Hotel and Restaurant Times June/July 2015

JUNE/JULY ‘15

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INDUSTRY

DESIGN SUCCESS SEVEN POINTERS FOR A WINNING STYLE SEVEN POINTERS FOR A WINNING STYLE

WAGES OF SIN THE LOW PAY COMMISSION’S GREAT OMISSION

THE APPRENTICESHIP DEBATE FUNDING FOR TRAINING STILL UP IN THE AIR

IT'S ALL ON THE TABLE FRANK CORR ARGUES AGAINST CUTTING CORNERS www.hotelandrestauranttimes.ie

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COVER: Damien Hirst’s ‘Cock and Bull’ display at the Tramshed in London, Waugh Thistleton Architects Ltd.

CONTENTS NEWS APPOINTMENTS LOW PAY COMMISSION IFSA NEWS FÁILTE FOCUS RAI NEWS APPRENTICESHIPS TOURISM IRELAND NEWS RAI AWARDS TABLEWARE HSMAI BEWLEY’S FÁILTE IRELAND NEWS BOOKASSIST JAVA DALCASSIAN AIRBNB RESTAURANT DESIGN GMIT NEWS CARIONA NEARY MARKETING

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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, Denise Ryan, Dr. Des O'Mahony, Mary O Rawe, Dee Laffan, Holly Lenny, Frank Corr, Cariona Neary, Fáilte Ireland, IFSA, Tourism Ireland, Restaurants Association of Ireland, GMIT. 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 JUNE/JULY ‘15

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One voice Latest CSO figure have delivered good news for the industry, highlighting growth from key markets such as North America, Great Britain and Mainland Europe. The amount of revenue that visitors spent in the first quarter is a welcome statistic. In excess of €590 million was added to the exchequer during the period, an increase of 10.5% on the previous period of 2014. The revenue breakdown indicates a 16.8% increase from US market, 17.5% from mainland Europe, whilst Great Britain revenue rose by 5.8% There was also an increase in the number of trips to Ireland - and this indicated a 13.3% growth on 2014 figures. However, caution must be sounded and complacency must not be encouraged. Ireland must continue to be marketed to ensure sustained and continued growth.

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Of course, with these increases other challenges emerge, such as the area of chefs and those working within the culinary arena. Organisations including the RAI, IHF, and more some colleges, have demanded that action be taken in regard to skill shortages. On the one hand, government TDs claim they have a plan of action, whilst the RAI, and other industry representatives, say there’s nothing workable or achievable on the horizon.

See page 20-21.

Alongside the apprenticeship issue, pay scales is another contentious area that needs addressing. The Low Pay Commission set up by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation are due to submit their recommendations by July 15. Despite utterances that those selected on the commission board don’t include a representative from hospitality, the die is cast.

This could have the a devastating impact on the industry. Stephan Mc Nally IHF president stated: “Payroll costs and related expenses in hotels now stand at approximately 40% of turnover, which is significantly higher than other industries, such as manufacturing where it is approximately 8%.” He mooted that given the fragility of the economic recovery and increase in costs, a raise in minimum wage may result in Ireland losing its competitiveness.

These sentiments were echoed by Adrian Cummins, RAI CEO, who said “The RAI is totally opposed to an increase of minimum wage. we believe the employers and employees should agree among themselves whether or not a business can support an increased minimum wage.”

Let’s hope that we don’t destroy the encouraging and impressive recovery of tourism with pay scales that are unrealistic and potentially damaging to continued success and employment.

Maybe it’s time to form a single tourism organisation along the lines of the CIF (Construction Industry Federation) or the IFA (Irish Farmers Association). These organisations speak in a united voice for the common good of all their constituent groups, with a single agenda to protect and support them all. Maybe it suits government bodies to have disparate groups demanding results for vested interests.

It’s easier to finger point or blame and say, ‘We’d love to do that, but such and such a group oppose it’.”

It’s called kicking the can down the road.

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Cyril McAree Editor

NEWS

NEWS New strategy unveiled to boost tourism from Australia

Turkish delight

Dublin Airport Managing Director, Vincent Harrison and General Manager Ireland, Turkish Airlines Murat Balandi at the launch of the new double daily service to Istanbul.

Paolo Tullio Australia offers potential for Irish tourism, according to a new Tourism Ireland strategy launched by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD. The new, three-year strategy for growth sets out targets which will see the number of Australian visitors to the island of Ireland grow by +20% to almost 220,000 per year by the end of 2017. Pictured are Diane Butler, Tourism Ireland’s manager in Australia, Tourism Minister Paschal Donohoe, TD. and Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland.

A glass act

Pictured at Tullamore Distillery in Offaly are Kaimo Salumets from Germany, Denise Murphy of Bord Bia, Distillery Ambassador Jane Maher and Brett Pontoni, USA. The visit was part of Bord Bia’s Marketplace 2015, a week-long business development event aimed at building new trade relationships with retailers, foodservice and ingredient buyers and distributors from across the globe.

The industry was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Paolo Tullio. He was one life’s real gents. Meeting him over the years at various events and functions I was struck by his charm and openness. Whenever I was in his company I never heard him criticise or run people down, and he was diplomatic in his observations of those engaged in the culinary world. His appearances on the popular The Restaurant programme and his regular newspaper columns exemplified these characteristics.

He was always constructive in his opinion and this I believe came from his own experience of operating and running a restaurant. He knew about the myriad of difficulties running such an establishment involves. The industry has lost a bright star and he will be sadly missed.

May he rest in peace.

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NEWS

Electrolux goes red hot

Orchard Thieves steals limelight An innovative tease and reveal Out of Home campaign has run across Dublin to launch Orchard Thieves, the new cider brand from Heineken. The campaign, implemented by Out of Home agency Kinetic, and media agency Starcom, with creative from Rothco, ran from 20 April to 17 May. Innovative technology was used to grab the attention of passers-by for the reveal element of the campaign.

A selection of bus shelters (Adshels) on Leeson Street, Camden Street and Pembroke Road were fitted with new digital screens which displayed creative relating to the new cider brand. In addition to this, a 48 sheet billboard special ran on South Richmond Street. Ten high definition digital screens were added to the billboard, covering an area of 180mm in height and 4,500mm in width.

Pictured (l-r): Gemma Adams, Innovation Manager, Heineken; Aoife Hudson, Account Manager, Kinetic; Colum O’Hara, Client Director, Starcom; and Fiona Curtin, Senior Innovation Manager, Heineken

For the second year in a row, Electrolux Professional has won the Red Dot Design Award. The green&clean Hood Type dishwasher won the prestigious Red Dot Award: Product Design 2015. The international Red Dot jury, composed of accomplished designers, design experts and specialist journalists from all around the world, evaluated 4,928 innovative entries from 56 countries and awarded the Electrolux green&clean Hood Type dishwasher for its high quality design.

Influential travel professionals visit from Down Under

Australia and New Zealand travel agents and tour operators with Fiona Clelland, Tourism Ireland (left); and tour guide Conor Ellard (second left). A group of leading travel agents and tour operators from Australia and New Zealand have been visiting Ireland, as guests of Tourism Ireland and Emirates.

Longest drive for Maria Blustery conditions didn’t deter Maria McNamara from Raheen Woods Hotel, Athenry, pictured with John Rooney,managing director Flogas Ireland, from hitting the longest ladies drive at the inaugural Flogas Pro-Am Challenge on Tuesday 2nd June. The longest mens’ drive was won

by Niall Lord of Food Surplus Management in Trim. John Rooney said, “Congratulations to Maria and Niall on their achievement. It was a very successful event , despite the challenging weather conditions and it is likely to become a staple of our annual business calendar.”

Dublin coffee and tea festival starts to brew The worlds of coffee and tea are set to blend once again with the Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival 2015, which takes place at the RDS Industries Hall, 11-13 September 2015. For further information on features, competitions and exhibitors check out www.dublincoffeefestival.com

Tourism Ireland Board meets in Sligo Gerard Moore, general manager of the Sligo Park Hotel (back, right), welcomes Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland (front, left), Tourism Ireland board members and senior managers. Also pictured are Vincent Cunnane, president of IT Sligo (back, third left); Paul Keyes, CEO of Sligo Chamber of Commerce (back, fifth left); Damien Brennan, Yeats Experience (back, fourth left); Neil Walton, Voya Seaweed Baths (middle row, second right); Anthony Gray, Eala Bhán restaurant and president of the RAI (middle row, right); Eva Dearie, Fáilte Ireland (front, third left); Ian Brannigan, CEO of the Western Development Commission (front, third right); Dorothy Clarke, Sligo County Council (front, second right); and Joe Corcoran, president of Sligo Tourism (front, right).

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NEWS

Family fortunes

Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel has been named among the Best Hotels for Families by TripAdvisor’s family travel site Family Vacation Critic. Along with 5 other Irish hotels named among a total of 20 hotels listed in the “Europe” category, Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel met the criteria for a mixed panel of judges including experts from the site itself and user experiences and reviews. To qualify, the hotel must have received a four or five-star editorial rating, and a 75+ per cent approval rating from families on the site and on TripAdvisor.

September food fair The Food & Hospitality Ireland trade expo, which takes place on the 16 and 17 September at the Citywest Events Centre, is to incorporate the Speciality & Fine Food Fair Ireland and the Great Taste Pavilion. The Great Taste Pavilion is a new addition to the event and that has attracted top producers including Cashel Blue, Suki Tea, West Cork Pies and Burren Smokehouse. Confirmed exhibitors at the expo include the Tipperary Food Producers Network, Taste Kerry, Corleggy Cheese, The Chocolate Shop, Invest Northern Ireland, Montgomery Food Consulting and the Butchery Excellence Scheme, Red Dog Artisan Product & Asgaard Packaging Ltd amongst others. For further information on the event, please contact Caroline McCusker on 048 (028) 9068 338. Or email Caroline.mccusker@freshmontgomery.co.uk.

Clarion Cork turns 10

Daragh Brady, General Manager, Clarion Hotel Cork; Maura Derrane of RTE Today Show and Ray Kelleher, Marketing Manager, Clarion Hotel Cork at the 10th birthday celebrations for the Clarion Hotel in Cork.

Delphi Resort lodges new appeal The Delphi Adventure Resort portfolio has added Aasleagh Lodge and Erriff Fishery to its stable. On the River Erriff just outside Leenane, Connemara Aasleagh Lodge is a restored 19th century Victorian country house, set in 36 acres of mature woodlands with views over Killary Harbour, with 9 and bedrooms, 2 self catering apartments and access to Wild Atlantic salmon fishing on the river nearby in Erriff Fishery.

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NEWS

Phelan groovy

Lights, camera action Clare Tuffy, Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre (left), being interviewed by Patricia O’Neill (second left) for the Out of Ireland TV show; also pictured are Andrew O’Neill (sound) and Robin Sanders (camera). Some 385,000 Americans will tune in to Out of Ireland, a series of five travel features all about Ireland, on Public Broadcasting Service network in the U.S.

Compass Group Ireland appoints Aurivo Consumer Foods

Andrew Phelan has been awarded Hotelier of the Year (Large Business) at the 2015 Janus Awards for Professionalism. Andrew who is General Manager at the luxurious 5 star Lough Erne Resort in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh was presented with the award by UTV’s Paul Clarke at a gala event held at the La Mon Hotel & Country Club.

Flogas sponsors Munster apprentice chef The heat was on and the smell of ‘good mood food’ was in the air as 16 students from secondary schools in Cork, Limerick and Kerry took part in the 2015 Munster Apprentice Chef Project Final, sponsored by Flogas Ireland and Failte Ireland.

Ireland’s food and support services company Compass Group Ireland, continues to expand its Irish supplier portfolio with the appointment of Aurivo Consumer Foods. Aurivo will supply a full range of milk and cream products under Aurivo’s Connacht Gold and Organic for Us brands to all of the Group’s units across Ireland. The contract is valued at €2.6m.

Pictured (l-r): Seamus Hannon, national account manager, Aurivo Consumer Foods and Mark Lee, Commercial Director, Compass Group Ireland

Taking tourism to new heights Fáilte Ireland in partnership with Shannon Airport and Aer Lingus launched a newly branded Wild Atlantic Way Aer Lingus Boeing 767 aircraft. The plane, which will be branded for 12 weeks, will fly the Boston’s Logan International Airport / Shannon Airport route.

Pictured at Shannon Airport were (l-r): Vivienne Lillis, Are Lingus Ground Crew; Tara Kerry, Failte Ireland; Andrew Murphy, Shannon Group; Neil Pakey, CEO Shannon Group; Suzanne Trehy, Failte Ireland; Tony Brazil, Shannon Group Board; Mike Moloney, Aer Lingus, Ground Operations Manager Shannon; and Katie Shanahan, Aer Lingus Cabin Crew.

Cruise control German and Swiss journalists with Daniel Farrell, Tourism Ireland (front, second right), at Clonmacnoise jetty. Nine journalists from Germany and Switzerland cruised on the River Shannon, as guests of Tourism Ireland and German cruising tour operator, Le Boat.

Cork native raises the bar

Front (sitting): winner Stephanie Kearney, 17, a TY student at Colaiste Mhuire, Buttevant, Cork. Back (l-r): runner up Brandon Moran, 18, a sixth year student at Colaiste na Sceilge, Cahirciveen, Kerry; joint 3rd place Charlotte Hall, 16, a TY student at Midleton College, Cork and Laura Stack, 16, a TY Student at Hazelwood College, Dromcollogher, Co. Limerick.

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Cork native Anna Walsh from popular Dublin bar MVP was announced as the winner of the coveted title of World Class Irish Bartender of the Year 2015 at No. 10 Ormond Quay in Dublin’s city centre following an intense yearlong competition. Six finalists, representing some of the top cocktail bars across the country, were put to the test, challenged on all aspects of bartending and judged by some of the most revered names in the industry: Spike Marchant, Tom Jones and Max La Rocca. Anna, the only female finalist, will now go on to represent Ireland at the World Class Global Final in South Africa in August.

