HNN May 2019 Issue

May 2019

Irish Hospitality InstituteÂ

The InterContinental Hotel, Dublin

Be Progressive - Be Entertained - Be Recognised - Be Part of Us

In this Issue

2

Note from the President

3

2019 President & Board Appointments

4

New Members

5

Event for the Diary

6

Industry News

10

Education & Training

16

Recent IHI Events

Be Progressive - Be Entertained - Be Recognised - Be Part of Us

IHI PATRONS

Dear Member, I am honored to be elected the 28th President of the Irish Hospitality Institute. I am very grateful for all the kind messages of support I have received from the Board and you, the Members. I look forward to working with you all as we continue to grow and strengthen our Institute over the coming two years.

The tourism and hospitality industry continues to be a leading economic driver for the Irish economy. With that in mind, we as an Industry and Institute need to ensure that we are investing in the development, training and mentoring of our people.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing President Matthias Muller FIHI, for his commitment and dedication to the Institute and to Michael Mallon FIHI, for his contribution as Chair of the College of Fellows.

Warmest regards,

Oonagh Cremins Oonagh Cremins FIHI President Irish Hospitality Institute

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2019 PRESIDENT AND BOARD APPOINTMENTS 2019 President-Elect Oonagh Cremins

Past President Matthias Muller FIHI and President-Elect Oonagh Cremins FIHI

On Friday, May 17th, outgoing President Matthias Muller FIHI, handed over the Presidential Chain of Office to incoming President Oonagh Cremins. As well as becoming the IHI President Oonagh also received Fellowship of the Insitute.

2019-2020 IHI Board Directors Presidrent - Oonagh Cremins FIHI, The Innovate Room Stephen Hanna MIHI, The Camden Court Frank Byrne MIHI, Keynote Hospitality Edward Stephenson FIHI, Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort Detta Melia FIHI, TU Dublin Russell Hadley MIHI, The InterContinental Noel Cafferkey MIHI, Action Recruitment Sharon Power Cowley MIHI, NetAffinity Alan Vallely MIHI, Mount Juliet

Joe Higgins MIHI, The Guiness Storehouse Phillip Smyth FIHI, Shannon College of Hotel Management Dominic Dillane MIHI, TU Dublin Brian Bowler FIHI, The Montenotte Hotel Tara Meehan MIHI, The Mespil Douglas Jordan FIHI, International Hotel Assessments Darragh O'Neill FIHI, The Talbot Hotel Muireann King MIHI, The Croke Park Hotel Pat O'Sullivan MIHI, Masterchefs Hospitality

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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Jamie Skeehan MIHI The Ashling Hotel, Dublin

Edel Kavanagh Cork International Hotel

Kathleen Linehan MIHI Cork International Hotel

Duncan McAlpin MIHI Cork International Hotel

Michelle McDonald MIHI Mespil Hotel

Seamus Preston MIHI Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Sligo

NEW TRADE MEMBERS

Press Up Entertainment Group is Ireland’s Leading leisure and Hospitality Company.

The Group has interests in a variety of sectors, most notably Hotels, Bars, Restaurants, Cinemas, Venues and Nightclubs. The Group owns and operates over 40 businesses in Ireland with continued expansion, providing employment for over 1500 people in Ireland.

Sarah Strachan Recruitment Specialist

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EVENT FOR THE DIARY

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Joins us for fabulous food, drinks and entertainment on Friday, June 21st for a Mid- Summer 's BBQ Evening at the The Intercontinental Hotel, Dublin at 7 pm.

IHI Members - â‚Ź50 Non-Members - â‚Ź55 Please rsvp to cynthia.oneill@ihi.ie 5 3

INDUSTRY NEWS

Culinary Excellence Award for the Garden Rooms at Druids Glen

The five-star Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort is delighted to announce that their Garden Rooms and Bar has been recently rewarded an AA Rosette in recognition of culinary excellence. With the two AA Rosettes already held for their Hugo’s Restaurant, this brings their total to three.

