Hotel and Restaurant Times Feb / March 2015

FEBRUARY/MARCH ‘15

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BUNZL BRILLIANCE CATERING DESIGN SOLUTIONS STEP INTO THE SPOTLIGHT AT CATEX

CATEX 2015 IFSA DELIVERS ITS PROMISE

IHF CONFERENCE IMPROVED OUTLOOK FOR THE SECTOR

ALLERGENS LEGISLATION A STEP TOO FAR www.hotelandrestauranttimes.ie

CONTENTS

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COVER: Bunzl CDS’s RAI sponsored ‘pop-up’ restaurant at CATEX 2015

CONTENTS NEWS APPOINTMENTS + KINGDOM GLORY FOR INUA BOOKASSIST FÁILTE IRELAND FOCUS TOURISM IRELAND NEWS CATEX 2015 REVIEW CATERING DESIGN SOLUTIONS FINELINE INTERIOR DESIGN RAI NEWS FÁILTE IRELAND NEWS IFSA NEWS IRISH HOTELS FEDERATION CONFERENCE RECRUITMENT REALITY BITES DOBIQUITY DIGITAL GMIT NEWS BEWLEYS FAIRTRADE ALLERGIC REACTION TO ALLERGENS RESTAURANT MARKETING COFFEE PRICING

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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, Frank Corr, Denise Ryan,Dr. Des O'Mahony & Bernhard Boehm, Fáilte Ireland, IFSA, Tourism Ireland, Restaurants Association of Ireland, Cariona Neary, Susan Clarke, GMIT, DIT. 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 FEBRUARY/MARCH ‘15

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It’s up to everyone Anyone who got an opportunity to visit the recent CATEX event at the RDS was treated to a magnificent showcase of all that’s great in our industry. Over 10,000 visitors came through the doors during the 3 day spectacular, with the majority impressed with what was on offer, and quite a number saying it was one of the best events they had attended in recent years. As well as this, the over two hundred exhibitors who invested in the show departed with significant business transacted. The various competitions held in a multitude of disciplines lived up to their billings, with large crowds in attendance at most events. As one industry figure said, “IFSA promised to support and look after the needs of the industry, and with this show they did it in spades”.

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The other big event during February was of course the IHF Conference, whose theme Strength and Resilience was certainly an apt signifier of how far the industry has come in recent years. Anyone in doubt of the resurgence of tourism as a key driver to the economy just had to drop into the conference to have that well and truly dispelled. Over 700 delegates attended the myriad of workshops and keynote speaker addresses during the two days and the sense of confidence and optimism for the coming season was evident. While the general consensus was that Dublin is experiencing sustained and continued growth in contrast to the still somewhat sluggish and erratic regional areas, it was felt that this year will see recovery in most markets and reinvestment with an increase in cap ex and refurbishment of a number of properties. The showtel area in itself was also indicative of the continued signs of recovery with over 60 exhibitors showcasing their products and services. Most, if not all, reported real business undertaken during the two day conference.

Whilst it’s encouraging to see that confidence is beginning to find real traction in the sector, it’s not without its challenges. Two crucial areas of concern are training and pay.

Both are sometimes viewed with a sense of cynicism by some operators, but if the sector is to position itself as a key player in the economy and gain respect at negotiation tables, these areas must be addressed. Training must be seen as an investment and not an unwanted cost or impediment to business. It is worth noting that every customer that comes to your hotel or restaurant is ‘investing their money’ in your business. Like any shareholder, they expect a return, by way of quality service and an overall enjoyable experience. It’s not worth much having providence for your food offering for example, when a lack of staff attention leaves the customer feeling ignored or frustrated. The customer choosing to do business with you is essentially putting faith in what you claim to offer, so it’s crucial not to fail them when it comes to delivery of basic service. The onus to provide a satisfied customer experience cannot be underestimated.

The other contentious issue regards pay scale and working conditions. The industry is facing a real challenge in attracting candidates to work within the sector. A sensible approach must be taken to change this, and this means a pay scale that is both fair and realistic. Common sense must prevail here, otherwise the good work that has gone over the past few tough years could be destroyed by entrenched and outdated, not to mention short-term, thinking.

For the first time in over seven years real growth is evident, so let’s not scupper that hard earned success by sticking our heads in the sand and ignoring the real issues.

The future of the industry is in the collective hands of all concerned. Don’t waste the rich opportunity to make the industry an attractive proposal for the quality people who will help drive the industry further.

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Cyril McAree Editor

NEWS

NEWS Learning lessons form York

Twenty-six managers of top visitor attractions from across the East and South regions have just returned from York in the UK as part of Fáilte Ireland’s first ever Visitor Attraction Management Development Programme. The new programme was custom designed to meet the rapidly changing expectations of visitors and their desire to really connect with a destination. York was selected as part of the programme for its resemblance to Irish cities such as Waterford and Kilkenny.

However its popularity as a Roman, Viking and Norman tourism heritage City in the UK, and its ability to provide practical insights for the 26 major Irish attractions participating the Management Development Programme also made it the perfect place to learn from.

Netting Awards

Net Affinity, a Dublin based Technology, Design and Marketing Company are celebrating a confident start to 2015 after being awarded two International Hotel Awards in London recently. The International Hotel Awards were developed to identify, highlight and reward excellence throughout the global hospitality industry.

Net Affinity collected the 5* award in the category of Hotel Website for www.themalton.com for Ireland in the Europe region Hotel Awards for 2014 and were also awarded a Highly Commended award for www.monart.ie for Ireland in the Europe region Hotel Awards. 2015 looks set to be a big year for Net Affinity with plans to expand and grow the business internationally.

RAI opposes Government Bill

The Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) is extremely concerned at the government’s proposal to introduce calorie information on menus in restaurants nationwide. The Cabinet has approved proposals requiring food outlets to post the information at the point where the food is ordered, whether at tables or counters.

Drafting legislation is expected to start immediately and should be ready for enactment by next year. Chief Executive of the RAI, Mr. Adrian Cummins commented on the legislation. ‘The introduction of calorie information on menus will have devastating effects on the restaurant industry, costing €5,000 to businesses and will have a knock on effect in other sectors. I urge the government to reconsider this Bill in the interest of the restaurant industry and tourism’. According to the RAI a recent study by New York University found that five out of six customers paid no attention to the calorie information.

Smithwick Experience hotting up Kilkenny Kilkenny’s newest visitor attraction, the Smithwick’s Experience on Parliament Street, has made it onto Lonely Planet’s list of hot attractions for 2015. The popular travel guidebook publisher has unveiled the accolade in its latest ebook, which names 26 hot attractions for the year ahead.

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NEWS

Temple Street gains from O’Callaghan Hotels

Temple Street Hospital is O’Callaghan Hotel’s chosen charity for a second year. This month the hotel group presented Temple Street Hospital with a cheque for 5,000EU. O’Callaghan Hotels will also be taking part in the annual Charity Bake off again this year, last year over 200 cakes were baked at the group’s four Dublin hotels and were purchased by members of the public, the group successfully raised over €2000. Temple Street’s Charity Bake Off will be taking place on Friday 17th April.

A secret garden opens at the Limerick Strand Hotel

The Limerick Strand Hotel drew a host of well know and local faces to the launch of the Secret Garden, on Friday, 20th February 2015.

The Secret Garden’ was designed by Maximize Design, an award winning Ecological Landscape Architecture and Contemporary Garden Design company. The clever private space brings the outdoors indoors in a fully heated chic, urban, covered entertainment space adding a magical setting for drinks and parties.

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Lone Star Fund acquires Jurys Inn

Oman Investment Fund (“OIF”), Mount Kellett Capital Management, Ulster Bank (part of the Royal Bank of Scotland), Westmont Hospitality Group and Avestus Capital Partners (together “the Shareholders”) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of Jurys Inn to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds for a total consideration of £680 million. The transaction is subject to approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in Ireland, and is expected to close at the end of the first quarter of 2015. The existing management team, led by CEO John Brennan, will continue to lead Jurys Inn, building on the successes achieved in recent years.

Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel receives CIE International Award of Excellence!

Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel is delighted to receive a CIE International Award of Excellence presented to Owner, Eithne Fitzpatrick Scott-Lennon at a reception held in Dublin Castle on Tuesday, 27th January by Vivienne Jupp, Chairman and Brian Stack, Managing Director, CIE Tours International.

Now in their 25th year, the awards are held annually by CIE Tours International, one of the largest tour operators in Ireland, who have brought over three million visitors into the country over the last 83 years. The winners of the Awards of Excellence are chosen from an independent valuation of feedback surveys completed by over 30, 000 CIE Tours International customers on providers of accommodation, dining, tours and attractions.

Commenting on the award, Mark Scott-Lennon, General Manager, Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel said; “We are thrilled to receive this CIE Award of Excellence, there is always a significant value attached to those voted for by the public and based solely on our guest experience and feedback. We are a family run hotel at Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel and we strive daily to maintain the highest of standards so that guests can enjoy an unforgettable experience.”

NEWS

Flogas bake-off The inaugural Flogas Bake Off, organised by the company’s Social Club Committee, raised €1,572.00 for the Marie Keating Foundation. Fundraising Director Linda Keating turned up to accept the cheque and sample the culinary expertise of the winners at a presentation in the Flogas offices in Drogheda.

(l/r) Flogas Bake Off winners Emma Dillon, Claire Connolly and Nadine Duffy with John Rooney, Managing Director, Flogas Ireland, Linda Keating from the Marie Keating Foundation and Mary McNally of the Flogas Social Club

Rebranded Cork Airport Hotel set for take off

Under the same management as Cork International Hotel, The Park Inn by Radisson has been rebranded as Cork Airport Hotel. The hotel, located across from Cork Airport’s terminal, was recently purchased by the owners of the Cork International Hotel and will join the hotel group.

Be a Smart Taveller with Hertz

Smart Traveller, a Cork based start-up, has partnered with leading car hire company Hertz Ireland to offer tourists free and personalised concierge services to half a million tourists to Ireland who use Hertz. The Hertz Smart Traveller platform is an exciting new service which is designed to give tourists the best possible advice on where to visit, eat, stay and shop. Once a tourist has booked their car hire with Hertz, they will have access to Hertz Smart Traveller, which will allow visitors to go to places they might not find listed in the established travel guides.

Golf to the ‘fore’ in the Sunny South East An Taoiseach Enda Kenny met the directors of golf operator Club Choice Ireland this month following the successful launch of their 2015 golf programme in Britain. Club Choice Ireland is a golf marketing company, selling golf holidays in the East and South East of Ireland.

Tourism Ireland has an extensive programme of activity under way to showcase golf in Ireland to prospective golf holidaymakers around the world.

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NEWS

Kerry features in National Geographic

Flogas powering Irish Cricket Flogas has become the official energy partner to Cricket Ireland. John Rooney, managing director of Flogas Ireland said “Flogas Ireland is delighted to be teaming up with Cricket Ireland and becoming their official energy partner. As Ireland’s only allIreland supplier of both LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) and natural gas, we are uniquely placed to meet the energy needs of Cricket Ireland’s 150 constituent clubs, whether they are on or off the natural gas grid, North or South.” Warren Deutrom, chief executive of Cricket Ireland welcomed the partnership saying, “The timing couldn’t be better as Cricket Ireland embark on an unprecedented year of activity in 2015 both at home and abroad. 2015 will no doubt enable Flogas to form a deeper connection with Irish cricket which is growing at an unprecedented rate.” We wish all the best to the Irish Cricket team in the upcoming championships.

Katie Taylor and Alan Quinlan on the right track with Aramark The February/March edition of National Geographic Traveller, one of the world’s most widely-read travel publications, with more than nine million readers, features a spectacular cover shot of Ross Castle in Killarney and the headline ‘Return to Ireland - A Journey Home’.

Inside the magazine, there’s a wonderful eleven pages dedicated to Kerry, with some stunning photographs and great suggestions for American travellers - encouraging them to discover the “lyrical hills of county Kerry”. The author of the article is award-winning travel writer Andrew McCarthy.

Celtic connections for Ireland and Scotland A delegation of tourism businesses from the island of Ireland travelled to Glasgow last month, to take part in Tourism Ireland’s first tourism promotion of 2015 in Scotland. The networking event with key Scottish influencers took place in advance of Celtic Connections, Scotland’s premier winter music festival. In all, 31 tourism enterprises including hotels, visitor attractions, ferry companies, activity providers and regional tourism organisations took part in the B2B networking event, meeting and doing business with influential Scottish tour operators and travel agents, as well as various print and broadcast media. The event provides an invaluable platform for the participating Irish companies to network and win business for 2015.

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Aramark’s Health and Wellness Ambassador, Katie Taylor together with Munster rugby legend, Alan Quinlan, launched Aramark’s Right Track Challenge last month.

The campaign is aimed at improving physical health and wellbeing in workplaces throughout Ireland. The challenge will provide specific three tier training schedules targeted at various levels of fitness with nutritional advice and motivational coaching to all Aramark employees and customer base across the 980 workplaces in which Aramark operates in Ireland.

The programme will be released monthly on the Right Track Programme Facebook pageand can also be replicated in all workplaces across the country.

RAI launches new online training initiative The New Responsible Serving of Alcohol Online Training Programme encourages Restaurants to develop policies and procedures in serving alcohol to minimise the risk of alcohol related harm. The Restaurant’s Association of Ireland (RAI) is promoting this valuable training initiative to their members.

