IHI HNN December 2019 Issue

December 2019

Irish Hospitality InstituteÂ

GPTW Manaaging Director Cathal Divily GPTW, 2019 IHI General Manager of the Year Alan Buckley FIHI and IHI President OonaghCremins FIHI

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

In this Issue

2

Note from the President

3

Welcome New Members / IHI Events

5

Q&A with IHI President Oongah Cremins

7

2019 IHI Founders Banquet & Hospitality Management Awards

14

Industry News

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

NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Member, Welcome to our December and final edition of 2019!

The expression of time flies by takes on new meaning as I sit here to write this welcome note on this December afternoon. The recurring question in my head is “Where has that year gone to? “ 2019 has been a challenging year for many of us in the hospitality business and as we enter 2020 we know that these challenges will remain if not increase. What’s important is to remain positive in the face of these challenges and for us all to continue to work together and to use our professional networks for advice, mentoring and support .

Since our last issue, our annual Founders Banquet and Hospitality Management Awards Ceremony has taken place and the feedback on the event has been very positive. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support of this night and most importantly your active management with the awards programme. Nurturing and recognising the talent within our industry is key to what we do here at IHI and thank you for supporting that work.

We have a healthy calendar of events planned for 2020 in Dublin & regionally and we will share with you with in early January. I look forward to meeting you all in the New Year of 2020. In the meantime, on behalf of the Board and Executive of the IHI, I wish you all as a very happy & safe Christmas and New Year.

Kind regards, Oonagh Cremins FIHI President

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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Andrew Drysdale The g Hotel & Spa

John Gavin Shannon Springs Hotel

John Farrelly The Wilder Townhouse

Richard Raab Four Seasons Hotel

Karen Glynn Woodlands Hotel

Michael Diskin Landsdowne Football Club

David Ryan Top Staff Recruitment

Ewan Smith Commons Inn

WELCOME NEW BUSINESS PARTNERS

About Booking.com™ Founded in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com has grown from a small Dutch startup to one of the world’s leading digital travel companies. Part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.com’s mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. By investing in the technology that helps take the friction out of travel, Booking.com seamlessly connects millions of travellers with memorable experiences, a range of transport options and incredible places to stay from homes to hotels and much more. As one of the world’s largest travel marketplaces for both established brands and entrepreneurs of all sizes, Booking.com enables properties all over the world to reach a global audience and grow their businesses. Booking.com is available in 43 languages and offers more than 28 million total reported accommodation listings, including over 6.2 million listings alone of homes, apartments and other unique places to stay. No matter where you want to go or what you want to do, Booking.com makes it easy and backs it all up with 24/7 customer support.

Contact Catherine McKenna or David Murdiff

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OONAGH CREMINS TALKS SUPPORTING THE ‘PEOPLE’ AS SHE TAKES THE HELM AS THE IHI’S ONLY SECOND FEMALE PRESIDENT

Oonagh Cremins is a marketing leader with decades of senior hospitality experience both operationally and at corporate management level. As she takes the helm as President of the IHI, here she chats about the challenges facing the hospitality industry, why the IHI Hospitality Management Awards are the most prestigious awards of the year and she sets out her strategy for the growth of the IHI before her tenure ends in June 2021.

1. As one of only two female Presidents of the IHI, how does that feel?

I am truly honoured and privileged to take on the role.

Back in April 1995 when Paula Daly was voted as the first female president, there wouldn’t have been very many females holding senior level positions within the industry, therefore she became a wonderful advocate for the institution. A lot has changed in those years and now is a good time to return to a female president as it reflects our changing membership base and the growing presence of females within the industry.

Our main aim is to continue our growth as a professional body, bringing people within the industry together to establish and grow skillsets, enhance relationships and offer a community of like-minded individuals. We are a pro body for supporting, mentoring, networking and recognising the value employees (at all levels) bring to all aspects of the industry. We have a very strong active board who are happily committed and partake to spread the ambitions of the IHI in their own areas, all voluntary and time consuming. All members believe strongly in creating a community of peers that we can all learn and benefit from.

We attract huge attendance and support at our events, 500+ at our industry awards, 60 people at our targeted networking breakfasts and additional support from nonmembers who we also welcome – it is about spreading the learning, educating all and ensuring that our ‘people’ feel valued and supported by the industry.

3. What existing challenges does the hospitality industry face?

2. What does the IHI represent?

We are about ‘people’! Our aspirations at the IHI is to improve the profile of the industry, support the industry as a solid career choice and grow the membership of the IHI – which in turn allows us to offer invaluable support to the industry.

