IHI HNN June 2021 Issue

HNN HOSPITALITY NETWORK NEWS

JUNE 2021 ISSUE

BRIAN BOWLER FIHI IHI PRESIDENT

HNN CO 4 BRIAN BOWLER FIHI President's Note

5 IHI BOARD ELECTED POSITIONS

8 NETAFFINITY Cancellations rates: where do they stand and how can you overcome them?

12 SODEXO LAUNCHES FOODITUDE IN DUBLIN

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NTENTS 16 CLASSIC DRINKS La Motte 18 BOOKASSIST Podcasts 20 GUESTLINE Demand more from your PMS provider, it's the beef of your operations 20 EDUCATION

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PRESIDENT'S NOTE Dear Member, As I begin my term as your IHI President, I would like to take the opportunity on behalf of the IHI Board, Executive and Members to thank Oonagh Cremins FIHI, for her commitment, passion, drive and dedication to the IHI over the past five years and in particular the last two as President.

Oonagh has guided the Institute through this pandemic and her leadership throughout has enabled us to continue to deliver professional development through webinars and networking opportunities through coffee mornings. Most significantly her direction and professionalism allowed the IHI to be a pillar of support to our members.

As we begin our transition back to full operations and rebuild our teams, the IHI will continue to be central in supporting and connecting hospitality and tourism professionals.

Retention and recruitment of talent will be key to the future recovery of our industry and therefore will continue to be an integral part of the overall strategic objectives of the IHI. I grew up in the industry and learned from some of the best hoteliers in Ireland so I know firsthand from a very early age that it is the people who make Irish hospitality world-renowned. I am so proud and honoured to be leading the IHI in what will be a pivotal time for our industry and for our people. I hope to continue this legacy, to nurture the next generation of hospitality professionals, helping them flourish and deliver world-class experiences, as we welcome guests through our doors once more.

It is important that you know that as your IHI President, I am here to be a support to you and to welcome any views on matters you feel are pertinent to the IHI. With that said, I wish you all a busy and successful summer season.

All the best, Brian Bowler IHI President

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IHI Board Elected Positions Daragh O'Neill FIHI IHI Deputy President General Manager The Talbot Hotel Stillorgan Daragh O’Neill is the general manager of The Talbot Hotel Stillorgan (formerly Stillorgan Park Hotel). Having graduated from DIT Cathal Brugha with a degree in Hotel & Catering Management, Daragh travelled to the USA & gained 8 years’ experience with Medallion Hotels in Dallas, Austin & Midland Texas.

He assumed his first general manager position at The Midland Hilton & Towers Hotel in 1996. He returned to Ireland in 1998 to take up the position of the general manager of The Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick. In 2008 he returned to Dublin to assume his current post. Daragh passionately believes in the investment of people working in the hospitality industry.

He firmly believes in providing his team with the necessary training and skills required for their overall success within the industry. During his tenure in Limerick, the Castletroy Park achieved and operated to the NSAI 9001 standard. This was one of the first hotels in Ireland to operate to this standard. More recently the Talbot Hotel Stillorgan has achieved and retained the Optimus Service excellence standard. The Talbot Stillorgan was formally recognized by the Automobile Association of Ireland (The AA) when the Hotel was awarded the Courtesy and Care award for 2017. With over two decades of experience in the hospitality business Daragh has actively participated in various industry and community organizations.

While in the USA he was a board member of United Way and actively volunteered in the High School Junior Achievement mentor program. On home turf, while living in the Shannon Region, he was Chairman of the Shannon Branch of the IHF and a member of the national council. In 2015/16 Daragh was the Dublin President of SKAL International Ireland. He recently was a member of the tourism strategic review committee for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Chamber of Commerce.

Edward Stephenson FIHI Chair of IHI College of Fellows General Manager The Herbert Park Hotel Edward is a long standing Institute member, a recipient of Hotel Manager of the Year, has served as a Board Member and is a Fellow of the Institute.

A Shannon College of Hotel Management graduate, he holds a Masters in International Business from Smurfit Business School, University College Dublin.

He has over 16 years’ extensive experience of successfully managing four luxury Hotels in the 4&5 Star Hotel sector both for PLC and independent ownership.

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SAVE THE DATE

25th November More details to come.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE. CONTACT TINA.MAREE@IHI.IE

Cancellations rates: where do they stand and how can you overcome them?