‘RSA Online’ is approved by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and legal experts. It is a 90 minute online (e-learning) course consisting of an interactive learning component, examination and certification. It is a cost effective, time effective training solution which provides staff with a certificate which is endorsed

by Failte Ireland and supported by the VFI, LVA IHF and RAI. Speaking at the launch at Gallagher’s Boxty House in Temple Bar, Mary Kennedy, owner of Alcohol.ie and developer of the RSA Programme said; “Bartenders and servers have a tough job. Pleasing the customer and obeying the law can be challenging for anyone serving alcohol on a licensed premises. Customer safety, protection of minors and moderate consumption of alcohol are key elements of responsible serving and its importance to our country’s health welfare is crucial. It is of general view within the industry that RSA training should be a mandatory requirement for those involved in the sale and service of alcohol. Initial dialogue with the Department of Health has been good and we would urge the Department to take a look at how this programme can be implemented for the benefit of the Irish Hospitality and Tourism sectors.”

NEWS

CIE Awards of Excellence for Manor House Hotels and Cliffs of Moher

Ireland’s largest portfolio of independently owned luxury castle and country house hotels, Manor House Hotels of Ireland, came home with two of the three top accolades handed out at this week’s prestigious CIE Tours International Annual Awards of Excellence. Member properties Cabra Castle and Dingle Benners were named the best four-star and best three-star hotel respectively. The awards, which are in their 25th year, are based entirely on feedback from the 36,000 CIE Tours customers who visited Ireland during 2014.

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD also presented the Heritage Gold Award to the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience. 24,334 surveys were completed by CIE customers who visited the Cliffs of Moher as part of a tour in 2014 and an overall satisfaction rating of 95.5% was achieved by the County Clare attraction, which last year saw overall visitor numbers break the one million mark for the first time.

Brakes off at CATEX Food producers from across Ireland showcased the best in Irish food to over 10,000 chefs, restaurant owners and food buyers with the help of Brakes, one of Ireland’s largest foodservice providers. The Dublin-based company, which also has depots in Galway, Cork, Strabane and Lisburn, attended CATEX 2015 at the RDS in Dublin where it hosted a number of it’s local suppliers, providing them with the opportunity to raise awareness of their products to key industry figures .The local suppliers were joined

by TV’s Great British Menu star and former head chef at Corrigan’s Mayfair in London, Chris McGowan. Chris, originally from Ireland, wowed the audiences with his culinary skills learned from some of the restaurant industry’s most famous chefs.

Barnardos benefits

The tourism and hospitality sector were major contributors to a fundraiser held in Blackrock, County Dublin, organised by Final Year UCD Commerce International Student, Ashling O’Connor, on behalf of Barnardos. Auction lots and prizes were provided by a number of sponsors, including The Fitzwilliam Hotel, Guinness Storehouse, Slieve Russell Hotel, Aer Arann Island Flights, Knightsbrook Hotel, Butler’s Pantry and Brody Sweeney’s new business, Camile. Pictured at the event that raised over €4,500 are Ashling O’Connor and Fergus Finlay of Barnardos.

Wild Atlantic Way has big impact

Fáilte Ireland’s latest and biggest initiative, the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s first longdistance touring route, was last night awarded the National Impact Award at the 2015 Community and Council Awards. The awards were hosted by the Local Authority Members Association (LAMA) and IPB Insurance and took place at a ceremony in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin. The National Impact Award recognises a project which has had a positive effect upon the nation as a whole, enhancing the environment, cultural or social activities, transport links or the economic stability or growth of the local and national communities who use it. This year, the national tourism authority will be developing the attraction further and ensuring that it is heavily promoted to key overseas market.

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NEWS

UK success for Quadriga

APPOINTMENTS PLUS

First birthday celebrations Powerscourt Hotel Resort & Spa recently celebrated their first birthday under the new management team. The hotel continues its growth with the appointment of four new staff members: John Costelloe, Senior Sales Manager; Orla Byrne, Sales Manager; Eimear Young, Hotel Wedding Planner; Jennifer McCormack, UK & European Sales Manager.

Clockwise from right: Jennifer McCormack, Orla Byrne and John Costelloe

Last month Quadriga announced the promotion of James Cannon to the role of Sales Director for Uk and Ireland. Quadriga, a leading international provider of internet and entertainment managed services have continued to target the UK for expansion. Over the last two years James has assisted in pushing the growth of Quadriga in the UK, securing deals with leading brands in the hospitality industry such as Accor and Starwood.

New Aer Lingus service connects Donegal and Dublin Minister of State for Transport, Paschal Donohoe TD was aboard the inaugural flight to mark the beginning of the Aer Lingus Regional flights from Donegal to Dublin. Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Stobart Air ,expects to increase passenger numbers on the route over the next number of months as twice daily flights will be offered seven days a week. Aer Lingus Regional will also operate the Donegal to Glasgow service with up to four flights per week.

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A home-bird for Intercontinental Intercontinental Dublin has announced the appointment of JP Kavanagh to the position of General Manager this month.

A graduate of Trinity College, JP has had an international career holding prominent positions in hotels in London, Edinburgh and Dubai. Returning to Dublin following a 12 year career abroad fills him with excitement, “I’m thrilled to build on the success of this internationally renowned hotel and to bring a new level of excitement, innovation and quality to the city”.

Festival funding to boost tourism Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, announced that further funding of €320,000 has been approved by Fáilte Ireland under its National Festivals and Events Programme for 11 key national festivals and events to take place later this year. This follows an announcement of almost €2 million last November for larger events (such as the St Patrick’s Festival) and those festivals due to take place in the first six months of 2015. Minister Donohoe explained the significance of the funding saying: ‘Festivals and events encourage greater visitor traffic and enhance the visitor’s experience wherever they occur. Crucially, some of the events funded today will take place beyond the high season, during Autumn, and are key motivators for tourism later in the year’.

INVESTMENT

Kingdom glory for iNua

Irish hospitality investment company iNua Hospitality has completed on its purchase of the award-winning, five-star Muckross Park Hotel and Spa in Killarney for a sum in excess of €6 million via selling agents DTZ Sherry FitzGerald. The sale expands iNua Hospitality’s hotel asset portfolio after the company previously purchased the Radisson BLU hotels in Cork for €9 million, and Limerick for €3.5 million in the last 18 months.

The market for profitable hotel assets has been buoyant in Ireland in recent years.

Reflecting on its latest acquisition, iNua Hospitality CEO Noel Creedon said: “Muckross Park Hotel is already a very strong brand both nationally and internationally, and is ideally located in Ireland’s busiest tourist destination outside of Dublin. Our strategy is to increase visitor numbers to the hotel and to improve its profitability. We are delighted to open a new chapter in the hotel’s history and predict a bright future that introduces and welcomes many new customers to the unforgettable Muckross experience.”

The deal is a timely one for investors in iNua Hospitality’s latest fund as it qualifies for the property CGT exemption introduced by the Government in December 2011.

The waiver has successfully stimulated transactions in the Irish property market and closed at the end of 2014.

This latest acquisition is consistent with iNua Hospitality’s strategy in investing in well-located, four- and five-star profitable hotels and significantly strengthens its overall position in the Irish hotel market.

“Having improved operating fundamentals in both our hotels in 2014, our forecast for Q1 2015 is looking promising and we are hopeful of a continuing growth story for iNua Hospitality investors,” continues Creedon. “Booking pace is strong in both of our Radisson BLU hotels and we expect a similar story with Muckross Park Hotel. Momentum is good and economic activity is improving, which, when coupled with no new supply coming on stream, should drive further growth going forward.”

The management team and staff at Muckross Park Hotel will remain uninterrupted by the deal and iNua Hospitality plans to build on the many plaudits and awards that the hotel has won in the past. In 2014, the hotel scooped a ‘Trip Advisor Top 15 Luxury Hotels in Ireland’ award, as well as World Luxury Spa Award 2014, ISIA Gold Medal for Accommodation Excellence 2014, Best Gastro Pub in Munster 2014, an AA Rosette for its Yew Tree Restaurant and was named Munster Wedding Venue in 2012 by Southern Brides.

The award-winning hotel, which has 68 bedrooms and 18 self-catering apartments, is located in the idyllic Killarney National Park and is the oldest hotel in Killarney, dating back to 1795. In 2006, the property saw significant redevelopment following a multi-million investment in the hotel and spa. Over the last three years, spearheaded by experienced General Manager Sean O’Driscoll, the hotel has established itself as one of the country’s leading five-star hotel resorts, developing a loyal following for its luxurious accommodation, food, service and friendliness.

For more on iNua Hospitality, please go to www.inuahospitality.ie

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ONLINE MARKETING

The customer journey to online booking Dr. Des O’Mahony & Bernhard Boehm Online hotel bookings via online travel agents (OTAs) continue to grow faster than other online sources, but in the last quarter of 2014 reservations made directly through hotel websites increased year-on-year by a very decent 6.8 percent according to some sources1. Bookassist figures would indicate even higher growth in the Irish marketplace for direct bookings. Conversely, phone calls directly to the property and walk-in customers decreased by 5.2 percent. While the pace of increase in online bookings is slowing overall (as it must do, given the proportionit now accounts for), its growth nevertheless continues and represents significant opportunity for the savvy independent hotel.

With this in mind, it’s worth returning to the concepts of the customer journey online (customer funnel or path to purchase) when it comes to hotel booking.

The landscape is changing so much and so rapidly that many of the ideas from just one or two years ago are already outmoded.

The decision matrix Much of this flux has to do with technology.

The explosive growth of web access on mobile phones and tablets is requiring online services like the hotel website to be fast, nimble and punchy on multiple format screens used by increasingly impatient audiences.

But there are also seismic changes in the online travel technology sector. There’s been rapid consolidation of large brands with Priceline/Booking.com buying up smaller companies and expanding into web services, Expedia buying Travelocity and Orbitz, Sabre launching website services for hotels. There’s also been development of a whole third way of travel booking, with meta search engines like Trivago, Kayak, Hotelscombined, and of course Google’s Hotel Finder. TripAdvisor has entered the fray with instant booking being rolled out throughout 2015 to capture bookings right on that review site.

This dizzying progression is good news for independent hotels though, once they can keep up. Why are Booking.com and Sabre trying to get into website

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development and on-site booking? Because they see huge potential in the growth of direct booking on brand hotel websites and they want a slice of that too. And of course they see the threat to the growth of their online travel agency (OTA) business from the direct channel also.

The result of all this change is that the customer funnel is now multi-dimensional and multi-device driven. It can be a simple search-to-hotel-to-book model but it is more likely to be radically more complex, the customer moving between devices over time and eventually leading to a booking via a ‘decision matrix’ rather than a linear path to purchase (see figure). Tracking this is extremely complex.

Recent research by PhoCusWright, sponsored by Webtrends2, determined that leisure travellers typically access more than 6.5 “digital touch points” (devices and websites) before booking a trip, with anything up to 38 website visits being recorded. We know this ourselves without any statistics - jumping around between devices during the day is now commonplace and we expect to be able to continue where we left off seamlessly.

As customers move between the awareness, evaluation and purchase stages, it’s therefore critical that hotels optimise their informational presence across all touch points in a coherent fashion. You need to be firing on all cylinders everywhere and your message needs to be consistent, consistent and consistent.

Improving your impact and measuring correctly Here are a number of things that Bookassist recommends your hotel to do now to improve your impact on the newer and more complex customer decision matrix.

1 Presenting a coherent image with coherent content across all touch points is a must, but in our experience this still presents a challenge for hotels. Consider devising and maintaining one master content set or database, a superset of all the information you may need for websites, mobile, tablet, social media, OTA websites, meta search sites etc. Give one person in your organisation ownership of this. Keep a clear record of what elements of content are being used where, so that if an update is needed to your facilities, opening times, etc., you can go from the single master content to all known digital sources and update them all accurately and quickly.

2 Do the same for imagery. There is a lot of inconsistency and lack of thought for example on the selection of profile/primary images for hotels. Choosing imagery that encapsulates your brand is not easy, but it is worth doing and worth paying to get it right. In a fast-moving online world where your target audience is skimming through pages of your competitors, we believe that this singular identifiable image can help your hotel stand out from the noise and be remembered later on, especially as people move between sites and platforms. Develop your imagery, and keep a master record of it all and where it is used. Again, when updating, update across the board. Consistency reinforces, and helps you stand out. It’s worth the time to get right.

It follows that as people move between devices and platforms, more consistent information is critical in order to engender confidence and reinforce the buyer’s decision-making. Displaying different descriptions, photos, pricing etc. across multiple platforms or devices just raises questions and doubt that ultimately diminish conversion rates.

3 Hotels must also expand their advertising strategy thinking beyond just Google search. Meta search for example targets potential guests who are very close to making a reservation decision and is a good area to invest in. Remarketing and Display Advertising also makes the hotel brand more visible, especially in your local market.

ONLINE MARKETING

One example of a "Decision Matrix": Paths to purchase are now multi-dimensional and multi-device driven. A customer may take relatively direct routes from their starting point to hotel booking, such as A, B, C, D above, but as they progress left to right they can also move up and down between lines A, B, C, D or between devices, crossing multiple paid and unpaid touch points on the decision (overlaid blue line). The reality (along the bottom line) is that multiple devices and multiple sources are in use in the customer funnel. Tracking return on investment requires a more holistic view of your spend.

But what if these tools are not showing a clear return? Businesses need to think much more holistically on return metrics. The return-on-investment (ROI) measure revolutionised advertising, making digital spend simple to track in comparison to print, radio and TV. But it’s now becoming less relevant and less accurate. Here’s why.

Within the more complex decision matrix, multiple paid and unpaid sources can assist or aid an ultimate reservation though information provision and consistent brand reinforcement. Different campaign types target guests at different stages of their decision process from awareness to evaluation to purchase and inform and assist the decision even if they don’t directly trigger the final action. Rather than deciding on a budget allocation by comparing cost and revenue for each campaign or platform in isolation, hotels also need to measure the totality across all their digital touch points as a coherent unit. The ROI on the purchase trigger is a n easy measure but it is not the full picture as the purchase trigger alone is likely to be far less effective without the assists from the awareness and evaluation stage contributors.

access countless other lesser known but critical decision informers. They may gather all this information and mull it over, returning to the process on a different device two weeks later.

