Hotel annc Catering Review by Jemma Publications

2012 EDITION

The 3rd Annual

Business Improvement Guide Clever Ideas & Simple Strategies for Growing Business in 2012

FINANCE ✛ PURCHASing ✛ TRENDS ✛ EVENTS ✛ PACKAGES

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inside... The Business Improvement Guide * 2012 Edition Volume 45, Number 01

06 22 28 15

04 TALKBACK Time for big ideas

06 PROSPECTS The year ahead

10 BUSINESS

Tips for protecting yours in 2012

12 EASY OPTIONS

Free and simple ways of boosting business

14 PACKAGES

Get creative with your offers

15 EVENTS

Dates to plan around

18 SOCIAL MEDIA Be brand aware

22 PURCHASING

Cooperating for better products and pricing

26 FASHION

The latest trends on the culinary catwalk

27 SEASONS Sourcing the best

28 WHISKEY

Hayfield grows whiskey sales

30 ECO EYE

It’s not mean to be green

32 CPD

Grow your own potential

34 AWARDS Go for gold in 2012

EDITOR Sarah Grennan DESIGNER Jeannie Swan CONTRIBUTORS Maurice Bergin, Ailish Cantwell, Ruth Hegarty, Austin Hickey PRODUCTION Jim Heron CIRCULATION & EVENTS Nicola Hickey ADMIN Marian Donohoe, Josie Keane MANAGING DIRECTOR Simon Grennan CHAIRMAN Frank Grennan Printing SPS, Wicklow HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW is published by JEMMA PUBLICATIONS Broom House, 65 Mulgrave Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, t: 01 214 7920, f: 01 214 7950, e: sales@jemma.ie, w: www.hotelandcateringreview.ie, www.jemma.ie © No part of Hotel & Catering Review may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form without the prior permission of Jemma Publications. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Hotel & Catering Review or Jemma Publications. ISSN: 0332-4400 SUBSCRIBE For annual subscription rates visit our website www.hotelandcateringreview.ie

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ JANUARY 2012

EDITOR’S LETTER

Time for BIG Ideas U

p early one morning in the closing days of 2011, I managed to catch a repeat of Newstalk’s popular Off the Ball sports show before the station’s daily service commenced. What caught my attention was not the humorous banter of the presenters, although they really are an entertaining bunch, it was the contribution of celeb economist, David McWilliams, a man who, while a regular on the airwaves, is not one you would usually expect to hear from during a sports show. With attention piqued I endeavoured to clear my hazy early morning brain and tune in. McWilliams was joined by another savvy communicator, Irish Times rugby columnist, Gerry Thornley, to mull

over the possibility of Ireland hosting a future Rugby World Cup – preferably the next available one in 2023 (after England in 2015 and Japan in 2019). Their views were, ‘well, why the devil not?’ and you know, we’re inclined to agree with them. In a nation not to dissimilar to our own, the Kiwis, they reasoned, made a damn fine stab of hosting the sport’s quadrennial global showcase in the autumn. Not only did they put on a pretty good show, and positively promote the country to millions

of potential holidaymakers across the world in the process, they also – somewhat unusually – made money on it. Hosting a major sporting event, such as the Olympics or FIFA World Cup, is a mighty expensive process and while the majority of nations tend to reap huge PR rewards it is not often that they breakeven, or even better, turn a profit. Admirably, in the Land of the Long White Cloud the New Zealanders comfortably managed to achieve their revenue targets.

After four hard years of slog in the recession, it is clear that we have to keep being creative if we are to survive and thrive. The key to success in 2012 is not to work harder, but to work smarter. And don’t forget, it’s okay to dream... So how about it? If the Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup, Volvo Ocean Race et al have shown us anything, it’s that we Irish know how to put on a good show on the international sporting stage, although admittedly, these have been on an infinitely smaller scale. Researching the topic online, however, the tone of commentary in the chatrooms was depressingly negative. It would cost too much, we would need the GAA to come on board, we would need to upgrade the stadia, the competition (the US, Russia, possibly Canada in a joint venture with the US) is too intense, our only Left: Rugby’s William Web Ellis Trophy could add luster to Irish tourism; the Irish rugby team in action at Aviva Stadium, also left. Opposite: Croke Park for the 2023 WRC Final?

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chance would be to join forces with our Celtic cousins and hope for a tournament split between Ireland, Scotland and Wales while praying (GAA permitting) for a final at Croker... But you know, despite our economic woes, we’re not in such a bad a position. As a venue, Croke Park is up there with the very best in the world. Aviva Stadium may be somewhat tighter in terms of capacity but it could definitely play its part in the knockout stages. Thomond Park is looking good and Ravenhill is due for redevelopment, with the planned addition of three new stands. If we could cajole the GAA into opening the pearly gates to Croker once again, and with it, its many sister stadia around the country, then surely we’re in with a sporting chance – if not in 2023 then why not 2027? We would need 10 stadia of international standard to host the competition, although New Zealand managed with nine when Christchurch’s AMI Stadium was ruled out following last year’s tragic earthquake. While the likes of the US and Russia certainly pose worthy competition, and offer the head honchos in the International Rugby Board the opportunity to develop the game in new frontiers, our love of the sport, the success of the national and provincial teams, our warm and welcoming nature, and great tourism product could surely play in our favour. Heaven knows, we’re not short of hotel rooms to accommodate all the visitors. And let’s not forget, the IRB is head-quartered in Huguenot House on St Stephen’s Green so they certainly have a feel for the place. Despite McWilliams and Thornley’s unbridled enthusiasm, the negativity

surrounding the RWC debate online got us thinking at Hotel & Catering Review about the damaging effect the last few years have had on the national psyche. Are we so down and out that we’ve lost the ability to dream? Do we only see the obstacles and no longer see the opportunities? Okay, ’tis true, we are broke and no doubt it would be hard to convince the Troika to chuck us a few quid to shimmy up some of the more tatty stadia across the land, but if we don’t even try, what hope do we ever have of success? Our golden years were not when we had infinite resources at our disposal – it’s fair to say we made a hash of things then – it was when we had to be creative and work with less in the face of adversity. If we have any hope of getting out of the almighty mess we are in, we have to look outside the box for big ideas and work our collective backsides off to turn them into a reality. Initiatives such as The Gathering planned for next year are a good place to start, and who knows, maybe a decade or so down the line we could hold one of the world’s biggest sports tournaments. By then we might even be out of the recession... Ideas in all their formats were front of mind as we kicked off the New Year. In our first publication of 2012 we are returning with our third annual Business Improvement Guide. Back by popular demand, this year’s edition is big on ideas for maximising your business potential with little or no investment. We have tips from the experts on how to get creative and market, procure and operate better. Most – if not all – should cost you little and save or make you much more. After four hard years of slog in the recession, it is clear that we have to keep being creative if we are to survive and thrive. The key to success in 2012 is not to work harder, but to work smarter. And don’t forget, it’s okay to dream... I know I’m imagining what it would be like to put one over on England in a World Cup Final at Croker. Come on you boys in green!

Sarah Grennan Editor s.grennan@jemma.ie

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2012 PROSPECTS

The End of The Beginning? Last year was a game of two halves, the first showing a positive bounce-back in overseas visitor numbers after 2010’s annus horribilis; the second tapering out with a whimper as final months’ figures highlighted a slip back into decline. But with total 2011 numbers expected to culminate with a growth of 7% on 2010, there is cause for tentative optimism – as long as we don’t get carried away with ourselves, that is. Hotel & Catering Review delves into the stats.

‘T

he Irish are fatalistic and pessimistic to the core,’ decrees the Lonely Planet in the latest Irish edition of the world’s best selling guide. With such dark analysis of our psyche it is no wonder, therefore, that in some quarters last year’s 7% growth in overseas visitor numbers is being viewed with an undercurrent of suspicion. Is it a blip? Is it a source of pride before another fall? Taking a look at the continuing mess of the eurozone, the seemingly endless faffing from‘Merkozy’ and lack of strong leadership from European heads of state, the talk of further Irish bailouts, not to mention the all-too-fresh and painful memory of volcanic ash plumes and other natural calamities, it is hardly surprising that some may linger cautiously in the pessimistic camp. The future is uncertain. We remain on perilously shaky grounds. And if the last few years have shown us anything, it’s that you never know what’s lurking around the corner. And yet hospitality operators are becoming more hopeful about their prospects. Indeed, for the first time in three years the tourism industry is looking forward with optimism rather than negativity. Fáilte Ireland research indicates that close to half (46%) of accommodation operators expect bednight volumes to increase in 2012, while twoin-five anticipate that business will remain as last year. The hotel sector is particularly positive, the tourism authority notes, Dublin especially buoyed by a good performance last year. But while the feel-good factor is a welcome relief following the dark and despairing years of negativity, Fáilte Ireland warns against getting too comfortable. ‘Although 2011 was an encouraging year in some respects, there is no room for complacency. Tourism has worked hard to regain its competiveness. This is always a difficult task and it will be necessary to continue this process in 2012 and beyond,’ urges chairman Redmond O’Donoghue. Looking at how visitor numbers began

to slide back into decline in the closing months of the year (latest CSO stats show a 4.1% decrease in arrivals during SeptemberNovember), it is understandable why the authority is sounding a note of caution. The fragility of the global economy, combined with the ongoing challenges at home, serve as a timely reminder that despite the improvement in business, we’re not out of the woods just yet. ‘While the industry has performed exceptionally well around those factors within its control, the greatest threat to a recovery comes from factors beyond our influence,’ concurs Fáilte Ireland chief executive, Shaun Quinn. ‘There was some softening in our overseas numbers in the last quarter of 2011 and I don’t think it was a coincidence that this dovetailed with tremors in the global markets. Tourism is an export business and one whose fortunes are heavily influenced by consumer confidence. Any downturn in the global economy – or even significant fears about a downturn – has the potential to undermine the fragile recovery made so far in Irish tourism.’ Tourism Ireland – which announced at the presentation of its 2012 marketing plans that it is striving for a 4.5% growth in tourism numbers this year – has equally noted the changing winds in Europe and beyond. Commenting on the latest CSO report, CEO Niall Gibbons acknowledged that ‘the increased turmoil of recent months has brought increased uncertainty, affecting business and consumer confidence and, in turn, international travel’. But that doesn’t mean Tourism Ireland is giving up hope of achieving its targets. The agency will strive to ensure Ireland increases its share of the global travel business, declares Niall Gibbons. ‘It is important to remember that people around the world still want to take holidays. The trend is that people are continuing to travel but are taking shorter trips, staying closer to home and being careful with their money as value for money remains an important consideration when making holiday plans,’

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

he notes. A desire to stay close to home augurs well for key markets such as GB, France and Germany. While the increased competitiveness of the trade and the weakening of the euro has helped improve the perceptions of our nearest neighbour, the word from Fáilte Ireland is that satisfaction with value for money among the French and Germans has reached its highest level since the introduction of the euro 10 years ago. Arrivals from Britain and Continental Europe have recorded the steepest declines over the last three years, down 20% and 15% respectively, and any return to favour in these markets will be a welcome move and give a handsome boost to Ireland’s tourism community. But will such a desire not to venture farther afield impact on the performance of our long haul markets? We know from the past that Americans tend to be reticent about travelling in election years. With the North American market one of the standout performers in 2011 – returning close to peak 2007 levels – we can ill afford a slide in 2012. Despite economic jitters, policymakers are largely positive about what the year ahead offers us. While it would be nigh on impossible to surpass the mighty gifts of last year’s double state visits, this year we have plenty of notable events to grab hold of – from the Eucharistic Congress (any chance of encouraging Benedict to drop by and prompt another generation of Pope’s Children?) to the Navy versus Notre Dame American football game at Aviva Stadium, not to mention the finale of the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway. Likewise, the increase in access this year will be a boon. Emirates’ new Dubai service means that Australia and New Zealand are now just one stop away. Ryanair’s routes from Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris and Milan to Knock, and Lufthansa’s service from Dusseldorf to Knock will provide a muchneeded shot in the arm to the West. Aer

2012 PROSPECTS The Numbers Game

2011

Fáilte Ireland chairman, Redmond O’Donoghue and chief executive, Shaun Quinn at the tourism authority’s annual statement in January

