation, so their motors should either be equipped with extraction or situated outside the kitchen.

Ventilation filters need to be cleaned frequently and dishwashers should only be used once fully loaded, while installing energy-efficient lighting throughout the premises will incur long-term savings.

Gas cooking is often the preferred method for Irish chefs given the increased level of control it affords to the cook. As such, securing a good gas deal can be critical to a hotel or restaurant balancing its energy budget. Furthermore, the latest Bord Gáis Energy Index revealed that gas prices in Ireland have fallen due to strong supplies.

“Because of its responsiveness, gas is the fuel of choice for chefs,” explains Mark Holohan, National Sales Manager, Bord Gáis Networks. “In addition, in terms of heating a hotel or restaurant it’s easily controlled; you don’t have to store it on site, which can be a big issue with theft, and you can pay after you use it. Hotels can not only cook with it; they can heat swimming pools, bathrooms and laundry rooms. Tumble dryers are also most efficient when used on gas.”

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Gas in Ireland currently comes in two forms: natural gas (which is pumped directly into the premises) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) which is stored in transferrable cylinders. According to the SEAI - the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland - both can incur substantial savings over oil; up to 40% in the case of natural gas, the cleanest, cheapest and most convenient fossil fuel available on the Irish market. Furthermore, converting to natural gas from LPG can save the business 50% on its energy costs.

Ireland’s national natural gas network is operated by Bord Gáis Networks and delivers natural gas to homes and businesses across the country. Bord Gáis Networks currently covers 19 counties nationwide, and will be extending its service to cover the towns of Nenagh and Wexford.

There are a number of energy suppliers currently fuelling hotels and restaurants nationwide. Among them are Bord Gáis Energy (natural gas and electricity), Flogas and Calor Gas. Bord Gáis Networks offers a combined heat and power (CHP) application that enables hotels of all sizes to generate electricity for onsite usage using natural gas to suit their energy requirements, engendering significant energy savings. The Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork reduced its energy bill by over 40% using this package, ensuring a 2 year return on investment.

Flogas provides both LPG and natural gas to some of Ireland’s leading hotels and restaurants, including the Mount Falcon Country House Hotel in Mayo, the Roganstown Golf and Country Club in Swords and the Lough Erne Hotel in Fermanagh. Among the restaurants to avail of its energy saving offers was MacNean House & Restaurant in County Cavan, owned and operated by celebrity chef Neven Maguire. The restaurant expanded in 2010 to incorporate an extra building to keep up with its ever-growing popularity, but recognising that this would entail an increase in energy consumption, MacNean House contacted Flogas for advice. After conducting an extensive free energy survey of the premises, Flogas recommended the installation of high-efficiency gas boilers, replacing the existing oil boiler.

MacNean House now benefits from having all of its energy needs met from the single source - in this case, LPG - which has significantly reduced its annual energy costs.

As an energy solutions specialist, Flogas can design and implement a complete turnkey solution for your business, whatever its size. The company offers a no-obligation free survey which will analyse your existing energy costs and outline the benefits and savings by converting from oil to LPG. Calor Gas is another leading LPG supplier in Ireland, situated in County Dublin. It also offers CHP solutions to

businesses of all sizes, a good energysaving option for premises such as hotels which often require a constant energy supply. Among its other products are instant water heaters (which preclude the cost of storing hot water by producing it only as needed) and gas fired heat pumps (which can be used to both heat and cool and typically deliver CO2 savings of 20 25% versus similar electrical products).

Another important consideration for hotels and restaurants moving forward is the usage of green energy. Fossil fuels are finite, and given the volatile state of affairs throughout the Middle East (notably Iraq and Syria, where ISIS have commandeered some of the most productive oilfields, spooking speculators) together with its ever dwindling supply, oil in particular is not a viable long term solution for businesses, with the Bord Gais Energy Index confirming price rises month-on-month.

As such, green energy sources are options that Irish hotels and restaurants should seriously consider, as demonstrated

by Bewley’s Hotel in Dublin Airport, whose solar water heating system not only saves it an estimated €15,000 a year on energy bills but also reduces its CO2 output by 46 tonnes every twelve months. Although installing such a system is undoubtedly expensive (Bewley’s paid in the region of €210,000, according to Sustainable Energy Ireland) the long term benefits reaped over many years make it a worthwhile investment.

Although electricity in Ireland remains costly, expenses can be minimised through sensible measures such as the installation of energy efficient lighting. Electric Ireland also recommends installing occupancy sensors which switch off lights in unoccupied rooms and reducing heating 1°C, which can save up to 8% per annum on energy. Furthermore, properly insulating the building will reduce the need for heating, which should be limited to occupied rooms where possible.

For hotels and restaurants seeking to reduce their energy consumption, outside help can sometimes be the best option, and to this end companies such as Frontline Energy and EMPI specialise in offering businesses energy management services, advising them on energy efficiency actions that can greatly reduce their energy usage.

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ONLINE MARKETING

Customer ownership and the danger of losing control Claire Sawier and Des O’Mahony One of the main reasons our hotel partners engage with us in Bookassist is to drive their own brand online and to build their direct business. And of course to capitalise monetarily on it. By and large, we can achieve this with our hotel partners once they are committed to the hard work and the initial costs required to put the direct booking strategy front and centre of their entire business strategy and not just consider digital strategy as peripheral.

A critical part of the digitial strategy is using online travel agents (OTAs) effectively, but a balance needs to be struck and most hotels are over-reliant on OTAs. The process of shifting business away from a reliance on distributors and towards direct booking on your branded website is initially quite a difficult one to get moving, and some hotels greet the initial spend requirements with a certain reticence. But it can quickly snowball into positivity as more and more direct bookings generated means more and more savings made per booking, freeing up cash to allow for reinvestment in the direct booking strategy. When understood and managed properly, momentum builds and it becomes self-perpetuating.

My customer While we measure the result of a direct strategy in terms of bookings made, the actual reason a direct strategy becomes successful relates to customer ownership and how a hotel manages it. Likewise, the reason why mismanaged online distribution can be a threat to your business is that hotels do not grasp the danger of losing control of customer ownership.

It may seem obvious, but what exactly do I mean when I say that someone is “my customer”? If they are staying in my hotel, then are they “my customer”, yes?

Not necessarily.

The key relates not to where the customer stays, but to how their choice was made and to who was responsible for triggering their decision. Who owns the mindset of the customer is perhaps the most relevant question to consider.

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The decision process OTAs have largely commoditised travel into location and price, with little opportunity for hotels to project or control their brand. Rate parity agreements forced hotels to think only in terms of price and weakened hotels’ individual brand value considerably. Unable to pitch their uniqueness on OTAs, hotels were increasingly forced to compete on price only and, with rate parity, their own website prices also continued to fall, further weakening margins.

For the online customer, the OTA presents a compelling option with great choice and good pricing. When a customer books on an OTA and then gets great service at the hotel, they are on the whole pleased with the OTA as much as with the hotel (if not more so). It is on the OTA’s website where their key decision and commitment was made, and the OTA owns the mindset of the guest in that case. A happy customer will likely return to the OTA. Critically, it is the OTA who has the customer data in full, and they do not pass much of this to the hotel. The OTA is likely to have customer history and browsing behaviour, and can make very positive use of future marketing and targeted offers.

Even if you have a strong data-gathering policy at check-in, you cannot match the data and tracking the OTA has already gathered. As a hotel, your chance to influence the OTA guest, to reward them or to encourage repeat bookings is slim.

Your control over the customer experience is limited to the time they spend in your hotel, but even the positivity this brings is reflected as much on the OTA as on you.

OTAs understand the value of their customer data very well. And they are consistently better at remarketing than the average hotel. Guests who book your hotel indirectly are targeted on many occasions by the OTA following their visit with incentives to stay in other properties, most likely your competitors, for even better deals. The pitch on price is relentless and OTAs encourage loyalty to their brand, not to any one specific hotel.

The value of direct When an online customer books direct, the decision trigger is quite different. If they are already familiar with your property/brand, then their direct booking is an endorsement of what this stands for. If they are booking as a result of a marketing campaign of yours, then you are definitely doing something right. If they are booking because their research has led them to your website and your content has convinced them, then your digital strategy is working positively. All of these reasons point to the guest’s mindset being under your influence, and on this you can build.

For the direct guest, you are in control once the booking is made. With pre-stay contact, and everything you do from arrival onwards, you can work towards demonstrating the positive link between brand and price that ultimately enables you to hold your rates in a competitive environment. You are in control of your brand distinction and can charge for the difference.

With the customer data, you are in control of the future customer relationship and have an open line of communication with your guest from enquiry stage through to repeat booking and referrals.

You have the ability to nurture that relationship yielding additional revenue through upselling prior to arrival, additional spend over a customer life time and the possibility of creating brand ambassadors on social media to further encourage more direct booking referrals.

All assuming of course that you actually do these things with your data. In our experience, unfortunately few hotels do and major opportunities are being lost daily to capitalise on the data asset that hotels have. Those lost opportunities directly affect your bottom line.

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ONLINE MARKETING

The irony of distribution is that while you seize it to widen catchment you also actively compete with yourself online (and often lose) and threaten this direct customer relationship. When a guest specifically searches for your hotel by name, they are already your customer and yours to lose. Only results for your online presence (website, social media, blogs etc) should ideally be displayed from that search and ensuring this as much as possible is a critical task in your digital strategy. But your own distribution policy probably means that your distribution partners take your availability and your best pricing, and then use this to compete directly against you for your own direct guest on the search results right alongside your hotel. In many cases, they will do a better job at attracting that guest in (and charge you for doing so). It’s like you’re encouraging multiple hands to go up when your name is called out, instead of ensuring only yours is raised. Your strongest chance of seizing customer ownership is already jeopardised and you are allowing it to happen.

“Free” booking engines OTAs have now begun to push further into the ownership area by incentivising hotels to cede more control without many hotels realising what’s behind it.

Recognising the increasing threat of direct booking, OTAs have begun to offer “free” booking engines for your hotel website, which on the face of it may look like a steal. But they are very much a trojan horse. With shared rates, they lock in effective rate equality between your website and the OTA (even as rate parity clauses are beginning to be thrown out of courts across Europe) and with shared inventory they guarantee all the stock an OTA can want without them ever having to ask. They punish by offering competitors as alternatives when your hotel has no availability. And more importantly, they suck up the customer data and customer tracking right on your own website and in doing so can profile your guest and offer

much more targeted alternatives. While the zero cost may look attractive, the real cost is coming down the line in lost data and opportunity.

Bottom line The focus on direct booking is usually couched in terms of the need or desire to reduce commissions to your distributors, to increase your margin, to drive more gross profit from your sales. While these are all critical and important issues, they are not the overriding advantage of that focus. The advantage of building direct bookings lies in the long term, in the personal data you are gathering and in the relationships you are fostering. Continually ask yourself who owns this customer? It is the regaining of the customer ownership that is key, and it is customer ownership and what you do with it that will bring longevity to your hotel’s business.

