IHI HNN May 2023 Issue

HNN

HOSPITALITY NETWORK NEWS

Irish Hospitality Institute welcomes Daragh O’Neill FIHI as 30th President

Welcome to our new Members

Jonny Thompson Project Manager Carton House

Rachel Donohoe Finance Director Luttrellstown Castle

Jessica Joyce Director of Marketing & Events Luttrelstown Castle

Ian Keating Hotel Manager The Dean, Cork

Welcome to our new Business Parnters

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IHI Board of Directors 2023-2024

President Daragh O'Neill FIHI

General Manager The Talbot Hotel Stillorgan

Alan Smullen FIHI

Head of People Doyle Collection

Deirdre McDonald MIHI Hotel Management Consultant The Innovate Room

Deputy President

Ciara Drohan MIHI

Group HR Manager Tifco Hotel Group

Deborah O'Hanlon FIHI

Deputy Head of College Shannon College of Hotel Management

Eugene Harrington MIHI

Group Head of Internal Audit Cliste Hospitality & The iNua Collection

Ivan King MIHI CEO Luttrellstown Castle Resort

Kathleen Linehan MIHI Group Strategic Director Of Human Resources Trigon Hotels

Mark Dunne MIHI

General Manager Mount Juliet Estate

Company Secretary

Charlie Sheil FIHI

Group General Manager

Windward Management

Susan Colley Doyle MIHI

Head of Finance

HR & Revenue Management

Trim Castle Hotel

Fergal O'Connell FIHI

General Manager Fitzwilliam Hotel Dublin

n McLaughlin MIHI ral Manager ibson Hote

Kevin Brennan MIHI General Manager Hilton Dublin Kilmainham

Irish Hospitality Institute welcomes

Daragh O’Neill FIHI as 30th President

The Irish Hospitality Institute (IHI), the professional body for hospitality and tourism managers in Ireland, is delighted to announce the appointment of Daragh O’Neill FIHI as the 30th President of the organisation.

Daragh is the general manager of The Talbot Hotel Stillorgan (formerly Stillorgan Park Hotel) A graduate of Hotel & Catering Management at the Dublin College of Catering (TU Dublin & Trinity College Dublin) He then travelled to the USA and gained 8 years’ experience with Medallion Hotels in Texas where he assumed his first general manager’s position. He returned to Ireland in 1998 to take up the position of general manager of The Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick. In 2008 he returned to Dublin to assume his current post.

Daragh is passionate about the investment in 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. In 2023 the Talbot Hotel Stillorgan has been recognized as a “Great Place to Work” and has also received the Failte Ireland Employer Excellence award. His team at the Talbot Hotel has also been previously recognized by the AA of Ireland when it was awarded the Annual Courtesy and Care award”

With over three decades of experience in the hospitality sector, Daragh has actively participated in various industry and community organizations. While in the USA he was a board member of United Way and participated 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 IHF national council. In 2015/16 Daragh was the Dublin President of SKAL International Ireland & has sat on the tourism strategic review committee for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Chamber of Commerce.

A Fellow of the Irish Hospitality Institute, Daragh was appointed as a director to the IHI Board in May 2019 and was elected Deputy President in 2021. Daragh said “Having been a member of the Institute for many years before becoming a board member in 2019, it is a great honor and privilege to be elected as the 30th President of the Irish Hospitality Institute. "

Daragh added” During a time of transition for the IHI and the Hospitality industry post-pandemic, I really look forward to working with you all. Now more than ever Hospitality needs a professional institute to enhance the reputation of our industry as it strives to attract new people at all levels. As an institute, we must look at new and innovative ways of building membership, member engagement and professional development & support for our members”

IHI Board of Directors pictured left to right are Deirdre McDonald MIHI, Kevin Brennan MIHI, Lynn McLaughlin MIHI, Ivan King MIHI, Ciara Drohan MIHI, President Daragh O'Neill FIHI, Eugene Harrington MIHI, Susan Colley Doyle MIHI, Mark Dunne MIHI and Alan Smullen FIHI

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 past President Brian Bowler for his passion, commitment and drive over the past five years on the IHI Board and in particular the past two as President Brian's leadership through some of our industry's most challenging years has been nothing short of admirable.