Our main aim is to continue our growth as a professional body, bringing people within the industry together to establish and grow skillsets, enhance relationships and offer a community of like-minded individuals. We are a pro body for supporting, mentoring, networking and recognising the value employees (at all levels) bring to all aspects of the industry. We have a very strong active board who are happily committed and partake to spread the ambitions of the IHI in their own areas, all voluntary and time consuming. All members believe strongly in creating a community of peers that we can all learn and benefit from.

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Hospitality is the country’s largest employer, employing over 330,000 people and because of this, attraction and retention of staff within the industry is a huge challenge.

Sometimes other professions can be viewed as being more enticing, however, the hospitality industry offers wide and transferable skills and needs to be further recognised as a solid career choice with career growth and continued access to cross functional skillsets.

Honestly, one of the industry’s main pitfalls is that it hasn’t done a good job marketing itself to fully communicate the positives of such industry. As someone who was hands on in the industry for many years, I believe we need to look inward at programmes, chef initiatives, professional development curriculums and promote continuous learning, bringing greater professional status to the industry.

Honestly, one of the industry’s main pitfalls is that it hasn’t done a good job marketing itself to fully communicate the positives of such industry. As someone who was hands on in the industry for many years, I believe we need to look inward at programmes, chef initiatives, professional development curriculums and promote continuous learning, bringing greater professional status to the industry.

We are a people industry, other industries have automation swooping in, but whilst automation can improve efficiencies and how we run our hotels and businesses, people will always be the key component in service. Therefore, we need to think about the people and offer better opportunities, upskilling programmes, further education, networking opportunities and workshops etc. to ensure we are attracting and retaining the required staff.

4. The IHI Hospitality Management Awards are the most sought-after awards recognising excellence within the industry. What makes these awards so special?

It’s simple, it’s because the awards are about the ‘people’ and not the ‘property’ or their place of work. By raising our standards year on year, this has led to 2019 attracting the highest number of applicants to-date and reconfirms the prestigiousness of the awards.

Judged by a high calibre panel of well-informed industry judges, across many industries from hoteliers to Failte Ireland to industry consultants and mainstream banking executives, the strict criteria in place for the judging ensures that we offer fair and transparent adjudication.

These 39 judges all work voluntary, giving up approx. 2 full days of their time, offering their unique skillset to better the future of our industry. As a very generous industry, we are all about ‘people’, staff and consumers, and this ethos is carried through the awards from start to finish.

Firstly, I want to ensure that we continue the exceptional work that the institute has generated within the industry over the past number of years. In addition, we have devised a robust strategy to facilitate growth across our membership base, improved offerings for our industry ‘people’ and to continue to raise the standards of our industry awards year on year – we want to ensure that we remain professional, offer support and recognise excellence.

Our main aim as an institute is the grow our membership base across Ireland. In 2017, my predecessor Matt Muller was the driver behind setting up our Munster district, and in a bid to expand our remit, we have plans to further drive our academic partnerships which we will support with a number of regional centric events to fulfil momentum and introduce ourselves directly as a professional body to graduates.

As an industry that has gone through a huge recession, the subscription cost to such institutions as the IHI can sometimes fall short on budgetary lists or indeed to pay packets when employees are burdened with the cost themselves. As part of our communication around helping the industry to attract and retain staff we’d like to work more closely with hoteliers to develop packages whereby alongside health insurance and other benefits that they are offering employee IHI memberships, which will in turn assist the employee with their growth, professionalism and recognise them as a member of our industry with access to all the benefits driven through the institute.

We want to tap into the younger generation as they access the industry by providing access, advice and support at all levels. We are exploring the idea of a pro bono mentoring programme whereby young graduates and staff can access a panel of mentors who would take a phone call, give advice or meet for coffee to offer support etc, it’s all about attracting and retaining talent through networking and support.

Whilst as an industry we focus on delivering a better guest satisfaction, we need to put our people at the centre of this, hence these employee centric awards propels a higher calibre of winner, someone who was nominated by a peer or an employer as being exceptional at their role.

5. What are your goals, aspirations and future for the growth of the IHI?

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Congratulations to all the Finalists of The 2019 IHI Hospitality Management Awards Finalists

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The 2019 IHI Fellowship Elecrtion The IHI elected four members to the College of Fellows for 2019.

Martin Cassidy, Chair of the College addressed guests at the IHI Founders Banquet and Hospitality Management Awards. "The IHI College is currently represented by 76 senior industry figures and 29 Retired Fellows who continue to contribute,guide and mentor our industry."