NEWS

Gibson dishes up summer menu

Ireland’s Ancient East

Jack McCaffrey, John Small and David Byrne, from the Dublin Senior GAA Football panel, were cooking up a storm to launch the gibson hotel’s hemidemisemi bar and coda eatery’s new summer healthy menus.

Gibson hotel is the official sleeping partner of Dublin GAA.

Outstanding in her field Hayfield Manor's Karen Fleming has won a prestigious Business Woman of the Year award. The Network Ireland Cork Branch Businesswomen of the Year awards took place at the Radisson Blu hotel, recognising women in business, the profession and the arts in the Cork region. Sales & Marketing Manager Karen Fleming represented Hayfield Manor in the Business Woman of the Year, Employee category.

Tourism operators from across the East and South recently attended Fáilte Ireland’s new tourism initiative Ireland’s Ancient East stakeholder workshops to learn more about the new initiative, and discuss how they can work with the national tourism authority to bring this new tourism initiative to life in the East and South region.

Brakes invest in the future of food nutrition

Making a Markee on hospitality Luxury Manor House Hotel owners, the Corscadden Family, have acquired County Sligo’s historic Markree Castle for an undisclosed sum. The family, which now owns four castle hotel properties (one in each province of Ireland), is about to embark on a €5m restoration project which will see the castle re-open to the public in March 2016.

An insight to tourism Minister Joan Burton, Tanaiste and Minister for Social Protection, recently launched the Tourism Insight Pilot Programme, which will introduce Transition Year Students to the world of tourism and inform them about careers within the sector. The event took place at The National Hospitality Managers’ Hospitality Leadership Conference and AGM at Croke Park Stadium.

Dublin-based foodservice company Brakes has reinforced its commitment to developing skills within the catering industry by investing in formal training for all Sales Representatives.

Sales Director, Gareth Clements and his team of Sales Representatives attained certificates in the Principals of Nutrition in Food Production from the vocational educational body, City & Guilds.

Culinary innovation for the world of chefs

Ireland a top 5 hit Ireland is ranked number five in the world for tourism marketing and branding, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2015 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index. Overall, Ireland ranks at number 19 in the world, out of 141 countries, up from number 21 when the index was last compiled in 2013. In the ‘effectiveness of marketing and branding to attract tourists’ category, Ireland has moved from number nine (in 2013) to number five in the world - ahead of France, Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy. Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “I am really pleased to see that Ireland has moved to fifth position in the world for tourism marketing and branding, out of 141 countries across the world.”

Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) has announced a new unique Masters Programme in Applied Culinary Nutrition. Celebrity chef Neven Maguire said “ the trend in health and wellness brings many challenges for the kitchen and chefs need to be able to adapt their cooking to meet these challenges with confidence.” The new programme focuses on taking an applied approach to linking science and research with the kitchen.

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NEWS

New industry chair seeks investment in tourism

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) has announced the election of a new Chair: Paul Gallagher, General Manager of Buswells Hotel and former President of the Irish Hotels Federation. Speaking at the Confederation’s AGM, where he was elected for a two year term, he said a significant tourism programme must be part of the government’s capital expenditure plan for 2016 to 2020.

Michelin-starred chef on the menu at Manor House Fermanagh’s Manor House Country Hotel, a member of the Manor House Hotels portfolio, has appointed Michelin-starred Rory Carville as its new executive chef. Rory Carville first entered a kitchen in 2003, working as chef de partie under head chef Terry White at the Four Seasons Hotel. After spending three years

APPOINTMENTS + Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Dublin appoints Tom Breen as Operations Manager Tom Breen has been appointed Operations Manager at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel on Golden Lane in Dublin city centre.

Tom has a successful background in the hospitality industry having achieved a qualification in Hospitality Management from Dublin Institute of Technology in 2005, Tom’s career has gone from strength to strength. Tom has worked in roles including Operations Manager for Finnstown Country House Hotel, Food and Beverage Manager for Highfield Gold & Country Club and Resort Conference and Banqueting Manager for the 5-star Heritage Golf & Spa Resort.

Having worked in many different roles in hospitality Tom took on the role of Hospitality Teacher at Queenstown Resort College in New Zealand, combining his knowledge and experience in the hospitality industry to guide others.

After living abroad in New Zealand and Australia, Tom has returned to Ireland with a wealth of experience and is looking forward to embracing the new challenges and responsibilities that the Operations Manager role will bring.

Bookassist appoints new HR manager Francesca Bartolone has been appointed Human Resource Manager at Bookassist, based in their Dublin office and responsible for staffing across all six Bookassist European offices. A native of Sicily, Francesca graduated in Communication Science at Universitá di Roma La Sapienza and completed a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management. She has worked in Italy and in Spain and most recently has worked in Ireland at Bulgari, and at Paddy Power as an International HR Generalist. She is fluent in Italian, Spanish and English.

Rawe talent Mary O’Rawe, lecturer at the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, D.I.T, received the U.K. Institute of Hospitality’s Award for Research Excellence 2015 at a gala dinner in the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester.

This award commends a piece of research that has made a significant contribution to the hospitality industry and to education. Mary is pictured receiving her award, bursary and honorary membership of the Institute of Hospitality from the Head of the Research Committee, Peter Lugosi.

Dubai hotel tops middle east there he moved to work with Derry Clarke at L’Ecrivain before moving to Chapter One and then onto a luxury yacht in Antibes, where he worked as a private chef to a number of high profile celebrities at the Monaco Grand Prix and Cannes Film Festival.

In September 2010 he became head chef at Locks Brasserie where his culinary talent was rewarded with a Michelin Star. He left Locks Brasserie in July 2013 to open a new restaurant in the Clarence Hotel (Cleaver East), together with Oliver Dunne. His arrival at the Manor House Country Hotel follows a short spell as executive chef at the Armada Hotel, Co. Clare, a member of Irish Country Hotels.

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Burj Al Arab Jumeirah has been voted the Best Hotel in the World and Best Hotel in the Middle East at the Daily Telegraph’s Ultimate Luxury Travel Related Awards (ULTRAs) Burj Al Arab Jumeirah was awarded the Best Hotel in the World title for the third year in a row. The awards were collected by Gerald Lawless, President and Group Chief Executive Officer, Jumeirah Group and Melanie Bisch, Assistant Guest Relations Manager of Burj Al Arab Jumeirah.

LOW PAY

Wages of sin Ireland’s hospitality industry has called on the Low Pay Commission not to recommend changes to the national minimum wage, writes Pavel Barter

Stephen McNally, president of the Irish Hotels Federation

The president of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has a described the decision not to include a representative from the hospitality or tourism industries on the government’s Low Pay Commission as “unfortunate”.

The commission, which is assessing an appropriate rate for the National Minimum Wage, is expected to submit its first recommendation to Jobs Minister Richard Bruton by 15 July 2015. However, while the board of the commission includes representatives from the retail sector, trade unions, migrant groups, and academia, there is no one to voice concerns of hotels or restaurants. “It’s unfortunate that a representative from the tourism and hospitality sector wasn’t included on the commission,” said Stephen McNally, IHF president.

According to a spokesperson for the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, members of the commission were selected through an open competition organised by the Public Appointments Service: “The positions advertised were:

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three members having experience representative of employers; three members having experience representative of workers; and two advisory members.”

Members applied for the position on an individual basis, Gerry Light, Assistant General Secretary of Mandate trade union, told H&R Times. “I wasn’t nominated by Mandate trade union. You are asked to be as impartial as you can,” he said.

The commission, which met four We currently have one of the times since its formation in February highest minimum wages in 2015, has consulted with employees, as Europe, so any increase will well as managers, in the hospitality reduce our international industry. competitiveness. This, “The Commission held an open combined with the fragile consultation, inviting submissions from state of our recovery, means all interested parties in March of this it would be entirely year,” the department spokesperson unwarranted to increase the told us. “We have received 49 minimum wage in the submissions from a wide variety of immediate future. individuals and interest groups and across a range of sectors, including the hospitality industry. We have also met with both workers and their representatives, and managers/business owners, involved in the hospitality industry.”

Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI), was one of the industry representatives who met with the commission to voice his opinion. “We were one of the few organisations brought in to speak to them,” said Cummins. “The RAI is totally opposed to an increase of minimum wage. We believe the employers and employees should agree among themselves whether or not a business can support an increased minimum wage.”

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LOW PAY

Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland

The minimum wage in Ireland was introduced under the National Minimum Wage Act 2000. The current rate - €8.65 per hour - was introduced in 2007. The previous government cut the rate by €1, but Fine Gael reversed the cut in July 2011. As of January 2015, Ireland had the fifth highest minimum wage in the EU, with around 100,000 people, or 4.7% of the workforce, on minimum wage.

The Low Pay Commission was inspired in part by the UK’s Fair Work Commission, which recently won a 3% increase in the minimum wage. The chair of this commission addressed its Irish counterpart at the first meeting. The Low Pay Commission has examined issues such as changes in earnings since the minimum wage was last increased, unemployment and employment rates, the cost of living and national competitiveness, and The RAI is totally changes in income distribution and opposed to an increase currency exchange rates. of minimum wage.

“We’re gathering all the evidence to We believe the make a recommendation to the minister employers and employees in July as to what should be done in respect to the current level,” said Light. should agree among “The academics will disseminate all the themselves whether information available to us, prior to or not a business can making that recommendation.” support an increased However, an increase to minimum minimum wage. wage could damage the hospitality industry, according to McNally. “Payroll costs and related expenses in hotels now stand at approximately 40% of turnover, which is significantly higher than other industries, such as manufacturing where it is approximately 8%,” he said.

“We currently have one of the highest minimum wages in Europe, so any increase

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will reduce our international competitiveness. This, combined with the fragile state of our recovery, means it would be entirely unwarranted to increase the minimum wage in the immediate future.

Not only would it jeopardise the competitiveness gains achieved since the downturn, it would risk excluding younger and low-skilled workers from employment.”

While Dublin city centre has seen economic recovery, the rest of the country still lags behind, Cummins pointed out. “It’s important the rest of the country sees recovery before the minimum wage is increased. If wages go up we will lose competitiveness. It took us about five years to regain our competitiveness. Now is not the right time to allow pay increases across the board. There’s upward only pressure on our industry.” Increasing the minimum wage can cause wage inflation across all areas of a business, added Cummins.

While opponents to a hike in the minimum wage argue it has the potential to increase unemployment, those in favour believe it is necessary to ensure workers do not work for a salary below the poverty line.

According to the Department of Social Protection, 12.6% of employed adults are living in poverty.

While Light stresses his impartiality as part of the commission, as part of Mandate he wishes to increase the minimum wage to a suitable “living wage”, due to increases in living expenses, such as water charges and property tax, since the wage was introduced in 2007.

“I don’t think anyone should be surprised that someone coming from a trade union background would have an aspiration to move that minimum wage on, to ensure low paid workers have every chance of taking part and rewarded by the recovery out there,” he said.

Meanwhile, the hospitality industry believes that such a move could be commercial suicide. “If you don’t have a functional economy, you don’t have a functional society,” argued Cummins. “If you don’t have jobs created or sustained, it puts pressure on social welfare and social services.”

McNally concluded: “The international tourism market is exceptionally competitive and every tourism euro spent in Ireland is hard won. Value for money is an important factor in achieving growth in overseas visitors as reflected in research published

by Fáilte Ireland. Any increase in the industry’s costs will have a direct impact on our value-for-money proposition and our attractiveness as a holiday destination. To put this in perspective, for every €100 spent at an Irish hotel, over €40 goes on payroll cost - so, [if there is an increase in the minimum wage], clearly there will be a negative impact for tourists.”

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IFSA NEWS Western Hygiene aquires the janitorial division of Celtic Linen

Supporting our members At IFSA, we are all about supporting our membership by promoting the activities of our supplier members with the ultimate goal of uniting, stimulating and driving our market forward.

Contact stephan.murtagh@ifsa.eu.com for more details on how IFSA membership can benefit your business.

JD Catering riding on the crest of a wave Northern Ireland-based distributor JD Catering is riding the crest of a wave at the moment, as its business has grown by over 30% since this time last year, with first quarter growth this year at 12% already.

The success has enabled the company to add another sales rep and an engineer to its team, taking its engineer total to five.

It has also been able to invest in a new fleet of vans, as well as hand held service devices which enable its office to receive a full live report on all service calls. This allows immediate follow up on parts, and the customer can receive the full report too.

Furthermore, JD Catering has established a new laundry service department, which has already helped it to win five new contracts with schools and nursing homes. This seven day a week service call centre manages all catering equipment and laundry maintenance enquiries.

Not content with these developments, the Cookstown-based firm has introduced a cash and carry into its 25,000ft2 head office to offer a more complete one stop package for the commercial catering equipment industry. It is also setting up two new click and collect depots, one in Belfast, and the other in Dublin.

“After exhibiting at the Catex Exhibition in February, we had such a good response, we felt this was the next step to help us increase our presence in Southern Ireland,” said JD Catering’s owner Jason Currie.

The company also operates a retail side called Posh & Pans, with high street outlets. It has also opened a department in its head office. “We are finding the domestic market is becoming more open minded and are interested in commercial utensils and we have seen our footfall increase by 200%,” reported Currie.

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On the 12th of May 2015 Western Hygiene Supplies Ltd. announced the acquisition of the Janitorial & Chemical Division of Celtic Linen Ltd., with the intention of providing customers with bestin-class Hygiene and Healthcare Products and Services.