The Garden Rooms and Bar opened last April as part of the most recent refurbishment to the Resort. It was the first alteration to the original footprint of the hotel, extending the former area of the existing bar and pavilion. From the outdoor terrace you can take advantage of the magnificent view onto the gardens and woodlands, and the exterior is reflected in the interior design with dark green leathers, subtle blues, London pinks, rich walnut and brass.

A delicious menu devised by Anthony Duggan, Executive Chef, and Matti Reuter, Garden Rooms and Bar Manager, is updated seasonally to offer a variety of dishes including light bites, salads, pastas and grills. More recently, Druids Glen also partnered with their neighbours and Ireland’s favourite twins, the Happy Pear, to offer guests a range of vegan options on the menu including Cauliflower Wings, the renowned Buddha Bowl, Grilled Jackfruit Vegan “Pulled Pork” Sandwich, Vegan Pizza and Vegan Black Forest Cheesecake.

The Garden Rooms and Bar has ample space for guests to unwind and relax, with the room more than doubling in size since last year’s extension. In addition, it is now the perfect destination for local South Dublin and Wicklow residents to enjoy their day or evening.

Speaking about the award, CEO of Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort, Edward Stephenson said, “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded an AA Rosette for the Garden Rooms and Bar. The award is a testament to the service and food offering consistently being presented in the Garden Rooms and it is a well-deserved recognition to the entire team who have been working hard for the past 12 months to achieve this. We are extremely proud to now hold three AA Rosette’s in Druids Glen.”

For further information on Druids Glen Hotel & Resort visit www.druidsglenresort.com.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Ciara Crossan Receives Cork Businesswoman of the Year Award CORK, IRELAND — May 29th, 2019 -- Ciara Crossan founder and CEO of WeddingDates, has been named Business Woman of the Year, Cork. Network Ireland presented the award to Ms Crossan at a Gala event held at the Maryborough Hotel, Douglas, last Friday evening, Ciara was praised by judges on the Network Ireland panel for her achievements over the past two years, her adaptation to new technologies and her excellent management of her team.

Ciara leads the charge at WeddingDates collaborating with venues and suppliers and individuals who are looking to generate enquiries and grow their business in the competitive weddings industry.

“Ciara sets a high standard for innovation and creativity when it comes to business development,” said Gillian Hennessy, Network Cork President. “She received this award as a testament to ingenuity and vision of her work and her impact on local businesses.”

This is the second win in as many weeks for the Techpreneur, who won Innovative Business of the Year 2019 at the All-Ireland Business Summit earlier this month in Croke Park. While Ciara is proud of all of her achievements, she believes that her involvement with her local Network Ireland Branch has been rewarding on many levels.

“As a woman in business, I feel it is my duty to continuously evolve as a leader,” said Crossan. “Being part of Network Ireland Cork has played a significant role in my own personal growth and I am thankful to have the support of so many successful, driven business women within my community.”

WeddingDates has grown from strength to strength over the years. Starting the business back in 2008 with just a laptop and a copy of the yellow pages, Ciara added the details of Irish Hotels to a basic spreadsheet then launched the site with 30 hotels that October. From an appearance on Dragons Den, extensive market research, and expansion to the UK, WeddingDates now has over 750 wedding venue clients across Ireland & the UK. The popular websites www.weddingdates.ie & www.weddingdates.co.uk have generated more than 250,000 enquiries which have resulted in 14,500 wedding bookings for their clients generating €100m in revenue for those wedding venues.

President of Network Cork Gillian Hennessy, Triskel Arts Centre, Ciara Crossan, Wedding Dates, Winner of Best Large Business and overall Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year Award 2019 and President of Network Ireland Helen Wycherley, Celtic Ross Hotel at the Network Ireland Cork Branch Businesswoman of the Year Awards Gala 2019 sponsored by Brown Thomas Cork, LEO and AIB in The Maryborough Hotel & Spa Pic DARRAGH KANE

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INDUSTRY NEWS

GUESTLINE CELEBRATES NEW DEAL WITH THEKEYCOLLECTIONS

Guestline, the global leader in hotel cloud property management systems, distribution and digital marketing technologies, has announced a new deal which sees the roll out of the brand’s award winning Rezlynx PMS to thekeycollections, a unique set of hotels, apartments and guesthouses, each with its own distinctive character, in Dublin and London. The deal includes 17 properties with further sites set for roll out later this year, boosting Guestline’s domination of the Irish and international PMS market.

