IHI's Hospitality & Tourism Professionals Day

IHI H P OS RO PITA FESS LITY IONA & L TOUR S DAY ISM 2021

The Irish Hospitality Institute (IHI) Hospitality and Tourism Professionals Day, took place on 25th November 2021, with the aim of providing support and solidarity at a critical time for the hospitality industry.

The event focused on the future and provided a platform for hospitality and tourism professionals to discuss rebuilding business, addressing, in particular, the critical issue of attracting and retaining talent in the industry. Decision-makers from hotels, restaurants, attractions, tourism, travel & education, were invited to attend.

CEO of Europe’s largest hotel group ACCOR, Duncan O’Rourke shared insights on initiatives to combat the labour shortage and how business models need to adapt to rebuild.

Expert and leader in the luxury hospitality industry Bill Walshe, CEO of Viceroy Hotels, spoke on the importance of Brand Pride within the hospitality & tourism sector as a key driver to attracting and supporting talent management.

Other key industry professionals joined a panel conversation chaired by Aaron Mansworth, CEO of Trigon Hotels. Speakers include Director Sector Development at Failte Ireland Jenny De Saulles, CEO of Dalata Hotel Group, Dermot Crowley, Catherine Toolan, Diageo Home Brands & The Guinness Storehouse amongst other industry representatives who share their insights.

On the day, the IHI shined a light on the sector with a series of videos ‘It's our Passion, It's our Pride, It's our Profession' , which highlighted advocates working in the industry. The videos were shared across social media throughout the day.

NEO REPORT

2021 started with huge uncertainty; our industry remained closed, and morale was at an all-time low with no light at the end of the tunnel. Recognising the need to provide additional support for members, we ramped up the level of webinars and re-introduced our Coffee & Conversations mornings and expanded our training offering. The objective of the webinars was to deliver informative on-topic subjects with solid learning outcomes. Throughout 2021 we provided 12 webinars and IHI Hospitality & Tourism Professionals Day attended by some 2000 plus delegates. Coffee & Conversations proved to be an essential and valuable meeting point for members, providing an opportunity to stay connected in a very disconnected time. For the IHI, virtual engagement continued to be a hugely successful method for member engagement and communication across the country throughout 2021.

2021 was also year of change with IHI President Oonagh Cremins FIHI, retiring at the AGM in June. I would like to take this opportunity to recognise Oonagh's contribution to the IHI during her two years of office and thank her for her passion, commitment, and dedication to the IHI and our industry.

Membership & Events

2021 was a financially challenging year for membership and events. Overall income for 2021 was down €30k in 2020, representing a reduction of -20% on income. The reduction in surplus was attributed to the decision by the Board not to invoice membership subscriptions for 2021 due to the financial impact Covid was having on members. Unable to host physical events, overall income for 2021 v an average trading year (2019) was down €158k.

On a positive note, Membership growth continued slowly during the year with 30 new members joining. This growth was attributed to the success of the IHI Webinar series, our social media engagement, and the need for industry professionals to stay connected and engaged during this challenging period. Throughout the year, we continued to reduce expenditure and build additional revenue streams.

IHI Patrons

The IHI Patron Programme, now in its 25th year, continues to be significant financial support for the work undertaken at the IHI for our members and the broader Hospitality &Tourism industry. Our Patron's commitment and dedication to the IHI, particularly throughout the pandemic, has been exceptional and for that, we are extremely grateful.

On a positive note, Membership growth continued slowly during the year with 30 new members joining. This growth was attributed to the success of the IHI Webinar series, our social media engagement, and the need for industry professionals to stay connected and engaged during this challenging period. Throughout the year, we continued to reduce expenditure and build additional revenue streams.

Professional Development - Professional Recognition MIHI & FIHI

Since our foundation in 1966, the Irish Hospitality Institute has promoted professional and management development through seminars, conferences, networking opportunities, and the facilitation and promotion of various management development and training initiatives.

Membership in the Hospitality and Tourism industry 's professional body provides the deserved recognition of an individual's qualifications and experience.

Member participation and the promotion of IHI within member teams and colleagues cannot be understated to aid and support the development of our management teams.

IHI – Continuous Professional Development

Working in partnership with our Academic Partners at TU Dublin (UCD Innovate Academy) and the Shannon College of Hotel Management, we were delighted to support and promote the delivery of six new innovative and creative programs at Level 9:

Creativity and Innovation + Digital Entrepreneurship Design Thinking + Digital Marketing Finance for Non-Financial Managers Certificate in Guest Experiences Certificate in Applied Digital Skills MSC in Business & Hospitality

The level of engagement for all programmes demonstrated the thirst for learning and development. We look forward to working with our Academic Partners as we support and promote the importance of continuous professional development.

Management Development Programmes

For some 40 years, the IHI, in partnership with TU Dublin, has successfully delivered flexible upskilling Supervisory and Management programmes at levels 6,7 and 8. This flexible study provides students with the opportunity to gain a qualification whilst working full time.

2021, saw the launch of two new online third-level programmes at levels 6 and 9 to address the skills and talent needs of the tourism and hospitality sector. These practical, skills-focused programmes were developed by TU Dublin School of Hospitality Management & Tourism in conjunction with the Tourism and Hospitality Careers Oversight Group (COG) and were developed based on research completed within the industry.

IHI was honoured to project lead the development with TU Dublin on behalf of industry partners, RAI, IHF, AVEA, IVF & LVA.