For strategic reasons Celtic Linen have decided to concentrate on their core laundry, linen and ancillary business. To continue supply to their customer base and to preserve the goodwill of the customers for other services, they have worked with Western Hygiene to supply janitorial and chemical requirements to their customers.

Philip Scallan, Managing Director of Celtic Linen, says, “We have collaborated with Western Hygiene to look after this business as their reputation for quality, supply and service are second to none and we know that our customers will be delighted with their broad range of products and services.”

Kevin Collins, Managing Director of Western Hygiene said, “We are excited to announce our collaboration with Celtic Linen which fits well with our strategy to double our sales by 2017 through acquisitions and geographical expansion. Our primary objective is to provide a continuous quality of service to Celtic Linen customers.”

For further information on this please visit www.westernhygiene.ie

SMARTer CATERING EQUIPMENT www.CIAireland.ie Catering Innovation Agency (CIA), a Carlow-based firm specialising in energy-efficient restaurant kitchen design, cooks up another success with a kitchen re-construction project at the Stillorgan Park Hotel.

Daragh M. O’Neill, General Manager of Stillorgan Park Hotel, approached CIA looking for a design that would improve the workflow and efficiency of the restaurant’s kitchen.

Seamus Marnane, CEO of the Catering Innovation Agency, and Enda O’Donoghue, Sales Director, masterminded a project that has helped Stillorgan Park Hotel make the transition from traditional gas cooking to cooking using energyefficient Palux cooking system.

CIA carried out a full evaluation of the menu, cooking methods and trade volumes and used this as the basis for their design. The CIA team fitted the kitchen with energy efficient systems from Palux, a German kitchen-equipment manufacture. “The kitchen is completely tailored to their business model,” says Seamus Marnane.

“Basically, the menu dictated the kitchen.”

A similar project in 2014 at Trocadero in Dublin, Dublin’s first energy efficient Palux kitchen, has yielded huge annual energy savings. The induction tops and grills in the kitchen are only activated when pans or plates are placed on them, and switch off automatically when they’re removed, which drastically cuts energy bills.

With the launch of the new Palux combi oven, CIA set another milestone in energy efficient equipment. An approximate 50% energy saving for 50% more capacity reduces operating cost with German state-of-the-art technology. Buying a Palux combi oven is absolutely rational.

Seamus Marnane says that the project and the launch gives a huge boost to CIA’s profile. The focus on energy efficient appliances has created a new full time job in every year of the CIA’s operation.

For more information on CIA, visit www.ciaireland.ie, or contact Seamus Marnane on 087 7795559 Enterprise House, O’Brien Road, Carlow · Dublin - T:+353 (1) 5179088 · Carlow - T: +353 (59) 9105020 · E: info@ciaireland.ie

IFSA NEWS SHOES FOR CREWS® (Europe) Limited Get to Grips with Innovative Technology and New Product Designs Continuous product development and innovation has kept SHOES FOR CREWS® (SFC) at the forefront of the slip resistant footwear industry for several years. Summer 2015 will see SFC® extend its current range of slip resistant footwear and launch new, lightweight range of products.

New Product Development The SFC® product range includes; dress, casual and athletic wear with both soft-toe and steel-toe boots and shoes available for a variety of industry sectors. In response to customer demand, SFC® have developed three new products; Endurance and Vitality for use in all hospitality areas, most notably restaurants and kitchens. Along with sophisticated, comfortable and water resistant Grace and Senator for restaurant and front desk hotel areas, Shoes For Crews (Europe) Ltd. delivers the ultimate in slip -resistant technology as well as classic and fashion styling.

According to the HSE, the most common cause of injuries in the workplace is the slip fall accident. Regardless of industry, to avoid or minimize the risk of slips or trips, the HSE recommend a “good cleaning regime” however they also suggest “appropriate slipresistant footwear”1. The patented outsole of SFC® Footwear is exclusively formulated using a unique compound that grips to the microscopic roughness of floor surfaces while the specially designed grid pattern provides unequalled slip resistance by channelling liquids away from the bottom of the sole.

SFC® play a major role in the prevention of unnecessary slip falls, providing employers with the opportunity to comply fully with health and safety regulations in a cost effective manner. Implementation of an SFC® Footwear Program provides several benefits: • PROVIDE unequalled slip resistance • REDUCE (if not eliminate) unnecessary slip falls • REDUCE absenteeism due to slip falls • REDUCE claims for injuries due to slip falls • INCREASE productivity due to a safer working environment • CREATE and contribute to a safer working environment • FULFILL legal requirements under Risk Assessment Laws For more information, please contact: Siobhan O’Donnell, Key Account Manager Direct Dial: +353 61 479204 www.sfceurope.com

Matthew Algie Leading independent roaster and commercial coffee supplier, Matthew Algie, has been supplying the hospitality industry with fresh, tasty and ethical coffee for 150 years. More than just a supplier, they understand the industry, making them the perfect partner for businesses looking to keep the coffee flowing.

Established in Glasgow in 1864, the company supplies its coffee to cafés, bars, restaurants, hotels and businesses across the UK and Ireland.

Obsessed with making the freshest, tastiest coffee, Matthew Algie know how to roast and pack to perfection.

But this is never at the expense of the people or places that produce it, after all this is the company that created the world’s first triple certified coffee - approved by the Fairtrade Foundation, Rainforest Alliance and Organic Food Federation. Whilst all their coffee is ethically sourced and traceable, their hand-roasted coffees are sourced directly from one-off micro-lots from individual farmers, often an entire crop.

Matthew Algie also serves up first class business support; as a onestop shop, they can kit customers out with everything they need from the best beans to the right machines to suit their business. As well as providing barista training at one of their coffee schools in Glasgow, London and Dublin, they offer industry insights, support with equipment selection, menu development and advice to help drive sales.

Their sister brand, Espresso Warehouse, provides ‘everything but the coffee’ with award-winning Suki teas, hot chocolate, syrups and snacks - plus a wide range of café accessories and essentials.

New coffee products for 2015 include single origin hand-roasted microlots- Colombia San Adolfo and Raja Batak - and star espresso blend - Balthazar’s Brew. http://www.matthewalgie.com/

FCSI crowns Winterhalter as European Manufacturer of the Year 2015 Award is accolade for company’s radical energy-saving warewash technologies Winterhalter has won the prestigious FCSI award for Manufacturer of the Year. The award was announced at the FCSI EAME (Europe, Africa, Middle East) conference in Madrid. Judges singled out the company’s energy-efficient PT Series of passthrough warewashers, including the latest model, the ClimatePlus, which not only reduces energy consumption by over 50%, but also acts as a climate controller, pumping cool air into kitchens when the ambient temperature rises above 25°C. The FCSI is the largest worldwide foodservice industry association.

The award covers both the company and the product line - so as well as Winterhalter being the Manufacturer of the Year, the PT Series is the Product of the Year.

“To say we are absolutely delighted would be an understatement,” says Stephen Kinkead, managing director of Winterhalter UK. “The FCSI is the most knowledgeable professional body in our industry - for them to have given us this accolade is simply tremendous. It underlines our achievement in launching the PT Series and ratifies our Intelligent Resource Technology (IRT) programme, which commits us to developing energy- and water-saving systems.”

The FCSI judges were impressed by the fact that the PT Series is the first passthrough on the market to have energy-saving heat exchange technology fitted as standard. The ClimatePlus version features a radical new heat pump, which not only recycles waste heat from inside the machine but also draws in warm air from the kitchen, using it to heat up the cold water supply.

Winterhalter provides a total solution for warewashing, from presales advice to after-sales service, training and maintenance.

Alongside its market-leading dish and glasswashers, the company’s range includes utensil washers, advanced water treatment machines, cleaning chemicals and detergents. For further details, call Winterhalter on +44 (0)1908 359000, see www.winterhalter.co.uk, or www.winterhalter-scout.biz or email info@winterhalter.co.uk.

New Tork® dispensers win coveted design award Two smart, upmarket dispensers for Tork napkins have earned SCA a prestigious design award.

The Tork® Xpressnap Image Line of dispensers made by SCA received a Red Dot Design Award for their smart, curved design and choice of attractive casings.

“Most napkin dispensers in quick service restaurants, cafés and hotel bars have a functional, utilitarian appearance,” said SCA Product and Segment Manager Rebecca Blake. “This can be at odds with the overall impression that the managers of any high-profile establishment are trying to create.

“Our Tork Xpressnap Image Line dispensers are available in a solid aluminium housing and in a smart walnut option. The use of these premium materials gives the dispensers a stylish appearance which is much more in keeping with an upmarket eaterie.”

The Tork Xpressnap Image Line of dispensers is the latest addition to the company’s Tork Xpress napkin dispenser family. Other units in the range come in a choice of three colours and are available in countertop, tabletop and wall-mounted formats as well as in-counter and snack versions.

All Tork napkin dispensers provide a highly cost-effective and sustainable solution to napkin dispensing.

“Most napkin dispensers allow diners to pull out a large clump of napkins - even if they are trying to take only one,” said Rebecca. “All Tork Xpressnap dispensers are designed to give out napkins one at a time - and this reduces usage by at least 25 per cent compared with traditional napkin dispensers.

“One-at-a-time dispensing cuts product costs as well as the amount of waste produced in restaurants, which is a major sustainability advantage. And hygiene levels are also improved since each diner only touches the napkin they use.”

Besides restaurants and hotels, Tork Xpressnap Image Line napkin dispensers are also highly suitable for use in bakeries, cafés and airport lounges. The walnut dispenser is made from FSC-certified wood and both dispensers are available in two sizes.

Tork® is a brand of SCA For more information, please go to www.tork.ie or contact: Rebecca Blake or Jamie Wright SCA Hygiene Products UK SCA Communications Manager UK&I Tel: 01582 677400 Tel: 01582 677621 Rebecca.blake@sca.com Jamie.wright@sca.com

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FÁILTE FOCUS

Ireland’s Ancient East workshops More than 300 tourism operators from across the East and South attended stakeholder workshops on Fáilte Ireland’s new tourism initiative Ireland’s Ancient East to learn more about the new project and to discuss how they can work with the national tourism authority to bring this new tourism initiative to life.

Following comprehensive research in overseas markets, the initiative is aimed at specific market segments overseas who have indicated they would be more likely to come to Ireland to take in history and culture, explore new landscapes, or simply take time out from their busy lives and careers to connect with local heritage and nature. The proposition will be crafted along four distinct thematic pillars - Ancient Ireland, Early Christian Ireland, Medieval Ireland and Anglo Ireland.

With this in mind, Fáilte Ireland were also delighted to recently welcome the first group of international media from the US, Germany, Spain, Belgium and India experienced the new proposition as part of a familiarisation trip organised by Fáilte Ireland. These select media, which have a collective audience of over 4 million, enjoyed some of Ireland’s Ancient East’s attractions on their tour.

Jenny De Saulles, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of

Programmes for Ireland’s Ancient East, explained - “Having rolled out the successful Wild Atlantic Way, Fáilte Ireland now has the task in promoting and highlighting our new tourism initiative - Ireland’s Ancient East to overseas media. With this in mind we have put together an itinerary for the journalists to immerse themselves in a journey of discovery of 5,000 years. With visitors now looking for authenticity and immersive experiences, Ireland’s Ancient East is an ideal proposition together with its green, lush, and pastoral landscapes.”

Ireland’s Ancient East is an evolving project and work is now beginning to prepare it for the tourism season next year. The initial launch in April of this year was made to the international buyers who are currently planning ahead for the 2016/2017 and, now, Fáilte Ireland and tourism interests are putting considerable effort into bringing Ireland’s Ancient East to life on the ground.

Where are Ireland’s Best Tourism Towns?

Fáilte Irelands 2015 competition is now open and the search is underway.

Fáilte Ireland have invited applications from eligible towns across the country for the 2015 Tourism Towns Award - eligible towns are those ranked in the top 100 TidyTowns for 2014 and the closing date for applications is Friday 12th June 2015.

The award, now in its fourth year, designed by Fáilte Ireland, is all about recognising Irish towns and villages where the local community goes the extra mile to enhance their appeal to tourists.

Last year Westport was crowned the

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2014 National Large Tourism Town with Kinsale taking home the title of Small Tourism Town, with each receiving a certificate along with a €5,000 grant towards further developing itself as a tourism destination.

The award will continue to focus on how participating towns have developed their local area in the following key tourism areas: • Sense of Place - How the town tells its own unique story to visitors, what’s special about it, and what distinguishes it from other towns.

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

• Tourism Experiences - What the town has to offer visitors.

• Promotion of the town - How the town takes a unified approach to marketing and promoting the town into a “tourism town”.

Paddy Mathews, Head of Investment & Innovation with Fáilte Ireland emphasised the important characteristics of a tourism town and the how the award scheme seeks to recognise them: “For us a good tourism town is all about the role of the community in welcoming visitors and telling the story of the local area which adds significantly to the enjoyment that visitors have.

“These are towns that have already performed well in the Tidy Towns Competition in 2014, so we know that they are clean and well presented. Now we want to know how well they present themselves to their visitors.

“We have taken great care in drawing up the assessment criteria, ensuring that towns receiving an award have enhanced the experience of their visitors, improved their local ‘tourism offering’ and encouraged community wide participation in the development of local tourism.”

FÁILTE FOCUS

Tourism businesses thriving with great expectations for summer season

Tourism businesses sentiment is at an all-time high according to overall figures contained in Fáilte Ireland’s Barometer which was published in June. More than three quarters of businesses (77%) are expecting growth for the coming year and hotels were particularly bullish with eight in ten expecting increased business in 2015. Business sentiment in the tourism sector for 2015 is now a mirror image of the negative outlook felt back in 2008 as the recession began to take effect.

The Barometer is a survey of tourism businesses which seeks to gauge tourism performance for the year to date and prospects for the year ahead. The survey was carried out during April 2015 with 680 accommodation providers, restaurants and tourism attractions.