Claire Sawier is Head of Marketing and Dr Des O’Mahony is CEO and Founder at Bookassist (bookassist.com), the technology + digital strategy partner for hotels.

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FOOD

forTHOUGHT restaurants association of ireland VOTES NO CONFIDENCE IN DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL

Average commercial rates increase by 68% in 2014

tarnished the image of the tourism industry in Dublin in light of the Garth Brooks fiasco.

July 18th, 2014, Dublin, Ireland.

Several restaurants in Dublin saw their annual rates bill jump dramatically in the past twelve months, putting strain on struggling restaurant businesses and putting jobs, and livelihoods, at risk.”

The Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) voted no confidence in Dublin City Council as a pro-business authority.

Over the last two years, the association can point out numerous incidents where Dublin City Council conducted itself in an antibusiness manner, and have specifically targeted the restaurant and tourism industry.

Commercial rates for restaurants in Dublin have increased on average by 68% in the last twelve months.

Chief Executive of the RAI, Adrian Cummins, is questioning whether or not Dublin City Council is deliberately targeting the restaurant and tourism industry through anti-business measures.

“Over the last two years, Dublin City Council has turned off the water on us, increased our commercial charges and have

Commercial rates Examples of increases in Dublin:

Restaurant A: Dublin 7- €3,200 to €6,000.

Restaurant B: Dublin 2- €3,000 to €4,500.

Restaurant C: Dublin 6- €15,000 to €25,000.

Restaurant D: Dublin 2- €8,000 to €12,000.

Restaurant E: Dublin 2- €14,000 to €29,000.

World Cup Recipes E-book Launched by the Restaurants Association of Ireland and Calor The Restaurants Association of Ireland and Calor recently teamed up to provide a variety of delicious recipes from all over the globe inspired by the countries taking part in the World Cup in Brazil.

On each day of the World cup, a recipe from a Chef/Restaurant that is a member of the Restaurants Association of Ireland was published online and shared via social media. The recipe reflected a dish from one of the nations playing a match that day.

To download a copy of ‘A Taste of the World Cup’ recipes e-book please click here: http://www.calorgas.ie/gas-cylinders/living/world-cup-recipes/

This partnership provided the opportunity to showcase the superb culinary skills which are right here on our doorstep in Ireland and the fantastic range of restaurants that are members of the RAI. At the same time, it highlights the versatility of LPG for cooking, specifically the Calor Mini-BBQ, which has been specially designed as an outdoor cooking solution; it’s portable and stylish and is the coolest summer accessory around.

Even though, the Boys in Green did not make the trip to Brazil, by trying out some of these gastronomic delights on the MiniBBQ we hope that you can spice up the rest of your summer, and ease the disappointment!

The Restaurants Association of Ireland would like to thank our colleagues Calor and partners for their help and support, and to Restaurants Association of Ireland all of the chefs and restaurants across the country that participated 11 and Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine shared some of their culinary delights.Street - Dublin 8 - Registered Company No. 56224 We hope you enjoy the recipes as much as we have had tasting them!

Official Sponsor of

FOODforTHOUGHT

Patrons:

FOODforTHOUGHT

Allergens Legislation to be introduced Food Allergens legislation is due to come in to effect on 14th December 2014.

In advance of legislation, Unilever Food Solutions have developed an Allergens & Diets Guide for Professional Catering which you can download for free online.

Food Outlets will have to provide information on up to 14 key allergens on their menus and in addition at least one member of staff must be knowledgeable enough to answer any questions related to allergen content. This will be a big challenge for the restaurant http://www.unileverfoodsolutions.ie/our-services/ and foodservice industry. The RAI will be making your-menu/allergens the case not to have every allergen listed on each individual menu item.

RAI calls for a single national events body to streamline all Tourism, Music and Sporting events.

The industry body is advocating for the establishment of an agency with the responsibility for promoting Ireland as a destination for events, festivals, large scale sporting competitions and music concerts. Events Ireland would have the responsibility for the implementation of a national

strategic plan for large scale events. Events Ireland would work with other government departments, agencies and external organisations in order to ensure that licenses are obtained for major events around Ireland, and promotion is streamlined in both national and international marketing.

Budget 2015 Budget 2015 will take place on October 14th this year. The Restaurants Association of Ireland is currently putting together its Pre-budget Submission.

They key focus of our submission will be;

Keep VAT at 9%

Excise Duty Reduction – Support Your Local Campaign Local Authority Rates Campaigns will be commencing shortly to highlight these issues. Your participation will be key to having

Official Sponsor of

FOODforTHOUGHT

the voice of the industry heard in the run up to the budget. We will be sending member notifications via a mix of post, e-mail and text message.

Patrons:

O

F

FOODforTHOUGHT

The Restaurant Association of Ireland is delighted to welcome Stonehouse Marketing Ltd as its newest patron.

Foodservice contracts division, Horeca Foodservices supplies the Contract Catering aspect of the Foodservice business but our core Foodservice business is supplying businesses such as yours.

Stonehouse Marketing was formed in 2000 as the result of a merger between Associated National Distributors and National Wholesale. Our Central Office, which is effectively a support office for the 31 wholesale cash & carry members is located in Dundrum, Dublin 14.

Our depots are located in most counties in Ireland, an efficient delivery service is provided by all depots and , generally, we are family owned and managed.

We are a part of the communities in which we operate and have a strong focus on customer service. Being part of a group allows our depots to compete favourably with competitors and the White Hat range of foodservice products is designed to enable our wide range of end users to avail of a quality range at value for money pricing.

We own the Homestead range of retail products and between our group we operate the Costcutter, Londis and Gala retail franchises in Ireland. Our

Stonehouse is extremely excited to be a Patron of the Restaurants Association of Ireland and we intend to use the service provided by the RAI to be in regular contact with you. While our website, www.stonehouse.ie is being re designed, log on to www.whitehat.ie for details of the Stonehouse depot closest to you.

Brian Elliott is the Foodservice & Alcohol Co-Ordinator for Stonehouse Marketing Ltd and would be happy to answer any queries you may have. Ph: (m) 086 821 7181 (d) 01 299 3302

Food and Hospitality Show – 17th and 18th September 2014 Food & Hospitality Ireland is Ireland’s most vibrant food, drink, hospitality and retail trade event. It will take place at Citywest, Dublin on 17-18 September 2014 and will showcase the most innovative new products and services in the Irish food and drink sector. As a visitor you will discover never-before-seen products and hear from industry leaders on the latest industry trends.

Attractions include The Skillery, in association with the RAI - a live cooking demonstration area which will host some of Ireland’s finest chefs demonstrating the best of Irish culinary skills.

You can register for free at: www.foodhospitality.ie/ RAI Official Sponsor of

FOODforTHOUGHT

Patrons:

NEW MEMBERS Restaurant Name

County

Restaurant Name

County

Healthy Habits Coffee

Co. Wicklow

Toni's Bistro & Coffee Shop

Co. Donegal

The Pantry Restarant

Co. Donegal

The Yew Tree Restaurant

Co. Roscommon

The Summit Inn

Co. Dublin

Greenacres

Co. Wexford

The Milford Inn Hotel

Co. Donegal

Con's Restaurant

Co. Kerry

WJ Kavanagh Bar

Dublin 1

St. Kyran's Country House

Co. Cavan

The Curragower Seafood Bar

Limerick

Simple Simons

Co. Donegal

The Chocolate Garden of Ireland

Co. Carlow

Toni's Bistro & Coffee Shop

Co. Donegal

The Unicorn Bar & Restaurant

Co. Limerick

Jules Restaurant @ Trim Castle Hotel

Co. Meath

Mulranny Park Hotel

Co. Mayo

Inch House

Co. Tipperary

The Pantry Restaurant

Co. Donegal

Deasy's Harbour Bar & Seafood Restaurant

Co. Cork

O'Neills Accommodation

Dubln 2

La Bella Donna

Co. Donegal

The Derby Arms

Co. Cork

The Galley Kitchen @ The Sextant Bar

Co. Cork

Bleecker Street Café Bar

Dublin 1

Oliver's Seafood Bar

Co. Galway

Packies

Co. Kerry

Cronins Restaurant

Co. Kerry

La Fantasia Caffe Italia Ltd

Co. Donegal

Kathmandu Kitchen

Dublin 2

Co. Longford

Halpin's Bridge Café

Co. Wicklow

Nottages Restaurant

Co. Cork

Gulpd Café

Co. Cork

The Unicorn Bar and Restaurant

Co. Limerick

L'Atmosphere

Co. Waterford

Kiltipper Café bar

Dublin 24

Drimoleague Inn

Co. Cork

The Paddocks Bar

Dublin 15

Paris Texas Bar & Restaurant

Co. Kilkenny

The Bombay House

Co. Dublin

Dinty's Bar

Co. Cork

Stircrazy

Dublin 2

Bellewstown Golf Club

Co. Meath

Khan Tandoori

Co Meath

Café M

Co. Mayo

Crave

Co Meath

Gallagher's Pub

Co. Cork

Foodworks

Co. Kilkenny

Boathouse Bistro @ Dromaquinna Manor

Co. Kerry

Lena's Tearoom

Co. Leitrim

Liss Ard Estate

Co. Cork

Co Mayo

The Donkey Shed Restaurant

Co. Meath

Pearla Na Mara

Co. Galway

Koi

Co. Dublin

Kin Khao Thai

Co. Westmeath

Ardee Golf Club

Co. Louth

Stillorgan Orchard

Co. Dublin

Mitchell's Seafood Restaurant

Co. Galway

Corks Café & Wine Bar

Co. Meath

Olde Glen Bar & Restaurant

Co. Donegal

Beshoff Brothers

Dublin 4

The Langton Room Restaurant

Co. Kilkenny

Beshoff Brothers

Dublin 2

Marble City Bar

Co. Kilkenny

Look Mam no Hands!

Co. Dublin

The Loft at Cillin Hill

Co. Kilkenny

St. Kyran's Country House

Co. Cavan

Blainroe Golf Club

Co. Wicklow

Simple Simons

Co. Donegal

Toni's Bistro & Coffee Shop

Co. Donegal

Tus Nua Steakhouse + Bistro

An Port Mor Restaurant

ASSOCIATE PARTNERS Name

County

Website

Darlington Consulting

Waterford

www.darlington.ie

De Paor Consulting

Dublin 7

www.depaorconsult.ie

Rentokil Initial Ltd

Co. Kildare

www.rentokil-initial.com

Restaurants Association of Ireland

R

11 Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine Street - Dublin 8 - Registered Company No. 56224

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Official Sponsor of

FOODforTHOUGHT

Patrons:

O

F

Show your business off to 10,000 customers CATEX 2015 promises to be bigger and better than ever as we celebrate 50 years of serving up Ireland’s biggest foodservice show. At the 2013 show 75% of visitors placed a trade order. Don’t miss out!