Lingus’s new services from Stockholm and Verona to the capital, and its new route from Brussels to Cork augur well, as does United’s WashingtonDublin service. As well as the new routes, Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, Iberia and SAS are all increasing capacity into the country this year. Fáilte Ireland believes the improved access, coupled with the strong programme of events, additional investment in tourism attractions (despite our money woes, there are 44 projects in the pipeline with a cumulative value of e62m), and more effective marketing from industry operators, as well as strong campaigns from the agencies, will help tourism raise the tide further in 2012. The maintenance of the 9% VAT rate is also a significant assistance. ‘The Government’s reduction of the VAT rate to 9% on most labour intensive tourism services is a crucial factor in the industry’s recovery as it is helping to restore lost competitiveness in our key markets,’ agrees John Healy, chairman of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation. Last year was a ‘turning point’ for Irish tourism, notes the ITIC chair, with the addition of 6,000

new jobs providing a good news story at a time when announcements of job losses are coming thick and fast. However, he warns ‘while the industry yet again proved its resilience it is still a long way off the level of demand enjoyed in 2007, the record year for Irish tourism.’ Noting the impact the fractious euro economy is having on the global travel industry, ITIC believes that in a best case scenario we can realistically expect a 3% growth in international travel this year. ‘However, the possibility of the eurozone crisis deteriorating into a renewed banking crisis which in turn would cut global GDP growth to less than 1% would have serious implications for the travel industry,’ the tourism lobby group warned in its end of year review and outlook for 2012. For Ireland, that represents a greater challenge. ‘Simply matching the average growth rate will not be good enough – Ireland needs to target growth of upwards of between 5-10% for the year ahead, to restore financial stability to the industry and provide enhanced exchequer returns,’ maintained ITIC in the report. ‘This calls for a market-beating 8

• Overseas visitor numbers increased by 7% versus 2010 – comprising a 10% growth in arrivals from Mainland Europe; 8% increase from North America and 5% rise in numbers visiting from Britain, reports ITIC. • The growth was front-loaded into the first seven months of the year. From August visitor numbers began to slide once again. • While the 7% increase is a good performance, it comes on the back of the industry’s ‘annus horribilis’, 2010. Final year figures for 2011 are expected to be 7% lower than visitor numbers recorded in 2009 and close to 18% lower than 2008, highlighting that we still have a long way to go before we return to prerecession levels. • Encouragingly, long-haul markets like North America are returning close to peak levels. However, from three years ago arrivals from GB have plummeted by more than 20%, while Continental Europe visitor numbers are down 15%. • Some sectors are growing faster than others. The escorted coach tour business from the US has been brisk, for instance, with numbers in 2011 higher than 2007. Meanwhile, a record 87 cruise liners, carrying over 135,000 passengers and crew, docked at Dublin Port last year. • Employment levels in the industry grew by 6,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis in 2011. ITIC believes that 180,000 people are now estimated to work in 16,000 businesses in the industry. • Hotels were the strongest performers in the accommodation sector last year, reports Fáilte Ireland, driven by a strong performance in urban areas such as Dublin, Galway, Cork, Killarney and Waterford. Higher grade, large hotels in major metropolitan areas faired best.

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

2012 PROSPECTS 2012’s To Do List

Tourism Ireland’s new advertising campaign is encourging visitors to jump into Ireland.

strategy which emphasises the difference or positive advantages and focuses on where best to compete. Indentifying the “who” and the “where” is more critical to success than the “how”. Ireland as a destination can no longer afford to market “in Germany”, but rather needs to target defined segments with motivations to visit – for example, reaching those with an interest in hill walking living in Munich. The challenging market conditions call for a more granular marketing approach together with a flexibility to reallocate resources as opportunities shift between markets and segments.’ We take ITIC’s point about the marketing, which can’t just be left to the agencies, the trade has to play its part also, but in light of the current market conditions, a 5-10% growth next year may be a tall order. Tourism Ireland itself has only projected a 4.5% increase in overseas arrivals – a target which was noted as ‘optimistic’ by Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar when he helped launch the agency’s marketing plans in December. We hope we are proved wrong, and a growth in excess of 5% is achieved. In the meantime,

like many in the industry we are clinging on to the ‘feel good factor’ presented by last year’s tourism increase but we know we still have a huge task ahead of us in 2012 and beyond. As Redmond O’Donoghue declared: ‘Looking at the dark period that tourism has passed through, I am tempted to paraphrase Churchill in another context by saying that this is not the end, nor the beginning of the end, but merely the end of the beginning. There is a long road ahead and we will need to maintain value for money, market every opportunity and keep our eyes on the prize if we are to maintain last year’s momentum.’ We always did think the Fáilte Ireland chair had a Churchillian air when public speaking. To borrow another phrase from the great World War II leader, ‘a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty’. Although 2012 will no doubt continue to be a challenge let’s hope we can prove the Lonely Planet wrong and show that we are a nation – and an industry – that is optimistic and open to opportunities. u

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

Fáilte Ireland’s list of priorities for the year ahead include: Project Britain – the authority is working with Tourism Ireland and tourism industry leaders to comprehensively review, revamp and reinvigorate the sales pitch to the UK market. Closing the Deal – it will continue to provide tourism businesses with advice and insights into how to target and convert overseas business opportunities through its Sales Connect programme. A total of 640 businesses availed of the programme last year. Delivering Domestically – Fáilte Ireland will be embarking on an aggressive home holiday marketing campaign to convert this potential into holidays at home. Business Support – last year the tourism authority provided business supports to almost 6,000 operations. Product Development – close to e22m-worth of funding was approved for an additional 21 projects through the Fáilte Ireland capital programme last year. Currently there are 44 projects in the pipeline with a cumulative value of e62m. Get Together – work on The Gathering, Ireland’s largest ever tourism initiative, has commenced with a new project board and implementation group in place. The Gathering, which aims to attract anyone with a link to Ireland back to these shores next year, will be officially launched on St Patrick’s Day. Going Wild – Fáilte Ireland is working on the introduction of ‘The Wild Atlantic Drive’, a major new tourism initiative for the western seaboard which will comprise a themed and packaged driving trail from Donegal to West Cork. It will be ‘ the first in a series of new major initiatives to completely redraw how we package and present ourselves as a destination’, says Fáilte Ireland. Cooperation – the authority is introducing a new national Tourism Town Award which it hopes will motivate Irish communities to get behind their local industry and do their part to lure visitors.

NEWS PROFILE

Go Live with Food & Bev this February FOOD & BEV LIVE 2012 is a new and exciting one day event which will take place on 1 February at The Convention Centre in Citywest Hotel, Co Dublin (10am-5pm).

rganised by the industry for the industry and sponsored by Bunzl Ireland, Food & Bev Live 2012 aims to celebrate excellence, showcasing over 50 of the country’s top suppliers. Highlighting top talent within the Irish hospitality industry, Food & Bev Live will feature five national competitions where chefs, bartenders and baristas will compete to win a chance to represent Ireland on the international stage. Visitors at the show will get a chance to see the country’s top hospitality professionals showcase their skills at the National Cocktail Championship, the Young Chef of the Year competition, the Senior Chef of the Year event, the National Gastro Chef of the Year competition and the National Barista Championship.

Mixing It Up

Open to all bartenders working in Ireland, the National Cocktail Competition is staged by the Bartenders Association of Ireland (BAI) and is sponsored by Edward Dillon & Co. The winner of this competition will be crowned National Cocktail Champion 2012 and will represent Ireland at the World Cocktail Competition in Beijing this October. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the BAI, the Association has invited leading members of the International Bartenders Association to judge the national competition. Flying into Dublin to judge the event are Ron Busman, vice-president of the International Bartenders Association and European chairman; Daniel Crebesse, president of the United Kingdom Bartenders Guild; and Jim Slavin, national administrator of the United Kingdom Bartenders Guild (UKBG). There will be four competitions on the

day: Pre-Dinner Cocktail, After Dinner Cocktail, Fancy Cocktail and Long Drink and one of the four winners will be crowned National Cocktail Champion 2012.

Cooking Up a Storm

The All-Ireland Chef of the Year is the Irish heat of the Global Chef Challenge, the biggest chefs’ competition in the world, which is staged by The Panel of Chefs of Ireland. The Panel will also stage the Irish heat of the renowned Hans Bueschkens Junior Chefs Challenge. The winners will go to London to compete further and will head to Korea in May for the final. Competitors must cook a three-course meal for eight people in four hours. Held every two years, this is considered to be the most prestigious culinary competition to be held in Ireland. In addition, the Panel of Chefs has also included a contest for the National Gastro Chef of the Year, where eager participants are required to cook four main course plates in one hour.

Grinding It

The Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) will host the finals of the National Barista Championship where the winner will earn the chance to compete in the World Barista Championships at the SCAE World of Coffee in Vienna this June. The semi-finals of this year’s Avonmore Irish Barista Championships and Latte Art Competitions were held in November and at Food & Bev Live the six finalists will do battle to win the national crown.

Showcasing Trends

The trade exhibition will feature more than

50 foodservice suppliers along with the Specialist Coffee Roasters Village and Chefs Choice @ Food & Bev Live. In addition, the event will feature a Catering Managers Association of Ireland (CMAI) Conference and the aptly titled Champions of Champions Dinner. A niche experience at Food & Bev Live, the Coffee Roasters Village will feature six of the finest coffee roasters and suppliers in the country who will promote the use of speciality grade coffees in cafés, restaurants and other catering establishments. At Food & Bev Live, coffee-lovers will get the chance to meet with leading baristas and roasters, taste some of the best coffee available today, and find out how they can improve their coffee offering, retrain staff or set up in the industry. Chef ’s Choice @ Food & Bev Live will feature a range of artisan food and beverage producers, providing them with an ideal opportunity to showcase their products and services to the leading chefs and restaurateurs in the country. Exhibitors confirmed for this year’s inaugural Food & Bev Live include Bunzl, Diversey, Cup Print, Steelite, Kraft, Go-Jo, True Refrigeration, Rational, Chefs Choice Group, Avonmore, 3FE, Ariosa, Golden Bean, Bailies, Badger and Dodo, Cork Coffee, Ristretto, McCabes Coffee, Weighing Machine Services, Whitkil, Marco Beverage Systems, Mathew Algie, Ille Paper, Hugh Jordan, Keelings, McDonnells, ILLY/Monin, Calor Gas, Absolute Retail Control, Edward Dillon, Foodco, Martin Food Equipment, Invest Northern Ireland, Ballymaloe Country Relish, pigsback.com, Catering Equipment Association and Mauds. u

For more about Food & Bev Live 2012 contact GARRET BUCKLEY, event director, at t: 01 846 0020, m: 086 246 5093 or e: garret.buckley@eventhaus.ie

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

BUSINESS

Getting Ahead

in 2012

AUSTIN HICKEY lists his five top tips for protecting your business in the year ahead. • Have a Plan Whether you are a start up or a long established business it is vital that you have an up to date business plan to guide your business during the year. This plan should set out a clear vision of where you want your business to be, but perhaps more importantly how you plan to get there. Your plan should identify your goals for 2012, what are your businesses strengths and how you will measure and monitor performance. A clear vision and course of action is essential to ensuring that you keep your focus and drive your business forward. • Avoid Complacency With some signs of recovery in the tourism sector (overseas visitor numbers up 7% in 2011), one of the potential pitfalls to business success in 2012 could be complacency. As outlined, effective planning is critical to business success. However, planning should not be an annual once off event, but should be subject to constant review and appraisal. In these turbulent times, it has never been more important to develop a robust contingency plan which can help you determine appropriate courses of action should the performance of your business take a turn for the worse, or unforeseen circumstances arise. Such a plan should be developed with the objective of helping you respond to fluctuations in the demand for your product or services. The plan should help you address and devise appropriate responses for the following: • What actions can be taken to help reduce fixed and variable costs? • What operating standards and procedures can be changed to cut costs without destroying the loyalty of your customer base? • What happens if a new competitor enters the market? • Are there other sources of revenue that we can tap into? • What happens if a key supplier goes out of business? One of the reasons why many tourism

businesses are still in existence today is that they continue to critically examine the effectiveness and efficiency of their business, taking remedial action where required. Whether you are running a hotel, restaurant, bar or other tourism-related business, there are many examples of where service levels can be tweaked slightly, resulting in immediate cost savings, but without impacting on quality or delivery. For example, it should be possible to reduce or curtail operating hours or to limit the numbers of staff on duty during periods of low demand. Such measures can be adopted by most businesses, with other business specific options then available dependent on the type of business you operate. Many hotels have already implemented initiatives to help them attain savings, such as the closing of floors of guestrooms temporarily, limiting guest amenities in bedrooms, or reducing the availability of items such as free newspapers often left at reception or dining areas. As market conditions improve, complacency can often set in, with a tendency to then revert to old ways or bad habits. However, it is vital to maintain the efficiencies that have been achieved during the downturn, with the objective of improving overall profitability. • Innovate With market conditions likely to remaining challenging during 2012, it is vital that, as a business owner/manager, you don’t stand still. The ability to innovate can increase the chances of your business succeeding. Innovation should not just be restricted to the products and services you offer, but needs to be considered in the context of the process and means by which you do business. It is vital to keep an eye on emerging trends in hospitality and travel, such as the phenomenal growth of social media, the increasing desire for eco-friendly holiday options, the rising trend for locally sourced food and the increasing shift towards casual

dining. (See other sections of this year’s Business Improvement Guide for latest trends and ideas on marketing your business more creatively.) • Mind Your Cash Whether you are operating a multimillion euro business or a micro-enterprise, cash is the lifeblood of the business. One of the primary reasons why many businesses fail is down to bad cash management. Cashflow needs to be managed effectively and should be guided by the following key principles: • Ensure prompt payment of all money which you are owed • Deposit cheques quickly • Operate tight accounts receivable policies • Maximise credit terms from your suppliers • Use surplus cash wisely • Avoid holding excess stock or cash in current accounts. It is vital to keep a close eye on the cashflow of the business at all times. If you know where your cash stands you are better informed to make better strategic decisions for the long-term future of your business.