The majority of paid serviced accommodation providers (60%) are reporting business is up this year to date compared to the same period in 2014, with rising to two thirds (66%) amongst hoteliers. This was one of the key findings in this latest Fáilte Ireland Tourism Barometer of the tourism sector published on June 1st.

Both domestic and overseas markets are expected to generate growth in the coming season according to 67% and 69% of paid serviced accommodation providers. For the majority of such businesses, Britain (68%) and North America (67%) in particular, are expected to deliver growth. The optimism for the latter two markets seems to be driven by the anticipation that exchange rates will remain favourable (mentioned by 75% of businesses).

Other factors influencing an optimistic outlook for the year ahead include the impact of repeat visitors (indicated by 72% of respondents); businesses’ own

marketing efforts (54%) and a strengthening domestic economy (53%) which are also expected to help bolster performance for the majority of businesses.

Fáilte Ireland CEO Shaun Quinn emphasised: “The tourism sector is going from strength to strength and currently has a fair wind at its back. Thanks to its own hard sacrifices and Government initiatives, such as a lower rate of VAT for the sector, tourism operators are providing top quality at great value. With global travel trends on the rise, some favourable currency exchange rates and significant new Fáilte Ireland initiatives, such as the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East, tourism has a spring in its step again. That’s good for the economy and for jobs - particularly in those many rural regions where tourism is one of the main economic drivers.”

With regard to Ireland’s value for money, the survey picked up a strong belief amongst respondents that the reputation of Ireland as a destination is improving overseas and that visitors and potential visitors consider Ireland to provide better value for money than it did in previous years. This mirrors the very positive value for money ratings in recent visitor surveys.

For the full report visit the research page: www.failteireland.ie

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APPRENTICESHIPS

The culinary apprenticeship debate According to the hospitality industry there seems to be an obvious demand for a culinary apprenticeship and at the end of June the proposal will either be implemented or rejected by The Apprenticeship Council of Ireland. Adrian Cummins, CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) believes The Department of Training, Enterprise and Employment acknowledges the current and future demand for chefs. John Mulcahy, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Hospitality also addresses the need for commis chefs in the industry. “The people who wanted to be a chef were finding it difficult to go off to college full-time. There is a market for that at the institutes of technology, but they’ve to go full-time over two years.”

The government established The Apprenticeship Council in November 2014, which called for any industry partner in any sector, which wanted to put forward a proposal for any new apprenticeships in Ireland. The important element of this scheme is to have each apprenticeship industry led, rather than solely relying on universities or Education Training Boards (ETBs) to deliver a game plan.

In simplistic terms the apprenticeship would take place over a two-year period, whereby an apprentice would sign up with a SOLAS registered employer, the Further Education and Training Authority in Ireland.

Over the two years the apprentice would get an on-the-job training position with practical cooking experience and two days per week in a college environment for the theory portion. Once the employer can provide a proper learning environment and supervision they can qualify and in return could potentially receive PSRI tax incentives or other enticements. However, Adrian Cummins, CEO of the RAI addresses that, “There was a PRSI incentive two years ago, but there is none now.”

“It’s not something that you’d leave someone in a corner peeling vegetables for two years.”

The question of exploitation is of course something to be addressed, but Michael Vaughan believes with a structured outline this won’t be a concern, “It’s not something that you’d leave someone in a corner peeling vegetables for two years”, he reassures. Completion of the syllabus

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results in a level 5 FETAC certificate qualification, equivalent to a third year commis chef. After completion of the apprenticeship, the participant has the option to continue their study to one of the Institutes of Technology. Both Tralee IT and GMIT have put in a proposal to take students at Level 6 and after three years they would end up with a degree. Despite a general optimism for this scheme, Adrian Cummins, CEO of the RAI has “mixed thoughts on it.” He believes the government hasn’t thought enough about the cost implications for businesses to get involved with this scheme. Another concern is the potential threat of a participant ending the apprenticeship early, costing the employer both financially and for time invested. “I don’t understand the fixation that this has to be a two year program. I think this is a way of keeping people off the live register for as long as possible”, he states.

“Earn and learn” Cait Noone, Head of Tourism and Arts at GMIT, is another advocate for the proposed culinary apprenticeship. Cait points out a critical reason as to why this proposal is vital, “I think there is a significant need for apprenticeships across tourism education. I also think there are lots of great people already working in our industry who don’t have any qualifications because perhaps they weren’t eligible to go to study higher education or further education, or perhaps they didn’t have the financial resources.” We are living in an era whereby getting to the next level is impossible without a qualification. However, without a job that is an even greater reach and this apprenticeship, if designed appropriately, is a demonstration of the possibility to essentially ‘earn and learn’. On the contrary, Adrian Cummins feels that if a trainee can complete training in 36 weeks this culinary apprenticeship will only penalise the employer to keep the apprentice on for another year and a quarter.

“Who is going to pay for this?”

The million-euro question is of course, ‘Who is going to pay for this?’ Cait Noone was vocal saying, “I accept some of our industry partners are very concerned because The Apprenticeship Council wasn’t able to answer the obvious question, ‘Who will pay for the apprenticeships?’ We should be looking to how we can use this opportunity to benefit our industry and get more collaboration-taking place because it’s a two-way process. After contacting SOLAS in regard to funding or anything regarding the proposal, their reply was that, “It wouldn’t be appropriate to comment any further at this stage.” Albeit, the imminent date of June 30th 2015 is when the proposal will be presented to the Minister for Education and Skill to be

APPRENTICESHIPS

evaluated. Many in the industry believe that the former CERT courses should be reinstated due to their success. Adrian Cummins strongly advocates getting rid of the, “dead weight and reinvest in programs that you have tangible benefits from.”

The government subsidises training and college education but it usually works on a 1:2 ratio, meaning for every one day you’re in college and two days in industry, two thirds is paid by the employer and one third by the state.

The number of culinary apprenticeships that would take place is another figure that has to be negotiated. Apparently SOLAS feel 20 apprenticeship places would be a successful program. Michael Vaughan considers otherwise, “The RAI and ourselves (IHF) believe that we can employ up to 200 apprentices across businesses in the country and train them successfully. However, Adrian Cummins thought otherwise delivering an example that gives food for thought. Bord Gáis Networks, a state agency, only take on 17 apprentices, which is a clear indication that 200 plus apprenticeships for the hospitality industry wouldn’t be feasible. John Mulcahy from Fáilte Ireland is confident that the IHF’s figure, “Could be the multiple of that, if we get the model right”, he encourages. There are solid grounds to believe that miscommunication or alternative goals are expressed between the different organisations involved.

Collaboration is another important topic for discussion and for Cait Noone, this is paramount in regard to industry stating, “Their perspective and their input is critical.” GMIT have designed all of their culinary programs since 2008/2009 with the industry regarding terms of curriculum, design and style of delivery. The Links office at GMIT has contacts around the globe with industry partners to ensure students can take advantage of placement opportunities at home and abroad. The threat that prospective students would choose an apprenticeship instead of attending a third-level institution doesn’t appear likely, as a culinary degree doesn’t contain as much practical content but more business and management. “I don’t believe the apprenticeship opportunity is going to affect the CAO for our industry because I believe there is a space here for everybody”, Cait explains.

“I think it’s wrong to assume that all apprentices in culinary arts would be a traditional 18-year-old leaving school.”

In previous years there was a social stigma attached to an apprenticeship that only people who didn’t want to complete school chose. However, with a large majority of higher education institutes based in the Dublin region, the issue of accommodation, which is currently at an all-time high, makes it inaccessible for many. According to Cait Noone, GMIT are seeing a lot of students that are career changers, leaving well-paid, professional jobs because they have a passion or an interest in the hospitality industry. This is another category of people who would benefit from the culinary apprenticeship. “It allows them to gain new skills and new knowledge but still earn some salary. I think it’s wrong to assume that all apprentices in culinary arts would be a traditional 18-year-old leaving school. Not at all!” Cait says.

If The Apprenticeship Council and the government passed the culinary apprenticeship scheme, this would create transferable careers for many prospective chefs allowing them to travel all around the world, unlike other degrees.

Mulcahy from Fáilte Ireland believes that if this goes ahead then the real work will begin in regard to how the industry will construct this scheme in a sustainable way.

“Certainly the big employers will be helpful at first but we’ve got to remember that 80% of the tourism industry in Ireland are small operations. This must work just as easy for smaller employers as it is for large employers,” John explains.

“In April 2012, we said there was a shortage of chefs in the country and everybody at the time said we’re talking nonsense. Now as it transpires not only is there a shortage but there is a crisis”

Michael Vaughan is persistent to address the, “Immediate need for chefs in the industry at the moment.” Although Cait Noone from GMIT feels this is a subject that, “people aren’t willing to talk about and address.” Currently GMIT are graduating more students of culinary arts than ever before. The increased opportunities for graduates today means greater competition for hotels and restaurants to attract chefs. Areas of employment include research and development, contract catering, entrepreneurs setting up their own business, etc., Michael Vaughan believes many chefs have joined food service companies such as Pallas Foods, Brakes and Redmans, for a more structured environment.

Adrian Cummins, CEO of the RAI concurs with Michael Vaughan regarding the shortage of chefs, “In April 2012, we said there was a shortage of chefs in the country and everybody at the time said we’re talking nonsense. Now as it transpires not only is there a shortage but there is a crisis because we’ll need to train in around 13,000 chefs between now and 2020 to supply the demand.”

“Training of a chef can cost up to as much as €20,000” The training of a chef can cost up to as much as €20,000 meaning that the employer cannot be responsible for 100% of the financial burden. Michael Vaughan from the IHF and Adrian Cummins of the RAI, both believe that there are smaller employers who simply don’t have the time or resources to train people in a busy kitchen. Nonetheless, commitment from both parties will be a necessity. Previously apprentices were brought in for four years, many of them did very well but many weren’t up-skilled and inevitably overlooked in the kitchen. This is one of the things we will have to carefully watch out for in this particular program”, Michael acknowledges. Adrian Cummins concludes that, “The great, white hope for solving our problems isn’t apprenticeships”, as the formula isn’t the correct one at all.

Optimism and hope appears to be what the industry is running on right now, however will it be enough to ensure each party receives a 50/50 fair deal? “I think if we get all of our ducks in a row, we could have this up and running before the end of the year, if not early 2016”, Michael Vaughan declares. According to John Mulcahy, the gap isn’t at higher education but at further education. Only time will tell if this culinary apprenticeship will go ahead.

The general consensus is that a scheme emulating the previous CERT courses would be ideal but obviously with a modern twist, incorporating the institutes of technology and the hospitality industry to produce synergy. Holly Lenny

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TOURISM

Royal visit to boost tourism from GB

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland (left), greeting HRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, at a welcome reception which included craft demonstrations, traditional music and Irish dancing performances, at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

The visit by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall brought more good news for tourism this spring. A packed programme saw the royal couple enjoy wonderful scenery, culture and hospitality in the west, with visits including NUI Galway, Galway city, the Burren and Sligo city and county, before continuing to Northern Ireland.

Tourism Ireland’s campaign in Britain to leverage the tourism

benefits of the visit included highlighting the places on the royal itinerary on Ireland.com, to encourage visitors to follow in the footsteps of the royal couple; advertising in the Telegraph (‘Weekend’ supplement) and online; placing Wild Atlantic Way footage on key websites in Britain; and distribution of film footage and images of Ireland to influential British travel and lifestyle media.

American football’s welcome return American football will make a welcome return to Dublin in September 2016 when the the Aer Lingus College Football Classic takes place at Aviva Stadium between Boston College v Georgia Tech.

The game will provide a further boost for tourism from the United States, with up to 25,000 people expected to travel here from the US and Europe. It promises to be another wonderful college football event for Dublin and to bring wider benefits for the island as a whole.

Tourism Ireland is working closely with Anthony Travel in the US, the official travel company for both colleges, and with other travel partners, to maximise the tourism benefits of the game. Our programme is already under way highlighting travel packages, including great suggestions for golf, city tours and longer-stay holidays, to thousands of supporters, alumni associations, family and friends.

Sports-related tourism has emerged as a very significant element of the global travel business in recent years and the Aer Lingus College Football Classic provides another exciting opportunity to showcase Dublin and Ireland, and more generally, the many attractions that the island of Ireland offers as a holiday destination.

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Ireland says “I Do”!

Tourism Ireland has been promoting Ireland for weddings and honeymoons following the ‘Yes’ vote in the recent referendum. “Ireland says I do” campaign was rolled out in nine markets, including Britain, the United States, Canada, the Nordic region, Australia, France, Spain, Italy and Germany.

It included advertising on Facebook directing people to Ireland.com, for information on great wedding venues and “dreamily romantic locations to tie the knot”, as well as cool bars and clubs. A new video also showcased our spectacular scenery and The Outing, the world’s first-ever LGBT matchmaking festival, an offshoot of the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival.

New research unveiled at World Travel Market showed the annual spend on travel by the LGBT community exceeded USD$200 billion for the first time in 2014.

TOURISM

Chinese Premier flies in

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland; Taoiseach Enda Kenny; and Chinese Premier HE Mr Li Keqiang, at Garvey’s Farm near Headford.

The visit by Chinese Premier HE Mr Li Keqiang last month brought a wonderful opportunity to showcase Ireland to a huge audience of potential holidaymakers in China, just ahead of Tourism Ireland’s China sales mission.

During his time here, Mr Li visited a farm, Ashford Castle and enjoyed the wonderful scenery, culture and hospitality of the west of Ireland.