I would also like to thank and acknowledge our directors who recently stepped down from the Board; Russell Hadley, Press Up Hospitality and Noel Cafferkey, Action Recruitment. Both successfully drove the Events Committee during their tenure. My thanks also to Kevin McGinley, Aramark Norther Europe and Eveanna Ryan, Connacht Hospitality for their support with the development of the Connaught Chapter.

Final thanks to Edward Stephenson for his role & stewardship of the College of Fellows over the past two years.

I am delighted to welcome our newly appointed Board Directors; Deirdre McDonald, The Innovate Room, Susan Colley Doyle, Trim Castle Hotel, Kevin Brennan, Hilton Dublin Kilmainham, Alan Smullen, The Doyle Collection and Ivan King, Luttrellstown Castle Resort.

I would also like to announce the appointment of Ciara Drohan, Tifco Hotel Group as Deputy President and Fergal O’Connell, The Fitzwilliam Hotel Dublin, as Chair of the College of Fellows.

During a time of transition for the IHI and the Hospitality industry post-pandemic, I look forward to working closely with the Board and Executive. I believe that now more than ever Hospitality needs a professional institute to enhance the reputation of our industry as it strives to attract new people at all levels and as an institute, we must look at new and innovative ways of building membership, member engagement and professional development & support for our members.

As IHI President, I would like you to know that I am here to be a support you and I welcome your views on IHI matters, so please feel free to reach out at president@ihi.ie.

All the best,

Daragh O'Neill

IHI President

IHI Group Membership

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Booking.com launch Travel Proud Hospitality Partner Programme in Ireland

Our research shows that more than half of LGBTQ+ travellers have had a lessthan-welcoming or uncomfortable experiences at a property where they were staying.

Bookingcom have designed the Travel proud programme to help remove these barriers Training is offered free of charge and we provide an extensive toolkit that helps partners identify ways to implement the practices introduced during the training.

Travel Proud is our way of making travel more inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community Complete our Proud Hospitality training session to help you and your staff understand and connect with LGBTQ+ travellers When you commit to building on what you learn to make your property more welcoming, you’ll become Proud Certified on our platform.

Certified partners will receive a travel proud tag on their profile and will be listed on specific pages targeted towards LGBTQ+ travellers

All the details can be found on our Partner Hub here.. Travel Proud Certification.

President's Dinner at Carton House

A sincere thanks to all who attended the dinner honoring our 29th President Brian Bowler on the 27th of April It was a truly exceptional evening delivered by the incredible team at Carton House, A Fairmont Managed Hotel.

The dinner took place at the luxurious Carton House, A Fairmont Managed Hotel. Attendees started their evening sipping cocktails of Boatyard Distillery Double Gin & The London Essence Company Indian Tonic water and Boatyard Vodka & London Essence Soda water Boatyard Vodka & Hana Lemon & Yuzu Craft Soda in the stunning Gold Salon.

A very big thanks to The Boatyard Distillery for providing their delicious cocktails

Brian & Michelle Bowler

A sincere thanks to all who attended the dinner honouring our 29th President Br It was a truly exceptional evening with a five-course menu perfectly paired Donohoe, Head Wines at Classic Drinks

We hope all enjoyed the evening

PRICE OR LOYALTY? UNDERSTAND HOW GUESTS DECIDE WHICH HOTEL TO BOOK

IDeaS Revenue Solutions explores how hotels can tailor their approach to win business from both new and repeat guests.

Competition to secure ‘heads in beds’ is fierce. Hotels and B&Bs are battling short-stay rentals and alternative accommodation providers to capture their share of the tourism market.

In the heat of the battle, retaining an understanding of how guests select their accommodation is key. Is the market purely driven by price? Or does loyalty shape booking behaviors?

Price

Despite price being at the center of the public’s consciousness, not every traveler is ruled by their bank balance The importance of price in decision making varies depending on different target markets and consumer segments

For luxury holiday makers, cost is often less of a consideration to select their accommodation, preferring location or amenities. This sentiment is echoed by travelers visiting a ‘bucket list’ destination.

For most travelers, value for money is a key deciding factor when booking and in driving loyalty. Properties priced higher than the market are likely to be overlooked in favor of one that offers value alongside exceptional customer service and location benefits.

Loyalty

Loyalty programs help reduce the cost of customer acquisition, improve customer engagement, and drive occupancy during quieter periods

In Ireland, 754% of adults are members of at least one loyalty program - the fourth highest rate in Europe The country also has the most engaged loyalty audience (Mando-Connect, 2023)

Big hotel brands with established loyalty programs successfully drive repeat bookings: four in five bookings on hotel websites are made by loyalty members (Phocuswright, 2017) But even global brands are battling the dominance of OTAs in capturing new travelers.