• Ask for Help

Finally, as with many important decisions, the best advice can sometimes come from the professionals, in many cases individuals who are somewhat removed and detached from your business. When it comes to your business, you want the right advice from someone who understands your business well. Make an effort to develop a good relationship with your accountant or business adviser to ensure you receive tailored advice to help you grow your business. There are a range of supports available to you as a business owner/manager, such as those provided by Fáilte Ireland and County Enterprise Boards throughout the country. Often available at little or no cost, these interventions can result in real improvements in how you manage and operate your business and in doing so contribute to its long-term viability.

AUSTIN HICKEY is a senior consultant with BDO’s dedicated Tourism and Hospitality team. He is also retained as a business and finance mentor on BizCheck – Fáilte Ireland’s Business Mentoring and Advisory service, working with a diverse range of clients throughout the tourism and hospitality sector. * AHickey@bdo.ie

10 HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

Under Pressure?

Managing Your Finances in a Tight Market The success of tourism and hospitality businesses in managing their cashflow and keeping up to date with all their creditors will remain of critical importance during 2012. With limited funding options open to many business, it is likely that many owners and managers will have to continue to work with their lenders and key creditors, such as Revenue, during 2012 to ensure the finances of the business remain sound. How you manage these relationships will be central to the success and possible viability of your business.

Liaising With Your Bank

When meeting with your bank with the objective of restructuring your finances or with the Revenue Commissioners, for example, to reschedule payments, preparation will be key. In advance of such a meeting you should: 1. Meet with your financial adviser/accountant 2. Get up to speed with the key aspects of your business and its current financial position 3. Ensure you go furnished with all the relevant financial information/ documentation • Industry specific KPIs • Rolling cashflow budgets • Current budget and business plan

• Tax clearance certificate • Most recent audited/management accounts and balance sheet 4. Consider likely questions to be posed and your responses 5. Be realistic both in terms of your requirements and capacity to repay 6. Bring your adviser/accountant to the meeting In your dealings with your bank, the Revenue Commissioners or any other key stakeholder, it is important that you try to adopt the following approach: • Keep them up to date on the performance of the business • Display honesty, accuracy and transparency in reporting operational and financial performance • Be proactive – advise key financial stakeholders of any problems before they tell you. Early intervention is critical

Further Funding

Unfortunately, the options currently available are very limited. There has been a significant shift in the type of funding required by Irish businesses in recent times -– from capital to working capital. It is estimated that 70% of all businesses’ credit applications to banks relate to working capital. Difficulties

securing credit from the banks have been well documented. It is therefore worth remembering that with limited equity and bank finance available, in most circumstances, the cheapest source of finance is cash tied up in your business which, if accessed, can reduce the need for external funding. There are a number of debtor, creditor, cost and stock management techniques that can be adopted to assist. Measures such as restructuring debt repayments to ‘interest only’ can help cashflow, while you should also be conscious of not using overdrafts, credit cards or other expensive forms of finance to fund long-term debt. Taking such action can often result in immediate improvements in a business’ cashflow and its future viability. Other options may include the new Employment and Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS), which replaces the old Business Expansion Scheme (BES). This is open to some businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector, but does specifically exclude hotels, B&Bs and the providers of holiday accommodation. It may also be useful to speak to your local County Enterprise Board or Leader organisation, as they can sometimes help with employment grants and in some cases funding for capital projects. u

Discover hundreds of products that you simply won’t find showcased and discounted anywhere else. IFEX 2012 will feature more product launches, innovation and tasty food and drink sampling than ever before!

KINGS HALL, BELFAST Northern Ireland’s PREMIER food, drink, retail and hospitality event

GI NO STE W! R

Highlights this year include: ChefSkills 2012 – one of the best culinary competitions in Northern Ireland La Parade des Chefs – providing young chefs with an opportunity to serve up to 50 guests a day Ulster Pork & Bacon Forum – live demos and exclusive previews Product of the Show Awards – uncover the latest, must-have products of 2012 A packed learnShops seminar programme

Interested in exhibiting? Email Caroline.McGuinness@easyfairs.com or call +44 (0)28 9068 3331

Exhibitors include:

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012 11

J EASY OPTIONS

Free & Simple Ways to Improve Business in 2012

Forget the seven deadly sins, here are seven simple tried-and-tested strategies for boosting business, and the really great thing is they’re free.

Smile

Oh God, not that old chestnut again, we hear you groan. But bear with us a moment, it’s important. At Hotel & Catering Review, we’re pretty well placed to take the temperature of the hospitality industry, travelling thousands upon thousands of kilometres every year to judge hundreds of operators in our annual Gold Medal Awards. What impresses us most each year is not the marble clad bathroom or the plush carpet in the corridors, it is the warmth of the welcome we receive on arrival and the care and attention lavished by staff during our visit. A frosty reception or a cold service is not a wallet opener. It will not encourage guests to hang around and order a second bottle of wine, another round of afternoon tea, or further spa treatments. No matter how good the food or how stylish the surroundings, if your staff are glum and surly it will leave a bad taste in the mouths of guests and will not encourage a repeat visit. Smiling is our greatest natural resource – and it’s free, even if sometimes you have to grit your teeth to do it.

Remind your staff to keep their eyes peeled for opportunities

Unless you’re in the lucky position to have a very wealthy benefactor, or somehow you’ve managed to avoid the worst lashes of the

recession, we guess your team are working harder than ever as you’ve had to cut back on hours or reduce staffing numbers. While cutting labour costs may have helped the bottom line, is it impacting on your team’s ability to care for your customers? Floor-gazing is on the up in Irish hotels and restaurants as staff keep their glances firmly downcast in order to avoid eye-contact with customers. No matter how busy, a good server will keep the chin up and the eyes peeled for opportunities, such as that second bottle of wine or a round of coffees. How many people use your lobby for meetings, for instance, without being approached for an order? The amount of time we spend in Irish hotel receptions gasping for a coffee but stubbornly waiting to see if a server will notice us is, quite simply, staggering.

Upsell

Your team are servers, but they are also sales people. The fine art of selling went missing during the years of the boom, but today it offers a valuable opportunity to maximise revenue. The key is to do it subtly – oversell and you risk turning off your customers. (It’s best to avoid the Mrs Doyle, ‘go on, go on, go on’ approach...) Canny upselling can be something as simple as saying ‘let me tell you about the wonderful local lady a few doors down from us who supplied us with the blueberries for our dessert of the day’ before handing out

12 HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

menus, as opposed to asking ‘does anyone want to see a dessert menu?’ Try it, we guarantee you will see an improvement in sales. A good place to start (if you’re not doing it already) is to get your chefs to engage more with your staff or get your suppliers to give tutored tastings. Don’t just confine it to the restaurant team – involve the crew on the front desk too. How nice would it be when you check-in somewhere after a long drive to be told about the gorgeous hot scones which have just come out of the oven, or the tempting chocolate torte made by the chef that morning which is now being served at afternoon tea? It’s all in the talk...

Get social

Developing your web presence takes time and money, the exact amount dependent on the sophistication of your website. But chatting online to millions of prospective customers through social media such as Twitter or Facebook is free – although it does require a time investment. Set strict timelines to update your accounts – say 20 minutes in the morning and evening – and utilise tools like Hootsuite which enable you to update multiple accounts in one go. If the social media stratosphere is too scary for you, nominate one of your team to do it. It could be one of your waiting or bar staff who have a natural ability for online interaction. Just beware of the pitfalls of saying the wrong thing online – see page 18 for more.

Canny upselling can be something as simple as saying ‘let me tell you about the wonderful local lady a few doors down from us who supplied us with the blueberries for our dessert of the day’ before handing out menus, as opposed to asking ‘does anyone want to see a dessert menu?’

Turn off the lights!

Chances are you have cut all you can in your business, from bottles of water to free morning papers. But look up, are your lights on in the middle of the day? Four years into the recession and Irish hotels are still finding free and easy ways of reducing their bills and conserving their cash by becoming more energy, water and waste aware. See Maurice Bergin’s article elsewhere in this issue for more ideas.

Talk to your customers

Do you spend hours wondering how you’re going to get more customers in the door? Are you investing vast swathes of cash in costly marketing campaigns or consumer research? Why not take a bit of time out to talk to your customers? Instead of asking ‘was everything okay

folks?’, enquire ‘what did you enjoy and what can we do better?’ As well as gaining some helpful feedback and consumer insight, you will also get a chance to show your customers how important they are to you. Remember, it’s far easier to encourage an existing customer to return than attract a new guest or diner. Repeat business is a great measure of success.

Say thanks

You may have heard us mention this one before, but one of the best customer experiences we’ve had in retail was during a visit to the Jo Malone concession in Brown Thomas a few years ago. We went in to buy a candle for a friend who was getting married (to help soothe the nerves while getting ready on the morning of the big day) and received phenomenal service from a lovely assistant who went to huge trouble to find the perfect scent for the bride.

But that wasn’t the best bit. On returning home from the wedding we found a hand-written card, expressing hope that the day went well and inviting both of us back for a complimentary hand massage to try Jo Malone’s new handcream. It was a sales ploy that worked – we bought the hand-cream – but it was also a nice touch which made us feel appreciated. Sending a card out is not free – but sending an email is (although you can invest in software to do the job for you). We stay in hotels a lot and only a handful send emails thanking us for our custom and inviting us to submit feedback. Clever operators use it as an opportunity to encourage repeat business, with treats such as discounts off the next stay and details of local festivals, events and promotions worth returning for. It all works to help keep your business at the forefront of your customers’ minds. u

PROMOTION

Heineken celebrated the art of pulling the perfect pint at the Star Serve finals in Cork and Dublin recently. Heineken Star Serve programme perfects the long tradition of pouring a pint and ensures the pint is poured perfectly every time, sealing in the fresh, crisp taste under the head for longer. Held in The Savoy in Cork and Tripod in Dublin, the Star Serve finals saw bartenders from pubs across Munster and Leinster compete for the title of Star Serve Champion. Over 750 people attended both events where competitors were put through their paces in a series of intense heats.

Eoin credits for his success in the competition. When pouring the perfect pint from a Heineken Served Extra Cold tap, Eoin recommends that bartenders: 1. Take their time and follow the four steps. 2. Make sure they hold the glass at a 45° angle and drop the glass a bit. 3. Don’t rush the pour, it does work. Jose Cardoso has also been perfecting the four step pour in Russell’s of Ranelagh. As an experienced barman Jose sees it as the best way to serve beer. In Jose Cardoso, his opinion, the Star Serve pour Russell’s of Ranelagh ensures Heineken tastes the way it should. Jose’s tips for perfecting the pour are: 1. Take your time and picture yourself in front of your favourite customer. 2. Make sure you hold the glass at a 45° angle – it’s what helps the head of the beer. 3. Follow the four steps of Heineken Star Serve and wait for the compliments to start!