A large Chinese media contingent travelled with Mr Li, bringing the story of his visit to millions of people back home. Tourism Ireland capitalised on the visit, distributing footage of Ireland and photographs of Mr Li in the west to influential Chinese travel and lifestyle media and posting them on social media.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “China is an important emerging travel market and one that Tourism Ireland is committed to growing over the coming years. With Ireland very much in the news spotlight in China during Mr Li’s time here, Tourism Ireland took every opportunity to maximise the tourism benefits of his visit. Our aim is to grow the number of Chinese visitors to Ireland to 50,000 per year, by 2017”.

Oh là là! Ireland takes to the Paris metro Millions of French commuters saw ads for Ireland as they passed through the busy metro stations of Paris. Tourism Ireland teamed up with French airline Transavia (the low cost airline owned by the Air France-KLM group) to highlight the new daily flight from ParisOrly Airport to Dublin, which began on 1 June.

The campaign - with a beautiful image of the Cliffs of Moher highlighted great value fares to Dublin, reminding commuters why they should put Ireland on their holiday wish-list. It also included online advertising and a competition on Facebook. A quirky #SnackHolidays promotion carrying the tagline “plane tickets so cheap you can buy them like a snack” was also part of the new campaign - with air tickets to Dublin on sale on a new cereal bar for just €40.

France is one of our top four tourism markets, delivering about 455,000 visitors to Ireland last year.

Billboard ad in Paris metro, highlighting the Wild Atlantic Way and a great value airfare to Dublin with Transavia.

Sales Mission says ‘Ni Hao’

Game of Thrones® spills out into the real world

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland (front, centre) with the delegation of tourism enterprises from the island of Ireland, at the travel trade mission in Guangzhou, China.

Visitors peer through the exhibit windows at the animatronic young dragon, with a wing span of ten feet, in a specially designed enclosure at Belfast Zoo.

Tourism Ireland was delighted to continue its partnership with HBO this spring, capitalising on the phenomenal popularity of the hit TV series Game of Thrones across the world. The campaign built on last year’s huge success - when almost one million clicks, comments and shares were generated, reaching about 100 million fans worldwide. We reached out to the show’s global fanbase - bringing the destination to the attention of Game of Thrones fans in a fun and innovative way. Fans saw Tourism Ireland’s videos and photos, spiking their curiosity about the landscapes and locations featured in the series and inspiring them to come and explore for themselves.

Fourteen top tourism businesses joined Tourism Ireland’s targeted travel trade mission to China in recent weeks, part of our campaign to increase our share of this rapidly-growing tourism market. They met leading Chinese tour operators and travel agents in the key cities of Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai and Beijing to encourage them to extend their Ireland offering, or include Ireland for the first time, in their 2016 programmes.

The sales mission came at a particularly good time. Ireland is very much in the spotlight in China following the recent visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to the West of Ireland. And, the airing of an episode of the popular reality TV show, Exploration of the World, to more than 6 million viewers.

China Central Television (CCTV-4) also visited Ireland recently, to film a documentary called Glamorous Ireland. The resulting one-hour programme - highlighting our beautiful landscape, arts and crafts, as well as Irish society and family life - will be seen by more than 100 million Chinese around the world.

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www. newbr i dges i l v er war e. c om/ c ut l er y

HSMAI

HSMAI expands to Ireland

Cyril McAree, Editor Hotel & Restaurant Times, Alex Gibson, Assistant Head of School, School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, Dublin Institute of Technology, Frank Reeves, CEO and Co-founder, Avvio, Stephen Williams, Sales and Marketing Director at Windward Management, Karen Rafferty, Marketing Manager Avvio, and Ingunn Hofseth, President and CEO, HSMAI Europe, at the recent Dublin meeting founding the HSMAI Europe Irish National Advisory Board.

HSMAI is in the process of revitalising its presence on the Emerald Isle, organised

by HSMAI Europe, assisted by a national advisory board and headed by Windward Management’s Stephen Williams and hospitality tech company Avvio.

“Ireland had its very own HSMAI chapter - HSMAI Ireland - covering the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland not many years ago. Activities sadly dwindled during the tough economic climate, despite a solid core of key people still eager to be involved with HSMAI Europe,” says Ingunn Hofseth, President and CEO of HSMAI Europe.

“This time around the Irish activities will be held under HSMAI Europe’s direction, assisted by the HSMAI Europe Irish National Advisory Board,” she continues. “I am very pleased to see Mr Stephen Williams and Mr Alex Gibson, who both played key roles, as Chairs in the former HSMAI Ireland chapter, on board with us now.”

The HSMAI Europe Irish National Advisory Board currently constitutes: • Stephen Williams, Sales and Marketing Director at Windward Management (Chair) • Alex Gibson, Assistant Head of School, School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, Dublin Institute of Technology • Karen Rafferty, Marketing Manager, Avvio • Cyril McAree, Editor, Hotel & Restaurant Times “We probably couldn’t pull this off at this stage if it hadn’t been for the assistance of Frank Reeves and his team at Avvio, Ireland’s leading booking platform provider, who have been HSMAI Europe sponsors since last autumn and are now stepping up as one of our main sponsors,” Ms Hofseth adds.

“We’re thrilled to help HSMAI Europe expand their activities to the Irish market.

As a leading booking platform provider in Ireland, we assist our clients everyday in the provision of supporting revenue-drive and digital marketing services. Being able to bring a greater level of skills insights and case sharing to our clients is always our ambition,” says Avvio’s CEO and Co-founder Frank Reeves, elaborating: “Avvio is delighted to sponsor HSMAI Europe as we believe it has earned its reputation as the industry’s leading advocate for intelligent and forward-thinking, yet sustainable hotel revenue growth. At Avvio we are intrinsically focused on helping hotels grow their direct channel to boost revenues and significantly impact the bottom line. The association makes sense for us and the HSMAI Europe team are like-minded people, and therefore a real pleasure to work with. The association provides the hotel and travel professionals with the tools and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing and optimise revenue. We believe Avvio can play a keyrole by way of knowledge and experience sharing,” he says.

“From our experiencewith HSMAI Europe, the organisation is genuinely committed to running informative and practical events, where their members can take away usable ideas and engage in worth while initiatives growing business.

They run a Revenue Management Certification and are soon to launch a Digital Marketing Certification to continuously train their members in up-todate methodologies and best practices.

HSMAI liaise and work with Industry experts who have a depth of experience to ensure the content and programme they deliver follows best-in-class practice while being realistic, achievable and yet always looking to the future.”

“I am delighted to Chair the HSMAI Europe Irish National Advisory Board.” says Stephen Williams, Sales and Marketing Director at Windward Management. “With the assistance of HSMAI Europe we are looking at developing a range of exciting educational programmes in the coming months, which will initially focus on Revenue Management and Digital Marketing for the hospitality industry throughout Ireland.” He continued: “HSMAI has a long tradition of delivering quality and relevant seminars to the industry and I would encourage those involved in the hospitality sector to support our initiatives and assist us with delivering the relevant training and mentoring needed to cater to the future educational requirements of the industry.”

HSMAI Europe will host its first Irish national conference in Dublin, at the Gresham Hotel on Wednesday 16 September, focusing on Technology and Revenue Optimisation.

For further information, please contact: Ingunn Hofseth, CEO & President, HSMAI Europe, ih@hsmai.no

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COFFEE

Stay cool this summer As the nation’s leading coffee brand, Bewley’s are at the forefront of understanding Foodservice operator needs and are continuing to invest in new product development to ensure that their customers have the necessary support to capitalise on consumer purchasing and behaviour trends.

Given the time of year, what is of particular interest is the growth in popularity of iced blended frappés and the ever increasing demand for speciality tea.

The US market is reporting surging sales in the cold coffee category, in particular the frappé category grew 13.9% from 2010 2013. Looking closer to home, iced tea in Europe is one of the fastest growing soft drinks segments, with consumption tripling over the last ten years.

Commenting on these rising trends, Carol Geary, Bewley’s Foodservice Marketing Manager states that “Our research amongst Irish consumers reveals there is an increasing awareness of various types of cold coffee and tea beverages with almost one third of Irish adults claiming that

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they are highly likely to trial cold coffee and iced tea formats this summer.” With that in mind Bewley’s have developed an enticing promotional calendar aimed at operators who want to attract new customers and drive their profits this summer.

Bewley’s Quality and Training Manager, Maria Cassidy shares her top tips on how best to serve tea iced cold and how to get the most from serving blended iced coffees.

COFFEE 1. Invest in a good blender To offer frappé style beverages, you need a good blender. Maria recommends investing in a Blendtec Smoothie Blender. According to Maria, Blendtec manufacture the best and most advanced blenders on the planet!

Taking less than 30 seconds to make the finished product, it’s also exceptionally fast. These blenders are commonly used in high street coffee shops for frappés, city centre cafes for ice cool fruit smoothies and much, much more.

2. Optimise your space Your staff will need some space for preparing frappés and combining the necessary ingredients in the blender. Look at the space where you currently make your hot beverages and, if possible, dedicate a space for prep of cold coffees. Usually by locating the blender close by the coffee machine it allows the barista’s to prepare a cold coffee quickly without impacting too much on their standard serving time.

3. Be selective There is an endless range of frappés you can offer once you have a good blender, some of which don’t even include coffee!

Maria recommends choosing 3-4 core iced blended beverages that can be promoted throughout the summer. By focusing on only 3-4 drinks your staff can feel confident in preparing each one and promoting the full range to your customers.

4. Chill out As the original Irish tea company, Bewley’s know a thing or two about making a great tasting cup of tea. The company have launched a new premium range of loose leaf teas that feature a number of fruit infusions, including Strawberry & Mango and Strawberry & Kiwi that are perfect for serving over ice. Bewley’s also offer syrup based iced teas which are even easier to prepare as there is no brewing required.

5. Get Ordering Once you decide on your frappé and iced tea menu offer, you will need to purchase the ingredients. Bewley’s have everything you need and can also provide cold coffee training programmes to give your staff the added confidence in promoting your chosen beverages.

Contact Bewley’s today on 1850 248 484 to get your beverage menu set for summer.

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FÁILTE IRELAND NEWS

New supports to boost business tourism further Fáilte Ireland also competes for more UK business at Meet Dublin in London Event A newly developed suite of meeting, incentive travel and conferencing (MICE) supports were presented by Fáilte Ireland’s Meet in Ireland team at the annual IMEX Frankfurt Trade Exhibition held on 19th 21st May 2015. IMEX is one of the largest worldwide exhibitions for incentive travel, meetings and events which is attended by over 14,000 industry professionals that gather to learn more about what’s on offer to the business tourism visitor. These new supports will provide compelling incentives to both clients and industry professionals to choose Ireland for their next corporate meeting or incentive trip.

The key to winning more business for Ireland is to make it easier to come here.

Accordingly, Fáilte Ireland’s MICE Programme will be providing a full range of complimentary practical and financial supports as well as impartial advice and assistance for businesses holding corporate meeting or incentive travel for upwards of 75 delegates in Ireland. This includes access to approved Destination Management Companies (DMCs), access to convention bureau supports as well as a range of practical toolkits.

Focused at the very early stages of winning an event for Ireland, the new MICE supports will now begin at the ‘bid stage’ supporting organisers to hold a site inspection for key decision makers.

Organisers will also be able to avail of funding to enhance and develop the destination programme with a welcome reception, social excursion or entertainment at a gala event.

The Meet in Ireland team, along with 35 Irish MICE businesses, were on hand at IMEX to share more detailed information on these new supports and why buyers should choose Ireland - a world class business event destination at a number of targeted presentations scheduled to take place across the three day event.

Speaking at the IMEX trade show, Miriam Kennedy, Head of Business Tourism, Fáilte Ireland said - “Business tourism remains a priority for Fáilte Ireland. To date an impressive 117 conferences are confirmed to take place this year with an estimated combined value of €57 million to the Irish economy. Next year and beyond is also looking positive, with 70 conferences already secured, along with a potential €84 million in revenue for the Irish economy. A further 218 conferences are currently being bid for at the moment, with a potential value of €302m if all are secured.

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“We were delighted to be part of IMEX where we were selling Ireland as the number one destination for meetings, incentive travel and conferencing to the thousands of attendees. Having a ‘Team Ireland’ presence at these events proves invaluable year on year as it enables us to sell Ireland face to face business to thousands of global buyers and present our unique offering to them.”

Winning More UK Business for Ireland Meanwhile, Fáilte Ireland’s Dublin Convention Bureau targeted new UK business in London in May at the high profile “Meet Dublin in London” workshop event which was attended by 187 UK buyers this year - a record number which indicates a growing enthusiasm for Ireland.

UK meetings and events buyers will connect with Dublin hoteliers, venues and conference organisers which takes place on the Silver Sturgeon boat located on The River Thames.

Approximately 44 Dublin trade members were also on hand to showcase the world class facilities that Dublin can offer business visitors convincing the UK decision makers to choose Ireland as the next destination for their conference, meeting or incentive travel.

Ms Kennedy continued - “Corporate meetings in particular are a valuable source of business and revenue for Ireland and the UK market is a significant player in Ireland’s business tourism sector. The value of the corporate meetings sector alone is €100 million with each delegate worth €1,150 a day to the economy - almost twice that of a leisure visitor.

“Last year, Fáilte Ireland, through its Dublin Convention Bureau, won more than €9million of business from the UK market alone and is on target to exceed this figure in 2015. Not only have we already confirmed over €9million in UK business already, but with such a short lead in time for confirming business we are confident that we will surpass that figure for the UK market in the coming months.”

Top UK Meeting Planners were given a flavour of the new vibrant Dublin sales pitch and core competitive appeals of Dublin as the meeting destinations for UK events which includes the production of a new video aimed at attracting more business tourism to Ireland. They also took part in a networking workshop with these 187 UK buyers in a bid to win even more business for Dublin for 2015 and beyond.