At Bookassist we therefore urge hotels to look at the total investment versus the total direct revenue achieved on your digital platforms and not be too blinkered to the cross-fertilisation effect they can have. It makes it more difficult to tweak and optimise as a strategy, and it is harder to identify cause and effect, but it’s a critical view to take.

The decision matrix today is far from linear and certainly less immediate.

Bottom Line The reality is that the web is increasingly about information everywhere rather than information in isolated silos. Your customer doesn’t just go to your hotel website for definitive information about the hotel. Your customer goes to social media sites to seek personal opinions from Facebook, Twitter; they check review sites like TripAdvisor; they browse photo sites like Instagram and Pinterest, and they may

Dr Des O’Mahony is CEO & Founder and Bernhard Boehm is Senior Digital Manager at Bookassist (http://www.bookassist.com), the multiaward-winning technology and digital strategy partner for hotels worldwide.

1 http://hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/hotels_need_to_focus_on_inventory_management_as_pace_of_online_boo 2 http://www.tnooz.com/article/many-websites-devices-consumer-use-research-travel/

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FÁILTE FOCUS

State of the art ‘Visit Dublin’ centre with a futuristic fáilte for visitors

Pictured at the official opening were Michael Carey, Grow Dublin Tourism Alliance, Minister Paschal Donohoe, Nyree Landry, Visit Dublin Centre and Shaun Quinn, CEO, Fáilte Ireland.

Fáilte Ireland officially opened a new cutting edge Tourism Information Office which will be the first port of call for visitors to Dublin. The state of the art Tourism Information Office, located at 25 Suffolk Street, will provide visitors with up-to-date and relevant information in a way that is easy to follow, intuitive and accessible to all, combining high tech digital delivery with personal interaction and a warm Irish welcome.

The design of the new office - and its employment of the latest technology - is geared to ensure that visitors get the most from their time in the city and its surrounds by fully inspiring and informing them about what Dublin and Ireland have to offer.

Officially opening the new Tourism Information Office, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD highlighted - “This new facility is a winning blend of the traditional and the new. It will combine the traditionally helpful and friendly expertise of the visitor information staff with a range of very modern digital tools which will help visitors make informed decisions in relation to their visit to our city and county - allowing them to really interact with all we can offer as well as fully enjoying their stay here.”

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The new office boasts a number of modern features which boost its ability to provide comprehensive tourism information, including: • The Inspiration Wall • New intuitive Interactive Pods • The Social Media Wall • The App Wall • ‘What’s On’ Area • The Ireland Area Commenting on the design of the new tourist office, Orla Carroll, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Dublin, emphasised: “This new ‘Visit Dublin’ office has been purposely designed to exploit the latest in technology to ensure that visitors here are both informed and inspired.

We want visitors to Dublin to actively engage and explore their surroundings and we have a variety of easy to use and attractive tools for them to do so in this office.”

Fáilte Ireland also announced that they have re-booted their dedicated website for tourism in Dublin, www.visitdublin.ie. The revamped site showcases a modern, vibrant and authentic Dublin through the use of imagery, videos, and stories giving consumers a taste of the hidden gems through dynamic content such as a ‘You might like’ feature.

Ms Carroll pointed out: “Through its enhanced events section, our new Visit Dublin website highlights a city where there is always something happening right now. The site also promotes the great value for money that is available out there through the addition of ‘Special Offers’ for restaurants and tours.”

FÁILTE FOCUS

Wild Atlantic Way workshops

Fiona Monaghan (centre), Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Wild Atlantic Way, with members of Kerry tourism trade at the workshop in Tralee.

Tourism businesses from along the Wild Atlantic Way have been meeting with Fáilte Ireland to receive an update on the progress of the project as well as plans for the future evolution of the initiative during 2015. Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD joined the Mayo briefing in Westport which was the first in the series of seven briefings to be held throughout the country.

Over its first year in existence, Fáilte Ireland has been working to further develop the Wild Atlantic Way and has made significant progress to date. A signage plan has been implemented for the entire route and all the directional signage along the route has been in place since the end of May 2014.

At the briefing Fiona Monaghan, Head of the Wild Atlantic Way, provided an

Pictured at the Mayo briefing in Westport were Fiona Monaghan, Fáilte Ireland, Danny O’Toole, Mayo County Council, Minister Michael Ring and Donal Healy, Ireland West Airport.

update on the 2014 progress of the project as well as highlighting plans for the future evolution of the initiative in 2015.

Commenting on Fáilte Ireland’s plans for the year ahead, Ms Monaghan said - “The year ahead, 2015, will see the roll out of photo points and branding at all 188 Discovery Points along the Wild Atlantic Way including the off shore islands. This branding and interpretation phase will give us a greater ability to tell the stories of the Wild Atlantic Way to visitors and encourage a more meaningful engagement with all those who travel in the region.”

In addition a coordinated marketing and selling programme for the Wild Atlantic Way - in conjunction with Tourism Ireland has been rolled out in all of the overseas markets. To date the reception has been very encouraging and the impact of the programme has been significant.

Last year Fáilte Ireland invested €10 million rolling out the route which stretches from the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork and instantly the new attraction garnered significant interest overseas. This year, the national tourism authority will be upping the ante with a mixture of further developments for the attraction and greater promotion to key overseas markets.

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TOURISM

Tourism Ireland announces Global Greening lineup for St Patrick’s Day Tourism Ireland’s annual Global Greening has gone from strength to strength, with a number of new landmarks signing up to take part in 2015 - including the famous Porte de Bourgogne in Bordeaux, the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville, the Jumeirah Etihad Towers hotel in Abu Dhabi, the National Sanctuary of Cristo Rei (Christ the King statue) in Lisbon and the Fram polar exploration ship in Oslo.

The new sites will join some ‘old favourites’ which have gone green in previous years - including Niagara Falls, the London Eye, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Sky Tower in Auckland, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Cibeles Fountain and Palace in Madrid and one of last year’s newcomers, the Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland® in Paris.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD; Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan TD; and Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, at the announcement of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening lineup for St Patrick’s Day 2015.

Tourism Ireland has announced that the Colosseum in Rome, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in the fabled district of Montmartre overlooking Paris and the Grand Ole Opry (the show that made country music famous!) in Nashville will be illuminated in green for the first time ever for St Patrick’s Day this year, as part of the organisation’s sixth annual Global Greening initiative. The announcement of some of the world’s most famous attractions and sites going green to mark St Patrick’s Day kicks off Tourism Ireland’s major first half promotional drive to grow overseas tourism in 2015.

The Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland® in Paris will join Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening once again in 2015.

Start spreading the news! New York launch of Tourism Ireland’s marketing plans

ROG touches down for Irish tourism in Paris

Tourism Ireland has launched details of its marketing plans to promote the island of Ireland in the United States in 2015. The event - which took place recently in New York - was attended by 100 leading travel trade and media, as well as key airline contacts, based in New York and the wider Tri-State area. Tourism Ireland aims to build on growth in 2014, which was the best year ever for tourism from the United States, with visitor numbers increasing by +13% over 2013 - 134,000 additional American visitors during the year.

Building on that success and sustaining growth into the future is at the heart of Tourism Ireland’s plans. The organisation will continue to target our ‘best prospect’ American visitors - with distinctive vacation experiences, events and special packages tailored to their interests and designed to encourage more potential holidaymakers to travel now.

Rugby legend Ronan O’Gara with Caroline Phelan and Monica MacLaverty, both Tourism Ireland.

Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland; Nico Zenner, DH Enterprise & Associates; and Barbara Jones, Consul General of Ireland, at the launch of Tourism Ireland’s marketing plans for 2015 in New York.

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Rugby legend Ronan O’Gara joined Tourism Ireland and six Irish tourism companies in Paris, for a business tourism promotion which took place in the prestigious Irish Embassy. The ‘Meet in Ireland’ event was attended by about 100 members of Racing Métro’s Business Club, who all have the capacity to bring MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) business to Ireland. Given Ronan O’Gara’s high profile involvement with the French rugby union team, Tourism Ireland was delighted to enlist the help of the former Irish outhalf, to highlight the island of Ireland as a superb location for meetings and conferences.

TOURISM

Score for tourism!

Tourism Ireland sponsors Ireland team for Cricket World Cup 2015 Tourism Ireland is sponsoring the Ireland team for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, which is under way right now in Australia and New Zealand. The team’s campaign got off to a superb start, with an incredible win against the West Indies.

The Cricket World Cup is set to be one of the world’s biggest sporting events of 2015, in terms of its global viewing audience; it will be televised in 220 countries, to a potential 2.5 billion viewers. Tourism Ireland believes it’s a unique opportunity to leverage the popularity of the Ireland team and the Cricket World Cup around the world - to support tourism growth from Australia and New Zealand, as well as other key cricket-loving countries, including England, India and South Africa. The organisation is leveraging the huge, positive media exposure of the tournament, with its Ireland.com logo prominently displayed on the team’s playing shirt and training kit; the logo also features prominently on the website and social media platforms of Cricket Ireland. Video footage of the island of Ireland, including interviews with some of the players describing their favourite place to holiday, has been shared by Tourism Ireland on its website, Ireland.com, and with its Facebook fans and Twitter followers.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland; Ireland cricketer Max Sorensen; Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Paschal Donohoe; Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring; and Warren Deutrom, CEO of Cricket Ireland, at the announcement of Tourism Ireland’s sponsorship of the Ireland cricket team for the Cricket World Cup.

Ireland on the menu on Italian TV

Targeting British coach and group tour business

The judges of MasterChef Italia (l-r) Bruno Barbieri, Carlo Cracco and Joe Bastianich, during filming at Kinsale Rugby club last July.

Images of Cork and Kinsale were beamed into the homes of more than 1 million Italians recently, when an episode of MasterChef Italia - filmed here last summer aired on Italian TV channel, Sky Uno. Tourism Ireland in Milan - in conjunction with Bord Bia and ABP Ireland - secured the famous culinary talent show for Ireland, supported by an excellent itinerary designed by Fáilte Ireland. Ireland was chosen for its exceptional, fresh produce particularly our beef - as well as our spectacular scenery, which provided such a wonderful backdrop for the show. Niamh Kinsella, Tourism Ireland’s manager Italy, said: “We were delighted to co-operate with Bord Bia to bring MasterChef Italy to Ireland. Ireland’s starring role in MasterChef Italia allows us to demonstrate that the island of Ireland offers extremely high quality food, as well as spectacular scenery.

Food is such a vital component of the holiday experience nowadays, with travellers becoming more and more discerning about food and where they eat.”

Irish tourism enterprises joined Tourism Ireland in London for ‘Excursions’, an annual group travel show which attracts about 1,300 influential coach and group tour operators from around Great Britain. Pictured at the show are Helen O’Reilly, Strandwood Hotel Group (left) and Debbie Moran, Tourism Ireland.

Tourism Ireland wins prestigious travel award in the US Tourism Ireland has taken the top prize for ‘best deals from a destination marketing organization’ at the 2014 Travelzoo Awards, which took place recently in the US. With a massive 27 million subscribers in North America, Europe and elsewhere around the world, Travelzoo is one of the world’s top online travel companies, publishing lots of special offers and travel deals every week. An important element of Tourism Ireland’s promotional programme in the US involves turning more ‘lookers into bookers’ - highlighting great value

vacation offers on popular websites like Travelzoo to potential travellers at the ‘active planning’ stage.

Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s head of North America, said: “Winning Travelzoo’s top award for best deals is really good news, providing Tourism Ireland with yet another opportunity to promote the island of Ireland as a ‘must do’ vacation destination in 2015 and we plan to exploit the accolade to best effect in our promotions in the United States.”

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CATEX 2015 REVIEW

Industry acknowledges delivery of promise by CATEX 2015 The Simmonscourt pavilion was buzzing this month, but not from the usual horse show or rugby events, but from a foodservice event! CATEX, now in its 50th year has long established itself as the country’s leading industry event. This year it is estimated that over 10,000 people came through the doors over the three days and with over 200 exhibitors this year’s event was busier than ever. Soaking up the atmosphere in the pavilion you couldn’t help but overhear the words ‘positive upturn’ and ‘sustained growth’ uttered with more than a whisper!

With the turnout far exceeding expectation the Irish hospitality industry has been buoyed by the clear demonstration of the renewed health of the sector. The event, sponsored by Bunzl and Calor included over 250 companies and over 4000sqm of an exhibitor showcase along with the staging of some of the biggest national competitions in Ireland across the chef, barista and cocktail sectors, biennial CATEX remains the Industry’s biggest calendar fixture and is organized by the Irish Foodservice Suppliers Alliance.

Following the success of the Hospitality Heroes’ Stage in 2013 leading stakeholders in the industry gathered together once again to debate the hot topics and latest trends impacting Irish hospitality. Some of the issues discussed included; putting Irish Hotels on the culinary map, Ireland’s coffee revolution as well as how to reinvent the Irish pub. The event was sponsored by Hotel & Restaurant Times.

Mixology masters from across the country shook up the stage for three major cocktail competitions sponsored by Edward Dillon & Co. Taking first prize for the National Hospitality Student Cocktail Challenge was Finbarr Collins of Cork Institute for Technology while the 1st prize for the Create it Mix it Shake it Conceptual Cocktail Competition went to Michael O’Shea at the Marker Hotel. Finally the winner of the National Cocktail Competition 2015 who will go on to compete on behalf of Ireland and the World Cocktail Competition in Bulgaria later this year was Owen Hughes from Knockranny House Hotel in Westport, Co Mayo.

Meanwhile, Ireland’s top baristas competed in the finals of their competitions forming part of a packed schedule of events at the show sponsored by Avonmore. The Irish Latte Art Champion 2015 is Dave Regan while the Irish Cup Tasters Champion is Elvis Matiejunas. The winner of the Irish Barista Competition was Natalia

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Piotrowska and she will go on to compete for Ireland at the World Barista Championship in Washington in April.