Christopher Kenny, Group Marketing Director, Thekeycollections, talks about the need to futureproof their business and the importance of forecasting for unpredictable market changes: “With the many challenges currently facing our industry today, Brexit looming affecting exchange rates and customer sentiment, plus VAT hikes, increase in the number of hotel openings and room numbers across the country etc, we as a business can’t afford to sit back and accept the ever-changing market conditions.

We decided to seek a more intelligent way to run operations, on the ground, in the heart of our properties. We needed a technology system that allowed us to be agile, flexible and dynamic, one that could give us the tools we needed to have that ‘edge’ over our competitors. Guestline opened our eyes to what was out there in terms of technology and we are delighted to be introducing the Rezlynx PMS system across our properties. With a two-way channel integration system, automated processes and an open API with some of our existing partners, we are already experiencing a tremendous shift in how we perform tasks, saving hugely on time, labour and the decision-making process. It also allows us to collate and action reports in real time, offers live availability, gives us more control in-house, taking huge pressures of staff and management and allows us to offer the best rates, and guest experience to our customers. It’s important to continually invest in the business, to futureproof our operations and we look forward to this next chapter working closely together with Guestline.”

It’s been 18 months since Guestline entered the Irish market and they are now delivering the brand’s market leading Rezlynx PMS (property management system) to over 80 properties across the country - that’s 5,920 rooms and 190,743 online bookings generated. With a head office in Dublin City Centre and lead by Country manager and Irish hospitality expert, Clio O’Gara, Guestline is celebrating the implementation of their award winning Rezlynx PMS to well-known Irish properties including Knightsbrook Hotel, Breaffy House Hotel, Gleneagle Hotel, Green Isle Hotel, Claregalway Hotel, Sheen Falls Country Club, Virginia Park Lodge, Beresford Hotel and No7, Loughview Leisure Group and Belfast’s Tara Lodge to name a few. By introducing Guestline to their properties, these hoteliers now have the freedom to tailor the experiences that work for their guests and allow them to stand out in an increasingly crowded accommodation marketplace.

Clio says: “In light of the uncertainty around Brexit and a hard dip in sentiment within the industry, Guestline are performing well above projected expectations since our entry into Ireland and the investment in our team and new opportunities to support our clients has been extensive. With the success of our proven return on investment (ROI) calculator, we are delighted with the overwhelming response from hoteliers who are rapidly adapting to our integrated systems and are already expressing a positive boost in operations, staff efficiencies, time saving techniques and the overall guest experience. 2019 is set to be a big year for us as we grow our client base and enable hoteliers to take advantage of the rise in occupancy and room rates and work harder together with our partners to ensure we are bringing the best possible solutions to our clients.”

New data released by Guestline reports that the company is thriving on an international level, currently growing revenues across 25 countries. In 2018, the company signed up over 350 new hotels, representing 27,000 rooms, to their cloud based and awardwinning property management and distribution software. Guestline are also currently processing 3 Billion GBP a year in revenue for their customers and have facilitated 6.3 Million bookings for their clients each year.

www.guestline.com

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Sodexo appoints new business development manager for corporate services

Sodexo, one of Ireland’s leading on-site services providers, has recently appointed Sarita Johnston as business development manager for corporate services. She joined the company from Enterprise Ireland, where she was the HPSU Start Department Manager.

Sarita is responsible for driving sales of the corporate services offering in Ireland and Northern Ireland, reporting into Steven White, business development director. Within the corporate sector in Ireland, Sodexo works with clients in finance, pharma, technology and FMCG, including Ervia, Gas Networks Ireland, Bord Bia, Central Bank, PayPal, Dell and Microsoft.