Jerry Allanson, General Manager of Wedgewood Britain explained why he was returning to the Meet Dublin in London event - “The Meet Dublin in London networking evening has become an important annual event for us, as it represents the perfect opportunity to meet up with the Dublin Convention Bureau team and other key Dublin suppliers, while enjoying some warm Irish hospitality and in a great setting too. Ticks all the boxes for me... and yes, it combines business with pleasure!”

FÁILTE IRELAND NEWS

Convoy of Porsches storm the Wild Atlantic Way

Porsche Club Ireland teamed up with Fáilte Ireland to send more than 50 Porsches the length of the Wild Atlantic Way starting at Malin Head on Sunday 17th May, 2015. The cars travelled over 2,000 kilometres along the West coast, visiting all 15 Signature Discovery Points, making it the longest ever ‘run’ undertaken by Porsche enthusiast’s club.

Porsche Club Ireland is the official Porsche club of the Republic of Ireland and currently has over 350 members. They hold a number of ‘runs’ (driving tours) across Europe each year, and this year they chose The Wild Atlantic Way as the backdrop of their 2015 driving tour which extended across an unprecedented seven days as they travelled from Malin Head, Co Donegal to Old Kinsale Head, Co. Cork.

As well as being a unique event in itself, Fáilte Ireland will also be using imagery and footage of the ‘run’ to create compelling content to promote the Wild Atlantic Way overseas. To do so Fáilte Ireland assisted Porsche Club Ireland to craft their

itinerary and have provided them with significant digital support to assist them in sharing their experience with their substantial number of followers in the UK and US markets as well as with the wider ‘car enthusiast’ market. The drivers were also tweeting and posting content online in real-time using the hashtag #wildatlanticway, generating conversation and engagement with the Wild Atlantic Way proposition.

Speaking about the trip, Fiona Monaghan, Head of Wild Atlantic Way, Fáilte Ireland said - “We were delighted to be able to support Porsche Club Ireland with their Wild Atlantic Run and assist them in sharing their experiences with car enthusiasts across the globe. Each of the drivers taking part in the ‘run’ were well versed in all there is to see and do both on and off the route.

“Classic motoring is a growing sector for tourism and this is the first of what we would hope to be many groups using the route to explore Ireland’s West coast. Since it was launched last year the Wild Atlantic Way is proving particularly popular with touring groups including cyclists and motor bikers, all of which are driving home the message that The Wild Atlantic Way has something for everyone.”

Winners of European Destination of Excellence announced The Burren Food Trail has been named the Irish winner of this year’s “European Destination of Excellence - Tourism and Local Gastronomy” (EDEN) award for developing a tourism offering based on their local gastronomy that balances sustaining the local environment with the promotion of viable tourism. This prestigious EU-wide competition is designed to encourage and promote a more sustainable form of tourism development and The Burren Food Trail was one of four destinations shortlisted earlier this month. The three runner-up destinations were Cong Food Village, Mayo, West Waterford and The Wild Atlantic Way Co. Sligo Food Trail.

The theme of the 2015 competition was ‘Tourism and Local Gastronomy’ and the winning destination was chosen following on-site assessments by a panel of expert adjudicators. Following this year’s theme the panel of adjudicators were looking for a destination that could provide examples of good practice, opportunities to improve the visitor food experience, a platform for the development and promotion of food tourism, an understanding of the challenges faced in the development of food tourism and a forum for networks to share knowledge.

John Mulcahy, Head of Food, Hospitality and Standards with Fáilte Ireland said: “The standard of finalists this year was exceptionally high. This year’s competition focused on small, emerging, non-traditional destinations located off the beaten track that offered an authentic food experience. Only in its third year the Burren Food Trail is still relatively new and we were impressed with the importance they placed on making The Burren region synonymous with great food and great food experiences for visitors and the local community.

“The connection between growers, producers, retailers and chefs working together to promote their destination as a whole was very much evident, the importance of the environs and their environmental management policy and the

code of practice for their destination was also very much a high point.”

The Burren Food Trail will now be awarded the European title of “Destination of Excellence 2015 - Tourism and Local Gastronomy” and will receive free marketing supports from Fáilte Ireland including a professional photo shoot for the destination to be used for promotional purposes, a grant of €5,000 for business development support initiatives. A formal EDEN award ceremony will take place in The Burren in July and the winning entry will also represent Ireland at a ceremony/exhibition in Brussels later this year.

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ONLINE MARKETING

The complex world of the independent hotel A personal perspective on the discussion at Phocuswright Europe by Des O’Mahony Phocuswright Europe 2015 (phocuswrighteurope.com) took to the stage in May for the second year at the Dublin Convention Centre and in a nod to the more topical issues facing Europe, I took part in an Executive Round Table discussion on “The Complex World Of The Independent Hotel”.

The panel also featured executives from TravelClick, TripAdvisor, Worldhotels and ToFlorence Hotels. The discussion on-stage was perhaps too short to go into real detail, but the emerging topics were very insightful.

In Europe, approximately 80% of hotels are independent, making the topic far more significant here, while in the United States approximately 80% are chain or franchise properties. Independents face a bigger challenge in Europe too, with Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and meta search websites delivering an estimated 70% of bookings on average, over 20% higher than what is said to be typical in the United States. The distribution landscape contrasts sharply between the US and Europe and warrants a different analysis.

The tools of the trade One topic the panel discussed was whether independent hotels have the tools to successfully compete with OTAs and third party booking providers to build their direct booking business, especially given the massive budgets that OTAs can deploy.

While panel members did generally say that the available tools today are sufficient, of high quality and wide ranging, such as revenue management and reputation management tools, competitive analysis,

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distribution management, customer relationship management and advanced property management tools, I voiced the opinion that the real issue facing independents was more about hoteliers’ resources and time, not to mention knowing what tools to choose. After all, all the tools in the world are of no use if you don’t have the time, staff resources or skills to use them to their optimum (assuming you can afford them in the first place).

A simple example of the complexity facing independents is the basic difficulty in just controlling and continually updating your content online across multiple platforms such as website, OTA, meta search, reputation sites, destination management sites, GDS etc. Europe has this problem further compounded since it is typical to be doing this in an average of 5 languages compared to the more monolingual US. This is hard work, yet we know good content is critical for conversion and must be tackled, to say nothing of rate and distribution strategies.

Being able to effectively use the relevant tools and being able to combine their use into a coherent strategy for building direct bookings is the real challenge for the

ONLINE MARKETING

Panel participants left to right: Peter O’Connor, Senior Market Analyst Europe at Phocuswright (chair); Giancarlo Carniani, General Manager at ToFlorence Hotels; Helena Egan, Director of Industry Relations at TripAdvisor; Kristin Intress, CEO at Worldhotels; Des O’Mahony, CEO at Bookassist; Jan Tissera, President International at TravelClick. Photograph© Phocuswright 2015. independents today, especially the smaller properties. Evolution of the skillset in our space has been rapid, and keeping your knowledge up to date is a considerable challenge for independent hoteliers.

Trying to stay in control is just one reason why hoteliers need to partner with reliable external expertise, such as Bookassist, who can leverage economy of scale across hundreds of clients in multiple markets to keep hotel clients abreast of critical emerging trends and technologies. Bookassist has always had education in its ethos and has long supported the training of the next generation of hoteliers, with Bookassist staff actively engaging with national and international schools in hospitality such as DIT School of Hospitality Management & Tourism, Shannon College of Hotel Management, ESSEC Business School Paris, CESAE Business & Tourism School Madrid, Vysoká _kola Hotelová Prague, and Italy’s 24Ore Business School. Knowledge is always the key.

Where OTAs are going With the rapid rate of consolidation in the online travel industry, particularly under the Expedia and Priceline umbrellas, a further topic addressed by the Phocuswright panel related to an audience question on the growing movement of OTAs into the direct booking space. This is exemplified by Booking.com’s Booking suite offering website development, on-site booking engine and distribution management, and soon no doubt rate management from the recent acquisition of PriceMatch.

While the visual and functional quality of the OTA offering for hotel websites is on the face of it quite good, the strategy impact of the offering for the hotel is a different matter. Using an OTA-built booking engine means shared availability and shared rates with the OTA, effectively rate parity by default without the need for any contract stipulation. It also means more and more of a hotel’s customer data being collated directly by the OTA, and they are far more competent at monetising that than the hotelier. Again, this data value issue was underscored recently by Booking.com’s move to no longer provide email addresses for your hotel customers in their system.

Too valuable to share perhaps?

The move by into the direct space clearly validates what Bookassist has been advocating for years - the critical importance of direct booking to the individual hotel.

If OTAs are seeing opportunities, or even threats, from this segment, then clearly there is value there.

Where independents should be going To me, the discussion highlights again the growing need for hotels to really focus on optimizing direct bookings business to maximise their margin and to not cede control

of their distribution strategy to OTAs alone.

This must not be viewed as an additional strategy, but as THE core strategy. Tackling revenue and yield management, rate strategy and distribution control are key parts of the successful strategy. But driving traffic and ensuring that conversion is optimised is the critical endgame.

OTAs form a critical part of distribution and brand building strategy, and must be used. By they should never be over used to the point of over-reliance. Only by ensuring maximum traffic and optimized conversion can you generate the margin that allows you to reinvest in your direct business and bootstrap the process to continually improve margin. Universally, distribution costs have been rising faster than revenue and that is best addressed through growing direct business and reducing more expensive OTA reliance.

But it is a challenge. For an independent hotel to survive, it must ensure it is constantly visible online, always competitive and continually converting direct bookings at a high enough rate. For the OTA. it only needs to make sure that enough hotels in its listings are doing so.

A comprehensive report on the state of the European independent hotel sector is due from Phocuswright in the coming months.

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

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COFFEE

Something’s brewing Grace O’Shaughnessy, Managing Director of Java Republic, talks coffee with Dee Laffan

It is undeniable that coffee drinking and the culture that comes with it is on the rise in Ireland. More quirky, independent coffee houses are popping up across the country, roasting their own coffee beans and offering filtered flavours from many continents.

Java Republic has been one of Ireland’s leading coffee roasters for over 16 years and, therefore, a market leader in terms of how to do it right.

“Our role has become that of an educator,” says Grace O’Shaughnessy, Java Republic’s managing director. “We’ve built a very high standard in coffee production over the years and it is maintaining that standard that can be the trickiest thing.

There are now approximately 50 players in the coffee market in Ireland and 15-20 homegrown roasters, so it is a very competitive market.

For us, it is our role as an educator that has come to the fore now; you have to constantly train baristas as standards are being raised all the time.”

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“Previously it was the accountant/owner buying coffee and now it is the barista and it is their skill that has raised the bar. In coffee shops, they are not making sandwiches or anything else, they are solely concentrating on coffee. It is a skill that is paid above the norm, as it should be, because it is their job to deliver a cup of coffee that is of high quality & also to engage and educate the consumer.

It is apparent that the barista is king, but so too is the coffee itself as people cry out for their favourite brands and queue at coffee houses to get it. But what has driven this rise in popularity?

“In a nutshell, it’s the consumers thirst for knowledge,” explains Grace. “People are well travelled and have experienced trends abroad in food and hot beverages.

We are no longer shy to ask for what we want and therefore there is a lot more engagement with the barista, allowing the consumer to talk more about it, educating themselves, but also building a rapport between themselves & their barista.”

“This also means the barriers about provenance have been taken down and questions are being answered in relation to this. People understand where their coffee has come from and the blends they are drinking. It is this full relationship and the communication surrounding it that is creating the coffee community and culture because it is not just about drinking it, it is understanding too the roasting & harvesting processes that add to the profile of the coffee.”

Ireland’s coffee culture has definitely evolved, but how does it compare to global standards and the likes of trendsetting San Fransisco, New York and London?

“I am confident in saying that we are now well able to stand on the world stage of coffee& our place has definitely been earned. We have evolved as educated roasters and are also coming to the fore in the area of speciality coffee; we are members of the Speciality Coffee Associtaion of Europe (SCAE), which has driven

COFFEE

our barista community to be on par with London, New York and San Fransisco. It’s true that we don’t have a heritage of coffee in this country, but even so we now more than hold our own”. Evidence of this is the fact that the World of Coffee convention will take place in the RDS, Dublin in June 2016.”

World of Coffee is Europe’s biggest coffee event run by the SCAE and hosted in a different city around Europe each year. This year, it was hosted in Gothenburg, Sweden over three days in mid June and it was packed with coffee innovation, education and celebration. A big part of the event is the World Championships, where 65 countries participate to get a chance to be crowned champions in various coffee related disciplines, all providing days of non-stop entertainment for attendees.

“This is the first time the event will be held in Ireland and 5,000 global coffee gurus will attend, which is going to put us on the map!” states Grace. “In preparation for the event, the Irish chapter have set up a Coffee Ambassador Club - 50 establishments from hotels, restaurants, cafés, and public houses taking part, to become a high profile coffee club. Over the next 12 months, they will be trained and audited by independent auditors to ensure they meet specific standards and can deliver consistently superb coffee. The idea is that they will become ambassadors for the World of Coffee 2016.”

“This is a perfect example of Java Republic’s commitment to our role as an educator. We offer a total coffee solution - everything from coffee to the machines, to the servicing of the machines to training, education, and marketing support,” explains Grace.

“Java Republic roast an exceptional standard of coffee bean and we expect our coffee to be delivered in a particular way in the cup to deliver the best flavours. If

a grinder or a machine is not working properly or being used improperly by the barista, who isn’t trained sufficiently, you lose all of that quality & the end product will never be delivered the way you want in a cup as the parameters have been changed. We offer a nationwide service and we train baristas to a high standard, so that our coffee is delivered theway it should be, to the standard we know it should be.”