Hotel cancellation rates have been steadily rising for years, in part fueled by a culture of ‘book now, pay later’ created by OTA giants. Covid did not create cancellation habits – it will perpetuate them, though. As a hotelier, it’s important for you to be aware of the patterns because it will help you to determine how to combat the issue. Back in 2019, D-Edge Hospitality Solutions reported that the global cancellation rate of hotel reservations reached 40% (with the direct website channel keeping the lowest cancellation rate).

There are ways to combat cancellations – including having a solid, smart tech stack that integrates well together, a confident marketing strategy, and a real understanding of the new guests post-Covid that will require you to develop new guest personas, (doing this will also help you identify who is cancelling) to name but a few – more practical ways on how to combat cancellations later. It’s imperative as a hotelier that you do not ignore this growing behaviour, it’s crucial you use all the tools at your disposal to minimise the upset to your revenue.

What patterns have we seen ourselves since 2017?

While the cancellation rates we are seeing are increasing year on year, on par with the global trend, they are still some of the lowest in the industry. There are a myriad of reasons for this. We service the majority of our clients with the full suite of our products, including booking engine, website and marketing. The connection between all of these elements can create more harmonious conditions throughout the booking process, which can help to establish loyalty between guest and hotel. Loyalty is such an important factor! You can try to start deepening loyalty between you and your guests by looking into the likes of personalisation, your social media presence, your marketing strategy and email strategy.

In 2017, the cancellation rates analysed across our clients were coming in at 11.2% on average. That figure moved up to 12.8% in 2018 and to 12.3% in 2019. Cancellation rates may never be this low again due to significant and notable changes in people’s booking habits. It is widely recognised in the hospitality industry globally that understanding your guest and their new behaviour & expectations will be key to your success as you compete against other hotels. Post pandemic, it will be crucial to make sure your website has favourable cancellation terms, which will help to drive more direct bookings, and also manage your cancellation rates, as those booking direct, with a direct relationship with the property are less likely to cancel.

As we all know, 2020 and 2021 so far have been heavily affected by the pandemic, so they sit in their own category in terms of trends and behaviours.

The cancellation rate in 2020 came in at around 35.9% on average, and is currently sitting at around 31.9% so far in 2021.

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Considering cancellation lead time, on average we saw it come in at around 28.1 days in 2020, and saw it shoot up to around 50.4 days on average so far in 2021.

In regards to May 2021, we can see that the majority of cancellations were made by people due to arrive at hotels this month (June). This is mainly due to the fact that there were a significant higher number of bookings made for June than May. The cancellation lead time in May sat at an average of 82 nights.

This number will drop massively when we analyse June in a few weeks, as guests tend to cancel bookings in the month for the month.

What other booking trends did we see in May 2021?

As was to be expected, we saw a nice spike in bookings on the 29th April for ROI properties once the reopening date was announced (following in the footsteps of cities who reopened before us). Booking numbers levelled off after a couple of days, but remained steady throughout May. We noted the natural peaks and troughs throughout the month (bookings are normally a little quieter on Friday and Saturdays), however the monthly booking volume was 27% higher compared to the same period in May 2019. Looking at the North of Ireland, bookings were up a whopping 112% compared to May 2019.

Website traffic in May saw a return to 2019 levels following the announcements of hotel reopenings (with normal peaks & troughs highlighting slightly slower weekend traffic). This is positive when we consider the growth in bookings – people seem to have a strong intent to book when they arrive on a hotel’s website, and the patterns show that marketing campaigns are driving targeted traffic to hotel’s websites.

What can you do to combat the number of cancellations you inevitably face?

Booking deposits Putting a booking deposit requirement in place is the most effective tool to reduce cancellations – however, keep in mind reduced bookings are also a side effect of booking deposits for many hotels.

You will need to consider a number of factors when it comes to the impact of a booking deposit on your property including:

Past cancellation terms Demand for location Demand for your property Current occupancy levels

If you’re confident that your property can charge a booking deposit without it negatively effecting your revenue optimization, then it’s most likely a good strategy for your hotel. While it may work for some, we generally encourage hotels not to put a booking deposit in place as we have seen it reduce bookings in some instances.

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Give your guests a call We talked recently about the growing importance of personalisation when it comes to increasing your revenue – one of the most effective things you can do without having a booking deposit in place is to give your guests a call.