Chair of the College of Fellows, Martin Cassidy FIHI

Martin noted, "Fellowship should be regarded as the ultimate recognition by peers, as such it should be sought after but never demanded. It recognises a contribution above and beyond the demands of commerce and imposes on Fellows a responsibility in terms of professionalism, their interaction with others, both inside and outside the industry and in particular with students and young managers. He stated. "It is the duty of Fellows to foster the good name of the Industry and the Institute."

Fellowhship awarded Aaron Mansworth FIHI, Stephen Hanna FIHI, Dominic Dillane FIHI and Ronnie Counihane FIHI

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The 2019 IHI Hospitality Management Awards Winners

Hospitality Graduate of the Year Winner Emer Priestley of Shannon College of Hotel Management, pictured with Hugh Murray, Director and Founder of Classic Drinks and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

Hospitality Employee of the Year Winner Denise Meenaghan of The Radisson Blu Sligo, pictured with James Dunne, Director BRU Brewery and IHI President Oonagh Cremins

Young Hospitality Manager of the Year Winner Keith O'Sullivan of Masterchefs Hospitality pictured with Garrett Lynch, Food Service Director of Stafford Lynch and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

Hospitality Manager of the Year Winner - HR & Training Kathleen Linehan of Trigon Hotels, pictured with Noel Cafferkey, Managing Director of Action Recruitment and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

Hospitality Manager of the Year Winner - Catering, Sigitas Zubrickas of Sodexo Ireland pictured with Jim Reeves, Customer Director Unilever Food Solutions, Jim Reeves and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

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Hospitality Manager of the Year Winner - Finance, Brian Farrell of Clayton Hotel Burlington Road, who was unable to attend.

Pictured are Detta Melia for the IHI, Sandra Doyle , GM Clayton Hotel Burlington Road and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

Hospitality Manager of the Year Winner - Revenue, Declan McKenna of The Guinness Storehouse Ireland pictured with Clio O'Gara Country Manager of Guestline and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

Hospitality Manager of the Year Winner - Environmental & Facilities, Aine Martin of Hotel Doolin pictured with Domnic Ward, Managing Director of Crystal Air and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

Hospitality Manager of the Year Winner - Sales & Marketing, Eveanna Ryan of Connacht Hospitality pictured with William Cotter, Managing Director of Netaffinity and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

Hospitality Manager of the Year Winner - Food & Beverage, Alex Staskunas of Compass Group at Aviva Stadium pictured with Patrick McNamara Broadline Group and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

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Hospitality Manager of the Year Winner - Executive Head Chef, Michelle O'Donnell of Masterchefs Hospitality pictured with Paul Hayden, Head of Tourism Careers with Failte Ireland and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

Hospitality Manager of the Year Winner - Hotel Deputy General Manager, Diana Pyzio of Jurys Inn Cork pictured Maria Logan of Maria Logan Recruitment and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

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Hospitality Manager of the Year Winner - Hotel General Manager, Alan Buckley of Jurys Inn Parnell Street pictured Cathal Divilly Managing Director of Great Place to Work and IHI President Oonagh Cremins.

A very special thanks to our 2019 IHI Hospitality Management Award Sponsors

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Thank you to all who contributed to the Golden & Platinum ticket sponsors.

Castle Leslie Celtic Linen The Clatyon Hotel Charlemont The Clayton Hotel Leopardstown Compass Group Ireland - Aviva Stadium Dromoland Castle The Cliff House Great National Mulranny Park Hotel The Guinness Storehouse The Hilton Garden Inn Custom House The Intercontinental Hotel The Marker Kilkenny Hibernian Hotel The Montenotte Hotel The Morrison Muckross Park Hotel Press Up Group Press Up Group - The Devlin The Radisson Blu Hotel Athlone The Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Sligo Tha Sandymount Hotel The Shelbourne Hotel Slieve Donard Hotel The Talbot Hotel Carlow Trigon Hotels The Westbury

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INDUSTRY NEWS

ARAMARK WORKPLACE SOLUTIONS AWARDED THREE ISO ACCREDITATIONS Tuesday, 10th December 2019: Aramark Workplace Solutions (AWS) is proud to announce that it has been awarded three ISO Accreditations in recognition of its high standards and practices. Aramark Workplace Solutions, a leading provider in facilities management, has been awarded ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management credentials, ISO 14001:2015 Accreditation for Environmental Management System and OHSAS 1800:2007 Occupational Health and Safety Management. These three standards are an industry benchmark and vital to the work carried out

by AWS. Shane Flynn, Managing Director for Food Services and Facilities Management, Aramark Ireland said, “We are delighted to be awarded these accreditations, which are recognised across the world. We believe it is our responsibility to improve the standards and quality of our services as well as health and safety within our environment.