“It is absolutely critical that we get quality in the cup every time - this means the focus turns back to training. A few years ago our marketplace was very much one of ‘baton down the hatches’ and a lot wasabout driving the price down, which meant you lose support such as training, etc. Now after the recession, people realise that if they don’t have their training and education levels to a high standard, then the quality will not be consistent and consumers may not return. That is the biggest trend to emerge in coffee in Ireland over the past two years.”

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DRINKS

Premium gins & whiskeys, exceptional wines and experiential liqueurs John Dillon, Managing Director of Dalcassian Wines & Spirits hails the emergence of Ireland's discerning new bar and restaurant culture as the thinning clouds of recession dissipate over the horizon It was a credit based economy on all levels and inevitably the house without foundations came crashing to the ground.

People could no longer afford the fine wines and the endless dining out in fancy restaurants and the multiples stepped in - offering very decent wines like Santa Rita and Carmen on promotion for as little as €6.99/ €7.99. People were no longer going to pay double or treble that price for the same brand on the rare occasion that they could afford to dine out.

The price of restaurant house wines had to drop, but the quality couldn’t go down.

Pat and I had worked with winemakers and distilleries across the old and new worlds for decades and we saw an opportunity to create our own premium brands at more affordable prices.

John Dillon

The Irish drinks industry has changed utterly over the past decade. We will never return to the blind excesses of Celtic Tiger Ireland, but consumers are trading up - this time however they expect a lot more for their spend.

Premium gins & whiskeys, boutique wines from the finest of vineyards and carefully selected liqueurs that offer an ‘exciting’ twist are all on the menu.

The boom times were overwhelming; an experience Ireland had never had before.

Copious amounts of disposable income; high profile bars and restaurants springing up across the country.Consumers paid the price, thinking nothing of shelling out €30 for a bottle of average house wine or spending double that on a mid-range premium version, or treble for luxury wine and spirit brands.

Pouring vodkas were no longer good enough as customers demanded Grey Goose or Belvedere… and no cocktail was too expensive - exemplified in the launch of the ultimate €500 cocktail in one Dublin bar (yes for ONE cocktail) complete with gold flakes… in fairness you did get to keep the glass!

In 2005, myself and my now business partner, Pat Rigney had sensed that monumental change lay ahead. We had over 50 years served in the Irish Drinks Industry between us, and we set up Dalcassian Wines & Spirits in a bid to meet the needs of the On-Trade in recession.

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We partnered with a high end Chilean vineyard to create Dalcassian’s Elvaro range, which quickly became a popular choice of house wine in good restaurants throughout the country. We saw how popular the Languedoc region was becoming and struck gold when we visited the Paul Mas vineyard owned by the renowned Jean Claude Mas; Paul Mas is one of our biggest success stories. We launched Cielo Pinot Grigio as a house wine variety; it had never been in Ireland before and now it’s the number one Pinot Grigio in the On-Trade in Ireland.

Now as the disposable income returns, consumers are fed up of staying in and are ready and willing to trade up and spend a little more on their wine choice, but it must represent value. Over the coming years this will mean greater wine quality,

DRINKS

taste and variety in the On-Trade.The variety of New World wine choices is also growing especially from South Africa and Chile.

Dalcassian Wines & Spirits has just launched the exclusive range of premium Astoria wines to Irish restaurants and the response is tremendous.

The decline in the pub culture and discounting in the multiples were also key factors in the transformation of the spirits market beyond recognition. With high end vodkas now available at supermarket prices, it was more difficult for premium vodka brands to command higher spend in the OnTrade; this has paved the way for other spirits and unique liqueurs offering an entirely different experience, ‘a twist’.

Before the decline of the market , premium gins had only just started to appear, and now they are really emerging with taste and attitude. Whilst other spirit categories are in decline or remaining steady, gin is rapidly growing and consumers are looking for a range of premium choices.

At Dalcassian we have just taken on four different gins from the world’s oldest gin distillery - G & J Distllery. They are all part of the Quintessential brand and include Greenall’s Gin, Bloom, Berkeley Square and Opihr , the fastest-growing gin in the world.

Irish consumers are spending less than before but they now have higher expectations and we are noticing a marked trend towards diverse liqueurs; people want to experiment more.

We have just launched Licor 43 to Irish bars and it has been an instant hit. It’s the fastest-growing liqueur in the world with 43 different ingredients and well-recognised by

bar tenders who have come across it in Mexico, Germany and Spain; it’s so versatile and ideal for cocktails.

Central to all of our brands is premium design and packaging. Taste and quality are a given - but to really stand out as a premium brand on the bar shelves, the look and feel must reflect this visually.

Our Beveland portfolio from Spain will rival any of the best know spirit brands in taste and quality… but the bottles also look spectacular, and give a premium look to cocktail bars.

Whiskey is maintaining its position in the market. Again consumers want variety and ‘twist’ and Dalcassian has responded to this trend with the Irishman Irish Whiskeys, Writers Tears & the Dubliner Irish Whiskey liqueur - a unique blend of honeycomb, caramel and whiskey flavours. We also introduced Hellfire Cinnamon whiskey & Rusty Dogg Rums in Ireland, Sweden & Denmark. Dalcassian is also a shareholder in the Shed Distillery, Connacht’s first distillery in 101 years set up by my business partner - P. J. Rigney and we are developing some very unique new herbaceous gins, handcrafted irish whiskies and exciting new liqueurs that we will be launching in Ireland in the very near future.

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Training for Profit Upskill your hospitality team in service and sales excellence.

To find out about our Training for Profit Programmes call Cariona Neary, Management Consultant t: 086 8056669 e: cariona@nearymarketing.com

AIRBNB

Should hoteliers be afraid of Airbnb?

Airbnb is now one of the most talked-about forces in travel and hospitality, and is receiving growing attention from both hospitality scholars and managers alike. How concerned should Irish hoteliers be of this “peer-to-peer” accommodation model?

Does it merely represent a gentle shaking up of an informal tourism accommodation sector, or has it the potential to devour the entire hotel sector? Where’s the evidence and how compelling is it?

Renting rooms is of course an age-old idea, but Airbnb’s new technology twist has recently enabled them to raise funding which is thought be around $10 billion.

Some business commentators put the figure at $20 billion. Such a valuation overshadows all but the largest hotel chains. The impressive inventory of worldwide listings for Airbnb (over 1 million, as of March 2015), and its rapid growth trajectory, means it can no longer be dismissed. By way of comparison in New York city, last year’s hotel room supply grew by 4%, with Airbnb inventory up by a staggering 197%. The picture in Ireland displays a similar scale of expansion; listing numbers are all roughly around the 200% year-on-year growth mark, according to James McClure, general manager for Airbnb, UK & Ireland.

Often assessing these new business model phemenona can be aided by way of seeing them in a theoretical context. Academic and entrepreneur Clayton Christensen has written extensively on the topic of what he termed ‘disruptive innovation’ since the 1990s. Christensen explained the ways in which fringe ideas can come to redefine markets, offering innovations which are simpler, more convenient and lower cost. His fascinating thesis is that the same practices that led to a business’s success can eventually result in its demise, painting a bittersweet picture whereby, as companies become large, they lose sight of evolving niche markets and opportunities. In other sectors we have seen disruptive newcomers create a new ‘normal’. Popular examples such as Netflix, Apple and Twitter have all changed the game in their respective sectors. The hospitality industry is no stranger to innovation. Indeed, the industry has faced disruption before, in the area of OTAs and rate-shopping tools, and their impact on the traditional travel agency. Back in the 1960s, Holiday Inn also disrupted the model of hospitality by transforming the hotel product into something much more affordable and accessible, and pioneered the franchise model to allow rapid scale of expansion.

Aside from these examples, much of the successful innovation over decades in hospitality might be more accurately deemed “incremental”, a label which unfortunately often attracts criticism.

To what extent does Airbnb fit the bill of disruptive innovation? Yes, Airbnb may not offer the quality and reliability offered by traditional hotels. But those who dismiss it as operating as a niche, or only at the lower-end of the market, may be interested in its private villa luxury-oriented listings and entry into the business travel market earlier this year. Indeed, bold claims by CEO Brian Chesky to develop a full-blown hospitality brand, and the recruitment of hotel veteran Chip Conley point to the company’s ever-increasing ambitions.

These debates may all be interesting, as are arguments by proponents on the wider diffusion Airbnb brings by spreading economic benefits to areas which do not traditionally benefit from tourism. But, money talks… and the statistics may be starting to show that Airbnb is stealing share from hotels. While the impact is not as dramatic as that of other companies in a similar space in the sharing economy Uber has led to a decline in taxi usage of 65% in some U.S. cities - alarm bells are still ringing.

A recent 35-page report by Boston University has served to draw the battle lines in sharper focus. Although based on the market in Texas, and only the first substantial study of Airbnb, the findings are worth thinking about. The study finds a correlation between an increase in Airbnb listings in a region and a decrease in hotel revenue. The authors found that for every 1% increase in Airbnb listings there was a corresponding 0.05% decrease in hotel revenue. Much has been made of

this. However, correlations are not the same as causations; many other external factors can affect room supply. Moreover, the same report, along with other global data, shows that the hotel sector has probably more to fear from an increase in room supply generally than the impact of the new kid on the block. Airbnb does not own inventory, but scales by improving its ability to match users and leveraging better data. Hence, potential growth is perhaps boundless. Airbnb enables anyone with a spare room and a mattress to run their own “hotel” and benefit from a global market of travellers.

Critics cast a now regular spotlight on the weaknesses in the Airbnb model, particularly on variations in consistency of service quality and security. As Airbnb does not “own” inventory, critics point to its incapability in controlling quality. The spotlight on their regulatory environment has also intensified with a focus on the variability of taxation situations across countries. Hospitality companies have reason to complain that in this regard it’s an uneven playing field. A variety of approaches has been adopted globally, but none of them seems to be straightforward.

In Ireland, Revenue have recently amended the long-standing Rent-a Room relief to clarify that rental through Airbnb and similar sites are not covered by such reliefs.

Elsewhere, Airbnb is currently stepping up opposition to a new bill making its way through committee in California which would require the company to collect taxes at the request of local government and report booking information. Calls for clampdowns on illegal rentals and subletting are also increasing.

With some hotels now advertising on Airbnb, and the go-to source of hospitality data, STR, now focusing on its impact, it’s clear that this new player cannot be ignored. Their approach to innovation goes beyond the product and business model, extending into employee motivation and organisational innovation.

It’s not likely that mainstream hotels will fail in the face of disruption by Airbnb. but the rise of Airbnb should be provoking some soul-searching by the ‘traditional’ hospitality sector. Notwithstanding the renewed buoyancy of the sector, Irish hoteliers will need to have a sharpened focus on innovation in all it guises sustained value, service and exceeding expectations - if they are to meet the new challengers head-on.

Mary O’Rawe is Lecturer in Management and Innovation at the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, Dublin Institute of Technology, Cathal Brugha Street.

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DESIGN

Designing for success

Photos courtesy of Tramshed

In the final of a series of three articles on Restaurant Design, seasoned interior designer Denise Ryan outlines seven pointers on designing for success.

1. Design your Brand When we think of a restaurant brand, it’s typical to think of chains and franchises such as McDonalds, Milanos or Wagamama. We think of multiple operations that have a consistent image and reliable service.

Designing a single restaurant is no different; and indeed the success of the first very often breeds a chain or franchise. The brand values are displayed through the food offering, the name, the logo and menu graphics, staff, and everything else the customer is exposed to.

There is no greater manifestation of a restaurant’s brand values however, than interior design. We can easily recognise and identify the physical properties of an interior, and these qualities become our strongest impression of the brand. When designing a restaurant, use your brand values as the starting point.

2. Plan the Menu There is a delight in designing a restaurant with a chef, who usually knows their menu before a lease is signed or property purchased. With infectious passion, they imagine and describe how food will be presented, served and enjoyed.

A chef knows specifically what kitchen equipment is required, which allows it to be designed to the last degree. As mentioned in last month’s article, the better designed the

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back-of-house areas are, the more space there is for customers - increasing tables and profitability.

Having an idea of a menu gives the designer cues for the interior design. Is sourcing local produce important? Then reflecting local artisanal craft or design skills will reinforce brand values. Are there influences of Nordic or perhaps French cuisine? Then subtle cultural influences might be appropriate to the style. It creates congruence between menu and design.

Understanding price point sets the calibre of the restaurant, but a menu also describes service style. Some dishes may require the attention of a waiter (say to cut a chateaubriand at the table; flambé a dish; or bring a cheese trolley). A requirement for extra space, or indeed the option to economise on space, is dictated by the menu (communal benches; breakfast or salad bars; condiment counters and so on.)

3. Think about Service Once the menu is outlined, think about Service and how it translates from kitchen to table. Envisage the best way the customer should experience the menu and enjoy it.

For example, will an open kitchen add or detract from the dining experience? Should anything emphasising the menu be on show to the public? It could be as simple as a wood-fired oven or barbeque, to something more dramatic such as Damien Hirst’s ‘Cock and Bull’ display at Tramshed in London (which serves chicken or steak).

Start the design with the customer as they enter; imagining each and every aspect of their experience - whether they are shown to their table or not; if they are offered a pre-dinner drink or not; where they should have it; how menus are explained; how they should order; how they should be served; should there be the option of a post-dinner drink; where it should be and so on.

The designer effectively describes this Service firstly through spatial planning, and then in minute detail. The ergonomics for both staff and customers are an essential aspect, ensuring a practical, usable and comfortable environment.

4. Be Unique The difference between good design and great design is originality. Original designs are memorable. They stand out from the crowd, become talked about and create distinctive brand identity.

Photos courtesy of Tramshed

DESIGN

Follow trends with caution, as by the time the restaurant opens, the design is already starting to date. Trends are fashionable, but they give shelf life to the design. Setting the trend requires more than a visionary designer, it needs the collaboration of a confident restaurateur (such as the Neri & Hu and Jason Atherton as at Pollen St. Social; or Philippe Starck with Ian Schrager). Some choose to reject trends altogether, creating timeless interiors (as in the many designs of the late David Collins).