Book your stand now!

RDS, Dublin, 17 - 19 Feb 2015 catexexhibition.com

An IFSA Event

FÁILTE IRELAND NEWS

2014 Top Tourism Towns announced Large Tourism Towns Ennis, Clare Cobh, Cork Killarney Kerry Kilkenny, Kilkenny Westport, Mayo Trim, Meath Small Tourism Towns Glengarriff, Cork Kinsale, Cork Rosscarbery, Cork Portmagee, Kerry Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim Blackrock, Louth Beal an Mhuirthead (Belmullet), Mayo Ardmore, Waterford Lismore, Waterford Criteria for Tourism Towns • Sense of Place - How the town tells its own unique story to visitors, what’s special about it, and what distinguishes it from other towns.

• Local Involvement - How the local community works together to provide an authentic visitor experience.

• Tourism Products Available - What the town has to offer visitors.

• Development and promotion of the town - How the town takes a unified approach to marketing and developing the town into a “tourism town”.

Fáilte Ireland has published shortlist of 15 towns and villages in the running for 2014 Tourism Towns Awards.

The competition, which is now in its third year, is designed to recognise Irish towns and villages where the local community goes the extra mile to enhance their appeal to tourists. This year also sees a change to the format of the competition with titles awarded to Best Large Town and Best Small Town.

Over the summer the 15 towns will be visited by a team of assessors who will look at how each town presents itself to visitors and tells its story. In particular, they will look for evidence of a high quality visitor experience and of involvement by the local community and businesses in delivering this experience. They will look at the quality of its attractions and sites of interest and how well the town promotes what they have to offer.

Paddy Mathews from Fáilte Ireland emphasised the important characteristics of a tourism town and the how the award scheme seeks to recognise them - “A great tourism town is one that provides visitors with an unforgettable experience. It is a town where the local businesses and the local community all contribute to shaping and delivering this experience. It also tells its story of its heritage and culture in an engaging way. These are towns that have already performed well in the Tidy Towns Competition, so we know that they are clean and well presented. Now we want to know how well they present themselves to their visitors.”

The top ten “Highly Commended Tourism Towns” will be announced at the National Tidy Towns Awards later in the year with the overall winners, Best Large and Best Small, to be announced by Fáilte Ireland in November.

Belgian focus for Wild Atlantic Way Almost a million Belgians will soon be introduced to Ireland’s newest and exciting tourism attraction as one of their biggest holiday programmes, Flanders on Holiday (Vlaanderen Vakantieland) has just wrapped up filming in Ireland along the Wild Atlantic Way. The presenters Tina Maerevoet and Bill Barberis are well known actors and celebrities in Belgium and their journey, by caravan, took the duo along a large stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way - beginning at Croagh Patrick, Co Mayo and ending in Kinsale, Co Cork.

The crew spent over three weeks in Ireland where they filmed along the West Coast of Ireland on our newest tourist attraction, the Wild Atlantic Way, which has been gathering a lot of overseas attention.

Among the many places they filmed were Omey Island; Kylemore Abbey; The Burren; Galway Arts Festival; Dingle; Skellig Michael; Gap of Dunloe; Dursey Island; Baltimore Harbour and Kinsale.

Ciara Sugrue, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of International Publicity said: “It is extremely

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Belgian tv crew are pictured filming in Kinsale’s Fishy Fishy restaurant with Martin Shanahan.

important for influential media, many of whom are visiting Ireland for the first time, to experience first-hand what we have to offer on the Wild Atlantic Way. Hosting key influencers, such as these Belgian celebrities, to road test the Wild Atlantic Way gives us a powerful and persuasive way to grow visitor numbers. In our work to promote Ireland as a top class destination, this type of publicity gives us credibility far beyond the scope of advertising. Indeed, it is suggested that the impact of this type of publicity is three times that of paid advertising.

“Indeed, only recently, following a pitch made by ourselves, global sportswear company, Columbia chose Ireland for their prestigious 2014 annual press event where they brought some of the world’s top outdoor and adventure media to a specially selected adventure location along the Wild Atlantic Way.”

FÁILTE IRELAND NEWS

Fáilte Ireland presents Google Month

Michael Brady from Fáilte Ireland (back right) pictured with some of our Google Experts

Fáilte Ireland and Google have teamed up to present Google Month - Google for Irish Tourism. The initiative is the latest effort by the Fáilte Ireland to show Irish tourism businesses the power and advantages of being online.

Google Month is a schedule of online events (or Hangouts) presented from Google HQ in Dublin on the range of digital supports available to Irish tourism businesses.

The Hangouts, which will be broadcast live on the Fáilte Ireland YouTube Channel, are free of charge and are aimed specifically at tourism businesses that may be new players in the digital arena or in the early stages of developing a digital strategy.

Michael Brady from Fáilte Ireland’s Digital Team is encouraging tourism businesses to get behind the initiative “Fáilte Ireland offers a vast range of digital supports to the tourism industry in Ireland and we’re delighted to partner with Google on this exciting initiative which will really enable us to showcase the positive impact that digital technology can have on business for small, medium and large tourism enterprises. We would encourage all those involved in Ireland’s tourism industry to check out the schedule of ‘hang-outs’ so that they can learn more about using Google to grow their business.”

Introductory Session

Introduction

A synopsis of the expected content & benefits of each Hangout

Monday 22 Sept

10am – 11am

Hangout 1

Google Search

Optimize your online web presence

Monday 29 Sept

10am – 11am

Hangout 2

Google Adwords

Search Advertising

Monday 6 October

10am – 11am

Hangout 3

Google Analytics

Understanding Traffic and Monetization

Monday 13 October

10am – 11am

Hangout 4

YouTube

Getting your business on YouTube

Monday 20 October

10am – 11am

If you are interested in participating in Google Month please visit www.failteireland.ie/Market-Your-Business-Online/Google-for-Irish-Tourism.aspx or contact Michael Brady at michael.brady@failteireland.ie H&RT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER ‘14

31

MARKETING

DIY marketing on a shoestring

Most companies cannot afford to employ a marketer to help them develop a cohesive strategy using the best of digital and traditional techniques. Cariona Neary talks to a range of companies that are doing it for themselves and succeeding.

Tip #1: Stand for something Every business needs to have a distinct and compelling offering. That can be delivered through the customer experience, the products, the personalities, the location or whatever. Once your idea is clear, it becomes a lot easier to self-publish through all the social media channels. Your story becomes distinct and consistent.

Nobó, a new company manufacturing dairy-free icecream, is a company with a real ‘lighthouse’ identity. Company founders, Brian and Rachel Nolan, have

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used social media to tell their story. From the day they began developing dairy free ice cream, some 18 months before they launched, they were building a following for their brand by engaging with food enthusiasts through Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Their products were originally only available through farmers markets but demand was so strong that this created an even bigger social media buzz, particularly among influential food bloggers. When they launched this year, they had already built a substantial following. However, they do warn against peaking early in terms of publicity. They generated so much publicity pre-launch that they found it hard to get the media to write about them when they finally hit the shops.

Nobo’s tip for other businesses? No one cares about funny pictures of cats. If you want brand engagement, post about your brand, whether its photographs of you travelling around to source great ingredients or putting recipes together.

Tip # 2: Focus on the WOW effect “Give customers such an amazing first time experience that they will want to talk to their friends about you,” advises Michael Killeen of Dialogue Communications.

“Customers don’t believe in the crafted message anymore so if you have any budget, spend money on that moment when customers deal with you for the first time.”

At the Guinness Storehouse, every visitor gets a Certificate for Crafting the Perfect Pint. And what do we do with certificates? We show them to other people

MARKETING Happy Pear in Greystones. Run by identical twins, Dave and Steve Flynn, they adopt a light-touch approach to social media that achieves extraordinary engagement from their local community and fans. So what is their strategy? “We don’t have one,” says Dave Flynn. They don’t pour over their analytics. They don’t have a content plan.

But what they do have is an authenticity that is extremely attractive in an online environment. “We don’t push any of our products. We’re trying to evoke a feeling so that people can emotionally relate to what we’re doing,” Flynn explains. The twins do all their own social media because they believe that the tone of voice has to be consistent and to represent the brand.

Most of all, they love doing it. For them, tweeting and taking random shots of the sunrises is hugely enjoyable. Their only barometer is that if they’re not enjoying what they’re doing, then their followers won’t either.

What’s their tip for other businesses? Don’t bother doing it if you’re not going to enjoy it, if it feels like hard work. Put your resources into other marketing activities instead because it’s too hard to fake social media.

and talk about where we got them and the fun we had. So if you are going to focus on creating an outstanding experience for your customers, consider also how you can enable your customers to spread the word.

Tip #3: Get noticed by bloggers Travel and food bloggers are very powerful in the online world, where independence and authenticity are more valued than branding and commercial power. Companies such as Nobó are loved by bloggers because they are a new and authentic story.

However, if you are an established business, for example a small hotel or a restaurant, you may struggle to find that twist to attract influential bloggers. A story can be crafted around the personality of the business owner, some food focus, e.g. growing your own herbs and vegetables, or it can be about the amazing things you can do in your area.

Once you’ve found your story ‘sweet spot’ then you need to connect with bloggers by contacting them or meeting them at conferences and inviting them to come and experience what you have to offer. The more you seek to be commercial, the more unsuccessful you will be. They are, above all, looking for interesting content.

Tip #4: Don’t over-plan social media!

One of the most successful self-marketing companies in the food business is The

Tip #5: Social media is not the only way to smart marketing So if, as Dave Flynn says, you’re not a natural fan of social media, there are plenty of other smart things you can do. For Padraic Whelan, working with both the Skeffington Arms Hotel and the Prince of Wales, Athlone, he gets a lot of ideas from walking around Galway or Athlone. He has picked up big contracts by simply spotting that say, a European funded building project is being built by Joe Bloggs & Company. Time to contact Joe Bloggs and work out a deal for accommodation, food and meeting rooms. Cost saving is a big item on Padraic Whelan’s agenda. Through contra deals he has made massive savings.

“I haven’t paid in real money for printed stationery in three years.” He has contras for lighting, décor, website translations and much more. While he does much of the deals directly, he also works through an Irish company specialising in contra deals.

Social media is not a tool for pushing out your offers and menus. Try using it to really engage with your audience. Your strategy will depend on your business. For Nobó, it made sense to focus on their product, for The Happy Pear, they are focusing on their community or tribe. What each of the above companies have in common is a clear identity. That remains the essence of great marketing.

Cariona Neary is an expert in marketing for SMEs. She can be contacted at cariona@nearymarketing.com or 086 8056669.

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HOTEL BARS

Something for everyone McGettigan’s Bar at the Clanree Hotel

Hotels in modern Ireland frequently find themselves having to cater to multiple clienteles; the lucrative tourism market eager to sample an authentic taste of the land of saints and scholars they’ve heard so much about, the contemporary, cosmopolitan Irish consumer eager to enjoy the best that modernity has to offer and their more old-fashioned compatriots who enjoy nothing more than rustic Irish feel. Satisfying all these segments at once is no task to be underestimated, but one that the new McGettigan’s Bar - situated in the Clanree Hotel in the lively town of Letterkenny, County Donegal - is accomplishing in style.