Getting hot in the kitchen, the country’s most talented chefs engaged in a series of competitions (sponsored by Calor and Stephens Catering) including the Senior Duck Competition which was won by Sebastian Nowak of the Annebrook Hotel and

CATEX 2015 REVIEW

the Fish Dish Competition which was taken by Gareth Carberry of Clontarf Castle.

The College Student Competition was one by Galway Mayo IT featuring Cezary Sodel, Marek Hajdek, Shane Austin, Aisling Lee and Patrycja Sadowska. One of the newer competitions in the schedule this year was the Contract Caterers Culinary Challenge was won by Sodexo.

In a new venture this year CATEX and the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) came together to sponsor the building of a restaurant premises in the pavilion.

Catering Design Solutions built and fitted the premises and a different restaurateur ran the restaurant each day of the event. The member RAI restaurants which participated included; The Chop House, The Boxty House and Rock Lobster. The opportunity for all involved to showcase their business provided a creative and innovative platform that should be replicated in the coming years.

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.

IFSA Chairman Sean Martin added, “We had expected a good turnout based on the early sell-out of exhibition stands but we were overwhelmed by the turnout of visitors. This is a very exciting and empowering time for us as an industry.

Confidence in the sector has clearly grown - at menu prices the industry is worth €6billion and is set to rise to over 6.5 billion by 2017. We can finally hold our heads high and look to future with conviction”.

Overall CATEX 2015 was another resounding success providing the hospitality and foodservice industries the opportunity to network, make sales and reflect on the issues prevalent at the moment. Given the positivity evident at CATEX this year, 2017 is on target for another great event. Speaking at the the show Minister for Tourism, Trade and Sport, Mr Michael Ring TD, said: “I am delighted to be here at CATEX 2015, this is a special landmark show this year and the interest around local and traditional food producers continues to grow. I am confident that the on-going hard work of the varied stakeholders in food tourism, matched with Government Policy can help maintain and grow the economic recovery in the tourism sector. Things are looking up in the Tourism sector and I can assure you that I will continue to work with you and to support the industry at Government level.”

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Catering Design Solutions step into the spotlight at CATEX

Bunzl Catering Design Solutions (CDS) took on the challenge of building the Restaurant Association of Ireland’s sponsored restaurant at CATEX this year.

Martin Darling, director of CDS, maintains the company was not daunted by this challenge as he says this is what the company is all about. “We believe we have a width and range of skills that weren’t being recognised in the market place. We do this out in industry everyday of the week!” Martin believes this year building and fitting out the restaurant at CATEX has given CDS the chance to come out from behind the scenes and really showcase what the company is all about.

Among CDS’s portfolio of work is the Empire Restaurant (Swords, Dublin) Kingsley Hotel (Cork) and Glen keen Farm (Westport). Martin says the company has received tremendous feedback from its work at the CATEX restaurant resulting in a number of sales. Martin is quick to point out that CDS are not the only company in the market offering industry supplies. However, CDS offers its customers a service ‘from concept to completion’ and according to Martin, that is unique in the market place currently.

Martin’s enthusiasm and drive for CDS and what the company offers its customers is palpable and appears to parallel the company’s history. CDS was a family business owned by the McLaughlin family. The family sold the business to the American conglomerate Bunzl; however Alistair McLaughlin remained as Managing Director for the company in Ireland. According to Martin, this shift has meant the company has been able to retain its best assets which he says include their knowledge of the Irish market place and a drive to see the industry in Ireland thrive again.

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DESIGN

With this in mind Martin says the team place a huge emphasis on trust. Any one of the team of five experts will complete the full design and build with the customer from the initial discussion through to completion, the project doesn’t get handed over to anyone else. Martin maintains this has been crucial to building trust with the customer. He says CDS has developed an ‘inside out knowledge of the industry’ because they work this way. Martin says the team has worked to develop their reputation of knowledge, experience and trust among professionals in the industry and CATEX has given them the opportunity to build on that strong foundation.

As well as their knowledge of the industry and marketplace, CDS is a company with an eye to the future and an ambition to remain at the cutting edge. They are already anticipating what is coming down the line, for example, EU laws about refrigeration and they are already examining how best their customers can keep their energy costs low, as well as keeping up to date on grants available to the industry. Martin explains ‘we understand it’s all about margins in business and we keep those margins in mind when working with our customers, we want the best for them and their business’.

If CDS has been a company operating below the industry radar up to now, CATEX has given them the platform to step into the limelight. CDS have proven they have excelled within the business and now the industry can see that for themselves.

For further information Tel 048 37 511999 Email bmlinfo@bunzl.ie

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DESIGN

Planning your restaurant design

The New Year is when budding entrepreneurs start planning their new venture and seasoned hoteliers and restaurateurs think about refurbishment or expansion. In a series of three articles, expert designer Denise Ryan advises on how best to plan and design your new project.

For anyone starting out with a new hospitality venture, the design process can be like chartering unknown waters. You may have a clear vision of your offering, service and even the final design - but it’s all the steps in between that you need to navigate.

Likewise for those hoteliers and restaurateurs who may wish to refurbish or expand, you have already gone through the process once, even more than once, but statutory changes in the last year have impacted both refurbishment costs and management.

There are three key elements to any project: team, cost and program. Getting all of these right and in place from the start will ensure your project will turn out how you envisage. I’m a firm believer in the words of Benjamin Franklin (also attributed to our own Roy Keane) ‘If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!’

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Team We all recognise that in any aspect of life, from a medical procedure to getting our car serviced, experience is invaluable. Whether you start out talking to an architect, interior architect or interior designer it’s important to ensure that they have experience - not just in the field of architecture or interior design, but specifically in café, restaurant or hotel design. This person will be able to advise you on whether or not you need planning, fire safety or disability access certification and if necessary how to tailor your works to avoid these. They can recommend other specialist team members if required - for example fire consultants, structural engineers and catering consultants.

Cost Advice and guidelines on fit-out costs from the outset can be tricky. Again to use the car analogy, it’s a bit like being asked ‘how much does a car cost?’ without knowing the make, model and what accessories are required.

Over the years however, we at our own firm, have identified a rule of thumb for the Irish market. Excluding kitchen equipment, the minimum cost for a refurbishment is €650 plus VAT per square metre up to €1500 plus VAT for new build. The ‘new build’ cost is the cost of fit-out from (to use U.S. terminology) ‘vanilla box’ stage - i.e. if the main contractor does all first-fix mechanical, electrical and plumbing and leaves the walls and ceilings with a coat of white paint. From the initial meeting, we assess the Clients demographic, menu and style and we can guage the fit-out cost within that range. We also encourage our Clients to meet with one or more Catering Suppliers from the start of the project. This allows them to understand the equipment they actually need and the cost, altering menus to suit if necessary. Many catering suppliers also advise on and supply Air Conditioning, which can be a hidden cost if not included in the first fix.

Once a fit-out budget and contingency have been firmed up, it’s important to allow for all ancillary costs (e.g. graphic design, menus, table-ware). Too often these costs

DESIGN

project, to receive quotes and finalise budgets takes 2-4 weeks.

If the project requires any of the statutory requirements above, either a 7 day notice (in the case of starting before Fire Certification has been received) or a Commencement Notice (14 to 28 days) should be submitted to the Local Authority before works commence.

By allowing enough time for the above (and factoring in Christmas or builders holidays), a restaurateur can accurately estimate from what date they should start paying a lease, employ staff and plan their opening.

are overlooked, and the design then needs to be cut back at a late stage in the project. In addition, there are legal and professional fees need to be factored, which we’ll discuss more in the next issus.

Program Program is very much determined by whether statutory applications need to be made. For those unfamiliar with these processes: • Once an outline design is done, the Planning Application Process takes two months, with an additional month for appeals. This is assumes there is no requests for additional information which can delay the process further.

• Fire Certification. This is generally applied for when the Planning Permission has been received. Even if it is not required, a Fire Safety Consultant may be required for professional consultation. This is a two month process.

• Disability Access Certificate. This application is required if a Fire Certificate is required and the application is made to the Fire Control Office also. It should be pointed out that all new buildings need to comply and fit-outs must do their best to comply, even if an application is not required. Many of our Clients have a hard time understanding this and they will cite many examples of buildings that don’t comply, which is understandable.

For a typical restaurant, the design process itself takes between 4 and 8 weeks before it can be tendered or sent out for pricing. Depending on the size of the

Other bodies and regulations We always advise our Clients to bring in the Environmental Health Officer from the outset of a project. Their advice and support is invaluable if they are brought in at the start and can avoid costly mistakes. www.hse.ie Something that new restaurant owners may be unaware of is the requirement for a grease trap in some kitchens. Apart from the significant cost which should be factored from the start, there is also the requirement for a licence to discharge into the public sewer which can be made.

Contact your local authority or www.fog.ie In fitting-out or refurbishing any restaurant, the restaurateur is undertaking a project and as such is required to comply with the Safetly, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2014. These regulations involve appointing a project supervisor for design process; a project supervisor for construction process;

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DESIGN

keeping safety files and safety & health plans where appropriate. The requirements increase if the project takes more than 500 person days or 30 working days which should be borne in mind when setting out the initial program. The Clients obligations are outlined here: http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Your_Industry/Constr uction/Construction_Duty_Holders/Client/ One of the greatest changes to the cost and running of restaurant projects in recent years has been the new Building Control

Regulations 2014 which were introduced to improve construction standards.

The new Code of Practice for Inspecting and Certifying Building and Works, applies where a Certificate of Compliance under the Building Control Regulations is required.

The greatest impact this has had, are outlined below: • The Client/Owner is ultimately responsible for ensuring the works are carried out in compliance with the Building Regulations.

• The Client/Owner must appoint a competent Builder and competent registered professionals to act as Designer and Assigned Certifiers.

• The Assigned Certifier must be registered with the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland or the Chartered Surveyors of Ireland or the Chartered Engineers of Ireland.

• Aside from the Assigned Certifier, ancillary certifiers may be required particularly to design, inspect and certify any structural/civil or mechanical/electrical works.

• If the project requires a 7 day or Commencement Notice (outlined above) then appointment and other appropriate documents should be submitted with these.

• The Builder must oversee and supervise all the building works and subcontractors.

He must co-ordinate the work of specialist subcontractors and designers and ensure that ancillary certificates are provided. (for further information please see: Building Control Regulations 2014 Code of Practice for Inspecting and Certifying Buildings and Works on www.environ.ie) The Building Control Regulations are welcome in that they improve professionalism in the industry and protect the restaurateur’s investment. In real terms of initial cost however, this means that projects that fall within its remit now carry an additional professional consultant or role. That role must be carried out by a member of the RIAI, SCSI or CEng IEI. It means that restaurateurs, and particularly hoteliers, who have had long-standing independent relationships or maintenance contracts with electricians, plumbers and trades can no longer employ them by direct labour - they must come in under the umbrella of the Main Contractor. The same applies to specialist catering suppliers who often would have been separate to the main fit-out contract. This in-turn increases the Main Contractors duties and risks which is reflected in their quotation or final sum.

Next issue: The role of the designer Denise Ryan is Director of Fineline Interior Design which she founded for 15 years ago specialising in bar, hotel and restaurant design. She holds a Diploma in Architectural Technology from Bolton St. and a Rhodec International Diploma in Interior Design.

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FÁILTE IRELAND NEWS

Funding for major festivals and events in 2015 Funding of €320,000 has been approved

by Fáilte Ireland under its National Festivals and Events Programme for 11 key national festivals and events to take place later this year. This follows an announcement of almost €2 million last November for larger events (such as the St Patrick’s Festival) and those festivals due to take part in the first six months of 2015.

The approved festivals being funded by Fáilte Ireland under the second phase of its National Programme for Festivals and Events includes: • • • • • • • • • • •

Dublin Theatre Festival Laya City Spectacular Dublin Fringe Festival Waterford Spraoi Guinness Cork Jazz Festival Cork Film Festival Earagail Arts Festival Galway Film Fleadh Rose of Tralee Galway Oyster Festival Yeats 2015 International Festival

As well as attracting visitors, festivals are important in terms of generating employment and community engagement.

Shaun Quinn, CEO of Fáilte Ireland explained why festivals are so important for Ireland and the tourism sector by emphasizing: “Ultimately, Ireland succeeds as a tourism destination due to the very positive experiences which visitors enjoy. Part of

this is due to our own native friendliness and the beauty of our countryside but tourism performance is also dependent on the variety of things to see, do and embrace which every traveller looks for.

“For Ireland, festivals are an important part of the mix which makes us an enjoyable place to visit and these events will enhance the tourism calendar and add to our attractiveness and our ability to grow overseas visitors and revenue.”

Top European tourism researchers gather in Dublin Some of Europe’s top tourism research professionals recently gathered in Dublin for their Annual General Meeting including representatives from eighteen national tourism organisations as well as partners from UNWTO, the OECD, European Commission, European Tourism Association (ETOA), European Cities Marketing and the World Tourism and Travel Council.

The ETC delegates are meeting in Ireland to develop their future research agenda to help European destinations increase their individual competitive advantages which underpin the position of Europe as the world’s most popular tourism destination.

Welcoming the European delegates to

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Dublin, Caeman Wall, Head of Fáilte Ireland’s Research Division, said - “We are very pleased to welcome the ETC Market Intelligence Group back to Dublin - for the first time in 25 years - and we are looking forward to contributing to their deliberations and providing some insights from an Irish point of view.

“While Ireland has its own unique tourism characteristics and dynamics, we also share many of the challenges and opportunities which our European peers are facing and we can certainly benefit from the shared learnings available at an event like this.”

European tourism is estimated to have grown by 4% in 2014 and is projected to continue this upward trend in 2015. The 4% growth in tourism in Europe in 2014 was generated by an additional 22 million visitors last year bringing the number of visits to the continent to 588 million.