Sarita has held several business development and strategic mentoring roles at Enterprise Ireland since 1996 and worked across multiple sectors from industrial and life sciences, consumer, software and technology services and cleantech. She also held roles in the regions and in commercial evaluation. She was responsible for supporting and boosting the number of innovative, export-oriented businesses with the potential to grow and scale internationally. She has over twenty years’ experience in working with indigenous companies across multiple sectors and holds a Bachelor of Business (Hons Degree) and an MBS from Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.

Julie Ennis, managing director, Corporate Services, Sodexo Ireland, said “We’re delighted to welcome Sarita to the company, where her experience in both the public and private sector will be immensely valuable in expanding and growing our corporate services portfolio in Ireland.”.

Sodexo is a leading provider of food and facilities management services to clients in business and industry, education, financial services and healthcare in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It employs approximately 3,700 people in 230 locations with a combined turnover of €141 million in 2018.

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EDUCATION & TRAINING

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EDUCATION & TRAINING

INDUSTRY NEWS Excel Recruitment launch barista school Excel Recruitment and sister company Futureproof Training are delighted to add barista training to the menu by establishing ‘The Irish Barista School’.

Shane Mclave, Director at Excel Recruitment says “The barista school came about because of the sheer number of our clients requesting knowledgeable, passionate, fully-trained baristas. We have 100s of fantastic staff that are great at customer service and bar/ wait staff duties, they just need the additional knowledge piece.” Shane continues “The school will be mutually beneficial for clients and staff. Staff will be able to add another string to their bow and clients have skilled, accomplished baristas readily available for their businesses’ needs.

The new Irish Barista School will offer full barista training courses including equipment and maintenance, coffee theory, drink making and more. According to Senior Trainer Eimhear Ó Dálaigh is designed specifically with Excel’s clients in mind. She says “as soon as the training is completed, each barista is able to immediately and seamlessly work on any of our client’s teams.”

The school will be run in partnership with Futureproof Training which already offers a full range of blended training for hospitality professionals. Futureproof operate at the forefront of training providers with fully accredited trainers and a variety of learning methods, including online, app and classroom based.

For more info on The Irish Barista School, any of Excel’s training programmes or to discuss your recruitment needs, please get in touch with Shane McLave on 018717676 or shane@excelrecruitment.com

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INDUSTRY NEWS

TRADES IN HVAC CONSIDERING A TRADE? “TRADES IN HVAC Considering a trade?

Why not choose a trade in the Refrigeration & Air Conditioning industry. We have great opportunities to build and develop your career within this field.

Dylan Casey one of our current apprentices was selected to compete in this year’s Ireland skills live competition through Cork Institute of Technology.

During the competition which features trades across Ireland, Dylan was tasked with building a fridge circuit including a hot gas defrost where the evaporator was constructed to read the word 'COOL'.

WORLD STAGE A TRADE CAN TAKE YOU ANYWHERE When the system was running each letter started to freeze. Three days of competition and 14 hours of work went into the fabrication of the evaporator, building the frame, mounting the condenser, pipework, wiring, charging and finally the successful running of the system.

Dylan emerged the winner in the Refrigeration & Air Conditioning apprentice arena in Ireland, to now move on to compete in the world skills in Kazan Russia in August.

If this is a trade you would like to pursue, contact us at jobs@crystalair.ie

Crystal Air Ltd Phone: 045893228 Web: www.crystalair.ie

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Make booking taxis seamless with a free Taxi Butler from mytaxi.

Arrange fast, reliable taxis for your customers completely hassle-free at the click of a button. Simply plug-in and go!

As Ireland’s leading hospitality transport provider, we’re happy to be giving a free Taxi Butler to all IHI members so you can start availing of 4 minute wait times and provide a better experience to your customers right away.

Benefits of using a Taxi Butler Book at the click of a button Taxi ordered in seconds Track bookings via our Admin panel Receive live updates on driver Free to all IHI members

If you would like to avail of a free Taxi Butler you can get in touch with below.