The genesis of this new bar stretches back to July of last year when the Clanree Hotel was incorporated into the McGettigan chain, a series of Irish hotels and bars operated from Dubai where the eponymous bar is situated. Started in 1964, its Irish interests include the Regency Hotel in Dublin, and it has recently

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expanded its portfolio with further acquisitions in Cork, Wexford and Limerick.

Throughout its range, McGettigan’s focus has been primarily on cultivating what it calls the modern Irish experience, that is, appealing to the 21st century consumer without eroding the authentic Irish charm so adored the world over. Replacing the hotel’s existing bar, the new bar in Clanree commenced construction in September of 2013 and held its official opening in December of that year.

Its log fire evokes the Irish pubs of old and creates a welcoming atmosphere complimented by a series of mirrors, an old fashioned library fitted out with couches and imagery reminiscing over the Irish countryside. To add a modern touch, the bar itself has been moved to the centre of the room and further augmented by atmospheric lighting which casts several shades of colour over its fresh furnishings.

The bar’s branding is reflected in its food offerings, comprising a lunch menu from 12:00pm - 4:00pm and a evening menu from 4:00pm - 10:00pm, offering a catalogue of choice Irish cuisine including seafood chowder, Irish stew, bacon and cabbage and beef and Guinness pie, all of which have gone down a treat with locals and visitors alike.

“Our food has really taken off,” said Michael Naughton, the general manager of the Clanree Hotel. “We’re nearly doing more food now than we’re doing drink in the [McGettigan’s] bar.”

This is good news for the bar, most of whose customers are drawn from the locale. It entices an eclectic mix of customers through its doors, and Naughton is adamant that it has something for everyone.

“Probably 80% of our bar business now is from the local people,” he explains.

HOTEL BARS

It was just one element of the investment McGettigan’s have pumped into the hotel since adding it to their collection last year.

Eager to grow its share of the lucrative function market, the hotel has over the same time frame refurbished and enlarged its function room, augmenting its capacity to host weddings and parties.

“There’s huge positivity in the hotel,” Naughton says of these sweeping changes that have transpired over the last year. “It was in receivership for two years and a lot of people were afraid to come [here] or weren’t sure what was happening. But now they see all the new work that has happened; the McGettigan’s Bar, the function room. We’ve also painted outside the hotel and are currently doing the bedrooms at the moment.”

Such is the feel-good factor about the place that the hotel is now aiming for fourstar status, and Naughton is in no doubt that it can achieve this goal.

“We hope to have that achieved [four star status] by next year,” he says. “It [the bar] is a huge boost to us. It’s very encouraging for the staff and the management to have new employers willing to put money back into the hotel they’ve spent in the region of €2 million since taking over and there’s in the region of €1 million still to be spent. Our hope is to go from strength to strength.”

“So during the week the likes of young professionals, corporate clients & sporting enthusiasts who never before would have used the hotel are all coming now, and on a Friday and Saturday night you get the 25 plus [market] because it’s a trendy bar to hang out in.”

In a bid to further enhance its appeal and earn kudos within the community, Clanree have gone to lengths to promote the bar as a live music venue catering to all tastes, with the performers such as Mary Black, Jason Byrne, Paddy Casey and the Humble Earthworms having graced it so far with further big acts soon to follow.

The bar has been key to the fundamental reversal of the hotel’s fortunes over the past year, seeing its revenue up significantly on recent times when it had sunk into receivership.

“On last year our turnover would be nearly up 50% and that can be credited mostly to our new McGettigan’s bar,” Naughton enthuses.

Michael Naughton

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35

COFFEE

Something’s brewing…

The Bewley’s Team pictured at their Training Facility in Dublin as they prepare for the upcoming Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival. From left to right: Maria Cassidy, Rachel Ormond, Lynn Ferrari, Andrius Valiauga, Carol Geary.

The coffee and tea industry will give the public a fascinating insight into café culture this September at the inaugural Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival 2014,which will take place at the RDS (Industries Hall), Dublin 1214 September 2014. Ireland’s leading coffee and tea company Bewley’s will have a significant presence at the upcoming event.

As the number one supplier of tea and coffee solutions to the hotel, restaurant and café sector in Ireland today, Bewley’s are best placed to comment on what the Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival means for the coffee and tea community in Ireland.

It was the pioneering spirit of Bewley’s founder - Samuel Bewley and his son Charles, who in 1835 dared to break the East India Company’s monopoly by importing 2,099 chests of tea on directly from Canton in China to Dublin, that shaped the Irish nation’s taste for a good cup of tea.

If you cast your mind back to the Irish high street over 10 years ago, there were not as many stand-alone independent and branded coffee shops. Starbucks opened their first café in Ireland back in 2005. At the time the hot beverage of choice in Irish homes was the humble cup of tea. Fast forward to present day and it appears these two hot beverages are now commonplace features of the majority of Irish people’s daily

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lives, both in and out of the home. According to research conducted by Bewley’s earlier this year, 75% of Irish adults now drink coffee on a weekly basis. 25% claim that they are drinking coffee twice a day and, as for tea, well it’s safe to say it is still the nation’s favourite hot beverage with 50% of the population claiming to drink at least two cups per day, with no sign of consumption slowing down over the next number of years. Hotel and restaurant operators would do well to look for ways to tap into these trends.

Commenting on the growth of coffee consumption and the evolution of the café scene in Ireland, Carol Geary, Bewley’s Marketing Manager states, “There are many socio-economic factors that have influenced the growth of speciality coffee and tea in Ireland but the key driving forces were borne out of the recession when consumers perceived there to be greater value for money in premium, single serve coffee capsule systems that they could brew at home. At the same time, there was also other shifts in behaviour with consumers limiting their purchases of hot beverages in cafés and restaurants and, when they could afford to, only seeking out quality beverages on the high street as a means of treating themselves with a ‘little luxury’ at a time of major austerity. This has resulted in a much more discerning consumer, with greater focus now being placed on quality.”

For many in the hospitality industry, you might say quality food and beverage produce is a given nowadays and that consumers will not settle for anything less than high quality, fully traceable food and beverage products. Bewley’s agree but explain that sourcing high quality coffee and teas from a reputable supplier is only the starting point for most operators. Coffee and tea are evolving in a similar way to how the beer industry has evolved, with more emphasis being placed on the craft behind roasting, blending and brewing a great tasting cup of coffee or tea. This trend is really positioning the barista as a key influencer in the consumer’s experience.Today’s generation of barista’s are stepping up their game in coffee preparation and presentation by tapping into the science and creativity that lies behind crafting a cup of coffee.

Consumer expectations have also increased around the quality and range of teas that are on offer in the supermarkets and in dining establishments on the high street.

COFFEE

Traditional black tea is in decline, the market has contracted by about 1% year-onyear since the recession kicked in. While other tea variants such as green tea have experienced strong growth mainly due to their perceived health benefits, there has also been resurgence in loose leaf teas particularly those fruity and herbal variants.

Bewley’s continue to invest in new product development and training programmes to support hotel and restaurant operators in capitalising on these trends. “Hotel and restaurant operators should be assessing their hot beverage menu mix regularly and looking for opportunities to extend their offer outside of the standard menu built on Cappuccino’s, Latte’s, Americano’s and Black Tea,” comments Geary. “Consumers’ needs vary and while you cannot be everything to everyone there is certainly opportunity to appeal to a more health conscious consumer with speciality teas and attract a younger demographic with more exotic flavours and single origin coffees.”

At the Dublin Coffee and Tea Festival Bewley’s will launch their new range of premium loose leaf teas available in bulk and individually wrapped envelope format to suit hotel and restaurant operations. The company will also unveil their Roast to Order (RTO) service for trade customers that will provide a system for operators to access premium, in season coffees that can be roasted fresh for delivery within 5 days. Many of the coffees will only be available for a limited time and will be sourced from a variety of origin countries through Bewley’s direct relationship with small scale coffee farmers.

Bewley’s have worked with those in the hospitality industry long enough to know that training staff and keeping them motivated and interested in the products they are serving has to be the greatest challenge for foodservice operators today. Sourcing the finest quality coffee and tea will only get you so far if your staff are not trained on how best to serve it. Depending on the type of business; hotel, restaurant or café, this can be a mammoth task for management particularly with the high level of staff turnover in these types of outlets. Bewley’s established their Barista Training Academy to offer support to any operator that chooses to serve Bewley’s coffee or tea in their outlet.

Their training team now covers the entire island of Ireland so no matter where your business is located Bewley’s can send an expert barista trainer to work with staff onsite causing minimum disruption to your day-to-day operations. Bewley’s also have a state-of-the-art training facility in Dublin and when possible, encourage operators to send staff to the training centre where they can learn about how coffee and tea are produced and prepared. With consumers becoming much more sophisticated in their

tastes and knowledgeable about food and beverage products, no foodservice operator should want to run the risk of serving a bad coffee or tea. When you are working with Bewley’s range of quality coffees and teas and their expert training team, there is simply no excuse for serving a low quality hot beverage.

Speaking about Bewley’s presence at the Dublin Tea and Coffee Festival, Carol Geary commented: “As the nation’s largest coffee and tea supplier, Bewley’s will have one of the biggest stands at the show and will feature a dedicated barista zone where Bewley’s barista and Irish Latte Art Champion, Elvis, will also be on hand to demonstrate his intricate Latte Art skills. We will also be encouraging our trade customers that visit our stand to taste our new range of loose leaf teas. The stand will feature a brew bar that will allow our customers to explore Bewley’s wide range of filter coffees and to learn more about where we source our coffees from.

“Our sales and marketing teams will be on hand to talk to customers visiting the stand, as well as expert barista’s from our training academy and our café on Grafton Street. If operators want to know more about how they can grow profits from hot beverages they can visit Bewley’s stand and find out how.”

Bewley’s will be located at stand D9 in the RDS Industries Hall during Dublin Coffee and Tea Fest, running from September 12 to 14.

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37

HYGIENE

Cleanliness is next to… profitability We assume that those involved in the hotel and restaurant sector are fully aware of their obligation to maintain effective hygiene practice. However, with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) reporting record Enforcement Orders in 2013 - a 31 per cent increase on the previous year - all is certainly not as it should be.

Every Enforcement Order is one too many and 47 Closure Orders have been issued from the beginning of this year to July 31 alone. So far this year, 14 of the total Closure Orders have been served on restaurants, seven on takeaways and none on hotels.

Professor Alan Reilly, Chief Executive of the FSAI, expresses his disappointment at the lack of sufficient focus by some business owners on ensuring their food businesses are fit for purpose and in compliance with food safety legislation.