Safety has always been and remains a major priority for our business and we are committed to ensuring our workplace environments remain safe and our services remain sustainable.” “This certification bolsters our position in the market as an industry leader and plays a vital role in demonstrating our ability to control processes and ensure services are delivered to our clients in a safe, sustainable and process-driven manner. We are delighted that the auditor called out numerous positive assets across our business, particularly our leadership involvement and safe engagement activities, in terms of how we bring these standards to life. “The ISO accreditation will provide an endorsement to clients and customers that Aramark Workplace Solutions operates to the highest standard of quality and that we go above and beyond for our clients. I have no doubt that our teams will continue to develop and progress their systems. I wish them every success in the future.”

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A huge congratulations to Robert Henderson, Group Head of ICT for The Doyle Collection. Robert won the Inspirational IT Leader of the Year award, sponsored by Tierney's Office Automation Ltd at this year's HOSPA Conference HOSPACE held in the Royal Lancaster Hotel on Thursday 28th November. “With an incredible understanding of IT, Robert sets the bar high.” #HOSPACE.

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OVER 100 HOTELIERS ATTEND GUESTLINE’S CONNECT EVENT BRINGING WORLD-CLASS TECHNOLOGY TO THE FOREFRONT OF HOSPITALITY ‘Driving TOTAL revenue at your property’ was the theme of this year’s Guestline Connect event held at the worldclass Aviva Stadium in Dublin. With a pitch side view, over 100 hoteliers and partners from across Ireland came together to listen to experts, hear informative panel discussions, view product demonstrations and network with industry colleagues.

Compered by leading marketer, award-winning trainer and author Marc Thornton, guests were welcomed by Guestline’s Operations Director James Cannon before listening to experts including Guestline’s Chief Technical Officer Andrew Metcalfe who discussed the benefits of having an omni-platform whilst Susannah Brook, Head of Pre-sales at Guestline, took attendees on the entire end to end guest journey using the breadth of Guestline’s portfolio. Partner’s Right Revenue discussed forecasting and business analytics plus Upsell Guru harnessed the power of upselling by showcasing its revenue generating technology. Ciaran Rowe from BookAssist discussed the importance of ‘search’ by making your brand stand-out, plus pioneers in EPoS technology, CBE and self-service solution leaders FutureSens were on hand to demonstrate and inform hoteliers on their innovative technologies.

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Showcasing their implementation experience and how they’ve enhanced the guest journey at their properties, were two of Ireland’s well-known hotel managers Christopher Kenny (previously at thekeycollections), and Sandra Jackson from Fitzpatrick’s Hotel during an educational Q&A answering audience questions on the topics of migration, implementation, and efficiencies since the introduction of Guestline Rezlynx PMS. Followed by an engaging panel discussion on ‘How to drive revenue from your entire property whilst keeping a keen eye on the guest experience with Guestline’s Andrew Metcalfe, William Barry of ResDiary, Kevin Greene of CBE and Sheila Baird, Green Isle Hotel.

Clio O’Gara, Guestline’s Country Manager for Ireland says: “Driving room revenue is absolutely a priority, but at Guestline we understand hoteliers need to be maximising total revenue across the entire property. This includes seats in the restaurant, bookings at the spa, players on the golf course and leveraging local events and attractions. We brought together a number of experts and partners with experience in this area to create a unique event to assist and arm hoteliers with tools to drive total revenue and educate on how an end-to-end platform can help drive efficiencies, save them time, plus how to enhance the guest journey and boost their overall experience. We’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to our partners and to those hoteliers who took the time to come along.”

Net Affinity’s booking engine is leading the way in mobile conversions!

Our latest device trends data for Q3 2019 has an exciting revelation… for the first time ever, we are seeing mobile revenue overtake desktop! This sets us up as one of the industry’s best performing booking engines in the market.

It’s kind of a big deal. We’ve been seeing the slow and steady rise of mobile for years now, but this is our biggest ever quarter to quarter jump in mobile revenue (it increased by 6% to 45% from Q2 to Q3 2019).

Purchases on mobile have seen a huge jump! Q3 is the first time we’ve ever seen mobile purchases solidly surpass desktop purchases, peaking in August, where we saw an 8% difference between the two.