Eoin Condon, Nancy Blake’s Eoin Condon from Nancy Blake’s in Limerick was crowned Star Serve champion in Cork while Jose Cardoso took the title in Dublin. Both winners walked away with the prize of a VIP trip each to the UEFA Champions League final in Munich in May 2012. Heineken has been training the staff at Nancy Blake’s in the four step Star Serve pour and and it is this training which

LOG ON TO WWW.HEINEKEN.IE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FOUR STEP HEINEKEN STAR SERVE.

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012 13

PACKAGES

Get Creative With room rates on the floor and competition intense, increasing prices is not an easy option for Irish hoteliers. But by being creative and adding value to your offering, hotels can maximise their appeal. AILISH CANTWELL offers tips to help you get started.

ALWAYS START THE YEAR WITH A CALENDAR OF EVENTS, this way you can clearly plan your ‘must have’ yearly packages such as Valentine’s, St Patrick’s, Easter, summer, Hallowe’en and Christmas. Look at the availability/soft dates around these set holiday times and look at putting together packages/events that might sway consumers to your property during off peak times.

LOOK AT EVENTS HAPPENING LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY that you can develop packages for. There are a huge amount of festivals locally and around the country that you can tie in with.

GET TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER. Spend

time in the lobby on check-in-days. Many sales and marketing professionals have a textbook idea of who their customer is, whereas in reality this could be the total opposite. Survey your front of house and operations teams and ask them for feedback. For example, what do your customers do when they stay at your property? Shop? Sightsee? Spa? What is missing from their experience that you can deliver through a direct package?

IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET MARKET. In the

current climate when I ask hoteliers ‘ who is your target market?’, the usual answer is ‘everyone’. However, this is a fundamental mistake as you cannot be everything to everyone. Select and serve your target markets – do it well and you will do well. Once your target markets have been identified, segment them into specific niches so you can start the package development process.

EXPLORE YOUR RESOURCES. Do you have

hotel personnel with hidden talents that you can utilise? What does your location offer that differs from other areas? Have you built up relationships with local businesses who can offer your customers something unique and special? What are you offering, or what additional services can you offer, that will set you apart from the competition?

DO YOUR HOMEWORK. If you have decided

to create a family package, speak to parents to ascertain what influences their decision process. Look at what the competition is doing nationally and internationally. Take inspiration but never copy!

KEEP AN EYE ON TRENDS. When starting

the creative process take inspiration from world trends, from fashion to interiors, lifestyle and travel. They offer a benchmark to what’s current. Surf the net, research, read, travel and observe constantly. Be ahead, not behind. Take it as a positive sign when the competition mimic your efforts and move on to the next creative package.

DELIVER OPERATIONALLY. Work with your

operational team. A great idea will only work when you have the back-up from the team on the ground.

GET THE MESSAGE OUT THERE. It is

imperative that all packages catch the eye of the media. Ensure that your package is concise, clearly written, priced correctly and that you have strong images available to back it up. u

AILISH CANTWELL is head of Inspire PR and has created a number of packages and promotions for a range of hospitality clients across Ireland. * ailishcantwell@eircom.net

DIARY DATES

What’s Going On? 2012 Festivals & Events

St Patrick’s Festival, image Fáilte Ireland

JANUARY

MARCH

9-15

Six Nations Rugby: Ireland v Scotland 8 rbs6nations.com

8-15

Dingle International Film Festival 8 dinglefilmfestival.com

12-15

St Patrick’s Festival 8 stpatricksfestival.ie

27-29

Titanic 100 Cobh 2012 8 titanic100.ie

15-18

Mayo Titanic Cultural Week 8 mayo-titanic.com

16-19

Waterford Festival of Food 8 waterfordfestivaloffood.com

20 January - 3 February

Dublin Bay Prawn Festival 8 fingaldublin.ie

23-25

25-29

Temple Bar Trad Fest 8 templebartrad.com

27-29

Glen of Aherlow Winter Walking Festival 8 aherlow.com

FEBRUARY Chinese New Year Festival Dublin 8 cny.ie Six Nations Rugby: Ireland v Wales 8 rbs6nations.com

16-26

Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 8 ldiff.com

18-19

Dingle Walking Festival 8 dinglewalkingfestival.com

Limerick International Band Parade & Competition 8 limerick.ie Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail Walking Festival, Westport 8 croaghpatrickheritagetrail.com

31 March-31 May

Titanic 100 Festival Belfast 8 belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic

23-26

APRIL

Connemarathon 8 conneamarathon.com

Tedfest, Aran Islands & Galway City 8 Tedfest.org Six Nations Rugby: Ireland v Italy 8 rbs6nations.com

MAY 2-6

Cork International Choral Festival 8 corkchoral.ie

4-7

Smithwick’s Kilkenny Rhythm & Roots Festival 8 kilkennyroots.com

18-20

Só Sligo Food Festival 8 sosligo.com

25 May-4 June

Celebrating Clifden 200 8 clifden2012.org

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012 15

Bloom

DIARY DATES Get Ready For...

The Gathering Are you looking for something to get your teeth into to give your business an extra boost? Well, next year might be just the answer to your prayers. Fáilte Ireland is deep in preparation for The Gathering, a year-long festival which will tap into the Irish diaspora and encourage Irish people and their descendants overseas to return home in 2013. Dubbed the ‘festival of festivals’, the event is designed to give Irish tourism and the wider economy a ‘major shot in the arm’ in 2013, attracting an estimated 325,000 additional visitors and generating a further e223m in tourism-related revenue for the island. Nice. Fáilte Ireland head of golf and

30 May-1 June Listowel Writers’ Week 8 writersweek.ie

31 May-4 June

Kilkenny Cat Laughs Comedy Festival 8 thecatlaughs.com

31 May-4 June

Bloom 8 bloominthepark.com

Gathering at the tourism authority, with Tourism Ireland chairperson, Ann Riordan, stepping down from the marketing agency to chair The Gathering’s steering committee. ‘The Gathering will be the greatest undertaking ever in Irish tourism. There is now a Project Board and Implementation Group in place and work has now begun to harness the energy of communities at home and abroad to bring this initiative to life,’ explains Fáilte Ireland chief, Shaun Quinn. ‘As they set out to develop the details for Ireland’s biggest tourism event in 2013, time will be of the essence. Crucially, it is imperative that we get as many people and groups as possible on board, whether at local level or amongst Ireland’s diaspora. Fáilte Ireland will be doing everything we can to ensure this happens.’ Well, you heard the man, get on it! The Gathering will be officially launched this St Patrick’s Day. For more info on how you can get involved, contact Fáilte Ireland.

6-8

Volvo Ocean Race, Galway 8 volvooceanrace.com

7-15

Kinsale Arts Week 8 kinsaleartsweek.com

8-15

Ballina Salmon Festival 8 ballinasalmonfestival.ie

business tourism, Keith McCormack, will head the team preparing for The

JULY

JUNE 3

10-15

Galway Film Fleadh 8 galwayfilmfleadh.com

Bavaria City Racing 8 bavariacityracing.ie

16-29

Olympic Torch, Dublin 8 olympicsport.ie

30 July - 5 August

9-10

Street Performance World Championship, Cork 8 spwc.ie

11-17

Galway Arts Festival 8 galwayartsfestival.com Galway Summer Races 8 galwayraces.com

AUGUST

50th Eucharistic Congress, Dublin 8 iec2012.ie

2-5

Music in Great Irish Houses 8 musicingreatirishhouses.com

4-5 Dublin Super Cup

13-17 14-17

Street Performance World Championship, Dublin 8 spwc.ie

Spraoi, Waterford City 8 spraoi.com

thedublinsupercup.com

10-12

Puck Fair, Killorglin puckfair.ie

21 June -1 July

10-19

28 June -1 July

10-20

Cork Midsummer Festival 8 Corkmidsummer.com Irish Open Golf Tournament 8 Irishopengolf.com

Kilkenny Arts Festiva; 8 kilkennyarts.ie Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, Cavan 8 fleadhcheoil.ie

Arthur’s Day

Volvo Ocean Race

10-16

15-19

17-21

18-26

23-26

25-27

31 August-2 September

27 September -14 October

Tullamore Show & AIB National Livestock Show 8 tullamoreshow.com Dublin Horse Show 8 dublinhorseshow.com Rose of Tralee International Festival 8 roseoftralee.ie National Heritage Week 8 heritageweek.ie

Taste of West Cork 8 atasteofwestcork.com All Ireland Football Final 8 gaa.ie Arthur’s Day 8 guinness.com Dublin Culture Night 8 culturenight.ie

Tall Ships Race, Dublin 8 Dublintallships.ie

National Ploughing Championships, New Ross 8 npa.ie

Electric Picnic 8 electricpicnic.ie

Dublin Theatre Festival 8 dublintheatrefestival.com

SEPTEMBER 1

Emerald Isle Classic (Notre Dame v Navy), Aviva Stadium 8 emeraldisleclassic.com

All Ireland Hurling Final 8 gaa.ie

7-9

Clarenbridge Oyster Festival 8 Clarenbridge.com

8-23

Absolut Fringe Festival 8 fringefest.com

10-16

Waterford Harvest Festival 8 waterfordharvestfestival.ie

28-30

Galway Oyster Festival 8 galwayoysterfest.com

OCTOBER 5-7

Dingle Peninsula Food & Wine Festival 8 dinglefood.com

24 October – 4 November Wexford Festival Opera 8 wexfordopera.com

25-29

Savour Kilkenny 8 savourkilkenny.com

26-29

Guinness Cork Jazz Festival 8 guinnessjazzfestival.com

National Lottery Dublin Marathon 8 dublinmarathon.ie

NOVEMBER 4-11

Corona Cork Film Festival 8 corkfilmfestival.org

14-18

Kilkenomics 8 kilkenomics.com

16-18

Ardee Baroque Festival 8 createlouth.ie

23-25

Wexworlds Sci-Fi & Fantasy Fiction Festival 8 wexworlds.net

DECEMBER Throughout the month 7Up Winter Wonderland Royal Hospital Kilmainham 8 7upwinterwonderland.ie

Walk Killarney 8 killarney.ie/walkkillarney

26-29

Leopardstown Christmas Racing 8 leopardstown.com Limerick Races 8 limerickraces.ie

30 December - 1 January Dublin at New Year 8 dublinatnewyear.ie

Check out more festivals and events at

discoverireland.ie/whats-on

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012 17

SOCIAL MEDIA You are what you tweet: Making a twat of yourself on Twitter can have a serious impact on your brand.

Have I Said Too Much? Do you use your business’s Twitter, Facebook or similar social media vehicles to share personal information? Have you castigated a colleague in a tweet? Have you posted a message late at night after a hectic service which seemed like a great idea at the time, but in the cold light of day turned out to be not so clever? Are you prone to tweeting while you’re out drinking? It may be time to take a step back from the Twitterverse and re-evaluate your social media etiquette. SARAH GRENNAN reports on lessons learned.

ome years ago when social media was in its infancy, still largely the preserve of techies, a pal in a leading firm in the City of London got quite a land. Professionally his star was in the ascendancy and he was tipped as one to watch. What he didn’t realise was that it was a tenacious young journalist in the local trade mag who was watching and she did an exposé of the online comments of players in the city. The first he knew about it was when he was hauled into the office by his superiors and lambasted for bringing the company into disrepute. It was then he realised that commenting on his personal MySpace account about the voluptuous backside of

one of his colleagues and the chronic nature of his midweek hangovers were not the smartest moves he had ever made. My chum may have been one of the first to get nailed, but he certainly wasn’t the last. If there is one thing that social media is known for, it is its uncanny ability to frequently land users in hot water. One small 140-character tweet can make full page headlines, destroy reputations, damage brands and prompt resignations. With no PR filter between a tweeter and their audience, off the cuff comments can cause serious damage. Think of the rugby player who incurred the wrath of his coach when he tweeted about his injury in advance of the

18 HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

team announcement, the actor who defended an American football coach embroiled in a child abuse scandal, the politician who whipped up a storm when she tweeted about racial tensions, or the broadcaster who commented on a colleague’s sudden death before it had been officially confirmed. Their crimes vary in severity, but they are all characterised by the same recklessness. Hindsight, as they say, is a wonderful thing. And then, of course, there are the nonsensical issues, such as the recent furore which engulfed Rachel Allen when she posted a photo of herself on a pheasant shoot. I’m not a hunter. If the truth be told, I’m a bit of a wimp – or as I call myself ‘a