The share of rooms occupied by loyalty club members has remained relatively flat, hovering around 47%, from 2018 to 2023 (CBRE, April 2023) Deloitte argues the “traditional customer loyalty scheme has become a ‘tired’ concept that needs to be reinvented”, focusing on the customer experience as much as points or financial rewards

How hotels can capture the dynamic market

Establishing a revenue strategy solely around price or loyalty is not sustainable - hotels risk sinking in a race to the bottom from which their rates may never recover, or creating a stagnant loyalty scheme that travelers no longer value.

For hotels to succeed, a balance between price and value is needed, complemented by personalized loyalty schemes

How technology can improve hotel business

A revenue management system (RMS) helps align pricing strategies with reward programs, ensuring members and non-members receive value for money amidst even the most dynamic of markets.

With insights around competitor rates, past and present booking trends, and intelligent decision making based on artificial intelligence and a hotel’s revenue strategy, a modern, automated RMS sells the right product to the right customer at the right time - with the right pricing and via the right sales channel!

Right Customer

An RMS helps answer pivotal questions about your target customers - who are they? What personas or behaviors can segment them? How do loyal customers differ from more first-time bookers? With those insights, hotels can start to pinpoint their optimal selling price

Right Price

Should you be offering rewards - such as free nights or discounts - or deliver personalized experiences to loyalty members? The more successful loyalty programs focus on benefits instead of discounts, building loyalty through service and trust instead of cheap or discounted rates This means moving beyond a regimented pricing structure to create a framework which guides clients towards more memorable experiences.

Right Product

Scale back promotions and analyze what actually performs Is there a specific room category which repeat customers prefer? Review your competition - what advantages or disadvantages do they have? Identify service and product failures and rectify them as a priority; improving them enables you to offer more personalized itineraries for guests.

Right Channel

Review customer data across different channels, ranking them in terms of KPIs such as bookings by loyal customers, first-time bookers, or Sunday night stays

Understand where you are being talked about - are guests posting on review sites such as TripAdvisor, or social media? Encourage interactions - particularly directly between you and your guests - to create a deeper emotional bond. An RMS can analyze market sentiments to price a hotel according to its reputation, adjusting as your reviews are published.

Right Timing

Timing is crucial when it comes to revenue management and customer satisfaction

Personalized interactions and offers strengthen connections with your guests and lead to future revenue opportunities. Humanizing the guest experience alongside dynamic pricing strategies is key in creating a bond with your guests.

Deciding where to stay is often tricky for consumers, but the researching and booking phases of a customer journey offer hotels several opportunities to convert a browser into a booker, and a booker into a loyal customer - regardless of whether they booked direct or via a third party, at a discount or a premium rate

Machine-learning technology and AI found in an RMS organize and analyze data to automatically deploy business decisions based. From there, the hotelier validates the actions of the RMS and notifies it of factors it might not predict. By having the RMS take care of the tedious analysis, hoteliers gain more time and energy to strategize for the future instead of working on data entry, historical reporting, or rate distribution.

The guest experience is tied to digital marketplaces For a hotel to succeed, an automated efficiency of an RMS combined with the hotelier’s instinctive ‘art of hospitality’ is needed. RMS technology help hotels create dynamic and prosperous marketing and revenue management strategies, allowing pricing and loyalty to work together for the best possible outcomes both for the hotel and its guests.

Discover how hotels can break down silos and increase guest value with ‘The Ultimate Revenue Management Buyer’s Guide’ from IDeaS

Embrace the Future of Hospitality: Creating Immersive Experiences with Virtual and Hybrid Events

With IMS Virtual and Hybrid events, you can provide an engaging experience for your guests, regardless of their location. Unlock a whole new world of possibilities with features like live streaming, interactive content, surveys & polls, virtual networking, and more. Plus, our virtual/hybrid events come with full analytics that help you measure success and drive future growth

As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance our customer experience, we have launched a new booking system for Virtual and Hybrid events.

Powered by Calendly, the system allows you to easily schedule and book your event at a time that suits you

Ready to get started? Click on the link below. Enquire

If you were unable to find a convenient slot, please reach out to us at events@imedia.ie and we will do our best to accommodate you.