Ireland reflected this trend with visitor numbers growing by almost 9% during the same period while foreign earnings were up an estimated 13%, an increase of approx. €400m. The ETC attributes growth in travel to Europe to a recovery in major source markets, marketing efforts in promoting travel outside the peak season and themed promotional activities.

FÁILTE IRELAND NEWS

Ireland receives revenue boost and significant overseas media exposure

Miriam Kennedy, Head of Business Tourism, Fáilte Ireland with Conference Ambassador Laura Condron, Opel Ireland.

Ireland’s profile as a destination is receiving a jump start as car manufacturer Opel hosts 550 international motoring media representatives for the launch of two new engines, the Mokka and Insignia. This meeting of global media in Ireland, the first international launch by any car manufacturer to take place in Ireland in over 15 years, was facilitated by Fáilte Ireland.

The event will see the travelling media and staff tour the country over a two week period. Ireland is going to prove to be the ultimate testing ground as a fleet of 40 brand new Opel cars will be put to the test, across the scenic surroundings of Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow including sites such as Palmerstown House and Druids Glen.

Welcoming the group to Ireland, Miriam Kennedy Head of Business Tourism with Fáilte Ireland said - “We are delighted to be supporting Opel for this event which will not only provide a revenue boost for the country but the international media exposure that is available will provide us with a fantastic opportunity to showcase the fabulous scenery and hospitality of Ireland.”

Speaking on why Ireland was selected as the location for this prestigious international event, Johan Willems, Vice President of Communications Opel Group said - “We have good memories of Ireland from our previous international press event here almost 20 years ago so we are coming back to a country where it’s easy to get a hearty welcome.”

Through its Conference Ambassador Programme, Failte Ireland supported an advance site inspection to Ireland of key decision makers from Opel Germany to secure the event. In excess of 70% of all business events that come to Ireland come here with the help of an ambassador. Miriam Kennedy added “Our conference ambassador programme is producing real results and Opel is a great example of this. Just this week, we have announced that four international conferences, totalling over 1,400 delegates and worth almost €2m to the Irish economy, have been won for Dublin through the Conference Ambassador Scheme - with many more in the pipeline.”

The conference wins announced are: • CERME (Conference of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education) which will hold its tenth Congress of European Research in Mathematics Education (CERME 10) in Dublin in February 2017; • International Equine Ophthalmology Consortium Symposium which has been confirmed to meet at in Malahide in June, 2016;

• The IATA Aviation Security conference is now confirmed for October 2015, being held in The Convention Centre, Dublin; • General Meeting of the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) will take place in the Conrad Hotel in Dublin in June 2015.

All this positive news for the sector comes as Fáilte Ireland held its annual briefing for the industry announcing plans for the year ahead with a revenue target in 2015 of €61.5m (representing an 8% growth on last year). Over 250 members from across Ireland’s business tourism sector were in attendance welcoming news that 218 conferences are currently being bid for at the moment, with a potential value of €302m if all are secured.

Pictured at the Fáilte Ireland Business Tourism Industry Briefing were Alison Johnston, Kildare Village; Sean Curtis, Leah Gunn, Aviva Stadium and Ciara Gallagher, Fáilte Ireland

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IFSA NEWS

CATEX gala dinner marks the 50th anniversary in style!

300 Exhibitors, Guests and IFSA Partners came together on Tuesday, 17th after a successful opening day at CATEX to celebrate 50 years of partnership in the industry at the CATEX Gala in the Double Tree by Hilton Burlington Road. The menu for the evening replicated menu choices from the 1960’s brought up date with a 21st century twist and guests were entertained by addresses by Frank Corr, author of ‘Serving the Caterer 1965 - 2015’, Margot Slattery, President of Appeals for the Hospitality Trust and Pat McCann, Chief Executive, Dalata Hotel Group.

IFSA - Join us and strengthen your business 115 of the top suppliers in the Irish Foodservice industry can’t be wrong. Have you considered joining IFSA? IFSA is an inclusive Foodservice suppliers group attracting suppliers from every sector of our Foodservice Industry bonded with the common goal of uniting to stimulate and drive our market forward. Since it’s relaunch in April 2012 from strong roots in the long standing Catering Equipment Association (CEA), IFSA has gone from strength to strength and offers a wide range of benefits:

• Unique access to end user groups and other foodservice bodies • Discounts on all IFSA events such as CATEX, FOOD & BEV LIVE and DUBLIN COFFEE & TEA FESTIVAL (discounts exclusively available to IFSA members) • Discounts on IFSA partner & affiliated events • Membership of the On-line hub with an opportunity to have your products and services listed on the IFSA website • Participation in working groups whose aims are to improve standards and highlight Foodservice excellence • Regular member profiles with our media partner publication Hotel & Restaurant Times • Access to market research and information compiled for IFSA members • Workshops and Seminars Contact louise.mcloughlin@ifsa.eu.com for more details regarding IFSA membership or see www.ifsa.eu.com.

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‘Serving the caterer 1965 - 2015’ - 50th anniversary publication - now available It was back in 1965 that a small group sat down together and pledged to work as a unit to better promote the Catering Equipment Industry and to support their colleagues who ran hotels, restaurants and Pubs up and down the country every day.

This resulted in the formation of the Catering Equipment Association (CEA). It was also at this time that the first CATEX event was conceived and it was staged in many venues such as BUS ARAS, The Burlington Hotel and The Mansion House - before it came to the RDS in the late 80’s. 50 Years on, IFSA (the rebranded incarnation of the CEA) has over 115 supplier members and continues to work in co-operation with its industry partners. A special IFSA publication written by Frank Corr in celebration of this work and featuring a detailed history of all aspects of Foodservice in Ireland is now available to order at a special price of €20.00 (plus post & packaging).

Contact louise.mcloughlin@ifsa.eu.com to order your copy now.

IFSA SEMINAR - Europe & Foodservice - It’s Important To Know What’s Coming, When It’s Coming & How to Deal With It The next in the series of IFSA Seminars will take place on 19th March 2015. The event will focus on EU Legislation and the impact that current and impending changes in this will have on Foodservice in Ireland and will be hosted in The Kinglsey Hotel, Cork. The session will cover the following topical areas: 1. Europe - its effect on the Foodservice industry Keith Warren, Technical Committee Chairman, European Federation of Catering Equipment Manufacturers 2. Food Labelling & Menu Calorie Count Legislation Update Evelyn Hannon, Food, Nutrition and Regulatory Consultant at Hannon Nutrition Consultancy 3. Nutrition & Allergen Labelling Under EU1169, How To Turn Restrictive Legislation Into A Promotional Tool For Your Business The seminar will run from 16:00hrs - 18:30hrs and will be followed by an informal drinks and networking session.

Contact louise.mcloughlin@ifsa.eu.com or 01 8460020 to book your place today. IFSA MEMBERS: €45.00 + VAT / NON MEMBERS: €70.00 + VAT

IFSA NEWS

The 2nd Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival launched This unique event, which celebrates the ever-more sophisticated consumer tastes for coffee and tea in Ireland, is fast becoming a must-do on the industry calendar as the place to present your offering directly to the consumer will be back at the RDS, Dublin 11-13 September 2015. For information on the Festival or to book your stand see www.dublincoffeefestival.com or contact margaret.andreucetti@eventhaus.ie.

JD Catering Lincat.ie is the new name in catering equipment in Ireland. Supported by its sister company JD catering, this company will supply the full range of lincat catering equipment , all at discounted prices , equipment to be delivered to your door, or we have a click and collect depot in Dublin City.

What’s more, all equipment will have a 2 years parts and labour warranty for that extra piece of mind. www.lincat.ie Tel. 048 867 61100

Following the success of the one day shows in 2012 and 2014, Food & Bev Live 2016 will run for 2 days from 16th - 17th February in City West, Dublin. The event will feature over 50 of the top names in Irish Foodservice and will once again host National skills competitions to seek out the very best to represent Ireland on the world stage. Food & Bev Live 2016 is designed to provide a professional and dynamic home for some of the top National Championships in the Irish Foodservice and Hospitality Industry in the off year from CATEX. Contact Margaret.andreucetti@eventhaus.ie or phone 01 8460020 for more details and to book your stand today.

SCA Hygiene Tork® is a brand of SCA Tork manufacturer SCA, Ireland’s market-leading away-fromhome tissue manufacturer, took a stand at this year’s Catex exhibition.

The company displayed a complete range of products for the catering kitchen, dining area and the washrooms of hotels, restaurants and other hospitality outlets. Products in the Tork portfolio include blue rolls, long-lasting colourcoded cloths, napkins, dispensers plus a full range of washroom hand towels, soaps and toilet tissue.

“As Ireland’s market leader for away-from-home tissue products we felt Catex was the ideal venue to show our full assortment,” said SCA Senior Product Manager Rebecca Blake.

“We offer a full range of hospitality products for frontof-house, back-of-house and washroom environments.”

Tork displayed various hospitality sector innovations including the award-winning Tork Xpressnap(r) Image Line of napkin dispensers at the event.

The latest addition to the company’s Tork XpressnapR napkin dispenser family, the line consists of two products: one in a solid aluminium housing and the other in a smart walnut finish, suitable for use in upmarket establishments.

Other Tork Xpressnap napkin dispensers come in a choice of three colours and in countertop, tabletop and wallmounted formats as well as in-counter and snack versions.

All Tork Xpressnap dispensers have been designed to give out napkins one at a time, reducing consumption by at least 25 per cent compared with traditional napkin dispensers.

Also on display will be Tork LinStyle napkins which offer the luxury effect of linen in a disposable napkin. “This is our top offer for restaurants where guests are served at table,” said Rebecca. “Tork LinStyle napkins have the appearance of genuine linen - but there are no laundry bills to worry about.”

The Tork LinStyle range includes quarter-fold and eighthfold products plus large dinner napkins, cocktail napkins and cutlery bag napkins. A range of 14 attractive colours are available.

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IHF CONFERENCE

Strength and Resilience

Former president Professor Mary McAleese and her husband Martin with Stephen McNally, President of the Irish Hotels Federation and his wife Edel pictured at the IHF conference

The theme of this year’s Irish Hotels Federation Conference ‘Strength and Resilience’ was apt - not only because of the resurgence of the tourism industry as a key driver to the economy, but as a signifier of the industry’s fighting spirit.

Over 700 delegates attended the multitude of workshops and keynote speaker addresses during the two days, while the showtel area, in itself indicative of the signs of recovery, saw over 60 exhibitors showcase their products and services.

With beds at their highest rate since 2007, the creation of over 33,000 new jobs by tourism and hospitality businesses since 2011 and an upturn in the home market as well as a significant increase in overseas visitors across all key markets, the overwhelming feeling was one of confidence and optimism for the coming season.

On the eve of the Conference Chief Executive Tim Fenn spoke of this optimism: “Ireland is now firmly back on the tourism map and there is a real sense of optimism in the sector following a strong performance last year. The tourism industry has made enormous strides to grow market share.

We’ve doubled our value-for-money rating among holidaymakers to 92% since 2009 and significantly upped our game on the marketing front with targeted campaigns from Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland achieving strong cut through and reinvigorating our tourism brand.”

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However he acknowledged that while Dublin is experiencing sustained and continued growth the regional share of business is still somewhat sluggish and erratic and in need of “greater support”.

IHF President Stephen McNally reiterated this when commenting on an industry survey undertaken by the IHF in advance of the Conference. He said that while 84% of hoteliers nationally are seeing an increase in business levels compared to this time last year and advance bookings for the remainder of the year also performing strongly, there is a long road ahead, particularly for regions such as the North West, East and Midlands where occupancy levels continue to lag at only 54% compared to a national average of 64%.

As well as this, Mr. McNally noted that a significant number of hotels will not achieve profitability in 2015 due to authority rates, business costs and debt. He said: “This is weighing heavily on many hotels with some 34% saying they remain concerned about the viability of their business - notwithstanding the upturn in Irish tourism.”

Michael Ring TD Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport presents Patrick Curran, Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim, County Meath with the IHF Quality Employer Award 2015 (large hotel section). Also in picture are from left, Tony Lenehan, Stephen McNally, President, IHF and Tim Fenn, Chief Executive, IHF

IHF CONFERENCE

Professor Alan Ahearne, Professor and Head of Economics at the NUI Galway

He urged the Government to tackle head on the increasing cost of doing business in Ireland and commit to a national competitiveness strategy to rein in all Government-controlled costs such as local authority rates, water charges and energy-related levies.

“While there have been some token improvements, reforms have not gone far enough,” said Mr. McNally. “This is a missed opportunity for the economy and needs to be addressed urgently. The hotel sector continues to bear the brunt of a badly designed system for funding local Government that sees hotels and guesthouses make a disproportionate contribution through local authority rates. Some of the worst cases of inequitable rates exist in rural areas that are only beginning to recover - which is extremely disappointing given the vital economic and social role hotels play in rural Ireland. Waiting is no longer tenable.”

The long-term sustainable growth of Irish tourism is also being put at risk by a lack of adequate funding for tourism marketing and development, said Mr. McNally. He added that, with additional funding, the Government target of 10 million visitors generating an additional 50,000 new jobs could be achieved by 2020 as opposed to the current target of 2025.

Since 2012, annual Government funding for Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland has been cut by €25m to €119m (down 17%), resulting in significantly constrained budgets for tourism marketing and development. This has come at a time when tourism has shown itself to be an excellent investment for the country, contributing over €6.45bn to the economy annually and employing 205,000 people.

Mr. McNally added: “Every euro spent on tourism marketing and development by the State supports €54 in tourism revenues in the Irish economy - which is an excellent return on investment by any standard. It is now time to reverse the cuts to tourism funding, which were made at a time of deep economic crisis. Current low levels of investment cannot be sustained without putting our tourism brand at risk and limiting Irish tourism capacity to continue to expand and grow market share.”