One small 140 character tweet can make full page headlines, destroy reputations, damage brands and prompt resignations. With no PR filter between a tweeter and their audience, off the cuff comments can cause serious damage. vegetarian trapped in a carnivore’s body’ (dreadful double standards really, as much as I love animals I just can’t bear to give up meat) – however I know I’d rather eat a pheasant that lived a happy life than a poor miserable chicken that was intensively farmed in order to satisfy consumer demand for cheap food. If you eat meat, wear leather or consume animal products in some shape or form, then you simply don’t have any right to comment. (We’ll allow the vegans though, they’ve stuck to their principles.) The Allen debate may have been inflamed by the fact that it was a slow news day (St Stephen’s Day tends to be a snoozefest in the newsroom) but it does go to show how a seemingly innocuous post can get blown out of all proportion. Complaints ranged from animal welfare to Rachel’s audacity to drive an Audi in a recession – a comment that clearly vexed Bon Appetite chef Oliver Dunne who pointed out that Rachel, a hard-working tourism ambassador, is entitled to drive what she jolly well likes. (Here, here, Oliver.) So, bearing in mind Rachel’s recent plight we have to ask, is social media a help or a hindrance? Well, clearly, despite the PR disasters, it is an enormous assistance. By 2016, an estimated half of the tourism industry worldwide will use social media as a way to generate revenue and bookings. Today,

hospitality operators utilise it as a brand ambassador, a concierge, a rewards tool, and a powerful free communications vehicle, and in its various guises it will eventually help hotels and restaurants cut back on their costly pay-per-click advertising. Here in Ireland we have embraced social media in a major way, making it easier for hotels and restaurants to engage with customers. A recent Ipsos MRBI poll revealed that close to half of us – 47% of people 15 or older – have a Facebook account, while 11% are on Twitter, 8% are on LinkedIn and 7% have a Google+ account. But in our rush to get online, we may have neglected to learn basic social media etiquette. Posting something inappropriate on a personal account is one thing, but if you have a recognisable link to your business or your employers a careless tweet or status update can have far more damaging consequences.

The Chefs Bite Back

The easy accessibility to Twitter and other micro-blogging sites through smartphones, and the ‘always on’ 24-hour nature of social media has held a particular appeal to chefs in Ireland’s culinary community. Kept busy behind the swinging kitchen doors for large parts of the day, Twitter offers a valuable opportunity to communicate with

their peers and blow off a bit of steam. But by being too candid at the end of a long service, are some operators at risk of damaging their brand? Looking at some of the online comments posted by some Irish chefs, restaurateurs and hospitality operators, you’d have to wonder. Remember, it’s not just your pals in the trade who are reading your comments – with cooking the new rock’n’roll, Irish chefs are gaining huge attention among the wider population also. Ask yourself the following – • Do diners and possible future customers really need to know about a prominent chef ’s self-confessed growing moobs? (Eh, that’s man boobs for those not up to date with the latest vernacular.) • If you have an argument – light-hearted banter or otherwise – with your wife via your restaurant’s account, are you not in danger of impacting negatively on your business’s image? • Does it send out the right message to customers if you tweet that you are going to go out and ‘get smashed’ after a hectic service? • Should you really publicly comment about the difficult customers you had that night and the fact that you will have a fit if you have to ruin another fillet by cooking it well-done? • Is the internet the right forum to discuss whether your team made a mess of service

Going Social: Do’s and Don’t • Don’t feel the need to share exactly what is in your head at all times, no matter how mundane it is. Most sane people really aren’t interested. Remember, it is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to tweet and remove all doubt. • Don’t tweet in anger. Ever. Go and get a cup of tea instead of tweeting in the heat of the moment or responding rashly to a negative complaint on Tripadvisor and Co. • Don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want someone, somewhere to read. You never know who will come across your

comment. Once it’s out there, it’s out there and even if you delete it from your account, others may have already forwarded it on. • Don’t post anything that can be taken out of context. It may be a bit of banter to you and yours, but others might believe it to be worse. Remember a sarcastic tone does not transfer through typing. • Do think about how seemingly innocuous comments or images could cause offence – Rachel Allen’s hunting pic a case in point. • Don’t type all your messages in capitals. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING!

• Don’t retweet (forwarding other users’ messages) without due consideration. You can still be held accountable if it is libellous, even though you weren’t the one who commented in the first place. • Don’t just retweet other people’s comments. Be original. Say something yourself (just not about doing the washing, or finishing the accounts... yawn). • Do set up a social media policy in your organisation. If you’re not the one typing the comments, keep an eye on those who do. If your staff list that they work in your business in the bio of their personal accounts, they should

adhere to your social media protocol also. • Do set up separate accounts for personal use rather than commenting through your work account. • Do monitor your stats, find out what interests and disinterests your followers and tailor your messages to suit. • Do use social media as a valuable tool to engage with your existing customers and grow your client base further. And remember, never, ever drink and tweet. Be disciplined with your smartphone!

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012 19

SOCIAL MEDIA

Looking for Help?

If you wish to develop or enhance your online presence, or if you need help getting to grips with social marketing, Fáilte Ireland can assist. It offers an extensive web supports programme, providing the industry with free access to a range of practical online tools such as presentations, checklists, ‘how to’ guides and step-bystep videos. Topics covered include search engine optimisation, online investment, converting website visitors, online selling, PR management, using mobile technology, Facebook, email marketing campaigns and many more. Videos include creating a Google alert, listening on Twitter, responding to a review in Tripadvisor and many more.

Ballymaloe’s Rachel Allen unwittingly found herself at the centre of a media storm recently when she posted a photo of herself at a pheasant shoot on Facebook.

or whether your new chef de partie is not up to speed? All the above are genuine posts by Irish chefs and restaurateurs, and they gave us pause for thought. Unwittingly could be turning off potential customers before they’ve even taken a step in the door. I know of one diner who cancelled a large booking in one restaurant as, after following the chef on Twitter, she believed he bullied his staff. Others have stopped following him for similar reasons and it is certainly a deterrent to visit the restaurant. Of course, it’s not just chefs, restaurateurs and hoteliers who need to occasionally pause for reflection before letting their digits do the talking. We all need to remember that when dabbling in social media you potentially have the

opportunity to network with hundreds of millions of people worldwide. With that kind of power, comes responsibility. Social media may be great for chat, but it is not a cocktail party, or a night down the pub with your mates. While informal in tone, it should be treated the same as a public-speaking engagement. In other words, don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t say on stage to a room full of 500 people. Remember, cyberspace is populated by existing and potential customers. If you want to talk more freely, remove any association to your workplace from your account or take on a nickname or pseudonym that will be recognised by your friends. And for heaven’s sake, put the moobs away. It puts us off our dinner. u

8 failteireland.ie/websupports

What’s Hot and What’s Definitely Not... Deep Freeze Commenting on your growing man breasts (aka, moobs – it did happen, I’m not making it up); sharing inappropriate images of your kids; criticising your staff or colleagues; complaining about difficult customers; arguing with your partner via Twitter; posting crude jokes or sexist/racist/ offensive comments... The fact that you include ‘all comments are my own and not that of my employers/business’ etc is

not a get out of jail free card. If your name or your business’s name is on the account or if you are a recognisable link to your business or brand then your comments will reflect on you professionally. If you want to let rip or chat freely with pals use a pseudonym or remove all traces of your professional life. Not Cool Shouting special offers – it’s not the back page of The Irish Times, folks. 2BB1D e180 won’t cut it,

even if you are trying to squeeze messages into 140 characters. Your comments should be more engaging and your sales messages more subtle. Thawing Out Tweeting ‘good morning’ or ‘good evening’ just to get out there. It suggests you don’t have much to say, but the sentiment is nice. Getting Warmer Tweeting about the weather – we

Irish are so obsessed about it. It’s good if it comes with advice for getting about safely, or tips for coping with the elements. Hot to Trot Genuine news; competitions; cocktail ideas from the bar staff; recipes and tips from the chefs; details of local events and festivals; interesting stories from the team... Don’t just do all the talking yourself, get your colleagues involved also.

You can follow SARAH GRENNAN personally @sarah_grennan, but really, she doesn’t say much on it (only 11 tweets so far!) having learnt the lesson that private chat is best kept private – DMs (direct messages) are really a marvel. For more relevant conversation from Sarah, follow Hotel & Catering Review @HC_Review. You’ll get a bit more commentary there, including updates about the Gold Medal Awards, news from out and about, and other (relevant, hopefully!) stuff which takes her fancy. Hotel & Catering Review is also on Facebook. Check us out and say ‘Hello!’ We’d love to follow you and hear your news.

20 HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

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PURCHASING

A Cooperative Approach By working together everyone can benefit, says RUTH HEGARTY. What’s good for producers and suppliers is also great for chefs and customers too.

t’s an ill wind that blows no good – and our challenging times have certainly brought some positive developments. For the hospitality industry it has meant the need for a bit more imagination and dynamism; re-defining value and offering something special. The ones who are succeeding are thinking outside the box. Chefs know this as well as anyone, and like anyone else who wants to survive, they have adapted. Part of this adaptation has been a change in what ingredients chefs buy and how they buy them, with a greater variety in approaches to sourcing and a greater willingness to work together. Players all along the supply chain are adapting and responding too; from farmer and producer, to processor and distributor, right through the chef and even the customer; and their roles are starting to evolve. But this spirit of cooperation is still embryonic and something that we do not have a great culture of in this industry. If we want to have access to the best food, offer something really special to customers, and ensure that everyone involved still makes a decent living, we need communicate and work together more and become much more flexible. Picking up the phone to one or two large distributors and ordering everything from a catalogue for one big delivery, all cut into appropriate portions sizes and neatly packed, makes sense in a number of ways. It reduces time on prep and training, cuts down on expensive labour, and reduces disturbances in the kitchen from deliveries. Fewer invoices and accounts mean administrative time and cost is decreased. You can get almost anything you want and you can plan ahead as far as you wish. The advantages of such an approach are quantifiable; it is a system that appeals to the accountant and the business manager. And the push for such a neatly packaged approach to food sourcing has not come solely from financial quarters. It also ticks all the boxes for food safety regulators. Dealing with a small number of large suppliers means a clear and easily monitored paper trail; what the authorities call ‘traceability’. Less preparation and processing in restaurant kitchens is seen as

reducing hazards and risks. The reality is that many businesses began to work this way and everyone can understand the reasons why. But given the importance of their raw materials, what has always marked out a good chef, perhaps as much as cooking ability, is the way they source their ingredients. Just as cooking something from scratch takes a bit more time and effort, good sourcing requires a greater level of commitment, knowledge and skill from the chef. We lose something special, but less tangible and quantifiable, when we distance the person producing the food too much from the person cooking it. Discerning diners are probably more aware of this than ever before. It doesn’t just sound good; knowledgeable, responsible and well thought out sourcing normally results in more creative, imaginative and tastier food. But this does not necessarily mean having 20 producers turning up at the back door every day. It can be achieved in a variety of ways, as many industry chefs and their suppliers are now demonstrating. Chefs source their ingredients through a mix of growing and foraging their own; buying from seasonal or hobby producers, foragers, or hunters at the back door or fisherman at the quayside; direct deliveries from established farmers and food producers; and purchases through distributors, large and small. To some extent, for certain chefs, this has always been the way. What has changed somewhat is the growing willingness by everyone to work together. The cooperative approach is not a popular one in Ireland. We tend to see the guy down the road as a competitor rather than a colleague; we are suspicious (and maybe insecure), we want to have the edge over him so we don’t tend to share our knowledge or ideas. But the spirit of cooperation is growing; and what are developing are a number of partnerships and more equal, mutually beneficial relationships. Chefs are working together to ensure access to the best ingredients at a price which is viable for both chef and producer; producers are working with chefs to give them a product tailored to their needs and specifications; and producers are

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beginning to cooperate with each other to overcome some of the biggest challenges to their business. Good distributors are also responding by facilitating three-way relationships; ensuring the link between producer and chef is preserved, while assisting producers in reaching the right market and getting chefs what they want. And if you are really thinking outside the box, you can even start turning your customers into suppliers (and your suppliers into customers).