Following on from our last device trends report which gave a full picture of today’s direct booker and their device habits, we’re continuing to see more and more people become comfortable with browsing and booking on their phones. Mobile browsing and buying will only continue to grow, and the importance of your property having a website that’s fully optimised for mobile cannot be stressed enough!

Your booking engine needs to be fully optimised for mobile too. We are always striving to keep on top of mobile technology because we can see how rapidly it is becoming the primary channel for browsing and buying.

Our team are passionate about continually learning, refining and improving our products in the journey towards a seamless mobile booking experience.

Most recently we made a number of significant updates to our booking engine across all clients to ensure it keeps delivering that seamless experience. It will continue to be a priority of ours as mobile speeds on with its growth.

Here is more detail on our latest device trends from Q3 2019: Mobile website visits have increased by 3% to 66% 2 in 3 users now visit our sites on mobile devices Mobile revenue has had the biggest ever quarter to quarter jump, increasing by 6% to 45% of all revenue Desktop revenue has dropped from 50% to 44% from Q2 to Q3 2019 Mobile transactions have seen a large jump by 4%, to accounting for 49% of all transactions Q3 is the first time ever mobile transactions have solidly surpassed desktop transactions, peaking in August where we saw an 8% difference between the two!

Average transaction value on mobile remains lower than on desktop, however, a variance of 15% is the lowest we have seen in a year .

Our data is taken as an average across all Net Affinity clients FYI. 19

Sandymount Hotel's 2019 Gingerbread Village, on display for all to see throughout the month of December. Created by Employees of Sandymount Hotel, led by our amazing Head Chef.

Any donations made at the village go to Make-A-Wish Ireland.

There is a competition that if people come to the hotel and take a photo of the village and use #shgingerbreadvillage. They will be in with a chance to win An Overnight Stay with Breakfast AND Dinner & Cocktails.

Sandymount Hotel is different to other hotel’s who create Gingerbread Villages as we do not have a pastry team so each department takes a house to decorate in their own time.This is all done for charity as we ask people who visit the village to make a donation to Make-A-Wish Ireland.

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Christmas party season is now in full swing and, for many of us, the arrival of the festive season means a sharp increase in time spent with the three Fs – family, friends and food. But Aramark, the leading food service provider, is predicting that the traditional festive meal with all its trimmings may not be at the top of everyone’s Christmas list this year.

Recent months have seen interest in vegetarianism, veganism and flexitarianism rising steadily – with incremental sales of vegan foods outpacing any other cuisine. And while turkey and ham remain firm festive favourites, demand for meat-free menu options has seen such growth in 2019 that Aramark believes Christmas parties around the country will be complementing their classic pork cocktail sausage with a tasty plant-forward alternative.

Shane Flynn, Managing Director, Food Services and Facilities Management, Ireland said, “As a global food provider, we look at trend insights to tell us what is in demand. Consumers in 2019 are really embracing plant-forward eating and this is likely to have a visible impact on the menu variety we see over the festive season. Red meat, game and poultry remain incredibly popular but, more and more, we’re seeing demand for plant-forward options growing.”

“Gen Z, in particular, are driving a tangible evolution in consumer expectations: they buy 80% more kale, 57% more tofu and 266% more avocados than Gen X before them.

And Aramark’s Culinary team are leading the response to this evolving demand. Today, one tenth of dishes offered across Aramark’s dining operations in healthcare, education and business dining across Northern Europe are vegetarian, and there has been a further increase in the amount of fruit, vegetable and whole grain ingredients used in Aramark’s menus.

Shane explains “From boardroom to lunchroom, many consumers are demanding the option to choose a plantforward option and we expect Christmas party season will be no different. We’re leaning on the expertise and creativity of our talented chefs to give our customers the option to choose a great-tasting plant-forward dish this festive season, should they wish. From nibbles, canapés and appetizers that put vegetables, fruits and whole grains centre stage, to menus that are 100% plantbased, we want to give every type of consumer exciting food choices that inspire.”

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“We’ve really stepped up to the plate this year, expanding our offering to ensure we’re always providing choices that meet consumers’ lifestyle and dietary preferences. To meet demand driven by vegetarian, vegan and flexitarian customers, we launched our first dedicated plant-forward dining concept, PlantMarket, which was developed in partnership with Paul Gayler MBE.” “The response to Plant Market has been absolutely fantastic which is a great indication of consumer appetite right now. I think, this year, we will see a lot of Christmas parties offering plant-forward menu options, alongside traditional favourites like turkey and ham, so every diner at the table can comfortably choose a great-tasting festive dish that meets their individual taste and dietary preferences – that’s what it’s all about.”