We look forward to hearing from you, and collaborating with you.

GUESTLINE CO-HOSTS PARTNER DAY WITH NET AFFINITY TO COLLABORATE AND DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERSHIPSIN THE FUTURE OF THE HOTEL STACK

On Thursday 11th May 2023, Guestline’s Team Ireland successfully co-hosted a partner day with Net Affinity, which brought together various product-integrated partners to discuss how their products can work together to solve issues for hoteliers. Partners such as AskSuite, Oaky, For-Sight, GuestRevu, Right Revenue, OTA Insights and Inspire Loyalty attended the event to demonstrate the importance of partnerships in the hotel stack and how their integrations can positively impact all stages of the guest journey.

The event led by Clio O’Gara, Guestline’s Country Manager for Ireland and Sharon Power Cowley, Sales Director at Net Affinity included a mix of in-person and online presentations about each partner’s products, NPD, their role in the tech stack, and why they are the preferred product for hoteliers.

Delving into the world of AI, David from AskSuite talked us through the number one AI chatbot in the world having grown its customer base to 3,200 worldwide with over 60 hotels in Ireland. The brand is busy innovating their product and celebrating unique partnerships with Oaky to offer upsells through the chatbot and integration with GuestRevu to pull through reviews to keep guests engaged before, during and after their stay.

Sharon showcased Net Affinity’s impressive range of products on offer, including their brand-new booking engine, website design capabilities and award-winning marketing services. Sharon gave an exciting demonstration of Net Affinity’s highly advanced booking engine which is rich with features including upgrade options, extras and vouchers. This piece of technology is made for mobile and was built to help hotels generate as much revenue as possible. Meanwhile, Marketing Director Hollie discussed Net Affinity’s deft approach when they work with hotels to develop their digital marketing strategy and enhance the customer journey.

Allison Chambers from Oaky, the hyper-personalised hotel upselling solution, talked about how upselling with Oaky ensured a happier guest output with less work for the hotelier and maximised revenue. Rated the number one upselling tool for the 6th year in a row by Hotel Tech Report, its strategic growth in Ireland has proven successful to-date and integration with Guestline boosts automation for the hotelier.

Based in Edinburgh, For-sight was established in 2010 and since then the brand has gradually become more international with growth across Ireland, NI, UK, America and have just launched their first hotel in Chile. Pulling data daily from Guestline, For-sight uses triggers to design their communication to guests, providing hoteliers with the ability to recognise the guest, and their preferences, at every visit.

The task of managing a hotel’s online reputation can be a source of frustration for some hoteliers, but with the integration of GuestRevu and Guestline, the process is streamlined. Sarah and Paul from GuestRevu explained how the integration works, highlighting the virtual cycle of guest feedback and the use of automated surveys and feedback scores, they also emphasised the importance of hoteliers using their online data to improve their reputation. AskSuite’s integration with GuestRevu allows hoteliers to make use of social proof during critical moments.

Kirsty from Right Revenue showcased the features of their product, which is specifically designed with independent hotels in mind. She highlighted that their technology aims to achieve four main objectives, which include increasing revenue, saving time for hotel staff, fostering a culture of revenue-driven decision making, and enabling independent hotels to compete effectively with their branded competitors. By creating pricing structures that align with the specific needs of each hotel and using machine learning and advanced analytics to analyse live data, their forecasting has proven to be highly accurate, with a margin of error of less than 2% and most importantly, revenue gains averaging a double-digit revenue growth across their portfolio.

Jorge from OTA Insights provided a live demonstration of their platform, utilising heat maps on screen to display market, rate, parity and revenue insights. Their platform is unique as it’s the first to integrate both hotel and short-term rental data into a single solution. With access to comprehensive historical, current and future data, hoteliers can make informed decisions based on real-time datasets.

Steve from Inspire Loyalty presented their branded loyalty solution for hotels and restaurants aimed at increasing repeat business through rewards and recognition, with a success rate of repeat business ranging between 20% and 40%. The loyalty solution integrates with CRM and sends the loyalty number back to the PMS to identify the customer, eliminating the need for the “have you joined our loyalty program yet” question.

And lastly, Clio presented Guestline as the lifeblood of a hotel, a PMS with an open API that can be tailored to the needs of the hotelier.