“The legal onus is on food businesses to be responsible and ensure that the food they serve is safe to eat in accordance with the legislation. Greater vigilance is required to ensure standards are not permitted to slip, thereby potentially putting the health of consumers at risk. Of particular disappointment is the ongoing number of cases involving the improper storage of foodstuffs and poor cleaning and sanitising.”

Food Safety Authority of Ireland Established in 1999, the FSAI is connected to the Department of Health and is responsible for ensuring that foods produced, distributed and marketed in Ireland are safe to eat. The FSAI’s key remit is the enforcement of food safety legislation which is coordinated in partnership with other food regulatory authorities.

According to the latest figures, there are 45,386 food businesses in Ireland. Staff from the official agencies, working under service contract to the FSAI, carry out inspection and oversight functions in these food businesses to ensure compliance with legal standards and codes of best practice.

When conditions are identified in a food premises that may cause a grave or immediate danger to public health, it will be closed and cannot reopen until all shortfalls are addressed.

Legislation A general obligation is placed on food business operators to ensure that all stages

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of production, processing and distribution of food under their control satisfy the relevant hygiene requirements.

Regulation (EC) 882/2004 on official controls is the main European legislation which outlines how the FSAI and others involved in food and feed controls carry out their work.

The main hygiene legislation that food businesses, including hotels and restaurants, have to comply with is Regulation (EC) 852/2004 on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs. This is transposed into Irish law as the EC (Hygiene of Foodstuffs) Regulations, S.I. No. 369/2006.

In addition, there is a range of other legislation that those working in the food sector must comply with, depending on the specific activities they are involved with; examples include legislation on food labelling, legislation regarding the presence of contaminants and legislation related to the testing for microorganisms in food.

The effectiveness of a hotel or restaurant’s hygiene practice can mean the difference between success, failure and in certain circumstances, closure. This is the reason why the FSAI’s primary focus is on assisting food businesses to achieve good hygiene standards and comply with the law.

Professor Alan Reilly, Chief Executive of the FSAI, reiterates the plea for food businesses to take full advantage of the information and support provided by the FSAI. “Breaches are completely avoidable when food businesses have proper food safety management systems in place.”

The National Hygiene Partnership “Promoting safe food through training” - a concise expression of the National Hygiene Partnership’s objective to

HYGIENE

actively promote high standards of food safety through training in the Irish food industry by the provision of information and a range of innovative products and courses for all food workers within the various sectors.

The NHP represents the food safety training requirements of thirteen member organisations comprised of government agencies and industry representative bodies that have a key interest in, and responsibility for the promotion of food hygiene. The NHP Management Committee is drawn from representatives of each of these member organisations which include the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Restaurants Association of Ireland and Fáilte Ireland.

Courses available include The Management of Food Hygiene Programme designed in conjunction with the requirements of the National Standards Authority of Ireland and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland - to enable food businesses to conform with EU food safety legislation.

The “Hygiene Matters” training publications have been developed by the NHP with the purpose of improving hygiene and food safety standards within the entire food sector. In recognition of the multi-national profile of the workforce, the booklets are available in 10 languages to provide induction training in essential hygiene and food safety principles to junior staff members employed on a part-time basis in various food sectors.

In addition, the NHP provides a range of e-learning courses covering food hygiene and safety skills. These programmes are designed for general food workers in hotels, restaurants, bars, catering establishments and food retail outlets.

Possible factors for increase in Enforcement Orders Considering there is more than adequate information and support available to food businesses to ensure that best hygiene practices are maintained, the reason for the 31 per cent increase in Enforcement Orders last year needs to be addressed.

Gail Carroll, FSAI Service Contracts Manager, says it is difficult to accurately attribute the increase in enforcements to one specific cause or make generalisations.

“There is most likely a range of reasons for the increase in Enforcement Orders, which may include economic factors; but other things may have contributed, including additional enforcement powers in place since 2010. For example, S.I. 117 of 2010, under which food businesses with serious breaches of the law can be closed - and more than half of the Closure Orders in 2013 were under this legislation.”

Ms. Carroll also explains that since 2011, the environmental health officers in the HSE have adopted new procedures to deal with non-compliant businesses and to target controls at these businesses.

“Another factor to be considered is the 5 per cent increase in the last five years of new food businesses,” says Ms. Carroll.

Regardless of the reasons behind the increase in Enforement Orders issued, the latest figures show a 12.5 per cent increase in consumer food complaints to the FSAI in 2013. However, a positive outlook can be taken from the 9 per cent increase in requests for advice across a range of food related areas.

The FSAI states that the increased activity reflects a growing awareness among consumers of the need to report poor hygiene practice, and an increase in demand among food businesses for information about labelling requirements and resources for food business start-ups.

Commenting on the statistics, Edel Smyth, FSAI Information Manager, says “more food businesses are contacting us seeking to raise their food safety standards, while consumers are becoming increasingly vigilant and aware of the need to report bad practice or experiences they have had where food safety has been compromised.”

Consumers are entitled to the highest standard of food safety and hygiene in every food establishment and it is the responsibility of food businesses to ensure they provide food which does not compromise public health.

The support structures are in place for food businesses to acheive the highest hygiene standards and as Ms. Smyth says, “our experts are available to assist food business owners and managers reach their food safety legal requirements.”

Caroline Leddy

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SEAFOOD

Summer

shellfish Molly Malone may have taken a holiday from her plinth on Grafton Street but her shellfish wares still star on menus with cartloads of summer appeal. Dublin Bay prawns, mussels in fragrant garlicky broth and crab claws to dip in herby melted butter are the essence of summer sun and seaside holidays.

Happily, these treats are no longer confined to coastal settings as modern refrigerated transport and good roads mean that fresh seafood can be delivered anywhere in the country within hours.

Proper handling and storage ensures that shellfish has good shelflife with minimum wastage, always a consideration when dealing with premium ingredients. BIM advises that establishments with a high volume of shellfish sales should ideally have a separate fridge for holding live shellfish, as the ideal temperature for these is between +4ºC and +8ºC, slightly higher than recommended for other chilled foods.

Dublin Bay prawns or langoustines are possibly the queens of Irish shellfish, so good here that one gourmand reckons that Ireland should be as famed abroad for prawns as for bacon and cabbage. The classic prawn cocktail has re-emerged from food fashion wilderness, with modern chefs eschewing flabby frozen specimens and crowning fresh plump prawns with proper homemade Marie Rose sauce spiked with Tabasco and brandy.

The simplicity of the ‘pint of prawns’ has proved a favourite for casual dining, with whole prawns presented alongside finger bowls, plenty of napkins and lemony mayo for dunking. Chefs as diverse as Kevin Dundon of Dunbrody House and Denis Vaughan of The Anchor Inn report that this DIY approach is much favoured by continental visitors, while Irish diners prefer heads and tails left in the kitchen.

Langoustines are graded by the number of whole shellfish to the kilo, with 8-10 per kilo at the premium end and descending to 30-40 per kilo, useful for soups and garnishes. Usable meat is all in the tail and

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represents 50% of the weight but heads and shells can be roasted to make rich stock bases for risottos and bisques.

Crab comes into its own in summer with crab claws especially popular as informal finger food or part of a seafood platter. Crabmeat piled onto fresh brown bread with homemade mayonnaise is a classic open sandwich and at Mary Ann’s Bar in Castletownsend, they’re still turning out the delightfully retro baked avocado with crab stuffing and melting gratinated topping.

Crab salad

Dealing with fresh crabs can be labour intensive and require special facilities, so many caterers opt for ready-to-use crabmeat from reliable processors who can supply pasteurised product in usable pack sizes. Picking crab from scratch is a real labour of love but has the advantage of yielding up the maximum of brown meat, or tomalley, as well as the white. Gourmets say that bisque made using both meats and the sautéed shells makes the richest and best flavoured of all shellfish soups.

Lobster can be the crowning glory of a shellfish platter, with more stock available now at attractive pricing for the home market. Once the province of fine dining in classic Newburg or Thermidor style, sweet and tender fleshed Irish lobster now appears on gastropub menus partnered with chips and Bearnaise or served new England style with corn on the cob and melted butter. Modern menus highlighting the provenance add to the dining experience with coastal establishments like Donegal’s Castle Murray serving their local seafood within sight of the lobster pots bobbing about in the bay below.

Mussels abound all around the coast with moules mariniere nudging seafood chowder as a menu topper. Gratinated mussels on the half-shell are gaining in

SEAFOOD

Scallops

Prawns

popularity too, just flashed under the grill with garlic buttered breadcrumbs. It’s an approach favoured by kids, who love anything they can eat with their fingers and get properly messy.

While they will never replace the magnificent native oyster, the arrival of farmed gigas or Pacific oysters has made this succulent bi-value a year round option on the seafood menu. Often a bit softer than round shelled native oysters, many chefs are finding that flash cooking firms up the summer oyster and takes on extra appeal in dishes like oysters Mornay and Rockefeller or tempura battered oysters served Oriental style with a light dipping sauce.

One west coast bar owner reported that oyster sales doubled when he added garlic buttered grilled oysters to his menu. In its 1970’s heyday, The Old Bailey in Duke Street boasted an oyster menu of no less than eight dishes ranging from oysters Florentine to oysters Newburg and au Sabayon.

Scallops have grown in popularity and many chefs have found inventive ways of keeping costs down and adding appeal in combinations with flavourful ingredients like black pudding or spicy chorizo. Equally appealing is a simple dish of seared scallops with smoky bacon. At the Fatted Calf in Glasson, Feargal O’Donnell features scallops with pulled pork and ruby grapefruit accompaniment and counts it among his best sellers.

Distinctive razor clams are enjoying something of a fashion moment, although long championed by Terry McCoy at Skerries Red Bank Restaurant where they’re chopped and lightly cooked with parsley and garlic to be attractively presented in their shells. At Campagne, award winning Garret Byrne’s most popular summer starter is his razor clam risotto with watercress and smoked bacon finished with wild garlic butter.

From clams and mussels to langoustines and luxurious lobsters, fresh shellfish comes into its own on summer menus with price points to suit every level of dining.

Availability has never been better and customer appreciation of fresh locally produced seafood has never been greater.

Restaurateurs around the country are finding that diners want to know where their seafood is coming from and price is not an issue when it comes to top quality fresh produce.

Marilyn Bright

Lobster in pan

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41

GMIT NEWS

Are you registered for work placement students?

Throughout the year I am often asked ‘what do I need to do to have work placement students’. The answer is very simply register with the LINKS office yet many employers in the tourism sector have not done this and subsequently we cannot send students to your property for a summer or even long work placement.