5 Tips To Help Manage Your Cancellations and No-Shows

1. Have a clear cancellation policy set out. Ensure the guest is aware at all stages of the booking process what the cancellation terms and conditions are. Having a specific date by which they can cancel before is quite clear cut for most guests. Ensure that during every correspondence with your guest that the cancellation policy is in writing, under the terms and conditions, as a reminder to them.

2. Know where your bookings come from. This is so important because if you receive a booking 6 months out from a domestic booker, the chances of this booking being cancelled are high.

Whereas, if you receive a booking 6 months out from an overseas booker, travelling a long distance, America, China,Australia etc, these bookers are a lot less likely to cancel because of the nature of their travel being long haul, organisation is key. Having a clear view of where your bookings are coming from and who your booker is will give you a better idea of your cancellation trends by channel.

3. Reminder emails are a great way to keep in contact with your guest before they arrive at the property. They can act as a reminder for the booking as a whole but can also be used as a way of up selling features of the property i.e. dinner, spa, golf etc. PMS Systems can automatically send these emails out which takes away the stress of following up from your Front Desk or Reservations team.

4. An Advanced Purchase option is always a good idea to not only keep cancellations down but also to help drive more bookings direct. Offering a discounted rate when people pay upfront is a proven way of reducing cancellations and no shows because people will not commit to paying in advance unless they are sure of their arrival. It is a good way to control last minute cancellations when there is an event on in your area, concerts or business conferences. This will help you cut out the “just in case� bookers.

5. Overbooking is something that can help you manage your occupancy. With cancellations and no shows being the norm in the hospitality industry, it can have a negative impact on your overall occupancy percentage if you are getting rooms back last minute and unable to sell them again. Instead of filling to capacity and then closing all channels immediately, allow your system to overbook by a certain number (this will always be property specific) and therefore you will be able to maintain your high occupancy without dropping your rate last minute when the inevitable cancellations do come through. This method will not work for all properties but if you can study your cancellations and find the trend for your property then this could be a big help your property in the long run. This will also work with a waiting list feature that automates your waiting list for you to ensure your occupancy is kept as high as possible.

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Excel Recruitment’s hospitality team are in the final stages of preparing our 2020 Hotel and Catering Salary Survey for release and already, the results make interesting reading for anyone working in the hospitality industry. Below is an excerpt of just some of our findings: It has been another formidable year in the world of hospitality recruitment. We enter 2020 with a healthy unemployment rate of 4.8%, Brexit and other uncertainties seemingly less devastating than predicted and reported industry growth of 8% in job vacancies quarter on quarter (IrishJobs.ie). This puts hospitality in a unique position; this growth contrasts strikingly to the average fall of 4% in live vacancies across all other industries.

2019 has seen unprecedented demand for staff in several areas across the hospitality industry, including roles never before seen as ‘difficult-to-fill’ and definitely not to such a critical level. So what roles are most in-demand? The most pressurised roles fall in the under €26,000 salary bracket, both front and back of house. The sheer number of open positions on the market means frontline staff are keeping their eyes open for any opportunities and will leave roles quickly for what they see as improvements in pay rates or location. We have seen a massive shortage of accommodation staff intensify as the year went on, a trend we expect to continue well into 2020 as over 3,000 new hotel bedrooms become available. The basic rate for accommodation staff rising as far as €12 to €13 per hour.

Excel Recruitment’s Hotel and Catering Salary Survey 2020 is a full overview of salary and benefits across all levels of the hotel and catering industries. The full version will be available by request and on our website from the 12.12.19. To discuss our findings or to enquire about how Excel Recruitment can help with your recruitment needs, please email shane@excelrecruitment.com

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Sodexo has won the Best French Company in Ireland Award for the second year in a row at the 27th Annual Ireland-France Business Awards, jointly organised by the France Ireland Chamber of Commerce in Dublin (FICC) and NetworkIrlande.

This year’s Awards were held at the prestigious Cercle National des Armees in Paris on Thursday 28 November, in front of an audience of 180 Irish and French business leaders.

Supported by both the Irish and French embassies, along with Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, Business France and Tourism Ireland, the 2019 Awards attracted the largest number of applicants since the competition began in 1992. Smurfit Kappa France took home the Best Irish Company in France Award while Kingspan Ireland won the Impact on Climate Change Award.