There are two benefits of either setting or rejecting trends. First, is novelty for the customer. The design is unique and the brand becomes more distinctive. Second, it creates longevity; which lengthens the time before the restaurant looks dated and needs refurbishment.

5. Find your Style Many chefs travel to explore new tastes, discover new ingredients and challenge expectations of how food and flavour should be combined. Interior Design is no different. When we create, we draw from everything we have been exposed to.

Maximise your exposure and put as much research into designing the interior as you would the menu; or work with someone who does.

6. “Save where you can.. ...and spend where you want’’ Finalise all costs before commencing any orders or starting on site. Ensure you have the most detailed drawings possible, fully specified so that nothing is vague or left to chance. Add a contingency of 5-10% depending on the project for unforeseen circumstances (for example, site issues that could not be known). The aim is not to spend it, but to be prudent.

If budgets are tight, then spend money on high-impact items (such as feature lighting and chairs) and reduce specifications elsewhere e.g. wall and floor surfaces, for which there are always alternatives.

7. Creating an Ambience I like to think of ambience as the restaurants own mood or character. We can’t control every element, but the following is a list that should be incorporated into the design: • Temperature: Think about what the customer will feel - the warmth of a heat curtain when entering or the protection of a draught lobby when inside. Or a cold blast from

an air conditioning unit while dining; heat from the kitchen; or draughts from a door to toilets. Once inside, the temperature should be maintained at a consistent level and the customer protected from extremes.

• Lighting: The lighting should be designed in layers i.e. different lighting types (backlit, display, functional, feature and so on) on different circuits. These circuits are then programmed to different combinations and levels depending on the time of day or evening. Be conscious of unwanted light spilling out from kitchens and service areas particularly bouncing off whiterock - and reduce this as much as possible.

• Acoustics: Customers (and indeed restaurant reviewers) are becoming more critical of restaurant acoustics, aided by decibel apps on phones. It’s not surprising, given the trend for pared back, urban and industrial design. Hard surfaces create reflection of sound, so every noise is amplified. Cushioning the underside of tables with acoustic foam; or using acoustic ceiling panels, foam or spray can help.

Upholstered banquettes or fabric walls can make a big difference, as can curtained lobbies. The idea isn’t to kill the sound, just to soften it - it’s often that bit of hum that creates atmosphere and keeps conversations private.

• Music: Like acoustics, restaurant reviewers are now commenting on music. And according to multisensory experts, after service, music is the second biggest customer irritation.

Background or foreground; genre, tempo and volume all influence how we feel in an environment.

Studies show that music can influence how long we stay, how fast we eat, how much we drink and even our perceived ethnicity or a meal. Spend time understanding what music best suits your customer and ensure that it’s managed as particularly as any other aspect of service.

• Scent: We each have recorded over 10,000 scents, which we recognise subliminally for memory, experience and wellbeing. The retail industry has grasped how this impacts our brand association for some years; and the restaurant industry is following now too (particularly high-end). While a dining space should allow the aroma of food to heighten the culinary experience, lobby and toilet areas are ideal for creating positive impressions and a sense of wellbeing. This can be done naturally with flowers, herbs, candles; or using scent systems using organic or synthetic scents.

Though the effects of ambience are intangible, they are very real.

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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GMIT NEWS

Connemara Mussel Festival in association with GMIT F.E.E.D. - Food.Explore.Educate.Demonstrate - sharing the finest foods from the western shores of Ireland - A perspective from Cáit Noone.

This year the Connemara Mussel Festival celebrated ten years in existence and was opened by John Mulcahy from Fáilte Ireland.

The Festival is always held on the May bank holiday weekend and can be found in Tullycross, a small village on the Renvyle Peninsula, and as locations go you really don’t get better than this.

Cáit Noone

we filled the demonstration space with two days of fun, interactive, educational demonstrations and talks ranging from bee keeping to seaweeds, spider crabs to lobster all caught locally and we even sampled the latest SMRT Bars - a new and slow release energy health bar with added superfoods courtesy of James Cunningham and his Connemara Food Ventures range.

We enjoyed the wonderful award winning Connemara Smokehouse products and Jp McMahon brought Aniar west what a treat it was to taste the wonderful food from Aniar out in the wilds of Connemara. Martin O’Donnell from The Twelve in Barna demonstrated a new working partner in Sally McKenna and both had the audience enthralled with stories of edible seaweeds and sea lettuces and we all went home a little better educated on what we can forage along our coastline but also how we can do it in a sustainable manner.

JP McMahon cooking with Heather & Jacinta

The festival has matured and grown over the last ten years, so too have the variety of events for visitor to enjoy. The kitchen demo space has grown into a family friendly location and is always a hive of activity over the two days of the festival. In recognition of the growth and maturity as a leading community festival this year the College of Tourism and Arts was invited this year to manage the demonstration space and we agreed to bring a new concept to the event - F.E.E.D.

Kids kooking class!

Celebrity Chef Competition with Michael Lally and Sean O’Rourke Unveiling the Mystery Basket!

We simply encouraged all visitors to the demonstration space over the weekend to engage with the many foods on offer, explore what our wonderful coastline offers in terms of food produce, educate themselves a little in how accessible good food is and how much we have of it locally in the West of Ireland. And finally, College of Tourism & Arts GMIT Dublin Road, Galway Tel: +353 (0)91 742343 Web: www.gmit.ie/cta

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Cait Noone Head of College T: +353 (0)91 742236 E: Cait.Noone@gmit.ie

And finally, my colleagues Jacinta Dalton, Maria Conboy and ‘GMIT honorary volunteer’ Sinead O’Halloran entertained and educated over sixty young people ranging in age from 3-13 with their Play Dough Masterclass both days. The class was a Kids Kooking Workshop sponsored by the College of Tourism and Arts and was a fun, interactive environment learning to make pasta dough, cooking dough and pizza dough. All produce made were cooked and enjoyed by the kids (and the ‘big kids’) when complete and the sessions certainly confirmed our young people are very engaged and highly knowledgeable when it comes to food choices.

Until the next May bank holiday weekend 2016… you really don’t want to miss it.

Photos courtesy of Aoife Herriott

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

GMIT NEWS

Culinary degree students showcase new ‘retail ready’ food products Food products praised by judges (industry experts) Twelve Culinary Arts degree students showcased a range of new food products they developed as part of their degree studies, at a public event in GMIT on Wednesday 22 April, attended by students, staff and guest judges.

The products ranged from puddings to nutrition health bars, snacks, sauces and stocks, convenient foods such as luxury potato dishes and pizzas, soups for children and batter mixes.

The products were assessed by a number of industry representatives or ‘guest dragons’ including Caroline McDonough, Galway Local Enterprise Office, Mike Flynn, Business Development Manager, Musgrave’s Food Services, Eoin Warner, Director at The Butler’s Pantry, Robert Rosbotham, Graduate of GMIT (represented GMIT in the 2001 Culinary Olympics in South Korea) and Creagh Moore, Graduate of BA Culinary Arts degree and finalist on RTE/Lidl Taste of Success (New Food Product) television programme.

The 12 students and their products names are: Phillip Bridges’ “Chopping Topping”; Daniel Craughwell’s ‘Sea Pots’; Anne Marie Finn’s ‘Shake Share’; Siobhan Flaherty’s ‘Miso Gravy’; Catherine Gillespie’s ‘Seasert’; Michael Hogan’s ‘Ocean Bar’; Anne Kileen McMahon’s ‘Seabites’; José Mansilla Yanguas’ ‘Mashy Poshy’; José Martinez Doyle’s ‘Funky Batter’; Gerard Nelligan’s ‘Pizza Delight’; Leonard Ryan’s ‘Soupables’; and Jeffrey Warde’s José Manuella Yanguas ‘Nuts About Seeds’.

Feedback from the judges and guests was very positive, with written comments commending the culinary students on their food ideas, great taste, usefulness /convenience and marketability.

At the end of the presentations, the guest “dragons” picked the top three products they believe are virtually ‘retail ready’.

In first place was José Mansilla Yanguas from Shannon, Co Clare, for his product called ‘Mashy Poshy’, a flavoured potato dish designed with inflight catering in mind which would also be suitable for retail and general food service sector.

In second place was Siobhan Flaherty from Abbeyknockmoy, Co Galway, for her product called ‘Miso Gravy’, a ready to heat instant soybean-based sauce targeting the health-conscious consumer.

In third place came Catherine Gillespie from Ballina, Co Mayo, for her product called ‘Seasert’, a pudding made from carrageen, reformulated as a health and wellness convenience snack.

Eoin Warner, The Butler’s Pantry, summed up the day, stating: “There were some very interesting products, with some showing real commercial potential. It was apparent that students had put a lot of work into their pitches and innovation”.

GMIT lecturer Richard Nielsen, Food Product Development Module, says, “The students’ energy and enthusiasm to this task was very evident at the showcase and they deserve all praise for their efforts, creativity and skill.”

Catherine Gillespie

Siobhan Flaherty

Mike Flynn, Business Development Manager,Musgraves Food Services, Caroline Mc Donagh, Galway Local Enterprise Office,Creagh Moore,Graduate of BA Culinary Arts degree and finalist on RTE/Lidl Taste of Success television programme, Richard Nielsen,GMIT Lecturer (Food product development module) and Robert Rosbotham, graduate of GMIT.

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TRAINING

Customer service training in two minutes

By Cariona Neary A friend of mine tells the story of how her 19 year old daughter, who never showed an interest in anything that looked vaguely like work, managed to be transformed into a go-getting sales person in weeks. And here’s how it happened. She was working in a very well known clothing shop in Dublin, one of three in the capital. Every morning the supervisor ran a huddle that lasted all of two minutes. Each day, she heard how much her shop had sold the day before, then she was told how the other two shops had done. One or two other comparative metrics were added. And that was enough. Our ‘whatever’ teenager had a goal, and that was to beat her competitors and to beat yesterday’s best.

Yes, there were some incentives but they were minor. That was not what motivated her to be her best every day.

What can we take from that story and adapt to the hospitality sector? Customer care is about caring. And it can be a real challenge to get our people to care about the work they do, particularly when many are working on a part-time basis. But they are also working during the sector’s most lucrative months so we have to find a way to help our people to provide the best service possible. And great service is about great selling.

The Compelling Business Case for Customer Service Our guests want to be sold to!

Often before a training workshop, I run a mystery call to my client’s hotel or restaurant. Posing as a potential guest, I make an enquiry about a group booking, I suggest it’s a special occasion for a gettogether… and I wait for the response.

Nothing. There is silence on the end of the phone as the hotel or restaurant representative waits for me to make the booking. I rarely encounter any comment such as

‘congratulations’ or ‘We’ll make sure you have a wonderful time with us’. And I rarely receive any suggestive selling. I close the call by saying I’ll get back to them and in 99% of cases they say, ‘fine’. They don’t take my details so the call has gone into the ether. No record, no follow up. It’s a sale that never happened. That is not good service. That is plain neglect. So we need to train our people to spot and act on a service and sales opportunity in a proactive way.

When we say our guests want to be sold to, this means they want to be informed and enthused so that they can make a choice. It does not mean a ‘hard sell’, as that is counter-productive.

Customer Lifetime Value is your profit generator If we care to work out the value of a customer who returns again and again, brings friends and colleagues and talks positively about our business to their circle of contacts, the value of a happy customer is enormous. Contrast that with a customer who receives poor service who becomes an online reputation terrorist.

We need to help our staff understand the lifetime value of customers and that is done quite easily. Give them the Customer Lifetime Value calculator and invite them to work out the value of real customers. These figures can help you train your people to understand that every interaction really matters.

What is great Customer Service worth?

Based on international research as well as programmes we have run through Failte Ireland, focussed customer service can increase the average customer spend by between 5 - 8 per cent, if not more. The techniques to create these additional sales are simple, built on great customer care and suggestive selling.

Fast Focus Customer Service Training One of the biggest challenges in customer service is to keep your team motivated.

Why not learn from the best in the business. At the Ritz Carlton, they run 10 minute stand up meetings or buzz sessions, every single day. The briefings have three themes: the topic of the week, a customer service booster shot, and an update on operational issues of the day. That’s it.

For the past five years, we have been training managers and supervisors in Ireland in the techniques of running briefing sessions. They can be as short as two minutes, but they must be run as a ritual every day. To make a buzz session work well, the trick is to ask questions rather than deliver sermons. And they need to be fun and energetic, so that people actually look forward to them as they kick-start their shift.

In a two minute briefing, it is possible to run mini-role plays on dealing with customer service issues. Or if a new item is being added to the menu, a briefing is an ideal time to introduce the item, tell people about the key ingredients and even run a short tasting.

Product knowledge is the cornerstone of good customer service. If you want to find out how much your own staff know about the menu, why not ask them to ‘sell’ you something from the menu? In our training sessions we test product knowledge and it is usually below par. At one well known restaurant in Dublin, the restaurant manager only allows his servers a full share of the tips when they know the menu off by heart.

The Service Profit Chain Unhappy staff create unhappy customers. If you want to compete on customer service, you need to create a positive working environment. This is all the more important as more and more of today’s employees come from the so-called ‘Millennial Generation’, those born between 1980 and 2000. The command and control management style of old does not motivate younger workers. This new generation of people want to feel they matter and their work has purpose. If you want great service, daily briefings is one of the most powerful ways to connect with your team.

Cariona Neary is a trainer, coach and consultant providing programmes in customer service, sales, customer experience design and management.

She can be contacted at Neary Marketing and Communications, 086 8056669, cariona@nearymarketing.com.

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