This establishes a sense of personal attention, while also giving your guest the opportunity to cancel if they need to. It also gives you another way of giving them handy information they might need like your restaurant opening hours, dinner reservations, leisure centre policies, etc. Use the call to let guests know you’re looking forward to welcoming them to the hotel. If they’ve booked another hotel in the meantime, this personal touch could potentially be a deciding factor in their decision to stick with you.

Establish a solid email strategy Perhaps you don’t have the manpower necessary to call all your guests! Email is another incredibly effective way of making contact, and you can personalise them too.

Use email to give guests the opportunity to cancel, but also to communicate your excitement about being open and for their upcoming visit.

If you normally send your pre-stay email 3 days in advance, maybe look at sending it 1-2 weeks in advance so you’re giving more time to allow for cancellations.

Here at Net Affinity, we provide our clients with the option to customize their pre and post-stay emails, see here for more details.

If you’re a Net Affinity booking engine client, you can also add a message to your ‘Pre-cancellation’ section which appears on the page your guests visit when they are cancelling their booking. This message can be tailored by your hotel to encourage guests to rebook another time.

You can also add a ‘Post-cancellation’ message which appears on the cancellation confirmation screen and on the cancellation email. This is an opportunity for you to use the space to encourage guests to sign up to your newsletter or to buy a voucher.

Increase the cancellation period While many hotels have a 24 hour free cancellation policy, some have a 48 hour policy, or even up to 7 days depending on the property type.

Some properties will have more favourable terms on their own website such as 24 hours, and then they might increase it on third party sites which can benefit them by helping to drive more direct bookings. Have a think about the benefits of increasing your cancellation period and decide if it’s right for you.

Overbooking It is a well known strategy for hotels to utilize ‘overbooking’, which allows them to maximise their revenue and reduce unsold inventory.

If you normally have a certain threshold for overbooking, then you might need to discuss increasing it. It may be necessary to include front office, the reservations team, the Financial Controller, the Revenue Manager and the General Manager in this discussion so that everyone has the chance to buy into the decision. It’s something we advise you keep reviewing and discussing as part of your regular internal catch ups.

Keep reviewing the data and your strategy It will be important to keep on top of the trends that manifest themselves over the coming months so you can continue to make smart decisions when it comes to your strategy. We are holding a market insights session next week, in which Helena Rowe Bradley will talk you through everything we’re seeing in relation to booking and cancellation data. If you’re a Net Affinity client, you can sign up for free.

If you’re interested in learning more about cancellation trends, send us an email at hello@netaffinity.com

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SODEXO LAUNCHES FOODITUDE IN DUBLIN

Leading workplace services provider Sodexo Ireland is poised to ‘stir up’ corporate food services with the launch of Fooditude and the opening of a new cloud kitchen in Dublin.

In December 2020 Sodexo acquired a majority shareholding in Fooditude, one of London’s leading names in ‘delivered-in’ workplace catering. Fooditude has been operating since 2005, with household name clients that include Netflix and Pinterest.

The arrival of Fooditude is an important step as Sodexo grows new digital-enabled and consumerfocused food services to support its mission to keep its clients’ employees happy, healthy, and well-fed.

As organisations move towards hybrid working models, they are looking for more flexible and costeffective support services. Fooditude, with its track record in fresh, fun, on-trend menu options, allows organisations to offer food as a benefit to entice employees back to workplaces, supporting the role of the office as space for collaboration and connection, and building employee productivity, health, and wellbeing.

Food is ordered in advance via the Sodexo Twelve Pay app that provides a seamless ‘order-to-delivery’ experience.

Fooditude’s offsite production capability allows organisations to review their real estate and re-model existing kitchen space for valuable business activities.

The launch of Fooditude in Dublin is an exciting step in the evolution of Sodexo’s Vital Spaces proposition, which brings together the company’s diverse expertise to provide employers with a new approach to help them transform their workplaces through a connected, people-centric approach.

Dean Kennett, co-owner of Fooditude, which Sodexo is launching in Dublin in June 2021

Commenting on the news, David Fox, managing director, Sodexo Ireland, said “At Sodexo, we recognise the importance of innovation and anticipating the needs of our clients and their employees, all with continued focus on improving the quality of life of all those we serve.