Chefs Working Together

Gary O’Hanlon at Viewmount House in Longford and Feargal O’Donnell at the Fatted Calf in Glasson, near Athlone, have formed a relationship which allows many local producers to thrive and quality producers from further afield to supply them. When Donegal man Gary O’Hanlon came to the midlands, Feargal O’Donnell introduced him to several great suppliers nearby, like John Rogan in Rathowen for smoked fish and Joe Ledwith in Mullingar for game. Later Gary was able to share some of his new discoveries with him, like Fergus Dunne’s rare-breed pork from Tullamore. Since then, between the two – with a little digging and by letting people know what they were about – they have managed to source everything from the above-mentioned smoked fish and game, to milk, cheese and eggs; beef, lamb and rare-breed pork; and a huge variety of vegetables from within the counties of Longford and Westmeath. Jana Reinhardt is a farmer in Ardagh, Co Longford just two kilometres down the road from Viewmount House. Soon she will supply wild boar/Tamworth cross pork and Muscovy ducks for the restaurant. Due to Gary’s discussions with Feargal and commitment from both chefs to buy her rare-breed white hornless heath lamb next year, she will hold on to this year’s ewes and increase her stock for next season. Their joint approach has also made it more viable from them to source from producers a

The cooperative approach is not a popular one in Ireland. We tend to see the guy down the road as a competitor rather than a colleague; we are suspicious (and maybe insecure), we want to have the edge over him so we don’t tend to share our knowledge or ideas. But the spirit of cooperation is growing; and what are developing are a number of partnerships and more equal, mutually beneficial relationships.

5 Food at The Fatted Calf 3 Gary O’Hanlon

bit further afield who they are eager to work with. Where they are agreed on a supplier, deliveries are shared or coordinated. Kettyle Meats in Fermanagh does not deliver as far as Athlone, so it sends Feargal’s deliveries to Viewmount House. Jane Russell delivers fresh blood pudding and sausages to the two chefs from Kildare on the basis that they coordinate their orders and buy enough in one go to make it worthwhile for her to make the trip. It is all very simple; it is just about two chefs who want the same thing, communicating and coordinating to achieve it.

Customers Turned Suppliers

Both Gary and Feargal are also entering the burgeoning ranks of chefs who are becoming food producers themselves. Like restaurants such as Rathmullan House and Harry’s Bar in Donegal, or the Tannery in Dungarvan,

Co Waterford, they are developing kitchen gardens. This year Feargal also tried his hand at rearing his own free range pigs, which he slaughtered and processed recently. Other chefs of course are foraging and hunting for ingredients. But growing your own vegetables, rearing your own animals, or foraging for food is a huge commitment, particularly for someone who is also trying to run a restaurant at the same time. A far more practical and clever idea is to turn your customers into suppliers, which is what has happened quite ‘organically’ at the Fatted Calf. As it is based in a rural village and is an old pub, the Fatted Calf has a good regular clientele many of whom are farmers or at least have traditionally had a small patch of vegetables for their own use. Through conversation Feargal mentioned that he would be happy to use any surplus they had in the restaurant. When they started to bring in produce last year, he began to suggest things they might try growing the following season. The result has been a supply of spanking fresh winter lettuces, cabbages and the like which are exchanged through an oldfashioned barter system; a couple of pints or a bite of lunch for a few heads of cabbage.

5 Chef Feargal O’Donnell, pictured with chef Deirdre Adamson in The Fatted Calf, has struck up a mutually beneficial sourcing partnership with Gary O’Hanlon of Viewmount House.

Producers & Chefs – A Partnership

Chefs buying direct from livestock farmers does mean addressing how the entire animal gets used and this is something which requires additional flexibility and variety in approach. The prime cuts are still more popular with consumers though and Brendan Allen of Castlemine Farm, a small ‘traditional’ mixed livestock farm in Roscommon, has found that a close relationship with chefs and a mix of restaurant and retail business ensure he has a market for his whole animal. He sells to a small number of restaurants, mainly in Galway, and finds the chefs are increasingly interested in a broad range of meat cuts. ‘Enda McEvoy in Aniar takes things like lamb hearts and liver, beef cheeks and beef short ribs,’ says Brendan. ‘He’d try cooking anything you can give him. We dry age the beef for him for four weeks, something he mightn’t get elsewhere.’ JP McMahon in Cava restaurant takes lamb bellies, a very underused cut which he confits, and Castlemine make exclusive Spanish style pork sausages to order for him. The Oarsman in Carrick-on-Shannon takes beef shin, tongues and cheek. By working 8

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PURCHASING directly with chefs, Castlemine can cut and age to specification for them and still have most of the prime cuts to meet the demand for retail customers. The Friendly Farmer, aka Ronan Byrne, in Athenry, Co Galway also believes this direct, personal relationship with chefs is indispensable to his business. But he does limit the number of restaurants he works with. ‘We try to work with people who understand what we are about, and we know what they’re about,’ says Ronan, ‘Deliveries are not a question of just dropping a box at the back door. It is almost a social call, we chat to the chef, develop the relationship.’ True to his name, the Friendly Farmer endeavours to get to know chef, owner and staff in the small number of selected restaurants where he supplies his pasture reared chickens and other seasonal produce.

Producers – Towards a Cooperative Approach

Delivering to their chefs in Galway and beyond has been made viable for Castlemine Farm and the Friendly Farmer through their own close partnership. About four years ago Brendan heard about Ronan, who like him was farming a traditional style smallholding and supplying direct; an email was sent and there was a meeting of minds. ‘We are separate businesses,’ says Ronan, ‘but we share everything: market stalls, deliveries, ideas, and help each other in every way we can.’ Their partnering up allows them to share the cost and time input required for dealing direct with restaurants and means they share many restaurant customers. This kind of cooperation between food producers, which is hugely successful in other countries, is still a rare thing in Ireland. Probably the closest example we have to the European producer cooperative model is the group formed by Connemara Hill Lamb producers, who not only came together to market and distribute their product, but also set down strict stipulations for its production, even taking the step of protecting ‘Connemara Hill Lamb’ as a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) under the EU system. The Ring of Kerry lamb farmers have formed a looser co-op in order to bring their produce to market collectively. In places like Wexford and Louth there are small numbers of producers who have clubbed together to get their produce to the lucrative Dublin restaurant market. But for the most part there is little cohesion or even communication amongst farmers and

small food producers, and individually they all face the same challenges, the chief one being distribution, followed by marketing and debt collection, all of which could be tackled cooperatively.

Processors & Distributors – Facilitating & Responding

Many of the common challenges for food producers can also be overcome by working with a distributor. Small producers do not have access to major processing facilities, a massive customer base, or export markets, so making use of the entire animal and making a reasonable profit from it is of course a major challenge for farmers such as those in Connemara and Kerry groups. Of course their aim was to get the premium price their unique product deserved, but this meant being able to sell the entire animal themselves. This naturally limited the number of chefs who would do business with them, despite the product being wellreceived. This is the kind of instance where it makes sense for both chef and producer to work with a suitable processor/distributor. The key is to find the right one. The eureka moment for Connemara Hill Lamb was when farming cooperative teamed up with butchers and distributors M&K Meats so that their product could be offered to the Dublin restaurant market and chefs could get the cuts they wanted. Through Michael Bermingham of M&K Meats’ close relationship with the city’s chefs and discussions amongst them, there was soon an arrangement whereby Connemara Hills lambs were being divided up between three landmark restaurants, with Ross Lewis at Chapter One taking the shoulders, Derry Clarke in L’Ecrivain taking the racks and loins, and Lorcan Cribbin taking the legs for O’Connell’s restaurant. Unfortunately, when Lorcan moved on from O’Connell’s the legs lost their main customer. ‘Ross Lewis has championed the hill lamb in a big way and would take any number of shoulders we could give him,’ says Michael Bermingham, but supply is significantly limited by the lack of custom for the legs. If M&K could guarantee a market for these, it would allow the hill lamb farmers in Connemara to significantly increase production next year, such is the demand for the other cuts. La Rousse Foods has found similar challenges in its efforts to offer unique Irish meats to its customers. It is working direct with the Ring of Kerry lamb farmers group

and with recent Euro-toques Food Award winner Pat Clarke, who is rearing rare breed free range pigs in Kildare. While La Rousse initially tried to offer various cuts of the meats to chefs, the popularity of certain cuts and lack of interest in others meant that they have had to revert to selling by the half carcass for now. ‘We would definitely like to offer individual cuts if we could get chefs to commit to taking different parts,’ says Colum Lanigan-Ryan of La Rousse Foods, ‘but it is not really happening yet.’ Ironically it is now some of the prime cuts that are becoming hardest to shift. La Rousse has seen a major drop off in the market for rack and loin of lamb in recent years, because it is perceived as too expensive now. But the fact is that if there is a market for all the cuts, no individual cut needs to make up the price of the whole animal, so prices can begin to balance out to some extent. Nevertheless, the cuts that take more work and longer cooking should, and have always, cost less. What has worked well, however, is the model of keeping the producer involved in a direct relationship with chefs, even when their product might actually be sold to the chef through a distributor. The best chefs have demanded food from local, artisan and small producers and information about how ingredients are produced. The best distributors in the country have responded. Rather than simply buying in a product and selling it on to chefs, they act as facilitators providing essential services for the producer and the chef with the products they want. They bring the producers to meet the chefs; they allow them to communicate their passion for the product while getting direct feedback from chefs on what they want and how they can develop. However romantic the idea may be of buying direct from a large number of small producers may be, it can often be more practical for chef and perhaps even more so for the producer, to bring a distributor into the relationship. The essential thing is that the tie between the two is not broken. Many of these relationships are based largely on communication. Cooperation does not have to mean a major business commitment, even information sharing can go a long way. We are all in the same industry, we are all struggling, and now more than ever is the time to work together. Surely, for chefs, working together to source the ingredients that are at the very basis of what we do is the very best place to start. u

RUTH HEGARTY is secretary general of Euro-toques Ireland, the Irish branch of the European Community of Chefs & Cooks. Founded by some of the region’s top chefs in 1986, Euro-toques aims to protect culinary heritage by promoting artisan production and local sourcing, defending food quality, and educating future generations. * ruth@euro-toques.ie

24 HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

PURCHASING

Procurement Partnerships It’s not just chefs and restaurateurs who are joining forces to set up procurement partnerships, independent hoteliers are getting in on the act too.

ooperation isn’t an entirely new phenomenon in the hotel sector. In fairness to Irish hoteliers, they have always been good at teaming up with each other for the greater good – dusting off the boots and hitting the ground running overseas, joining forces to sell Ireland first and foremost, before getting down to brass tacks and pushing their own business agendas. While the cooperative marketing model is alive and kicking in Ireland – with a bevy of successful homegrown and international groups representing hoteliers domestically and overseas – when it comes to product purchasing, independent hoteliers have largely been left to their own devices. The

Conscious that dealing with a PREM Group-branded service might put off some independent hoteliers, Jim and the team set up a separate business, Trinity Purchasing, to grow the procurement offering. Today, the group represents 100 hotels in Ireland and Northern Europe, 35 of which hail from the PREM stable with the remainder independent or made up of small groups. With a goal to grow the business to cater for approximately 100 hotels in Ireland (it currently services approximately 40 Irish properties), Trinity is also starting to target other sectors, such as nursing homes and schools and it is dipping its toe in the UK market, where there is ‘huge potential’ for a niche service, says Jim.

locality as they are your customers also, but for items like energy, credit card services and linen, where you don’t have the same local loyalty, it makes economic sense to purchase centrally.’ At time of writing, Trinity is on the cusp of announcing a new credit card deal, for instance, which is ‘pretty staggering’ says Jim Murphy. ‘It will be well below 1% and will be available to all our members, which is fantastic.’ Other benefits include deals with O2 and energy suppliers. How does the system work? While in Belgium the group operates on a fee base – similar to the model which is popular in Northern Europe – here in Ireland there is no joining fee. Trinity makes

An average 100-bedroom hotel with a good food and beverage business can expect to save in the region of e50,000 over a 12-month period by collective purchasing. bigger groups have benefited from greater buying muscle, their economies of scale giving them a competitive edge over their independent peers. While a number of the big name groups have looked at establishing buying circles for independent hoteliers in the past, few have managed to get them off the ground. This is not the case in the UK and mainland Europe, however, where hotels regularly join forces to purchase goods and services, benefitting from the cost savings yielded by mighty buying groups. With a growing presence in the UK and Northern Europe, it is a model which has been noted by hotel and serviced apartment operator, PREM Group. It set up its own purchasing division six years ago in Ireland, replicating the system in Belgium when it gained a foothold in the market over there. ‘As things progressed and we got larger, we started getting really good prices and we began to look at how we could roll it out further. We started by opening up the system to friends and family, but then we received enquiries from others in the industry so about 18 months ago we looked at doing it more seriously,’ explains PREM MD, Jim Murphy.