The day closed with discussions about how the partners can further work together to alleviate problems and stress for hoteliers and how combined that can be a one ‘solutionfocused’ voice using partner integration as the heart of the tech stack.

www.guestline.com

www.asksuite.com

www.netaffinity.com

www.oaky.com

www.for-sight.com

www.guestrevu.com

www.rightrevenue.co.uk

www.otainsight.com

www.inspireloyalty.co.uk

Sodexo Ireland Poll Highlights the Power of Food in the Workplace Experience

86% of C-suite and senior management said that a well-managed food programme in the workplace contributed to building a strong company culture. The finding came from a poll conducted by workplace services provider Sodexo Ireland at its recent event, ‘Thriving at Work – Fuelling Employee Experience for Success’. Furthermore 62% said that ‘big decisions await’ in striking the right balance for their workplace model.

Over 100 guests from tech, banking, FMCG and consultancy firms attended the event held at the new Bord Bia Global Hub in Dublin. Maureen Gahan, foodservice specialist at Bord Bia welcomed the guests to its new headquarters. Keynotes by David Fox, managing director of Sodexo Ireland and Julie Ennis, CEO corporate services, Sodexo UK & Ireland and country president for Ireland, were followed by a lively and insightful panel debate, chaired by journalist, broadcaster and lecturer Emmet Oliver, around the elements of creating a thriving workplace for employees

At Sodexo’s Thriving at Work – Fuelling Employee Experience for Success’ in Dublin were l/r Barry Winkless, head of the Future of Work Institute and chief strategy officer at CPL Group, Julie Ennis, chief executive, Corporate Services, Sodexo UK and Ireland and Country President for Ireland, Dean Kennett, founder and managing director, Fooditude; journalist, broadcaster and lecturer Emmet Oliver, who chaired the panel discussion, Paula McLoughlin, co-founder of A Lust for Life and The Blink Effect, and David Fox, managing director, Sodexo Ireland

The interactive discussions included the impact of the pandemic on people’s psychology and its impact on the workplace with topics discussed including how organisations must now seek to take account of the best aspects of both the physical and virtual aspects of the working environment, the critical role leaders must play in designing and building company culture and the valuable role that food can play in social bonding and connections.

The event highlighted the need for organisations developing workplace strategies to consider the varying needs and expectations of different employee cohorts . One panellist shared how they are seeing leading-edge companies thinking like 'experience designers' when developing their workplace strategies and the importance of taking a people-centric approach and involving their employees along all stages of the design journey

It was agreed that a key focus for the physical office is to create an environment that enables coaching, connections and collaboration to take place. Food and drink were cited as one of the best catalysts for engaging people, with authenticity of dishes and sustainable practices a must to meet consumer expectations and demands.

Another unanimous conclusion was the importance of creating a workplace where a thriving culture can truly be felt, and one which success isn’t just based on data and numbers “it’s where you can feel the life, the energy flow and the curiosity of people,” said one of the panellists

Guests were then invited to enjoy a sensory food experience delivered by Sodexo and Fooditude culinary teams, showcasing the latest food trends and insights for organisations looking to create those agile and innovative workplace dining experiences and those ‘wow’ moments for employees, which in turn will motivate them to return to the office

Sodexo host David Fox, managing director, Sodexo Ireland, said “We are having conversations every day with clients on ways to build workplace culture, increase engagement, nurture wellbeing and fuel productivity. Organisations are still trying to test and understand what workplace design will work best for them. We wanted to bring people together and provide a forum to come together and share the latest thinking.

“Food plays a central role in connecting people, and fuels productivity, and we were proud to have our guests taste a range of our latest food offers and discuss how dining is now integral to creating an inspiring, welcoming and engaging working environment for employees.We look forward to continuing to build these conversations with our existing and potential clients and to playing our part in supporting their workplace strategies and ambitions”

David Fox, managing director of workplace services provider Sodexo Ireland at its recent event ‘Thriving at Work-Fuelling Employee Experience for Success’. Over 100 guests from tech, banking, FMCG and consultancy firms were at the event held in the new Bord Bia Global Hub in Dublin

Sodexo Ireland employs 2,000 people on the island of Ireland and spent €25m on food in 2022, around 75% of this on Irish food products. It is a verified member of Origin Green, the first food services provider to be accepted into the Bord Bia national food and drink sustainability programme in 2017.