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“Fooditude is part of the transformation of our food services. Launching this new model for food services allows us to support our clients, as the role of the workplace is changing and evolving. For us – it’s all about making it easy and putting food at the heart of the employee experience and offering the digitalfirst experience that consumers expect.”

Fooditude continues to be run by husband-and-wife team Dean and Samantha Kennett, who have strong personal connections to Ireland. A craft team will operate out of its new Dublin cloud kitchen at Clarehall in Santry.

The Fooditude team will be preparing sustainably sourced, seasonal on-trend office catering delivered daily by its ‘dotty’ vans to clients in the Dublin area. Typical lunchbox menus can include sticky pomegranate chicken, toasted sesame root veg and smoked quinoa; green tea roast salmon with soba noodle kale salad; grilled smoky steak with black bean, cumin, and coriander red rice salad; sesame tamarind tofu with rice noodles and an aubergine caponata. All sourcing is done from Origin Green verified suppliers.

Fooditude co-owner and former chef Dean Kennett was virtually meeting prospective clients and showcasing the company offerings at the Dublin Tech Summit on 17th June. Dean said, Our London clients have been asking us to come to Dublin for a while and now we’re here! We have over 15 years of experience in bringing food and fun to the workplace. Our motto is ‘feed yourself happy’ because there’s nothing like a tasty meal to put a smile on everyone’s face – and we’re looking forward to putting a few smiles on faces in Dublin!”

During the pandemic, Dean and the Fooditude team delivered 40,000 meals to vulnerable residents in Southwark in London. As a result, the BBC programme, Masterchef UK, invited Dean Kennett to be a guest diner and judge on its recent broadcast celebrating Covid-19 Food Heroes.

In Ireland, Sodexo provides integrated workplace services to clients in business and industry, tech, education, financial, pharma and healthcare. Those services include workspace transformation to improve employee experience, food services, facilities and estate management.

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La Motte was acquired in 1970 by the late Dr. Anton Rupert, an internationally respected industrialist. A major development, restoration and conservation programme followed, reinventing La Motte into a leading global wine producer. The vineyards have been progressively replanted with noble varieties and a modern cellar has been built.

Today, the estate is owned by Rupert’s daughter, Hanneli Rupert-Koegelenberg. Environmental management is a high priority and the vineyards are managed using biologic production. Grapes are sourced from La Motte as well as other farms in the Cape Winelands, a variety in terroirs that brings unique charm and character. La Motte’s well-equipped cellar enables winemakers to blend tradition with modern science, shaping wines renowned for their consistency and excellence.

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DEMAND MORE FROM YOUR PMS PROVIDER, IT’S THE BEEF OF YOUR OPERATIONS Today’s guest demands more from hotel restaurants. They imagine succulent specials, premium beef, and they expect it to be supplied from Mr Smith down the road with his award-winning sustainability practices. Hoteliers are proud to ensure the guest’s expectations are met. The chefs have a passion for quality and use only the finest cuts of beef, it is cooked to absolute perfection and it has prime placement on the menu next to the Bord Bia ‘Made in Ireland’ stamp of approval.

Why is it that hoteliers put their beef supplier on a pedestal, not just taking into account the sourcing and quality of the beef that it serves, but also how to make the best environmentally responsible decisions and the impact its taste has on the customer experience. But, when it comes to their PMS, the system that runs the operations for the entire hotel, why do they expect less than the best and don’t demand the same level of expectations from their technology partner?

A recent (March 2021) survey by the Irish Hotels Federation examining satisfaction levels with Property Management Systems (PMS) showed 46% of respondents have considered alternative options to their current PMS providers with the vast majority (76%) of properties being with their current provider for over 3 years. With the challenges presented by Covid-19, now more than ever will be the time for hoteliers to review their hotel technology solutions to create an agile environment that sets a higher bar of technological excellence moving into the future. After all, a hotel PMS is the ‘beef’ of your operations.