By combining the purchasing power of numerous clients, Trinity Purchasing has been able to record big savings. Last year alone the group bought e65m-worth of goods and services from 105 local and international suppliers. This included a staggering two million pastries, 1.4 million bread rolls and 48,000 doughnuts. It is the kind of buying power which gives the company plenty of wiggle room to negotiate better prices for members. So what kind of difference can joining a procurement group make to your bottom line? An average 100-bedroom hotel with a good food and beverage business can expect to save in the region of e50,000 over a 12month period by purchasing through Trinity, Jim Murphy advises. ‘You need to have some scale in your business for us to be able to deliver considerable savings. If you are a small 20-bedroom hotel with a quiet food and beverage offering then we won’t be able to help you but we will definitely be able to deliver significant savings for large hotels.’ But with so much emphasis on buying local today, is it worthwhile? ‘We’re not saying to stop using your local butcher, it is important to work with businesses in your

its money on rebates from suppliers, which it receives in exchange for delivering greater volume. When starting with a new client, a member of the Trinity Purchasing team will spend a morning conducting an audit of your existing purchasing system, keying in your existing prices into a specially designed software system, and highlighting the areas where you can receive considerable cost savings. The group will then return later in the year, re-examining your orders and highlighting further areas where you can make more savings. ‘You don’t have to purchase everything through us, we know hotels have their own deals with suppliers – particularly in terms of food – which they might want to continue. We will sit down with you and show you where we can deliver savings and you can decide where you want to start,’ notes Jim Murphy. ‘People usually begin with the big ticket items, such as energy, linen, chemicals etc, and then progress from there. But when we have been working with members for a while and they see what we can do, they usually roll it out to other items. It’s very hard to compete with a sliced pan costing 65c, for instance.’ u

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012 25

FOOD FASHION

Five Food Trends to Rock 2012 Keep up to date with the latest trends on the culinary catwalk. Peruvian

Been there, done the burrito? Tried the bagel and moved on from the burger? Then it’s time to start groovin’ to Peruvian. Tipped as the next ‘big thing’ on the international culinary catwalk, Peruvian is already starting to make a big impact in New York and is on its way to this side of the pond. With a mix of Inca, Spanish, African and Chinese heritage, Peruvian cuisine offers a rich and eclectic range of flavours. Expect lots of fish, thanks to Peru’s coastal location, and – in what will surely be music to Irish ears – plenty of spuds. We may like to think we have the market cornered on the potato, but our national veg originated in the South American nation. With high praise from some of the world’s greatest chefs, including groundbreaking gastronomist, Ferran Adria, expect Peruvian cuisine to go global. If you’ve tired of Thai or tuned out of tapas, then the time may have come to look to the Americas.

Place on a Plate

Take a look at your menu – does it feature goats’ cheese and beetroot, mushroom risotto or carrot and coriander? Then the chances are you have menu fatigue. The sameness of Irish menus has been criticised by visiting tourists, which is why Fáilte Ireland is eager to roll out its ‘Place on a Plate’ initiative. It is designed to enhance the Irish food experience for tourists, promoting the best of the locality and region to visitors. Think Dublin Bay Prawns in Howth, Connemara Hill Lamb in Galway, Oysters in Carlingford or Clonakilty Black Pudding in Cork. It’s common sense really. We say, yes please.

Dessert Trollies

Just as the mighty prawn cocktail is making a comeback (where have you been all this time Marie Rose?) so too is the dessert trolley, spotted whizzing around restaurants and banqueting halls here in Ireland and overseas. While the Tiger years were all about big ticket indulgences, the recession is all about low cost treats and what could be more tempting than a trolley load of tasty sweets? The time has come to unleash your inner trolley dolly.

Baking

If you’re rolling out the trolley, then you need to get baking... Thanks to Nigella, Rachel and Lorraine, baking has never been hotter. Enter Channel Four’s new The Fabulous Baker Brothers show, and the rapidly expanding Great British Bake Off series and baking’s popularity is about to go orbital in 2012. We’re predicting that 2012 will be the year of the cake... And the tart, and the cookie... And, well, if we’re not careful, here at Hotel & Catering Review we’re going to pack on a fair few pounds in the year ahead. But it’s not just us. Baking has become so trendy that cake has now overtaken chicken as the most searched for food term on the BBC’s Good Food website. Expect to see lots of lemon drizzle cake about as this zesty sponge enjoys renewed popularity, along with plenty of other recipes from Grandma’s repertoire. Well, we all need a little comfort food when grappling with household charges, euro crises and so on. It’s not just the cafés and restaurants that are getting in on the act, canny hoteliers and guesthouse owners are already offering cookies and biscuits at the front desk and at turndown. Pair with some cordial made with fruit of the season and you will surely be a hit with your guests.

Casualisation

The ongoing difficulties with the national economy does not spell well for traditional fine dining restaurants and recent research from Bord Bia shows the continued growth of the casual dining sector. Take a look at any of the new kids on Ireland’s culinary block and you will see that they all operate in the casual end of the market and it is little wonder, as consumers seek to trade down and conserve cash. But the reduction in consumer spend on food isn’t just recession related – diners the world over are looking for more informal eating options to fit in with their fast-paced lifestyles, and here in Ireland, the casual dining sector has grown by 30% since 2003. Expect further growth in this segment in 2012 as we catch up with US and UK, where casual dining caught on at a far greater pace. u

26 HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

Peruvian Causa

Food on the High Street If the burrito got the biggest bang in 2011, hot on its heels was the milkshake and frozen yoghurt. The shake shop, in all its glorious guises, is this decade’s answer to the smoothie bar, popping up on main streets across the land. In the grab and go sector, elevenses is becoming one of the hottest dining occasions, as stressed out workers forsake early morning breakfast and make a dash for the deli at 11. Breakfast roll man emigrated when the building sites closed up, but in line with the baking trend, the suitedand-booted are all about scones, pastries, and cereal bars. Breakfast is still slow to catch on in seated restaurants, but internationally it’s being tipped ‘the new dinner’.

SEASONS NEWS

Seasons’ Eatings A

Shopping in season isn’t just ethically sound and good for the environment, it also makes good business sense.

s the provenance of food becomes increasingly important to diners, caterers have the opportunity to showcase the best of their locality and tap into the zeitgeist for fresh and flavourful seasonal Irish food. But shopping in season isn’t just good for the environment and good for the Irish economy, as caterers support indigenous suppliers, it is also good for restaurants’ bottom line. Buying in season makes far more commercial sense than shipping expensive strawberries around the world to adorn Irish menus in December, for instance. The beauty of Ireland is that we have an abundant supply of magnificent local produce to keep us going the whole year around, ensuring that Irish food never tires. From here until Paddy’s Weekend kicks off the tourist season, purple broccoli is still holding strong, while kale and kohl rabbi perform well before breaking for what we hope will be a sunny summer this year. Celeriac is now nearing the end of its tasty patch, as are turnips, swedes and other wintery root veg which will hibernate now before heralding the darker nights in the autumn. With the hint of spring comes the promise of spring lamb and its trusty companion, mint. Rhubarb will soon follow to the delight of Irish bakers. Summer just wouldn’t be summer without strawberries, the first of the Irish berries to make an appearance. Make

hay while the sun shines in July and get tasty tayberries for the short few weeks they are available. With the best of the summer salads come courgettes, scallions, peppers and juicy tomatoes. Coriander arrives in time for the sunshine, making an appearance until the evenings draw close in October. Look out for blueberries, at their best in August. They’re a powerful little fruit which pack a healthy punch. While summer proffers the most bountiful array of veg, autumn is a carnivore’s delight, with lamb maturing nicely – mountainous varieties in particular – while game season approaches. Parsley, sage and thyme first sprout in summer, but hang around for the remainder of the year, while cooking and eating apples come into their own, just in time for a drop in temperature when diners hanker for comfort food like grandma’s apple pie. With winter comes game time, and Christmas for us wouldn’t be Christmas without hearty venison dishes, great pheasant and goose. Root veg make their return to crown the best of winter plates, bringing the Irish growing season full circle. Look out for tasty seasonal recipes in Hotel & Catering Review in the months ahead, and share your recipes with us too. We’re always delighted to see what you are creating. (Email s.grennan@jemma.ie) u

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Whiskey Bar of the month

Making Hayfield While the Sun Shines Sales of premium whiskey have helped boost bar sales at the 2011 Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Excellence winner, Hayfield Manor Hotel.

usiness is on the up at Hayfield Manor Hotel, the five star Cork hotel which scooped the ultimate hospitality accolade last October when it claimed the Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Excellence. ‘Success breeds success,’ reflects bar manager, John Richardson, who notes that as well as triumphing at the Gold Medal Awards, the hotel had a very successful 2011, including its busiest Christmas ever. It is a phrase he also uses to describe Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard’s expansion of its premium whiskey range last year with the launch of Jameson Reserves. ‘Irish whiskey is on the up. Jameson’s decision to invest significantly in the new range is great for the industry. I remember the day it was announced, there was a huge buzz around and a lot of people came into us

to try the collection.’ With more than 35 Irish whiskeys on offer in the Hayfield Manor bar, John has noticed that whiskey is growing in popularity with the hotel’s customers. ‘People’s tastes change and at the moment we have seen a move away from lager and stouts to more short drinks, and in particular whiskey.’ The hotel’s international customers are eager to get a taste of Ireland and try some of our famous uisce beatha. ‘We get a lot of continental Europeans coming in and we usually recommend that they try the Redbreast, which is a good starter for someone not used to whiskey drinking. It’s my personal favourite,’ explains John. ‘We also offer a small whiskey tasting tray for e15 which includes a taste of Jameson 1780, Bushmills 10 Year Old and Powers 12 Year Old and is very popular. If

28 HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

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you sell a few of those in one night it really helps sales. When we hand guests the drinks menu and they look at whiskeys we always suggest they try the tasting tray.’ As well as the boutique tasting, John and the team also offer a more extensive tasting of eight whiskeys which is equally popular. ‘People are really interested in learning more about Ireland’s whiskey heritage and the stories behind the different whiskeys.’ And while there is pressure on consumer spend at the moment, the Hayfield Manor bar manager has been pleasantly

surprised by sales of high-end whiskeys like Midleton Very Rare. ‘Not everyone is going to spend e20 on a shot but we have noticed sales of this special whiskey have been very strong and we order cases at a time. Even the big one, the Midleton 1973, is doing very well. You would think that at e120 a shot you wouldn’t sell that many, but when we looked at it we found that we were selling a bottle and a half of it a year.’ No wonder sales are on the up at Hayfield Manor. u

T C NOSE:

Fragrant wood, rich pot still with a touch of sherry sweetness..

TASTE: All the creaminess and honey sweetness come together to create a taste sensation of spicy character. FINISH:

A very long finish with a pleasantly peppery finale.

T M

“...a superb whiskey that is creamy, spicy and crisp.” Brendan Monks, Master of Maturation

GREEN

It’s not MEAN to be GREEN

MAURICE BERGIN explains why donning the green geansaí and cutting energy, waste and water usage (and costs!) makes good business sense.

‘W

hat’s all this green nonsense about? We’re really too busy.’ This is a phrase we heard frequently throughout 2011 as we expanded the Green Hospitality membership, helped hospitality operators to achieve certification and assisted managers in their quest to reduce their costs. Regrettably, there is still a perception throughout the hospitality industry which is preventing many hospitality businesses from adopting and promoting green initiatives. With the school of thought that ‘being green means we are mean’, many hospitality managers worry that their customers will feel hard done by if they pursue green initiatives in an attempt to curb costs. This, however, is far from the case. Not only does going green offer you crucial opportunities to control your energy, waste and water bills, it also offers a valuable potential to showcase your corporate social responsibility to your customers. It is because of both these reasons that many Irish hotel and catering businesses have been certified green, or are actively working to achieve Green Hospitality certification. Hotels in the Radisson Blu, Carlton, Talbot, Hilton and Moran Bewleys stables are all embracing the green agenda, as are individual properties such as The Westin, The Merrion, The Ritz-Carlton, Mount Juliet, Dromoland Castle, Harvey’s Point, Kelly’s and many, many more. And it’s not just hoteliers that are getting in on the eco act – other sectors are following suit. Catering giant, Sodexo Ireland, has launched the Green Hospitality Programme across its portfolio of sites in Ireland and GHP also has members in the B&B, self-catering, restaurant and activity and attraction sectors.