In the summer of 2008 the College of Tourism & Arts (CTA), then the Hotel School opened the LINKS office. This office manages all industry partnerships and work placement opportunities for students on programmes in hotel management, culinary arts, bar & restaurant management, hospitality studies, tourism studies and tourism management, retail and customer service management and event management with public relations. If any employer is interested in taking students on work placement then they must make contact with the LINKS office to begin the very short registration process. This process explains how work placement is managed by the team, the role of the employer, the needs of the student and most importantly how we in the College of Tourism and Arts support all stakeholders during the process. Work placements have changed since some of us were in College and it is crucial that employers understand these changes. It is equally important that students understand employers expectations in advance of any partnership beginning. We have found by having these measures in place we have better success stories and it is generally a “win win” situation for all. That said we do have problems from time to time and we in the CTA are College of Tourism & Arts constantly accessible over GMIT the placement period - our Dublin Road office does not close for the Galway summer.

Tel: +353 (0)91 742343 This summer we have Web: www.gmit.ie/cta almost 400 students on placement. Some are on Cait Noone placement for the summer Head of College months throughout Ireland.

T: +353 (0)91 742236 Some are undertaking 30 E: Cait.Noone@gmit.ie week placements which began in January and June Gerry Talbot (depending on programmes) Head of Department: and these placement are Culinary Arts occasionally in Ireland and Service Industries often overseas. I have just T: +353 (0)91 742320 returned from visiting E: Gerry.Talbot@gmit.ie students in Chicago, St. Louis, Hershey Gerry O’Neill (Pennsylvania) and New York Head of Department: and all are working very hard Heritage & Tourism and learning lots about our Humanities & Languages industry. In addition we have T: +353 (0)91 742294 students throughout E: Gerry.ONeill@gmit.ie Scotland, England, Wales, France, Germany, Spain, Sarah Searson Eastern Europe, Middle East Head of Centre and Asia. During the summer Centre of Creative Arts & Media months many of our faculty T: +353 (0)91 745418 are also working with E: Sarah.Searson@gmit.ie industry partners to update

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their skills and knowledge, one of our culinary colleagues Dr. Clare Gilsenan has just finished her stage with Raymond Blanc and his team at Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons in Oxfordshire, and will share her experience with us in this edition.

Also included are photos of just two of our students currently on placement in France and London, Aidan Ryan studying the Higher Martin Laffey Certificate in Culinary Arts and presently on a 3 month placement in Ch. De Curzay and Martin Laffey a student of the Bachelor of Arts in Hotel and Catering Management programme, currently on a 30 week placement at the Marylebone in London.

Without the continued and ongoing support of the hoteliers, restaurateurs, culinary professionals, tourism businesses, and the retail and event sector, we could not engage with such meaningful and relevant placement opportunities. We in the CTA are enormously grateful to those of you supporting the education of the next generation of tourism professionals and we look forward to working with more of you in the new academic year.

Aidan Ryan

Finally for those of you wishing to take students in the future why not participate in the Tourism Careers Fair on March 11th next year in GMIT - you will get to meet students looking for work placements and final year students about to graduate looking for employment. This free event is an ideal opportunity for employers to meet students and if you wish we can organise space for you to interview on the day. Future details of this event and work placement can be accessed by contacting the LINKS office team: Bernie Merry Tel: + 353 (0) 91 742565 Jessica Duffy Tel: + 353 (0) 91 742427 Margaret Mulchrone Tel: + 353 (0) 91 742428 Fax: + 353 (0) 91 742454 Email - LinksOffice@gmit.ie Cáit Noone

GMIT NEWS

Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons...

Excellence, Exquisiteness, Exactness Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons resides in the picturesque Oxfordshire village of Great Milton. Raymond Blanc is the chef patron of this wonderful two-Michelin-starred restaurant, Gary Jones, his Executive Head Chef has led the kitchen at Le Manoir since 1999. The restaurant is one of the few in the world to have held two Michelin stars for 29 years consecutively. Its philosophy is centred on simplicity, seasonality, and provenance. The excellence of the food stems from the freshness and superior quality of its ingredients. With a team of dedicated gardeners, 70 varieties of traditional and exotic herbs are grown and while, a two-acre vegetable garden produces over 90 types of vegetable.

Working in the main kitchen at Le Manoir was undoubtedly one of the best gastronomic experiences I ever had in my entire culinary career. It was the professionalism, dedication and commitment of Chef Gary Jones and the whole team at Le Manoir that made this stage very memorable. If you aspire to work in Michelin starred restaurants, then be ready to sacrifice alot! Forget weekends and a social life, you will work punishing hours, starting early and finishing late, but the end result will be worth it. The standard of food is just phenomenal at that level.

Just to give you a small taste of my gastronomic experience at Le Manoir, the journey begins with a quartet of canapés: The first one is composed of whipped goats cheese curd, drizzled with honey and topped with dehydrated black olive crumb, followed by beef with pesto and a parmesan cream. The next canapé, a quenelle of guacamole, decorated with marinated tomberries, spring onion and microshoots. The final canapé, a deep-fried vegetable curry ball, placed on a fresh zingy lime mayonnaise.

From then on, all the dishes follow Blanc’s philosophy of seasonal simplicity. A shot glass of vibrant red chilled tomato gazpacho, golden olive oil jelly and a marinated cherry tomato on the side. Next, a beautiful baby beetroot salad garnished with an exquisite rocher of horseradish sorbet. The agnolotti of goats’ cheese with honey, artichokes and black olive crumb is simply stunning, comprising tiny, creamy pasta parcels sitting in a crystal clear pool of tomato essence and olive oil together with halved cherry tomatoes garnished with a slice of black olive and microherbs. As if the dishes could not get more elegant, so on cue a beautifully smoked salmon confit with mouli, radish, cucumber ribbons and yuzu cream is created. While, the risotto of spring vegetables is a lovely marriage of vegetable sweetness, herby

nuances and silken carbs. A quernelle of chervil cream and an assortment of multi-coloured flower petals perfect the garnish.

Moving onto the main courses, there’s slow cooked organic suckling pig belly and homemade black pudding. The dish is accompanied by a sweet apple and celeriac puree, and buttered cabbage and crispy bacon. A glazed spring onion and baby navet is used to complete the dish. Followed by an Assiete of Cornish lamb, buttered chard, borlotti beans, and roasted red peppers and artichokes. Returning next to the sea with a pan fried wild Cornish line-caught sea bass fillet, seared with Scottish langoustine, smoked mashed potatoes, cauliflower puree and a red wine and star anis jus. Finally, a Pan-fried Sea Trout, a single scallop served with a lovely pea puree and white asparagus tips. The colours, flavours and textures are mesmerizing. A Gourmand’s paradise!

The desserts were lovely too! What can I say creamy, rich, sweet, decadent, smooth, velvety, indulgent, heavenly, light, crisp, crunchy, soft, moist, fresh, baked, chocolaty, citrusy, fruity, delicious, absolutely fabulous...Need I say more, you get the picture right?

I wish to thank Chef Gary Jones and his team for the wonderful experience I had at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. It truly was unforgettable. To conclude, I wish to say popular wisdom might say that perfection doesn’t exist but even if that is true, it doesn’t really matter, because Le Manoir is close enough.

Dr. Clare Gilsenan-Culinary Arts Lecturer, College of Tourism and Arts.

Sarah Nugent wins ‘Best Intern’ in National Event Industry Awards (EIA) A third year student in GMIT’s College of Tourism and Arts has won a prestigious national award for her work as an intern with Irish Concert Promotion Company MCD. Sarah Nugent, a final year student on the Bachelor of Business in Event Management with Public Relations programme, was awarded”Best Intern” at the Event Industry Awards (EIA) 2014.

Sarah, from Lissycasey in Co Clare, started her placement in MCD in Dublin last June (2013), supported by the GMIT Links Office, and finished in mid-January this year (2014) before returning to complete her third year degree studies in the Galway campus.

“I’m thrilled to have won this award. The work placement aspect of my degree programme allowed me this amazing opportunity to do an internship with a prestigious company like MCD. I got to work alongside, and taught by, some of the best people in this industry.” says Sarah.

“During my second year of study, MCD were offering internships in marketing and production and I applied and was shortlisted for the production internship. I then had to go through an interview process and a day later I was given notice that I got it. Once the GMIT Links Office formalised the placement I started on the job after my second year exams (early June).

“During the eight months I was there I got to experience different areas of production, and worked in site office, assisting in event control, dressing room production, transport management, accreditation, customer care and front of house in venues such as the Gaiety Theatre.”

Tomas Mangan, lecturer in Event Management & PR, says the college is proud of Sarah’s success.

GMIT’s Cait Noone, Head of the College of Tourism & Arts, says: “We are delighted Sarah’s hard work has been rewarded.

The Bachelor of Businesss in Event Management with PR is relatively new in the College of Tourism & Arts and is led by a team of dedicated and industry-focused lecturing staff, who make all aspects of learning an interactive and engaged experience.”

“Sarah had done incredibly well and this award for her work with MCD clearly demonstrates how invaluable work experience is for students in higher education. We are delighted to have an opportunity to work with organisations such as MCD and I am confident Sarah will make a real impression on the event and public relations world when she starts full time employment.”

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INTERVIEW

Confident steps at the Powerscourt Hotel

David Webster, general manager of the Powerscourt Hotel interviewed Driving up the avenue to the Powerscourt Hotel on a summer’s day, the Wicklow hills and valleys bathed in sunshine, you do wonder, could there be any better setting for a luxury hotel spa resort than right here in the heart of the garden of Ireland?

According to David Webster, general manager “there’s no other product in Ireland like it, the location, the setting, it has everything”. David took the reins as general manager last year when the Brehan Group bought the hotel, previously part of the Ritz-Carton portfolio.

At that time the business needed a steady hand to guide it with confidence to the luxury five star market and having learned the business from the ground up, David Webster was the man to do it. “I

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started as a luggage boy in the Stillorgan Park Hotel. It was a summer job but I used to see the general manager walking around having coffee with everyone and I thought, I can make a career out of this? That has to be the best job in the world!”

David went to London to study the business, training in management with Marriott and by age 28 he took up his first general manager position in the Peterborough Marriott.

As part of his training David had focused on revenue analysis and revenue management and his next position was as commercial revenue director for fifteen Hilton Hotels in London. “It was a very strategic role. I was dealing with financial distribution, dealing with the boards, dealing with the fifteen senior GM’s. The turnover of some of these hotels was 40 million, a combined total of 300 million.”

David says he wanted to return to Ireland and he wanted to be a general manager again. Sothe next stage of his career saw him take up the position of general manager at the Hilton Hotel in Dublin, firstly in Charlemount Place and then opening the Hilton at the Northern Cross. “Then I got a call from the Belfry in Birmingham and much to my wife’s annoyance I couldn’t turn it down so that’s where I went next!”

However, years later David did get the opportunity to return to Ireland again

INTERVIEW

taking up the general manager position at Carton House where he stayed for seven years. So having had such a diverse career path, what qualities does he think make a good GM? “You’ve got to be commercial, you’ve got to be good with people, able to build relationships and most importantly, able to build trust.”