Mr Pat Breen, Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Market and Data Protection presented the Best French Company Award to Caroline O’Loughlin, finance director, Sodexo Ireland, who accepted on behalf of the company.

The event was also attended by H.E. Patricia O’Brien, Ambassador of Ireland to France, H.E. Stephane Crouzat, Ambassador of France to Ireland and Richard Dujardin, president of NetworkIrlande and Margot Slattery, incoming president of the FICC.

Julie Ennis, country president, Sodexo Ireland said: “We are delighted and honoured that the work of the company in Ireland has been recognised by the Chamber in this manner and we’re very proud to be one of the leading French employers in Ireland.”

Minister Pat Breen said, “The winners epitomise the very best of what the Franco-Irish relationship can produce. I am delighted to have this opportunity to recognise and congratulate them for their achievements.”

Caroline O’Loughlin, finance director, Sodexo Ireland (centre) with H.E. Stéphane Crouzat, Ambassador of France to Ireland and Margot Slattery, global chief diversity & inclusion officer, Sodexo and the incoming president of the France-Ireland Chamber of Commerce at the France-Ireland Business Awards in Paris. Photo: D.Lebrun/imageaste.fr

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The 13th annual National Recruitment Federation Awards were presented at a gala ceremony in The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, hosted by Dragons' Den investor Gavin Duffy and attended by 350 industry personnel.

It is a universal truth that the businesses that thrive and prosper generally do so on account of the calibre of their people, Gavin Duffy told the audience.

We are absolutely delighted to announce that we won the Best in Practice Hospitality & Events Award at the National Recruitment Federation Awards 2019 Gala! We were one of eighteen big winners of the night. We are delighted that our track record in recruitment excellence has been recognised by industry peers. While our focus is on meeting clients’ recruitment needs and ensuring the individuals we place are well-represented, it is nonetheless satisfying that our team is acknowledged like this for excellence in how we go about our business. We are the provider of choice to many of Ireland’s largest venues including fivestar hotels, award-winning restaurants and in many retail businesses where contract catering, food and food preparation is increasingly significant. We always go the extra mile to deliver the best service possible. People are in the heart of our philosophy, so we make sure we look after our employees ensuring they have a positive work environment and support in every way they need. We hire exceptional people and invest in their training and growth.

“People are critical to success and have much more to give a business than they will normally receive. So, the people who help find the right people for your business provide an invaluable service that cannot be underestimated”, Duffy said of the recruitment profession.

The annual NRF awards scheme is run in association with LinkedIn, Recruit Ireland.com and the Irish Independent. There were over 200 entries from recruitment companies countrywide evaluated by this year’s adjudication panel, which comprised senior industry figures from Ireland and the UK as well as academics.

Congratulating Noel Group, Donal O Donohue, President of the National Recruitment Federation, said that recruiters know the value of reward and recognition probably more than most.

“As an industry, our mission is to promote ever increasing standards and professionalism. So, within our own sector, it is important to acknowledge the top operators who consistently deliver for their clients and firms”, the National Recruitment Federation President said.

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Sodexo donates €150,000 to new Focus Ireland Family Centre On-site services provider Sodexo Ireland is entering into a new partnership with Focus Ireland and providing €150,000 for the housing and homelessness charity’s new purpose-built Family Centre in Dublin. The Family Centre will welcome the first families during Christmas week and the full-service provision will open in early 2020.At the announcement were Julie Ennis, country president, Sodexo Ireland, Celine D’Arcy, senior legal counsel and charity champion, Sodexo Ireland, Amy Carr, head of partnerships and philanthropy, Focus Ireland and Alison Cullen, catering team leader, Focus Ireland.

It was the first corporate donation received for the Centre and the funds will be provided over three years via Sodexo’s Stop Hunger global initiative and employee fundraising activities in Ireland. Sodexo’s funding is a continuation of its support of the Focus Ireland coffee shop, from where the need for a purposebuilt Family Centre evolved, as the charity identified the lack of specific services for families who are homeless.

Julie Ennis, country president, Sodexo Ireland said “Sodexo’s Stop Hunger is a global initiative that has made women empowerment one of its priorities. Sodexo Ireland has been partnering with Focus Ireland for several years and we have seen the positive impact of the work they do. We are very proud to give our financial support for this much needed Family Centre, which will support the most vulnerable families experiencing homelessness.“ The Focus Ireland Family Centre is part of the charity’s extensive response to the deepening homelessness crisis. The number of families homeless in Dublin has shot up by a staggering 314% in the last five years, from a total of 307 in October 2014 to 1270 this October. Focus Ireland supports over 600 families who are homeless in Dublin and the new centre will help the most vulnerable families – some of whom only have access to emergency accommodation on a night by night basis.