L-R: Pat McCann, Delato Group, Tim Fenn, CEO, IHF, Michael Cawley, Fáilte Ireland, Stephen McNally, President, IHF, Tom Randles, Randles Court Hotel, Killarney and Howard Hastings, NITB Chairman.

Also speaking at the Conference was economist Professor Alan Ahearne who echoed Mr. McNally when he said: “With international tourist arrivals projected to grow steadily and domestic consumer spending gradually recovering, there is huge potential for further employment growth in tourism across the country. If the industry is to continue to grow and create new jobs, it will need to maintain and expand market share.

Price competitiveness is a key factor given the highly competitive and price-sensitive nature of international tourism.”

He added that the stimulus from the reduced rate of VAT will therefore remain hugely important to the viability and prospects for growth for the industry: “The 9% VAT stimulus has resulted in the generation of additional revenues that are being recycled in the industry on an ongoing basis to expand employment and increase investment in maintenance, refurbishment, renovation and innovation.

This investment is critical for improving competitiveness and ensuring sustained growth in the industry.”

IHF Chief Executive Tim Fenn stated that the reduced VAT rate continues to be one of the most successful job creation initiatives in modern times - supporting the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs since it was introduced by the Government in 2011. He noted that tourism as a whole now supports 205,000 jobs - equivalent to one in every ten jobs in the country and is on track to create a further 40,000 jobs by the end of the decade.

But it was ultimately unity and supportive collaboration that Mr. McNally cited as the bedrock of a strong tourism industry.

He said: “We need to create a more unified approach that gives tourism a stronger role in informing and influencing planning and development policy at national and local levels. While we welcome the significant progress that is already being made in this area, more needs to be done to ensure greater collaboration between tourism industry partners, including businesses, local communities, state agencies and local authorities.”

With the Government due to publish its Tourism Policy Statement shortly, Mr McNally added that greater collaboration will stand to the industry in the years ahead and ensure Irish tourism is well placed to grow and prosper - the benefits of which will be felt across the entire country.

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35

RECRUITMENT

A people intensive business

In the ever evolving hospitality sector, recruitment policies have been shaken up by recent challenging times. H&RT looks to see have the colleges caught up with altered business needs.

As 2014 came to an end it offered an opportunity to reflect on some of the growth and confidence that has been experienced in much of the industry during the year. However, is this growth actually being seen in a growth in jobs?

Recruitment agencies are usually the first places to be hit in difficult times, but they are also the first to see any real growth being translated into an increase of positions in the sector. We spoke to two of the countries top recruitment agencies to get their experience of how the industry coped during the recession and what changes are happening in the structure of positions now.

Kieran Moore of The Firm recruitment, one of the countries top recruitment agencies in the industry, confirms that they have seen a slow and gradual increase in jobs in the industry recently. However, the impact of the recession has meant a lot of changes in how hotels are run now. “The

Kieran Moore

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low point was 2009/2010. 25-30% of our business is Sales and Marketing recruitment and that area stayed busy, it can sometimes get busier in a recession.

But in such a deep recession like the one we had, it did get hit. Bonuses went and a lot of people took pay cuts to keep their jobs”.

So how did the recruitment agencies see the industry responding to the recession? According to Kieran some of the senior roles in hotels changed. “They looked at senior management in particular. They stripped out the middle tier and pushed a lot up to the General Manager (GM) and down to the Heads of Departments. The Reception and Revenue managers became a different role too.

They were under a lot of pressure to control all the costs below them. Now a GM has to be an asset manager, sales and marketing savvy, it’s not the traditional hotelier role anymore. The GM now has to be a business guy, he’s got to understand balance sheets, P&L accounts and especially labour costs as this is such a people intensive industry, so that has changed the recruitment of people into those roles”.

The Noel Recruitment Group has been in the business of hospitality recruitment for the last 27 years. Jerry O’Sullivan, Business Manager Ireland of Noel Recruitment, whom this year celebrates 30 years in Hospitality and 14 years in Recruitment says that the recent growth in jobs in the industry is the first they have seen since 2008. Jerry agrees that any growth starts in Dublin but he says that it has now started to spread over the country. “There is demand for positions at all levels across the country now, hot spots such as Galway, Cork, Kerry and the Wild

RECRUITMENT

Atlantic Way has opened up Mayo and Donegal too. The season used to be Easter until the October bank holiday weekend but it has expanded now, it’s February to November now. We reckon Dublin is short demand of quality accommodation of approximately 6-10 hotels at the moment.”

However, according to Jerry given the vast differences in vacant positions within the industry now, the colleges in conjunction with the employers need to be responding effectively and collectively to the changes. “A lot of practical experience is missing and more theory focussed and I think sometimes the industry can blame the colleges and the colleges can blame the industry but a lot of the courses now need to be more commercially focused for the ever evolving businesses and demanding customer. For candidates that would have graduated years ago, we have seen where they have up-skilled with many additional courses, i.e. Costings, Revenue Management, Kitchen Management, Digital Marketing, Sales, Accredited Training etc.”

Kieran Moore of the Firm Recruitment agrees. “The colleges didn’t react too fast to the changes in the industry. The hospitality role has changed so much, one of the most important positions in a hotel now is the Revenue Manager, it used to be the Front Office manager.” However, in all the changes within the industry Kieran maintains that recruitment agencies remain a safety net for employers. Roles in the industry are still based on getting the right individual with the right personality to fit into a hotel and Kieran says that is where the employer can rely on the agency to put the time into finding that person.

Nicky Logue, GM of The Gibson Hotel in Dublin and President of the Irish Hospitality Institute agrees that there is a skills shortage in the industry at the moment but he says it is more at the operative level. “My understanding is that there are initiatives in the pipeline to enable training for positions such as chefs but they haven’t been rolled out yet. I think there is confusion in the market place in terms of training at the moment. Failte Ireland used to provide some of the qualifications, however FAS, now called SOLAS have taken that over. I think there is training needed to fill those gaps.”

However Nicky says he disagrees with the recruiters we spoke to in terms of how focused colleges are on the sales and marketing and digital marketing aspect of the industry now. “I actually think that aspect of the business is very well covered by the colleges now. In fact, one of our Sales and Marketing team is currently attending training run by Fáilte Ireland in exactly that area so I think those aspects of management skills are well covered.”

According to both The Firm and Noel recruitment, salaries in the industry have stabilised and are increasing in some areas, and people are seeing their bonuses coming back. Kieran Moore asserts “after 4

Nicky Logue

or 5 years of careers in the industry stagnating, people are seeing opportunities now. The people who stuck around and may have taken pay cuts to keep their jobs are starting to be rewarded now.” As we move forward in 2015 it seems the industry has much to be positive about, albeit with the support of the training providers to continue fill the gaps where positions are badly needed.

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DIT NEWS

Reality Bites Augmented and Virtual Reality technologies set to have big impact on hospitality

DIT Assistant Head of School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, Alex Gibson, has been working on a number of research projects with Dublin City Council and the National Museum in the emerging area of Augmented Reality. Here he gives his perspective on how it can be used in the hospitality sector.

One of today’s hottest technology trends is the use of augmented and virtual reality.

Recent news of impending product launches by Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Sony have propelled interest. Firstly, let’s understand what’s meant by the terminology.

Augmented Reality (AR) involves overlaying digital information on the realworld view of people. This can be achieved using an app on a mobile phone or tablet, or using a special pair of glasses. Users look through their screens to see an overlay of digital information - this can be in various formats; text, video, audio or 3D animations. Sony have just announced the upcoming launch of a pair of AR glasses, and of course Google Glass has been around for a couple of years now in developer format. While it has been

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withdrawn from general sales, the plan is to completely redesign it for a later consumer launch. There are numerous ways that this technology can be used in the hospitality sector. For example the check-in experience of guests could be improved by developing or incorporating an app which could allow guests to find their rooms easily by simply following an overlay set of arrows on their phone display. The same app would allow all print material to be instantly translated Google have already developed WordLens to allow this - a big bonus for international visitors when reading the menus for example. But it’s not just text that can be displayed. Artwork in high end hotels could be viewed through an AR app,

DIT NEWS

allowing guests to see video overlays of the artist interpreting their work. The use of GPS in smartphones also allows exciting opportunities for overlaying information in real-time and location specific. Hotels, in cooperation with tourism authorities, can help to create interactive tours of destinations. Tourists can get overlay information on the attractions and street-scape in a myriad of languages. This is attractive from a heritage preservation perspective - no need to put distracting signage that may not be in harmony with the surroundings. As well as enhancing the guest experience, AR technology will have a big impact on hotel operations.

One area that is particularly promising is training. Already some companies are prototyping AR to help in areas such as menu preparation and table service.

Trainees wearing a set of AR enabled glasses, can match their table settings perfectly with the designated table layout which is overlaid in their field of view, or follow a set of instructions for guest registration in similar fashion. AR is also making huge strides in architecture. Developers will be able to ‘see’ hotel buildings in-situ on construction sites, and virtually travel through the proposed space - already Scottish company Soluis have used this technology to help the designers of the new Radisson Red hotel brand visualize the layout of the bars and meeting spaces.

And of course AR has huge potential in marketing. Brochures that are distributed can come to life in 3D for respondents - this year P+O Cruises have incorporated the technology in their direct mail pieces. AR can be used to create opportunities for social sharing - a vital part of any hotel’s marketing strategy these days. In a recent campaign in the US, Best Western guests were able to point the hotel’s app’s viewfinder at specially-marked lobby standees to make them come alive with characters from Disney Channel’s highly-anticipated Teen Beach Movie.

Virtual Reality ( VR ) is the cousin of AR. While it’s been around for several decades, and is familiar to anyone with an X-Box or Playstation, innovations in wearable devices are set to power charge VR outside the realm of the gaming sector. While AR allows the user to remain connected to the real-world, VR

essentially submerges users in a virtual space. The technology has received a huge boost in the form of Oculus Rift, a VR device company which was acquired by Facebook for $2bn. The Rift headset covers users eyes completely and that’s where the fun starts. Already users of the developer version have been able to enjoy a myriad of virtual experiences. The tourism and hospitality potential is huge. Imagine being able to peer over the Cliffs of Moher and maybe abseil down them - perfectly possible with this technology. Or get a real sense of what it would be like to drive along part of the Wild Atlantic Way...no wonder tourism authorities are excited at the opportunity the technology allows them to showcase their destinations in a more immersive way - expect to see this technology become commonplace at tourism fairs and showcases in the next few years. And hotels are getting in on the act too. Marriott Hotels recently launched an AR promotion in New York targeting honeymooners, where they set up an Oculus Rift kiosk outside a marriage registry office. The happy couples who emerged were invited to try on the Rift, and got the chance to walk around the lobby of one of the chain’s London hotel, or to experience a beach-front walk on one of their Hawaii properties.

While there have been a few false dawns for AR and VR technologies, it’s clear that now is the time for hoteliers and restauranteurs to find out how they can get a competitive edge.

Alex Gibson is founder and chair of the 2nd European Augmented Reality Marketing Conference, Croke Park Conference Centre, April 29th. www.armarketingconference.com

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TECHNOLOGY

Dobiquity helps operators to do more digitally Exciting new venture, www.dobiquity.com, provides cost-effective web and mobile apps that help hospitality and tourism enterprises to reduce costs and increase efficiency

There is no doubt that hospitality and tourism is experiencing a period of rapid change. Of course, constant change in the industry is nothing new - the ability to anticipate and respond to shifting market dynamics has always been critical, but the pace and complexity of change is quickening. And although there are postive signs of recovery, post-recession enterprises are now leaner and more efficient meaning competition is set to intensify even further in future. This is yet another factor fuelling the necessity for continuous business improvement, and progressive businesses are constantly searching for new ways to outpace their competitors.

One source of competitive advantage lies in maximising the application of technology across the business to drive efficiencies. With the rapid growth of cloud-based applications (apps) the potential for digitising activities is rich, yet, for all this choice, small and medium-sized enterprises generally - and particularly those in hospitality and tourism - have been slow to capitalise. Many factors influence this but consultations with industry operators have shown that while many are open to greater integration of apps into their operations, there is a natural fear of the unknown. Sample concerns expressed by owners and managers when asked about increasing the utilisation of apps within their businesses included:

Enda Larkin

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• What’s the cost-benefit here? Do I need to invest in new IT systems and/or software?

• Who will actually manage the apps? Will I, or my team, end up spending more time managing the technology than just doing it the old way?

• How much will I have to spend on training people how to use the apps?

TECHNOLOGY

• What about security? Will our data be at risk?

• If I use different apps for a variety of key activities, won’t that mean I’ll end up having subscriptions with a number of providers? Sounds complicated.

• If something’s not broken, why bother fixing it? The manual way works just fine for us.

Dobiquity, a new cloud-based venture based in Dublin, was established by experienced industry professionals Enda Larkin and Helen Daly from listening to these concerns and exploring how they could help enterprises make the transition from manual to digital and enable them to integrate apps into their business in a targeted, controlled and cost-effective way. An online platform, it offers access to a growing suite of easy-to-use web and mobile apps that digitise specific business tasks including the Mystery Shopper App - which allows operators to self-manage the mystery shopper process for their business, the Employee Survey App - which streamlines how operators measure employee satisfaction and engagement levels and the soon to be launched Customer Feedback App designed to help operators more easily listen to their customers.

According to Dobiquity, using these three apps alone will potentially yield direct savings of €1,500 p.a. - a good return on the introductory annual Dobiquity subscription fee of €399.

For their annual membership fee subscribers get access to all available productivity apps - with new app products regularly added. They can select and use these apps as often as they like throughout the year and customise them to their requirements. The apps are also supplemented by extensive reporting tools to support performance analysis so subscribers can access their own account dashboard to monitor peformance results, customise apps to their needs, view and download reports and get help and support if needed.