Despite David’s wealth of experience and unsurpassed reputation in the industry, it must have been daunting to take up his role at the Powerscourt hotel given its chequered history?”Not daunting, exciting! It was a distressed purchase by the owners, a hotel in distress. Everyone knew that, so the only way to go is up!” David says his first priority was to create a new brand; the second was to assess how the Powerscourt product could be sustainably profitable.

Working with his team David looked at what they wanted the hotel to become.

“Warm, welcoming luxury, positioned in the high end five star market, that’s where this hotel deserves to be. A hotel needs vibrancy. You can still have luxury and quality and be busy.” Under David’s guidance, this new Powerscourt brand is keeping things clear and simple, focusing on key target markets.”International &Domestic event business, leisure and weddings. They are our core markets and we have the product to make a unique position for each of those markets. Our focus at the moment is how we are communicating with those markets.”

So as the first birthday of this new Powerscourt brand approaches what has it achieved so far? According to David the team has begun to develop its own personality and culture, one he sees as polished, professional yet warm with a drive for continuous improvement and a focus on giving their customers a luxury experience.

Next David says they have examined the structure of every department, getting the cost base controlled and developing accountability with the heads of each department. “We set up measurements for everything from revenues to customer satisfaction to employee satisfaction and then developed action plans against these. We are part of the Autograph collection by Marriott Hotels, a collection of high end, independently owned hotels and we are currently number two on their customer satisfaction scores. So our goal of keeping high standards but with a flexible cost base has been working.”

Although the newly branded Powerscourt hotel is still very much in its infancy, David’s team’s attitude of continuous improvement has already developed some important innovations. The hotel’s spa by Espa, is one of the biggest hotel spas in Ireland and it is the first to introduce online bookings. The hotel has also linked it’s IT to the Golf course, creating a seamless experience for customers who want to

use the golf club’s facilities and charge it to their room. So although under separate ownership, from the customer’s point of view they see one estate, the golf club, house and hotel. Powerscourt also has its own pastry kitchen and pastry chefs and the hotel is currently talking to some restaurants about supplying their pastries.

As well as these innovations the hotel is hoping to develop the Sika restaurant by expanding the amount of covers they currently seat while maintaining the ethos of using local artisan suppliers and seasonal produce. There are also plans to expand McGills bar at the hotel but according to David: “It’s not a one year project, it will take a few years, there’s just so much opportunity and so much potential.”

But despite all the potential of this product, is sufficient growth taking place in the markets that will allow the new Powerscourt brand capitalise on? “We have made profit this year and it looks like that will be cemented next year. Domestic leisure is growing, Irish domestic events have grown and the US has stabilised. We need the US and European markets to continue in the growth mode to date and there are signs of that happening for next year.”

So, although still a fledgling brand it seems the Powerscourt hotel has achieved its niche market position within its first year of business, and the future is looking decidedly bright.

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DIT

Studying hospitality part-time at DIT The hospitality sector can be both demanding and competitive.

Complementing knowledge of the hospitality industry with formal education can prove to be an advantage in terms of securing promotions to more senior positions or in learning how to run a hospitality business more effectively.

DIT’s School of Hospitality Management and Tourism is aware of the importance of flexibility in the delivery of courses in hospitality. There are a number of different course options to suit those working in industry, and they are tailored specifically towards those both with or without a background in formal education.

These dynamic programmes offer challenging opportunities for those who wish to further their career in the hotel, restaurant and general hospitality sector.

Students develop techniques and management skills to manage all aspects of the day-to-day operations of any hospitality business.

The following programmes are suitable to those who wish to study part-time. Entry requirements are based on experience and not on formal qualifications.

Level 6 Higher Certificate in Hospitality Services Management (DT451) This course takes place over two years (two evenings per week) between September and May each year.

Students on this course can also undertake to sit the examinations for the National Hygiene Partnership (NHP), Management of Food Safety and HACCP Programme. The Managing Training and Development Module of this programme has been accepted by the NHP as a suitable qualification to deliver Food Safety Management and HACCP training in students’ own organisations.

For full course details visit: www.dit.ie/hospitalitymanagementandtourism/ or phone 01 402 4352.

Level 6 Higher Certificate in Hospitality Management (DT458) This course takes place over two years (one weekday per week) between September and May each year.

The programme is offered in conjunction with the Irish Hospitality Institute (IHI), the professional body representing the interests, careers and needs of hospitality managers. Students automatically become

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members and have access to a range of benefits including valuable contacts within the industry.

For full course details visit: www.dit.ie/hospitalitymanagementandtourism/ or phone 01 402 4352.

Level 7 Bachelor’s Ordinary Degree in Hospitality Management (DT460E) This programme takes place over three years (three evenings per week) between September and May each year.

Degree holders who also have a good operational knowledge of the business are in high demand. This programme provides in-depth knowledge of how to successfully manage and run a business in the hospitality sector.

For full course details visit: www.dit.ie/hospitalitymanagementandtourism/ or phone 01 402 4352.

Those who already hold a third level degree are eligible to apply for the full-time or part-time Master’s programme.

Level 9 (Master’s Degree) Hospitality Management (DT435) This course can be completed in one year full time or between two and five years part-time.

This programme offers graduates the opportunity to participate at leadership level in the global hospitality sector. Graduates of the programme are currently employed in a variety of senior roles in hotels, restaurants, public administration, resorts and consulting, as well as in higher education.

Students develop an understanding of core business and management skills through a set of four key modules.

• The Effective Manager • Strategic Marketing and Digital Media • Managerial Finance and Entrepreneurism • Emerging Issues in Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure These core modules are complemented by discipline specific specialist topics such as: • Strategic Revenue Management and Distribution • International Hospitality Operations Management • Discipline Specific Dissertation Learning will involve many different styles of teaching such as lectures, tutorials, online learning and field trips.

To enhance the learning experience the field trip will focus on developing the hospitality/tourism product in a destination within Ireland.

Graduates of this Master’s Degree in Hospitality Management have proven how useful this programme is to career development due to its versatility; range of transferrable skills and in networking opportunities.

Graduates from the Master’s degree in Hospitality Management, DIT, Cathal Brugha Street.

Martin Shanahan, Chief Executive, IDA Martin Shanahan completed the Masters in Hospitality Management at DIT in 2000. Martin has recently been appointed as the Chief Executive of the Irish Development Authority (IDA). Prior to this Martin occupied a management position at Forfás followed by his appointment there as the Chief Executive. Prior to joining Forfás, Martin held management responsibility in Fáilte Ireland for the professional development of the tourism sector. Earlier in his career, Martin held a number of general management posts in the private sector in tourism and hospitality. His role at the IDA is to lead the development of a new strategy for the IDA, along with client companies, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, and other Government departments and agencies.

DIT Anne Walsh, Director, Crowe Horwath (Consulting specialists in the hotel, tourism and leisure industries) Anne completed the Master’s Degree in Hospitality Management at DIT in 2005.

She is now the Director in Crowe Horwath’s specialist Hotel, Tourism and Leisure business unit.

Anne had previously been a Front of House Manager at Tifco Limited, followed by a number of years at Crowe Horwarth in a management role.

Currently Anne is involved in working with a range of clients to include hotels, financial institutions, hotel operating companies, government agencies, industry associations, owner/operators and investors. Anne is also on Fáilte Ireland’s mentoring panel which provides business mentoring to SME’s in the hospitality and tourism sector.

“I believe that the Master’s in Hospitality Management alongside my career experience resulted in me being a more appealing candidate when I first applied for my position at Crowe Horwath. It also had a positive impact on my annual earnings potential and is a great networking opportunity. I made good friends and have gone on to work with some members of my class in projects while working with Crowe Horwath.”

Natasha Kinsella, Chief Executive, Irish Hospitality Institute Natasha graduated from the Master’s degree in Hospitality Management in 2000. In the same year Natasha was awarded the prestigious “IHI Young Hospitality Manager of the Year “. After progressing mainly in operational positions within France, England and Ireland, she went on to gain experience in Human Resources with Jurys Doyle Group Head Office. Natasha was also a Professional Development advisor for Fáilte Ireland. It was in 2007 that Natasha was delighted to take on the role full-time as Chief Executive of the Irish Hospitality Institute. Here she is responsible for the daily management and events of the organisation and to promote professional development within the Tourism & Hospitality sector.

“The Master’s in Hospitality Management assisted my progression within the sector but also allowed me to experience a wider learning environment due to the contacts made with both tutors and other colleagues in the class. This allowed me access to other such opportunities that have shaped my career to date.”

News from DIT School of Hospitality Management and Tourism Hospitality students from Laos meet President Higgins Two students from Laos who are studying on the Higher Certificate in Hospitality Management had the opportunity to meet President Michael D. Higgins recently. An extensive trawl of records suggests these two students, Ms Viphaphorn and Mr Khanethavong, are the first two Lao nationals ever to study in Ireland.

DIT is collaborating with Irish Aid to train teachers in hospitality management and tourism for the Lao National Institute of Tourism & Hospitality (LANITH). The visit to President Higgins was to mark the occasion and to brief him on how the Irish embassy in Hanoi, Irish Aid and DIT are collaborating with the Irish diaspora to deliver on Ireland’s development aid objectives. Also pictured is Maeve O’Brien, Technical Advisor, from the Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality.

Awards Ceremony for Hospitality students

Pictured (L-R): Ms Viphaphorn, Mr Khanethavong, President Michael D. Higgins, Maeve O’Brien

An awards ceremony was held for the students from DT451 the Higher Certificate in Hospitality Services Management who graduated recently. The ceremony and reception presented students with awards for excelling in their programme. Mr. Bobby Kerr presented the Student of the Year Insomnia award to Ms. Juliya Fagan. Mr. Jimmy Kealy presented Ms. Christine McNeilly with the Jurys Inn award for a student with exceptional results and Mr. Gerry O’Sullivan of Noel Recruitment presented Mr. Manuel Viar Moreno with an award for excellence.

Noel Pictured: Dr. Dominic Dillane, Head of School, Recruitment also Hospitality Management and Tourism; Ms. Juliya Fagan, Mr. Bobby Kerr, Insomnia presented a perpetual trophy to the college for a student of excellence on the programme into the future.

Certificates of excellence were presented to three students from the 2012 graduates; Ms. Susan Kelly, Ms. Julie Kerr and Ms.Alysia Kurtsak. A number of current students received certificates of excellence for achievements in first year: Mr. Noel Kavanagh, Mr. Daniel Fodor and Ms. Nisha Goel.

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47

TOURISM

Tomorrow never came …but few tears for Garth Frank Corr looks at the tourism value of major events Any tears shed by the hospitality industry in the wake of the Garth Brooks debacle were most likely of the crocodile variety.