The Family Centre will provide a space where children can be looked after while their parents receive support from Focus Ireland staff. This service will work to support the needs of families who are homeless and help to find them a home as quickly as possible. The family centre will bring together in one location, case management, key worker, child support workers, child care, catering and will provide the daily needs of a family such as warm nutritious meals, a safe space to sit together to eat them, laundry facilities and uniquely, a child care drop in service where parents can work with case managers, receive the help and support they need while their child is in a safe, secure and bespoke built area for them.

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Pat Dennigan, CEO of Focus Ireland said: “Focus Ireland has not yet has received any State funding for the family centre so this is why the amazing support by Sodexo is so vital to help us carry out this work to help protect families and their children from the trauma of homelessness.

Being homeless hurts children the most. That is why there will be specially trained Focus Ireland child support workers based in the centre to help protect children from damage caused by being homeless. We need all the donations and support at this time of year to make sure we are there when people need our help.”

Speaking about the Family Centre he added: “While we have had to set up this centre to help families while they are homeless, the long-term solution is that we urgently need more social housing to end this crisis.”

Focus Ireland works with people who are homeless or at risk of losing their homes across Ireland. The charity offers individuals and families advice, support, education and housing to help people to have and keep a home.

Focus Ireland believes that everyone has a right to a place they can call home and we campaign to address the causes of homelessness. In 2018 Focus Ireland worked with over 15,500 people. The charity supported 1,600 families who were homeless and were able to move over 500 families out of homelessness for good.

Sodexo is a leading provider of food and facilities management services to clients in business and industry, education, financial services, government services and healthcare and employs approximately 3,700 people in 230 locations on the island of Ireland.

It is part of the Sodexo Group, the world’s largest services company.

Please donate at www.focusireland.ie or Phone: 1850 204 205dd a little bit of body text

WeddingDates Announces 2019 Award Winners Langton House Hotel crowned Top Rated Wedding Venue in Ireland Ian Eaton of Actions Kinsale is Wedding Coordinator of the Year Bentley Boys named Top Rated Wedding Band for the second year Cork 7th December 2018 – WeddingDates, the go to platform for engaged couples and wedding businesses, this week announced the winners of their highly anticipated annual awards. Now in its 7th year, the awards recognise the top performing Wedding Venues, Suppliers and Wedding Coordinators throughout Ireland. With almost 3,500 reviews submitted from happy couples during 2019 and over 16,000 votes for the Wedding Coordinator Awards, competition was intense to say the least.

Langton House Hotel, Kilkenny took home the Top-Rated Wedding Venue of the Year Award, along with Top Rated 4 Star and the Leinster title.

They fought off stiff competition from the regional winners, Ballyliffin Lodge & Spa (Ulster), Ballyroe Heights Hotel (Munster) and Markree Castle (Connaught). The Top Rated Wedding Venue in Northern Ireland went to Lough Erne Resort.

Congratulations also goes to the following special category winners: Castle Wedding Venue: Ballyseede Castle Hotel Country House Wedding Venue: Bloomfield House Hotel Exclusive Use Wedding Venue: Markree Castle See the full list of County Winners below.

Founder & CEO of WeddingDates Ciara Crossan said; "The WeddingDates Awards represent the best of the best wedding venues from across the country as they are based purely on reviews from past wedding couples who have experienced the service and quality of our venues. Because of this we feel the WeddingDates Top Rated Venue Awards are the most authentic awards around and something that all the winners should be extremely proud of."

In addition to the Top Rated Venue Awards, the Wedding Coordinator of the Year Awards are now in their 3rd year and aim to recognise the hard work and dedication from the people in those venues all over the country that put their heart and soul into making the wedding days extra special. This award is open to a public vote and this year the coordinators and their colleagues ran stellar campaigns to get those votes in. The highly anticipated Wedding Coordinator of the Year Award went to the Munster Winner Ian Eaton of Actions Hotel Kinsale. The other regional winners are: Ulster, Michael Brennan, Harvey's Point, Donegal , Leinster, Nicole Byrne, Parkview Hotel, Wicklow and Connaught, Deirdre Ryan, Markree Castle, Sligo.

See - https://www.weddingdates.ie/blog/weddingdates-awards-2019-top-wedding-coordinator-announced/ 28

IHI PATRONS

The IHI would like to wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year.