Sodexo launched Fooditude and its cloud kitchen concept into Ireland in 2021. A leading London name in ‘delivered in’ catering, its offsite craft team in Dublin prepares and delivers sustainably sourced, seasonal, on-trend office catering to clients round the city.

The Europe Hotel & Resort wins big at The Good Food Ireland Awards

The winners of The Good Food Ireland® Awards were announced this week (Monday) in a high-profile business lunch at The K Club in County Kildare The event was attended by Simon Coveney, TD, Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment and some 300 guests including Irish and international chefs, buyers, food and drink writers and industry leaders.

The Europe Hotel & Resort was recognised as a ‘best-in-class’ hotel for delivering a high-quality dining experience, showcasing seasonal Irish ingredients and was awarded Hotel of The Year & Supreme Winner of The Year at the business lunch

Commenting on the awards, Michael Brennan, Managing Director of Killarney Hotels Collection said; ‘Executive Head Chef, Alex Nahke and his team put immense work and passion into the production and provision of food across the resort and we’re honoured to be recognised for our continuous efforts These awards are really a true testament to the team of The Europe Hotel & Resort’ he said.

L-R: Alex Nahke, Executive Head Chef, The Europe Hotel & Resort and Michael Brennan, Managing Director of Killarney Hotels Collection

The perfect serve to enhance your customer experience

As a nation, when it comes to pouring the perfect pint of Guinness we are extremely critical. This is because it’s our national drink and no one wants to see it being poured too quickly, or have a bishop’s collar while the head runs down the outside of the glass. The basics are really important to the whole experience and it must be perfected just right or the drink will be sent right back by any self-respecting stout aficionado

So why is it when it comes to another hugely popular drink ‘the Gin and Tonic’ do we so frequently get it wrong? And the answer is simple, we need more training and more investment in people Furthermore, the question as to what are we doing wrong and what we should be doing differently needs to be addressed

Let’s start with the ice A perfect G&T should have four large cubes in it, and should not have tiny shards of ice that will inevitably result in an unsatisfactory and watery drink. The Ice should be put into the glass first, allowing the glass to cool and subsequently preventing the gin from being bruised or cloudy which can often happen if the ice is dropped into a warm gin glass as opposed to the gin being poured over the ice. The next critical step is to have the correct tonic. There are over 70 Irish Gins alone, along with 20 or so Gins from other locations. Therefore, it is foolish to just have one tonic to pick from as some tonics will clash with the gins and become flavourless or cancel each other out. Perhaps the most important thing that can be done to improve the quality of your G&T is to chill your mixers. This will do two essential things to the drink:

1 It will reduce the time that it takes for the ice to melt and water down your drink

2 It will keep the drink carbonated for longer because often the room temperature mixers go flatter a lot quicker

The style of glass and garnish will always come down to personal preference My favourite is ‘An Dulman Irish Maritime Gin’ with a regular Schweppes tonic water, served in a Copa with a slice of dried lime If the correct process for making a G&T is followed, then no matter what combination of Gin to Tonic people request, the end result will be a quality drink

Subsequently, the way the workforce has gone since the Covid pandemic means that the drinks industry needs to be mindful of the difference in the knowledge that exists now, particularly regarding junior bar staff They are just starting out in the hospitality industry after nearly two years of closure and the industry simply doesn’t have the volume of people who would once have done formal training or who were once considering a full-time career within the industry.

Many bar staff are working either part-time or temporary shifts, and are planning other careers in the future outside of hospitality. Consequently, the knowledge that exists now is far less than it would have been 20 years ago. With this in mind, along with a higher than ever employee turnover, it’s essential that training and upskilling are done on a daily basis so the customer experience is at its highest possible standard. One or two poor comments on the likes of Instagram or Facebook can quickly go viral and be extremely damaging to any establishment when it comes to hard fought for clientele.

If you don’t have the knowledge base in your current team that can implement daily training of staff, then perhaps a monthly masterclass would suit you better There are several places you can go for this such as your wine and spirits distribution company or onsite training specialists like Future Proof Training that can come on-site or train in a classroom setting in areas such as HACCP and Manual Handling, Upselling, Customer service, Barista Skills, Introduction to Wine and essential Bar You can visit the website at: www futureprooftraining ie ! Alternatively, if you need recruitment assistance or advice, Excel can help you recruit temporary or permanent chefs, bar staff, and waiting staff nationwide Visit: www excelrecruitment com !