Contact us for more info: ireland.hospitality@mytaxi.com or phone +353 83 069 4771

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Leisure & Hospitality Insurance NEEDS!?!

We’ll get you COVERED! O’Leary Insurance Group; with 9 offices nationwide and in excess of 200 staff have over 50 years of experience in providing insurance options and advice to the Leisure and Hospitality industries within the Republic of Ireland.

We have recently sourced niche Property and Liability insurance SOLUTIONS for several entities including but not limited to Hotels, Restaurants, Contract Caterers, Cinemas, Public Houses, Nightclubs, Sports Clubs and more.

We have extensive market access and contacts in both in the Republic of Ireland and Lloyds of London Markets which we can utilise to obtain you the best possible COVER for your premium.

In this day and age, whilst we understand that premium remains the main driver behind insurer selection, the need for risk management advice, expertise and customer care in the Leisure and Hospitality Industries has never been GREATER, and we operate around these principals with every insured we work with, irrespective of size or trade.

So why not get in touch and see what we can do for YOU! Should you wish to discuss any aspects of the above, or meet with any of our representatives nationwide to discuss your insurance programme, please see contact details below.

John Moylan – Director John Crotty - Director O’Leary Insurances (Dublin) Ltd. O’Leary Insurances (Dublin) Ltd. Direct Dial: +353 (0)1 2026813 Direct Dial: +353 (0)1 6630622 M: 086 441 3526 | E: jmoylan@olid. M: 086 225 0330 | E: jcrotty@olid.ie

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IHI RECENT EVENTS

On May 17th, The IHI Annual Conference, "Think Different" took place at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Dublin with guest speakers Gina London, Fergus Daly, Eric Fitzpatrick, Tracey Coughlan and Padraig Hyland. Our speakers discussed "The Nature V Nurture of Leadership", "Making A World of a Difference", "How to Influence and Engage", "Food Strategy & Taste the Island Initiative" and "Using Story in Business".

Gina London

John Carty FIHI and Tracey Coughlan Fergus Daly

Frankie Francis and Lincoln Nelson

Eric Fitzpatrick Julie Morissey FIHI, Rosion Buckley MIHI and Brian Bowlwer FIHI

Padraig Hyland

Una Young MIHI and Niamh Hester

Glenn McCormack MIHI, Russell Hadley MIHI, Sarah Geoghegan, Joe Higgins MIHI and Sinead Heneghan MIHI

Thank you to our sponsors: The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Dublin, Classic Drinks Stafford Lynch - Acqua Panna & San Pellegrino

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IHI RECENT EVENTS

On May 30th, the IHI partnered with Great Place to Work to host a breakfast seminar at the spectacular Aviva Stadium. Speakers, Cathal Divilly, GPTW, Fania Stoney, GPTW, Helen Richardson, AdvantCard and Andre Claro, The Marker Hotel spoke about Talent Attraction and Retention. It was an insightful morning as attendees learned how to get the best people and how to build best practices.

Andre Claro, Helen Richardson, Fania Stoney, Cathal Divilly

Andre Claro

Cathal Divilly, Fania Stoney and Cynthia O'Neill

Thank you to our sponsors: Compass Group at the Aviva Stadium Stafford Lynch - Acqua Panna & San Pellegrino

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IHI RECENT EVENTS

On May 30th, Helen O'Leary, The Innovate Room spoke about ways to optimise business opportunities from your reservations sales department, engaging customers to ensure they return time and again. Helen invigorated General Managers, Sales and Reservation Managers on new best ways to optimise the modern buyer's journey. She explained how the B2B process has changed. It's now self-initiated and starts online.

67% of customer's journey is now digital.

57% of the purchasing decision is now complete before a customer even calls a supplier.

90% of customers initiate the first step in the buying cycle... not sales.

Helen O'Leary

Oonagh Cremins FIHI, Carmel Lonergan MIHI and Marie Healy

Thank you to our sponsors: The Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Cork Stafford Lynch - Acqua Panna & San Pellegrino

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Do you have any feedback for us?

If so, please email us at info@ihi.ie We look forward to hearing from you.