As well as this, insights can be gleaned from a comprehensive Knowledge Hub which has tools and resources across many management topics from strategy to employee engagement. Subscribers can also avail of special rates for an expert mentor with the necessary expertise to work with particular businesses and functional areas.

Technology-wise, Dobiquity is easy to integrate as everything is cloud-based and no additional IT systems or software are required, and depending on the specific product, the apps can be used on and offline, via web browser and / or smartphone

or tablet. Security is also a top priority for Dobiquity, but as the apps target very specific operational activities, the data protection risks are low as no financial or other confidential business data is required to operate any of the apps.

Dobiquity products are aimed at a wide spectrum of enterprises from hotels/ guesthouses and other accommodation types, to restaurants, bars and cafes and as well as tourism activities and attractions.

To find out more about how Dobiquity can help drive business improvement visit www.dobiquity.com to register for a onemonth, no obligation free trial.

Helen Daly

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GMIT NEWS

The FoodieForum & Gastronomy West Symposium - A Recipe for Success!

Once again, large crowds of food enthusiasts from all around Ireland attended The Foodie Forum & Gastronomy West Symposium which was hosted at the College of Tourism and Arts at G.M.I.T. on 5th February. The campus was effectively turned into an educational food campus for the day and featured a range of educational culinary activities including the ever popular bustling producers market, which is supported by “Made in Galway” - A

Kevin Thornton and Sally Mckenna

The Burren Food Trail producers

Galway county council initiative. The market offered some of the finest produce available locally and also featured representation from producers along the Wild Atlantic Way. In the demonstration theatres there were a variety of culinary exhibitions by some of Ireland’s leading chefs, who entertained and educated everyone from home cooks to aspiring young chefs and indeed industry colleagues. There was significant interest in the craft beer bar which featured a range of beers, stouts and cider from the continuously growing Irish micro-brewery sector. This showcase was accompanied by expert speakers College of Tourism & Arts on the Irish craft beer sector GMIT and in addition the series of Dublin Road, Galway wine master classes, by Tel: +353 (0)91 742343 leading industry professWeb: www.gmit.ie/cta ionals were all well Cait Noone attended. Outside the street Head of College food fair featured wood T: +353 (0)91 742236 E: Cait.Noone@gmit.ie Gerry Talbot Head of Department: Culinary Arts Service Industries T: +353 (0)91 742320 E: Gerry.Talbot@gmit.ie Gerry O’Neill Head of Department: Heritage & Tourism Humanities & Languages T: +353 (0)91 742294 E: Gerry.ONeill@gmit.ie John Mckenna

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fired pizza and a pig on a spit. Some lucky guests were treated to a “Taste of the Wild Atlantic Way” lunch which included produce from Achill Lamb, seafood from Gannets fishmongers and cheese from Sheridan’s cheesemongers.

Delegates were not only satisfied from a gourmet perspective but also participated in a coming together of dialogue in the Gastronomy West symposium which focused on the synergy of gastronomy and tourism on the Wild Atlantic Way. The event was officially launched by John McKenna of ‘John & Sally McKenna’s Food Guides’. His inspirational opening speech on the continuing growth of food in Galway and the important role that events such as the FoodieForum and Gastronomy West play in the development of this growth, set the tone for the day. The diversity of expertise was showcased by professionals who are in business along the Wild Atlantic Way and topics for the morning session included, the development of Food Trails, Eco-Tourism destination, the experience of small island tourism, Seaweed as a healthy eating resource and the growth of Catherine Nee, Marty’s Mussels, adventure tourism on the Wild Connemara Atlantic Way. The focus for the afternoon session switched to business innovation with expert speakers on the food channel “from producer to consumer”, food p.r., digital marketing, becoming media savvy and the day ended with a presentation by Fáilte Ireland who presented “Ireland’s food story” and how to create memorable food experiences to evoke a unique sense of place, culture and hospitality for our tourists. One of the organisers, Jacinta Dalton said “that we are delighted as a team of lecturers to be able to provide a unique networking platform which creates a positive synergy between education and all stakeholders in the food industry- What started as a small idea amongst three like-minded colleagues has grown to become one of the highlights on the national food calendar.”

GMIT NEWS

GMIT Tourism & Arts students win eight gold medals at CATEX 2015 All 23 GMIT competitors win awards - Gold, Silver, Bronze & Merit Chef Ireland/Catex results Student Name Course Shane Stanley HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Nicola Sutton BB Cul Arts Yr 2 Cathal Whelan HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Egle Gulbiniene HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Egle Gulbiniene HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Rebecca Wynne BB Cul Arts Yr 2 Evan O Ceallaigh HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Patrick Phillips HC Culinary Arts Yr 2 Amber Pierce HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Amber Pierce HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Ann McCormack BB Cul Arts Yr 2 Margaret OHalloran HC Culinary Arts Yr 2 Elaine Boyle BA Cul Arts Yr 2 Elaine Boyle BA Cul Arts Yr 2 Leah McEvoy HC Culinary Arts Yr 2 Ciara Loughlin BB Cul Arts Yr 2 Ruairi Ryan HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Orla Corcoran HC Culinary Arts Yr 2 Patrycja Sadowska BA Hotel Mgmt Yr2 Aisling Lee BA Hotel Mgmt Yr2 Shane Austin TICP Marek Hajduk TICP Cezary Sodel TICP Caroline Meehan BB Cul Arts Yr2 David Murphy HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Stephen Walsh HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Patrick Phillips HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Derek Flynn HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Tommy Fay HC Culinary Arts Yr 1 Patrick Phillips/Lee Mc Mullen HC Culinary Arts Yr 2 Patrick Phillips HC Culinary Arts Yr 2 Linda Hayes HC Culinary Arts Yr 2 Trevor Donegan BA Cul Arts Yr 2 Elizabeth Slattery BA Cul Arts Yr 2 Gmit were also winners of the overall Hygiene award with a score

Competition Breakfast Breakfast Pasta Chicken Hot Dessert Chicken Junior Lamb Junior Lamb Pork Vegan Menu Novelty Cake Novelty Cake Novelty Cake Wedding Cake not tasted Wedding Cake tasted Vegan Menu Fish Fish College Team Comp Cook/serve College Team Comp Cook/serve College Team Comp Cook/serve College Team Comp Cook/serve College Team Comp Cook/serve Tournedos Medicis Anniversary Comp Duck Duck Duck Souffle Souffle Mystery Basket Cold Fish Plates Macaroons Macaroons Petit Fours of 100%

Students in GMIT’s College of Tourism & Arts have once again swept the awards boards at Catex 2015, one of the biggest national culinary competitions and networking events in the Irish foodservice industry.

GMIT students took home eight Gold Medals including eleven ‘Overall Winner’ titles in a variety of culinary categories during the event in the RDS, Dublin, this week (17 to 19 February). A team of students also won the national Hygiene Award over the three days with a perfect score of 100%.

Catex, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is a major networking hub for trendspotting, masterclasses, culinary challenges and championship titles including Chef Ireland, Irish Cocktail Championship, the College Student Team Competition (known as Cook and Serve) and more.

GMIT entered 23 students in almost all of the competition’s individual categories including meat and fish dish, breakfast, vegan menu, novelty cake, and wedding cakes. In addition a group of GMIT students entered the college team event - the cook and serve contest where a team of three chefs and two servers are given two and a half hours to prepare and present a threecourse meal to ten guests and two judges.

The GMIT Cook and Serve team, tutored by GMIT lecturers Frank O’Connor, Brian Morrisey and Diarmuid Ó’Conghaile won the top prize of Gold Medal and Overall Winner title. They are Patrycja Sadowska and Aisling Lee, both second year students on the BA in Hotel Management, and Shane Austin, Marek Hajduk and Cezary Sodel, students on the Total Immersion Chef Programme (TICP).

They showcased a range of skills including a flambé course and

Award Bronze Silver Cert of Merit Silver Bronze Gold & overall Winner Bronze Bronze Silver & overall Winner Silver Cert of Merit Bronze Gold & overall Winner Gold Bronze & Class Winner Silver Cert of Merit Silver Gold & Overall Winner Gold & Overall Winner Gold & Overall Winner Gold & Overall Winner Gold & Overall Winner Silver Bronze Cert of Merit Cert of Merit Cert of Merit Silver Bronze Cert of Merit & Class Winner Bronze &Class winner Cert of Merit Cert of Merit

Dingle Gin Irish specialty coffee. Their menu was themed to showcase seasonal and local produce from the Wild Atlantic Way. Two students won three Gold medals in separate categories: Rebecca Wynne, BB in Culinary Arts (year 2) won Gold for her chicken dish; and Elaine Boyle, BA in Culinary Arts (Year 2) won Gold for her wedding cake and Gold and Overall Winner title for her novelty cake.

GMIT students also took home eight Silver, nine Bronze and ten Certificates of Merit. Several hundred students from third-level colleges around Ireland competed in the event.

Speaking about the students’ achievements, Gerry Talbot, Head of Department, said GMIT had the highest ever number of entries compared to previous years, and the most wins. “These competitions are great experiences for our students and a great endorsement of the quality of our programmes.”

Cait Noone, Head of the College of Tourism & Arts, says: “Students from GMIT throughout the three days performed to the very highest of standards and we are incredibly proud of their achievements. I am also enormously grateful to the hard working and talented team of lecturing staff in the College of Tourism and Arts who continually go above and beyond to ensure our students are constantly acquiring new and relevant industry knowledge and skills.”

“This ensures students not only leave GMIT with the best of qualifications but are also industry ready to work in the ever expanding Tourism and food sector in Ireland”.

For more information about programmes in the GMIT College of Tourism & Arts, please visit our website: http://www.gmit.ie/college-tourism-and-arts/college-tourism-arts

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FAIRTRADE

Bewley’s – Fairtrade pioneers

Reinforcing their commitment to ensuring a sustainable future for coffee producing communities in South and Central America.

Bewley’s is one of the largest coffee

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roasters in Ireland and the UK, and is the Irish market leader in the provision of fresh coffee to the foodservice and retail sectors. From its origins in 1840 as a Quakerowned company the Bewley’s name has always been associated with the highest ideals and standards with regard to its products and its business practices. The

FAIRTRADE

company is committed to best practice in relation to its corporate social responsibilities, the long-term sustainability of the industry in which it operates and its impact on the environment. With Bewley’s foodservice (B2B) operation driving core coffee manufacturing volumes, Bewley’s initially became focused on direct supply at the turn of the century when coffee prices were extremely low and coffee farmers were literally tearing down their trees and getting out of the coffee business in favour of other types of crop growing. Bewley’s were concerned that their supplies of quality Arabica coffee would disappear.

At that point Bewley’s decided to work closely with on-the-ground nongovernment organisations such as the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) to find out more about coffee farms and estates that they could do business with. This involved travelling to the farms, meeting the farmers, grading their coffee crop and understanding if they could continue to invest in their farms over the long term.

In 1996, Patrick Bewley, then Managing Director, made a decision to buy two tonnes of Fairtrade certified coffee costing almost 20% more than uncertified coffee beans. At the time the Fairtrade model was unknown by the majority of Irish consumers and it was a risk. No other company in Ireland was selling Fairtrade certified products.

Today, Bewley’s is by far the largest supplier of Fairtrade coffees in Ireland. In addition to sourcing Fairtrade Certified coffee from Peru, Honduras, Brazil and Colombia, Bewley’s has developed a long-term relationship with Fairtrade coffee co-operative Soppexcca in Nicaragua, where 30% of Bewley’s Fairtrade coffee comes from. In the past three to four years, Bewley’s has awarded supply contracts worth more than €2.5 million to this co-operative. The Fairtrade premium Bewley’s pays for the coffee, empowers local farmers to reinvest in their farming methods and their local infrastructure.

Bewley’s believes in “doing right by those with who you do business,” from the coffee farm to the consumer. Carol Geary, Marketing Manager Out Of Home,

Bewley’s said “Our commitment to ethical procurement in coffee and tea markets worldwide is constant. It reflects the underlying personality and culture of the company. However the commitment doesn’t stop with us. We believe everyone has a role to play and Bewley’s consumers and foodservice operators can support coffee producing communities to sustain their livelihoods by selling and drinking Fairtrade certified coffee during Fairtrade fortnight which took place from Ferbruary 23 to March 8..

For those that want to learn more, Bewley’s are equipped with the expertise and experience to assist their foodservice partners in making a difference through the use of Fairtrade certified coffee. Their focus at all times is on achieving fair deals for producers, continuing profitability for trade partners and value for money and exceptional quality for projects in the locality.”

If you are interested in serving Fairtrade coffee and tea in your business call Bewley's today 1850 248 484.

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45

NEW LEGISLATION

Allergic reaction

Caroline Leddy examines the implications of the recent Food Information for Consumers Regulation.

Responsible for the creation of 34,052 jobs in the last three years, the restaurant industry is playing an important role in the economic recovery of Ireland.

Employing 72,000 people and contributing €2 billion to the Irish economy each year, restaurateurs are at the centre of our tourism industry. Considering visitor numbers to the country increased by 8.8 per cent in 2014 compared to the previous year, along with the government’s decision to retain the 9 per cent VAT rate on tourism services in 2015, the scene is well set for a bright year.

On the contrary, the Food Information for Consumers Regulation, which came into effect in the EU on the 13th December 2014, is the latest piece of legislation to create a significant inconvenience to the restaurant sector.

Implications for the restaurant industry The introduction of this EU legislation means that restaurant owners now have the obligation to provide consumers with information on 14 allergens in all food served, either on the menu or available on request.

The allergens involved comprise eggs, milk, shellfish, molluscs, fish, peanuts, sesame, soya, sulphur dioxide, nuts, cereals containing gluten, celery, mustard and lupin.