True- the cancelled concerts would have generated a lot of money, at least €32m in ticket sales and maybe the same again for accommodation, transport, food and beverages. But the vast bulk of this money was not lost to the Irish economy, or even the hospitality sector, for the good reason that nine out of ten concert goers were from this country and the event would merely have resulted in millions of euro being transferred from the regions to Dublin city. It is significant however that Dublin hoteliers were not seen on tv wringing their hands over a business disaster and that the Irish Hotels Federation remained very quiet during the saga. The reasons are several, but among them was the fact that hotel bookings were not as crazy as the media were suggesting and that the hotels were largely able to fill their rooms over the five concert nights with other guests- albeit at rates which are the norm in July rather than the inflated rates which would have been achieved. The fact that 70,000 tickets were sold overseas does not mean that this number of people would have travelled to the concerts. Overseas ticket agencies had snapped up all the tickets they could source in the early days of booking and had sold large numbers of these to Irish fans who were unable to get tickets through normal channels.

Certainly some thousands of tickets were bought by UK and European ‘Brookies’, who planned to attend the Dublin concerts, but not enough to cause undue concern among Dublin hoteliers. Many visitors who had booked packages did in fact arrive and enjoyed the ‘Dublin Goes Country’ weekend which was staged at short notice.

As for ‘Garth the Good’- well behind all the ráimeis about his heartbreak, his undying love for the Irish and what his mother would have said, there beats a heart of solid commercialism and the cancellation of the gig may have had more to do with insurance than with anything else. He also was unable to fly of finto the sunset with €20m of our money.

Croke Park was, in fact, to be an expensive showcase for a planned world tour, but word from the mean streets of Nashville indicate that the world (even the country music hemisphere) was not getting

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too excited about a singer who has produced nothing new in a decade and has aged considerably since his was at his peak.

‘Garthgate’ does however raise issues about the tourism value of major events in Ireland, which are usually over-hyped and given an economic value which may not stand up to scrutiny. Over the past two decades or so, the Government, through Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, has invested considerable sums in attracting major sporting events to this country including the Tour de France, the Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race, the Tall Ships Race , the World Rally Championship and most recently the Giro d’Italia. It is now preparing serious bids for the European Football Championship and the World Rugby Cup. Prior to all of these events the promoters have extolled the economic benefits to the host country and on occasions there have been follow-up surveys which have tended to show highly positive outcomes. A study which followed the 2006 Ryder Cup, for instance, claimed that it benefited the country to the tune of €143m. How the researchers (Deloitte) arrived at this figure I do not know, but it was difficult to detect such a major injection of money into hotels, restaurants, transport or other tourism services at that time. What is clear however is that the event cost Michael Smurfit around 9m, that the Government contributed €9.4m (€4.9m of which was channelled through Failte Ireland) and that the number of golfers visiting Ireland actually declined in the following years. Television coverage of the Ryder Cup

TOURISM

Minister Michael ring and Alastair Ross highlight Grande Partenza in Milan

around the world was cited as a major benefit and while it is true that Ireland got favourable mention as the host nation and Tourism Ireland signs were displayed, to the tv golf viewer watching events every week, one golf course looks much the same as another and it is very difficult indeed to persuade broadcasters to divert from the business in hand to feature the tourism attractions of wherever they may happen to be.

Much the same can be said of the Volvo Ocean Race which certainly attracted a very large crowd of mainly Irish people to Galway quayside after the pubs closed one evening. The race was also covered on hundreds of tv channels, but ocean racing is not exactly the FIFA World Cup and therefore audiences would be specialist, to say the least. Much the same could be said of the Solheim Cup for women’ golf which attracted modest galleries to Killeen Castle.

Major sporting events such as these divide into two categoriesthere are those which attract a small number of visitors, as in the case of golf, ocean racing, motor rallying, cycling etc., but which are given wide tv coverage and those which attract sizeable numbers from overseas and which may, or may not, be covered by the media. Of the former, cycling and rallying are perhaps the most attractive. The manner in which the coverage of the Tour de France leverages the tourist attractions of that country, is wonderful. The route wends its way through river valleys, vineyards and coastal roads before scaling the majestic Alps or Pyernees and all along the way it passes through picturesque villages, towns and

cities. Communities along the route greet the tour with artistic displays of haystacks or corn and the helicopter cameras capture one breathtaking panorama after another.

Every time I watch the Tour on TG4, I want to immediately buy an air ticket to France.

Ireland had its own Nissan Tours between 1985 and 1992 and while they did not attract the expansive tv coverage of the French or Italian equivalents, they nevertheless provided audiences with a virtual travelogue. So indeed did the stages of the Tour de France which were here in 1998, although the event was marred by a drugs scandal. Indeed we tend to be a tad unlucky with cycle tours. On this year’s stage of the Giro d’Italia down the East coast to Dublin, the dark clouds and rain presented a rather grey image of the Emerald Isle. But- that’s cycling so ‘you pays your money and takes your chance’.

Altogether different events are the occasional American Colleges Football games which are staged in Croke Park.

While media coverage is minimal on this side of the Atlantic, these have the benefit of being ‘real’ competitive games with league points at stake, so the appeal to fans is all the greater. The teams tend to have little or no following in Ireland, but they do have thousands of fans in Europe and some 75,000 of these fly in for the events, often staying over for a few days.

This is real incremental tourism business, selling bednights, meals, tours, pints and much more.

The best of all worlds however are sporting events which combine worldwide tv coverage with real visitors. This is why it is worth making a strong bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup . It would attract not only widespread and extended media coverage with many opportunities for travel-related features in advance of the tournament, but it would also bring up to 200,000 supporters to this country from the everwidening world of rugby union. Unlike other events, they would be spread throughout the country with games most likely taking place in Cork, Limerick, Belfast and maybe even Thurles, resulting in a really tangible input into the economies of these cities and towns. Ireland’s standing in world rugby is higher than it is in any other team sport, and the fact that we have never before hosted the tournament would be in our favour. So too would our ability to offer new stadia like Croke Park, Aviva, Thomond Park, the new Ravenhill and Pairc Ui Chaoimh in Cork, which will be up and running in a few years. The GAA, wearing its new-ish commercial uniform is already on board and the omens look good for attracting a tournament which would put any Garth Brooks in the shade from a tourism and economic viewpoint.

If this to-morrow ever comes, we will surely be on a winner.

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49

EXHIBITION

Foodservice is cooking up a storm once again - almost 60% of stand sales already booked for Catex 2015 The Irish Foodservice Suppliers Alliance (IFSA) is delighted to share the news that with almost 60% of stand space already booked for CATEX 2015, the foodservice industry is clearly showing all the signs of exponential growth once again.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, CATEX 2015 will take place at the RDS, Dublin on 17-19 February 2015.

Sponsored once again by Bunzl and Calor, CATEX 2015 promises to be bigger and better than ever.

With more than 10,000 visitors anticipated to visit the RDS for the 15,000 metre jubilee show, the industry’s leading suppliers, operators and stakeholders will gather to promote products, exchange ideas, compete in chef, barista and cocktail championships, identify emerging and future trends, and inspire service excellence.

Demonstrating their enthusiasm to share their renewed growth and showcase new products and services at the industry’s preeminent platform, some of the biggest names in the business have claimed their space well in advance of the show next February. These companies include A Taste of Italy, Aryzta Food Solutions, Automatic Amusements, Bailey Hygiene Solutions, BD Foods, Bewleys Coffee & Tea Ltd., Bord Gáis Networks, Brady Catering, Brakes, Bunzl McLaughlin, Business Support Systems, Calor Gas, Captiva Software Ltd., Carbon Removal Systems, Cashguard Ireland, CBE, Churchill, Coffee Perfection, Combico.ie, Coppinger Corporate Uniforms, Cocoran Food Equipment, Delvo Catering Equipment, Derry’s Ltd., Devlins Retail Systems, Easiyo Foodservice, Enviroclad Sytems, Food Saftey Authority of Ireland, Forbo Flooring Ltd, Fridge Rentals, GH Enterprises, GLANA, Henderson, Higgins & Company Ltd, Hugh Jordan, Hygiene Management Systems, IFSA, International, Glassware & Pottery Ltd., Kendemar Distributors Ltd., Kiernan’s Food Ingredients Ltd, Lyerco, Mainly Menus, Marco Beverage Systems, Matthew Algie, Michael Flannery Catering Supplies Ltd, Milano, Millimetre Designs, Money Point, Murphy Bakery, Catering & Laundry Equipment, National Hygiene Partnership, Nestle Professional, Nisbets, Noel Recruitment, North South Retail, OBS, Over & Above, O’Hagan Design, Orkin Pest Control,

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Pallas Foods, Prestige Foods, Rational, RDI Systems Ltd, Redmond Fine Foods Ltd., Rosie & Jim Gourmet Foods, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Servequip Kitchen Systems, Steelite International PLC, Stephens Catering, Tekspek, Tillwatch, Total Produce, Velox Ltd., Wallbridge Ltd, Weighing Machine Services, Wild Irish Game, Wireless Solutions Sean Martin, Chairperson of IFSA said, “The Foodservice Industry in Ireland was one of the biggest causalities of the recession culminating in the devastating closure of far too many businesses. However, the luckier enterprises managed to not only claw their way out of troubled times, they have emerged more industrious, innovative and forward-thinking than ever resulting in an industry that is putting Ireland back on the map in terms of foodservice excellence around the world. With stand sales for CATEX 2015 to-date far exceeding expectations and comparisons to previous years, its clear the protagonists of the industry are eager to stand up and be counted letting the country and world now what it now has to offer. The fact that this year of positive growth for the sector is coinciding with CATEX’ 50th anniversary is simply the icing on the cake”.

CATEX 2015 is set to be a three-day action packed celebration of one of the most successful and resilient industries in Ireland today and visitors will not be disappointed with the range of features in store including The Chefs Choice Food Village 2015 National Barista Championships, 2015 National Cocktail Championships, The RAI Live Dining Experience, The Hospitality Heroes Stage and The Euro-toques Live Stage not to mention the 200+ exhibitors showcasing the latest and greatest innovations in in foodservice today.

CATEX is for every business relying on the foodservice sector and welcomes visitors from hotels; restaurants, cafes/snack bars/takeaways; bakeries; pubs/clubs/wine bars; franchise operators; contract caterers; forecourt caterers; instore caterers; leisure/sports centers; wholesalers; cash & carrys; wholesalers; architects/specifiers; interior designers; researchers; furnishing/furniture outlets; travel caterers; healthcare caterers; education caterers; public sector caterers and more.

The Irish Foodservice Suppliers Alliance (IFSA) was formed with the aim of establishing and maintaining a collective agreement of standards and objectives for the overall foodservice industry in Ireland. Enjoying the full support of the wellorganised existing foodservice representative bodies, the objective of IFSA is to promote, develop and enhance the position of all the foodservice suppliers in the industry as not just a lobby group, but as a group that can collectively drive the whole industry forward. www.catexexhibition.com For further information: Margaret Andreucetti, Sales Manager, Eventhaus.

018460020 E: Margaret.andreucetti@eventhaus.ie Press Inquiries: Elaine Roddy, Communications Director Eventhaus Ltd 087-8272373 E: elaine.roddy@buzzpr.ie

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