Guestline, who are a global leader in hotel cloud-based property management systems, distribution and guest engagement technologies are encouraging today’s hoteliers to demand more from their PMS in a bid to make it work harder for the hotel, personnel and the guest: “Since Covid-19 hit, hoteliers have become more involved in their business than ever before. They have been on the floor supporting their teams, understanding their guest needs and are perhaps finding some of their processes and procedures heavy and time consuming. They are examining and dissecting front and back-office processes and are for the first time perhaps witnessing the frustrations that their staff have been dealing with for some time. They need to pull it apart, investigate new processes and procedures and explore evolved technology to help them make improvements. If their technology stack is outdated or simply does not meet their expectations, the cost of ignoring could be more critical to the long-term bottom line of the business. My one piece of advice would be for hoteliers to evaluate how their partners are supporting them, open their minds to adopting new technology and come to terms with how it can actually improve their overall business model through the entire customer journey. If they go and look at what they are currently spending on products that are frustrating them they can be clever and re-spend the money they’ve already got on a fully integrated platform where all the solutions works seamlessly together.” Clio O’Gara, Country Manager Ireland at Guestline added.

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Gone are the days of unnecessary firefighting and manual uploading, there are tools and processes that can help relieve some frustrations and stresses whilst also boosting a hotel’s bottom line. For example, automation doesn’t remove the ‘personal’ if it is built properly, it’s faster, more efficient and by recording your guest’s history, can add simple birthday and anniversary touches, offer increased upselling opportunities and ensures the guest remains informed. There is also time and money savings to be had by introducing an integrated payment solution, such as Guestline’s GuestPay, that offers best value by processing all payments together in one place. The more processes a hotelier can leave in the capable hands of its PMS, the More Guest Time this brings.

Clio adds: “Hoteliers need to ask themselves questions such as ‘How easy is my direct booking processes?’, ‘How well are we handling our payment processes?’ etc. It’s about being smarter, more adaptable, choosing better and more effective integrations and core products that can really drive the business forward. Independent products can be somewhat redundant by themselves; they need the right integrations (CRM, Channel Manager, Tills etc) to really enhance the guest journey. A two-way integration to your PMS is imperative to ensure you are maximising the yield from each product. Hoteliers are very smart in understanding their beef margins and it’s time to apply that same mentality to their technology”.

The 18th century 4-star Fitzpatrick’s Castle Hotel in Killiney, Co. Dublin is an ideal venue and location for businesses and families. Having had problems with an old server-based system which was not very intuitive, they had time management issues accessing data, limited access to their systems when off site and required a PMS that was accessible, functional and intuitive. They required a PMS they could demand more of:

"We are delighted that we migrated to the cloud and implemented Guestline’s Property Management System. The remote access and automated processes are key in helping us deliver efficiencies and enhance the guest experience. Not only has it made us more productive, it has enabled our staff to be more guest facing and spend less time on the systems. It’s intuitive and easy to access all the data and reports remotely which allows me to make informed decisions with the enhanced business intelligence I now have access to, from wherever I am, be it at home, off site or at the hotel. We’ve also got peace of mind that our systems are safe and secure.” Mark ScottLennon, Director & General Manager of Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel in Dublin said.

Over the years, PMS systems have become much more advanced with cloud offerings, open API’s, and the ability to transform the guest experience. In addition, hoteliers are learning to become more demanding of their providers and are now privileged with the option of being able to select the perfect combination of software functionality that complements the property’s specific needs, which is fully integrated and provides value for money. Guestline has a helpful checklist to assist in reviewing your hotel technology solutions. From implementing a technology strategy and the impacted cost of ignoring, to the affordability of acquiring a new system and a guide to getting your strategy to the boardroom and over the decision line. As the future becomes more technologically advanced, now more than ever it is time to research, instil change, embrace it, and invest in it.

Access your free ‘Guide to choosing the right PMS for your property’ here www.guestline.com HNN |

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Click here to learn more.

Shannon College of Hotel Management is delighted to announce that the following programmes will be available under Springboard+ 2021.

Springboard+ is a Government initiative that aims to reskill or upskill people in areas where job opportunities are growing in Ireland by providing free or heavily subsidised places on selected higher education courses. For all eligible applicants, the programmes will be free or 90% funded.

NFQ Level 8: ·Certificate in Finance for Non-Finance Managers ·Certificate in Hospitality Guest Experience ·Certificate in Applied Digital Skills Delivery All Springboard programmes delivered by Shannon College of Hotel Management will be delivered online Eligibility Please refer to the Springboard + website for eligibility criteria and required documentation.

Applications All applications for these courses are made via the Springboard+ website.

For more information on the courses : Fiona Duggan : fiona.duggan@nuigalway.ie Shannon College of Hotel Management

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