In addition to the requirement to declare any allergenic ingredients used in the preparation of food, restaurants must identify the allergenic ingredients present in foods ordered from outside sources by checking the list of ingredients on food labels or on the accompanying commercial documents.

Declaration of allergenic ingredients which may be present in a food at very low levels due to potential cross contamination is not necessary. However, restaurants should incorporate good practices and staff training to minimise or eliminate cross contamination with the specified allergenic ingredients.

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Incidence of food allergies According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the prevalence of food allergies is uncertain. The most recent figures available in Europe suggest that food allergies are estimated to be around 3 per cent.

The EFSA acknowledges that hypersensitive responses to certain foods can manifest themselves in various ways, and can broadly be categorised as immune mediated or non-immune mediated food intolerances.

Statistics from the EFSA also state that approximately 75 per cent of allergic reactions among children are due to egg, peanut, cow’s milk, fish and various nuts; whereas 50 per cent of allergic reactions among adults are caused by fruits of the latex group and of the Rosaceae family, vegetables of the Apiacaea family, and various nuts and peanuts.

Food Safety Authority Although Environmental Health Officers from the Food Safety Authority are responsible for enforcing the new allergen legislation, Dr. Patrick O’Mahony, Chief Specialist in Food Technology for the FSAI speaks about the enforcement process.

“Rather than taking immediate action, Environmental Health Officers will be encouraging, educating and advising food businesses, and fines or penalties will be the last straw.”

Dr. O’Mahony further explains that the latest measure is an extension to the existing requirement to label the same 14 allergens on pre-packed foods. He mentions that the peanut allergen will be the most seriously taken as it has the highest level of severity, while risk assessments on other allergens will be carried out on a case by case basis.

Responsibility of the consumer Although the new law requires a considerable effort on the part of restaurant owners, consumers also share a certain responsibility in relation to informing

NEW LEGISLATION

restaurant staff of any allergies and severity, reading menus carefully for allergens, asking the waiter or waitress about the ingredients in the whole dish and not taking for granted that the ingredients in a dish do not change from time to time.

The Allergen & Diets Guide for Professional Catering has been compiled by Unilever Food Solutions and is undoubtedly a much needed resource to assist all food business owners interpret the Food Information to Consumers Regulation and provides practical recommendations on how to effectively comply with the law.

Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive of the RAI, conveys the quality of this new publication in saying “there is no doubt that the new legislation regarding food labelling and allergens will present real challenges for the food service industry. No matter what way the information is eventually presented, what is certain is that consumers will have to be made aware of the allergens present in foods sold loose or through the food service sector. In this comprehensive guide, Unilever Food Solutions has created an invaluable tool to support food service operators in meeting the necessary legislative requirements. I would recommend that this guide become an integral resource for menu planning and commend Unilever Food Solutions for recognising and responding to our industry’s needs with this fantastic support tool”.

Challenges for restaurants However straightforward the new legislation may appear, it does create significant challenges for restaurateurs as highlighted by Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive of the RAI. Mr. Cummins believes there is a lack of information available to restaurant owners and that the FSAI have “admitted a lot of anomolies with the legislation” and that although the new directive has been introduced across the EU, Irish authorities have interpreted it in the most extreme form which is making it even more difficult for those involved in the restaurant sector in Ireland.

“Businesses are wide open for litigation because suppliers can change the type of products coming into restaurants and chefs are not necessarily informed of these changes,” says Mr. Cummins.

Effectively, every ingredient needs to be checked and changes need to be updated on menus. In relation to the inaccurate food allergy incidence figures, Mr. Cummins mentions that gluten as an allergen is becoming increasingly common, but perhaps a proportion of people who think they are intolerant to gluten have not been given an accurate diagnosis of this intolerance.

The biggest dilemma faced in restaurants is that there is now “little room for

creativity with menus” and the way the new legislation has been introduced in Ireland demands that restaurants are now “system led and causing a situation whereby the day of the chef’s special on the menu may be dwindling because of the difficulty and astronomical cost involved in tracing each of the 14 allergens in ingredients”, explains Mr. Cummins.

Outlook However, David Mulcahy, Vice President of The Craft Guild of Chefs, is optimistic that chefs will adapt well to the new law.

“Through ongoing training and understanding the risks, chefs will be best placed to develop recipes and menus which are innovative and creative, driving sales and customer satisfaction. The Craft Guild of Chefs welcomes the latest government legislation and is committed to supporting industry initiatives to ensure its success.”

So with four in five restaurants expecting growth in customer numbers this year, it remains to be seen how the restaurant sector will adapt to the new changes and how the FSAI will ensure that the legislation is being adhered to.

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47

MARKETING

Ready, Fire, Aim The dos and don’ts of marketing your restaurant business

by Cariona Neary Not a lipstick solution If you have grumpy staff, please do not read on.

If your bathrooms are not clean, please do not read on.

If you menu is over-priced, please do not read on.

If you’re looking for a silver bullet, by all means read on but you will not find one single fix-all solution in this article.

Marketing is not a lipstick solution. By that I mean that if your basic product has fundamental flaws, for example, the latches on your bathroom doors don’t work or your restaurant is too cold, you can forget about marketing. You can’t doll up a gorilla with a couple of dabs of lipstick, it is still a gorilla!

I remember one hotelier telling me that if he put on the heat in the reception rooms of his Kerry-based hotel, the Americans got nice and toasty and never noticed that he had turned down the heating upstairs. Yes, they did!

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Marketing is not a problem fixer, but it is a great tool to amplify your good news story about your restaurant, café or even take away business.

Lesson # 1: Put your house in order before you start marketing.

Word of mouth trumps all other marketing techniques During the depths of the recession, happily moving now into the past tense, it was fascinating to see that some restaurants continued to thrive while others were nearly empty. A quick look at the menus outside did not explain the phenomenon, often the prices were broadly similar. Rather, the good ones examined every aspect of their business, including the customer experience, and ensured that when customers left their restaurants, they left as brand ambassadors not as brand terrorists. Social media may have a huge reach, but as a ‘where will we eat tonight’ influencer, old fashioned word of mouth is still the most powerful way of getting people to pick up the phone. Direct customer experience is your most powerful marketing lever for building strong loyalty and repeat business.

Lesson # 2: Make sure you offer compelling experiences to generate positive word of mouth.

Awards and memberships How often do you hear: ‘Award-winning restaurant...’? Does it work? Yes, certainly it does. Fergus O’Halloran of The Twelve hotel, based in Galway, has won more awards than you can shake a stick at. “Any recognition at any awards level is vital to us. It inspires the team, reassures us that we are top of our game and helps to

MARKETING and customers and your sense of community. Cute pictures work too.

Politicians have known this for years. But you can be more interesting than that, by photographing a foraging expedition for blackberries or mushrooms. And of course food, glorious food. Make sure you add essential hashtags and links or you could be wasting your time.

Lesson # 5: Food and people are photogenic but remember to have on-trend themes, links and hashtags.

inform the public. Everyone loves to WIN something. Let’s face it, we all work damn hard in this industry and hey, a pat on the back every so often goes a really long way!”

However, O’Halloran also recommends membership of key industry bodies: “Being an active member of The Restaurants Association of Ireland is extremely important to us and I would urge all restaurants to join. The industry needs a collective voice and its membership is there to assist and inform.”

Lesson # 3: Awards and memberships of key industry bodies matter to staff and customers.

Beware of me, me, me The top marketers in the restaurant business develop a strong following. Anyone can identify those in the food business who are successful at building ‘earned media’, that is building up an ability to get other people talking about you. So likes, shares and comments are a very visible measurement of success. And one of the most talented marketers in the business is Donal Skehan.

Yes, he is already a household name and he is an extremely talented photographer, but social media isn’t just about perfection. It is also, oddly enough, about not talking about yourself all the time. Donal Skehan posts photographs of scenery, his dog, his trips, the people he meets and regular shots of food porn chocolate cakes do particularly well.

Lesson # 4: Self-serving social media doesn’t work. Balance promotional messages with other news.

Social media topics that build buzz It’s all about pictures - good ones. According to research published by Forbes, 40% of people respond better to images than plain text, while 90% of information that reaches the brain is visual rather than text. Instead of your menu, feature staff, suppliers and customers and events to help humanize your brand. Celebrate staff

Facts tell, Stories Sell If a journalist gets in touch with you, wake up, it’s a chance to tell your story. Make sure you return their call, and don’t just feed them information about your food and menu. That is not newsworthy. By contrast, if you have a food philosophy around sourcing or working with the community, that is a much better tale.

Lesson # 6: Failte Ireland has developed a food story toolkit - use it to build and tell your story.

Add a twist Yes, you have to get all the basics right, from hygiene to pricing, but you also have to surprise the customer.

Brody Sweeney, the founder of O’Brien’s Sandwiches, has gone on to found a new food franchise, Camile. He is innovating at every possible level, from really clever, fun online competitions to writing letters to his customers. A wonderful mix of old and new marketing methods. The twist is to have teamed up with Michelin Star Chef, Kevin Thornton, to create some amazing recipes for his restaurant.

Lesson # 7: Fit in - Stand Out: Get the basics right and then add a stand out layer of pure innovation.

Cariona Neary works with some of Ireland’s leading hotels and restaurants, helping them to improve their customer experience through training and coaching. She is coauthor of Coaching Champions - How to get the absolute best from your sales people.

Contact: cariona@nearymarketing.com.

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49

COFFEE

Blame it on Brazil Frank Corr looks at recent hikes in coffee prices The fingers of coffee traders and roasters around the world are pointing to Brazil as the cause for the recent hikes in bean prices.

And with good cause, because South America’s largest country is also by far the world’s largest producer of Arabica coffee beans- the kind in most demand by the coffee drinkers of this planet.

Global warming may be somewhere in the mix, but the unpalatable fact is that Brazil has had a series of very dry summers- and that is bad news if you are a coffee grower. Last year (2014) brought the worst Spring drought in decades followed by a poor harvest which was the smallest in three years.

Next year is an off-year in Brazil’s twoyear coffee cycle, meaning production would already have been lower without the unusual weather. Global coffee production could fall short of demand in the season that began Oct. 1 2014, by the largest amount since the crop year ended in 2006, the International Coffee Organization said in July.

These developments have created serious worries among the world’s big coffee buyers. Brazil is not their only supplier, of course, but as the producer of one third of all coffee beans and 50% of all Arabica, its fortunes can strongly influence markets.

Major players like Starbucks, Nestle and Unilever play the markets, usually by buying ‘futures’ and therefore locking in the price they pay for the coming year to 18 months. Starbucks for instance has locked in prices for 2015 and 2016 for most of its requirements, but it is still edging up prices in its US retail outlets. This strategy usually means that there is a gap of around 18 months between a rise in commodity prices and an actual price hike at retail level.

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Suppliers to hotels, restaurants and coffee shops however, tend to be smaller scale operators who may not have the resources to dabble in coffee futures. They therefore end up paying the going rate for their supplies and when the market moves upwards, so do their costs. With the commodity price of coffee rising by almost a third in 2014 therefore, it is likely that this will wash through to the Irish foodservice market sooner rather than later.

Brazil is not the only source of coffee of course but with an annual production of 5.6bn lbs , it is way ahead of its competitors.

Vietnam with 1.9bn lbs is second in the world followed by Colombia (1.5bn lbs), Indonesia (0.9bn lbs) and Ethiopia (0,8bn lbs). Other producing countries in the Top Ten are India, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and Honduras while Uganda, Ivory Coast, Costa Rica and El Salvador are also significant producers.

This diversity will not have a significant impact on coffee prices however because they are dictated by the Commodity Markets. Indeed producers in these countries are likely to benefit in the immediate future from market prices rises, provided of course they are able to maintain current levels of production. Equally, smaller buyers from around the world can by-pass the commodity market by dealing directly with smaller producers, often doing fixed-price deals that span several seasons. Small scale coffee farmers in all producing countries tend to have very low living standards and are often shamelessly exploited by large producers and buyers. This situation has led to the growth of the Fair Trade movement in which independent buyers pay slightly above the going rate for their beans and also support farmers through educational and community development programmes.

Bewleys was a pioneer of this movement in Ireland and have been followed by other roasters including Java Republic, McCabes, Robt. Roberts, Matthew Algie and Greenbean.

While the landed cost of a pound of green coffee beans in Ireland is a factor in the price of a cappuccino, it’s significance could be easily exaggerated. Between bean and cup a long list of costs enter the equation as do factors such as competitiveness and consumer spending. Much of the coffee which makes its way into the foodservice sector is roasted in this country, principally by Bewleys, Robt.

Roberts and Java Republic. In international terms these are small-scale roasters and therefore their unit cost is likely to be higher than that of (for instance) Starbucks. The beans are then often ground and packed for delivery and of course there is a significant marketing cost involved. These unit costs are likely to be significantly lower in the case of AFD or ‘instant’ coffee, most of which is imported and ready for distribution.

It is only when the coffee arrives in the café, restaurant or hotel pantry however that the costs begin to multiply. With demand now predominantly for ground ‘espresso’ coffee, specialist equipment is required and so too are skilled baristas, or at least staff with some barista training. Add in crockery, condiments such as milk and sugar, napkins and then serving staff hours- and the costs continue to mount.

The most significant cost of all for many food service sector coffee retailers however is rent. In some urban areas (most notoriously in central Dublin), the rent paid to landlords can exceed all other cost elements in the delivery of coffee to the customer, Bewleys Cafes has sorry experience of this phenomenon, having unsuccessfully fought the landlords of their Grafton Street café through the Courts in an attempt to achieve a sustainable rent. Bewleys found themselves in a heritage building selling low-priced items like coffee, cakes and casual meals while surrounded by jewellery, phone and fashion stores whose very significant sales per customer and generous mark-up enabled them to keep trading in an environment in which a café simply could not succeed. Campbell Bewley has now closed the Grafton Street premises with a promise to re-open only on the ground floor and with a limited menu.