Debunking Myths

‘It’s very expensive to go green’ is another red herring we often hear. Many managers believe that going green costs a lot of money and that to become certified they need to invest in new boilers

and other expensive equipment. What a load of rubbish! There is no capital investment required to achieve GHP certification and with little or no cost, hospitality businesses can adopt initial practices which will save them a lot of money, as well as boosting their environmental credentials. With so many myths surrounding the green issue, one of the biggest challenges facing the hospitality sector is communication. There is a failure between operational management and sales/marketing management to understand the different supports a green programme can deliver to the business. Operationally it’s about savings and cost reduction. In sales and marketing, it’s about increasing revenues and promoting the business. Tell your customers about all the great things you are doing – don’t let them just see the things that may impact their stay/consumption. Boast about all your hard work. Engage your marketing experts to tell your story and allow your guests to be part of your green initiatives. They will appreciate it and feel better for it. A recent search on Expedia highlighted the marketing opportunities Irish hoteliers are missing out on. Trying to book a room on Expedia, 221 hotels were available, yet when I hit the Green Filter just seven popped up. We know, through the Green Hospitality Awards programme, that there are plenty of more hotels in the capital that have green credentials worth shouting about. Another communications issue to address is price. While hoteliers fear that going green looks like they are being tight, on the other hand consumers worldwide express concern about green products and services commanding a premium – organic produce a case in point. But by going green hospitality businesses can shave thousands off their operating costs, enabling them to perform more efficiently and become more competitive in the market. You can tell your customers it costs less to be green.

30 HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2012

Simple Steps for Going Green

LOOK UP Are the lights on in the middle of a bright day? Turn them off – if you don’t see a difference you could save yourself a fortune. TRAIN STAFF to turn off the lights, the taps, the cookers when they’re not in use. The kitchen is a killer for consuming energy. If you can’t afford to replace your current energy guzzling-kit with more efficient operators, train your staff to be more efficient instead. It’s all habit.

UNDERSTAND YOUR BILLS

What are you paying for? Ask your suppliers to explain. Shop around. Consider joining forces with others for group purchasing to gain a better price. REVIEW YOUR USAGE Monitor your usage and benchmark it against the best in the industry. The Green Hospitality Programme offers a benchmarking tool at greenhospitality.ie. CONDUCT AN AUDIT Have you any leaking pipes? Is heat escaping through non-insulated roofs? Are the urinals flushing more than necessary? It is the easily fixable things which could be costing you a fortune.

GREEN When Being Green Works, and When It Doesn’t

Being greener doesn’t mean that the lights are turned off when they are needed, or that they are too dim, it doesn’t mean that the property is cold or that services are reduced or suspended. If that happens then you are being over-zealous and you are, in fact, being mean. In that case, it’s time to take a step back from the dimmer switch. Being green in the hospitality sector means providing the level of service that your customer expects, but doing so in the most efficient manner. How can you tell the difference? Well, if you notice your customers sitting around in their coats that’s a good indication. Another good test is to ask a 60-year-old (or older) with glasses to sit at a table and read your menus easily with your standard lighting on. Then ask the same guinea pig – perhaps one of the team or a family member – to sit in a bed at night and read a newspaper using only the bedside light. If they find it difficult it means you have gone too far – effective efficient lighting is the key, not efficient lighting. The green economy is here, and it’s

here to stay. Buyers, whether commercial, governmental or private, are making decisions now which include green issues. Some hospitality businesses in 2011 discovered this when they lost business because they were not certified, others gained because by going green it opened new markets and delivered new business. And this is set to continue. New Green Public Procurement Guidelines are on their way which will require the public sector to include green/environmental concerns when sourcing goods and services – including accommodation, conference facilities, food and drink. Companies in Ireland and all over the world are adopting corporate social responsibility programmes which include environmental requirements. They are demanding that their suppliers also adopt good environmental initiatives and they see certification as a key method to measure this performance. By embarking on a green journey and becoming accredited you can tap into this lucrative market. And finally, remember that by protecting the environment we’re all doing our part for Irish tourism. We are loved for our greenness after all.

Learn More

The Green Hospitality Programme will be running 24 free ‘Introduction to a Greener Business’ workshops on a regional basis during 2012; 24 ‘Achieving the Eco-label’ workshops for members and other workshops for award winners. GHP will also run a number of masterclasses during 2012 which will look at various areas of interest to members in the waste, water and energy areas. Initial masterclasses planned intend to focus on biomass and CHPs. Details of these workshops can be found on the GHP website, greenhospitality.ie. The Green Hospitality Programme is funded through member subscriptions and by the Environmental Protection Agency through its National Waste Prevention Programme.

Green Money Savers Members of the Green Hospitality Programme have recorded significant savings by going green. Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Little Island, Cork: e140,000

By implementing a comprehensive energy management plan in 2009, the four star Radisson Blu Hotel in Little Island managed to save a whopping e140,000 over a two year period. The hotel’s green team began monitoring energy usage around the hotel, identifying where savings could be made by reducing operating temperatures and times for the heating system, without compromising guest comfort. Promoting energy awareness among staff also helped. Employees were informed that energy consumption was being closely monitored and any equipment left on unnecessarily would be brought to the attention of management. The plan worked. The hotel cut electricity consumption by 18% and gas consumption by 12%, providing a significant e140,000 saving. The Radisson saved a further e12,400 when it installed push-button timers in the water features in the pool. The

installation of the timers cost e8,500, giving the hotel payback in just over eight months.

Castlemartyr Hotel, Cork: e34,900

The five star Castlemartyr Hotel outside Cork, which is part of The Dromoland Collection, made the switch to LED and reaped rich rewards. It was a big call – switching the hotel’s 3,004 lamps from halogen and incandescent bulbs to LED cost a weighty e39,000 – but the hotel judged it was worth it as it would deliver significant savings, with energy usage reduced by 90%. Making the big switch nearly paid for itself in its first year. By cutting the amount of energy used in lamps by 90%, the hotel saved e34,900 on its lighting bill in year one.

The Maritime Hotel, Bantry: e7,128

The Maritime Hotel, run by the Gleneagle Hotel Group, also switched to LED. By

changing the 240 halogen 30 watt spots in corridors with more efficient three watt LEDs, the hotel saved e7,128 in lighting costs, providing payback in nine months. Extra savings were made in maintenance, with management estimating that up to 20% of maintenance costs were saved as, with a much longer life, LEDs need to be changed less often.

The Riverbank Hotel, Wexford: e30,220

When the 90-room Riverbank Hotel in Wexford benchmarked its water consumption against that of its peers on the Green Hospitality Programme’s online benchmarking tool it realised that its water consumption was exceptionally high compared to other Irish hotels. A leak detection survey found four leaks in the hotel. By repairing them, the Riverbank reduced its water consumption by 36sq.m a day, nearly halving the hotel’s annual water bill and delivering savings of e30,220. u

MAURICE J BERGIN FIHI is managing director of Green Hospitality and has extensive operational, marketing and educational experience in the Irish and international hospitality sector. * mbergin@hsc.ie

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CPD

Boost Your Own Credentials

When looking at developing a plan for business improvement in 2012, don’t forget to draw up your own personal professional development strategy. The Irish Hospitality Institute is rolling out a new Continuous Professional Development programme this year, and it will be mandatory for members. IHI CEO Natasha Kinsella explains the reasoning to Hotel & Catering Review.

he Irish Hospitality Institute is on a mission: to boost the professional development credentials of its members. It’s not a new idea, of course. The Institute’s remit, right back in its formative days when it went by the moniker of Irish Hotel & Catering Institute, was to foster continuous learning in the industry. In 2012, however, the IHI is upping the ante and putting in place a formal structure to back up this mantra. This year it will roll out its new Continuing Professional Development Programme, which will oblige members to undertake CPD in order to retain membership. If the thought of going back to school brings you out in a cold sweat, take a deep breath – while Irish Hospitality Institute chief Natasha Kinsella acknowledges ‘change will always be fearful’, the great thing, she explains, is that the majority of members will be already undertaking the activities required to be certified under the CPD programme. For instance, by reading this very article you are already earning brownie points (good work!) as under the new structure marks are awarded for reading and contributing to trade magazines, attending industry conferences and seminars etc, with bonus marks handed to those at IHI organised events. The concept of mandatory professional development is not a novel one. Accountants, finance professionals, engineers, architects, physicians and so on are all bound by an agreement to continue their development, many of whom may not practise without doing so. The day has come, believes the IHI, to introduce a

similar regime in the hospitality sector. Given the timing, it makes good sense. It has never been more important to sharpen existing skills and learn new ones and to prove to your employers/bank manager/ colleagues/self that you have the ability to handle whatever the economy throws at you. Likewise, it is equally important to invest in the right people. By continuing their professional development, existing and prospective employees are showing you that they take a career in the industry seriously and are committed to enhancing the skills they bring to your organisation. ‘The new scheme forces the individual to take responsibility for their own development,’ explains Natasha Kinsella. ‘While many of the larger groups have personal development plans in place for their employees, this will be particularly helpful for smaller operations who do not have someone dedicated to HR. It will put a structure in place where companies can use it for training and we would like to see employers look for CPD when recruiting. It offers evidence that the candidate is committed to their professional development.’ The programme is mandatory for all members – with the exception of fellows (the IHI guesses you folks have it all figured out already), trade members and patrons. For everyone else ‘there is no opt out’, explains Natasha. The good news is that the programme doesn’t cost anything more than your existing membership fee (e175 for regular members and e125 for graduates). In more good news, the Institute intends to ease members into the

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programme gently. In the first two years you will only be required to accumulate 30 points to achieve accreditation. In 2014, this will double to 60. ‘If you look at it, however, you will realise that 30 points – and even 60 points – will easily be earned through steps you are doing already,’ the IHI CEO encourages. And she’s right. By paying your membership (five points) and drawing up a personal development plan (10 points) you are already half way there for this year. Go to the IHI conference in May (10 points), read Hotel & Catering Review (two points), and take part in another day’s training (five points), and you’ve made it past the post with a margin. Points are also available for education, participating in industry research and making presentations and CPD events (see panel). ‘If you start early, you could be in a position to submit your plan by the May conference,’ says Natasha. Ah yes, the paperwork. You can’t just say ‘been there, done that’, you have to submit proof of attendance at events and training. The Institute is developing a new member zone on its website, ihi.ie, to be launched this January, which will include a CPD section, as well as a jobs’ board, mentoring section and list of upcoming training and events. If you are a member of the Institute and you plan to develop with it in the future, then the time has come to start working on your professional development plan. If you’re not a member, then you might find that the Irish Hospitality Institute has become more relevant to you and your business than ever before.

Summary CPD Points Scale – Calendar Year Mandatory Requirement 1 Minimum 15 pts required

Minimum Requirements

Mandatory Requirement 2 Minimum 15 pts required

Attendance at CPD Events

Mandatory Requirement 3 Minimum 15 pts required

Training and Development

Optional Requirement 4

Optional Requirement 5

Education

Evidence of Further Research

Personal Development Plan

IHI Membership

IHI CPD Events

10 per event

IHI Certified CPD Events

5 per event

Any level of training and development courses full day

5 per day

half day

2.5 per half day

National Framework Level 6 programmes

National Framework Level 7/8 Programmes

National Framework Level 9/10 programmes

Read trade magazines / press and industry websites (total available two points)

Participation in Industry research (per research study)

Publish one article in trade (10 pts per article)

Presentations at CPD events (15 pts per event)

The Detail IHI Continuous Professional Development Standards • Maintain a continuous, up to date and accurate record of CPD activities. • Attend official IHI CPD learning events or IHI CPD certified learning events. • Demonstrate evidence of further training and development that is relevant to your job role and updating your own skills. • Demonstrate evidence of prior learning and experience in your related management discipline, where relevant. • Demonstrate evidence of further research in areas related to your management discipline, where relevant. • Attain the required level of IHI CPD points on a yearly basis. This will mean that the individual must be a member of the IHI and maintain an accurate record of CPD activities which will be a combination of mandatory activities that members are required to attend in order to gain CPD accreditation and other activities decided by the individual that enhance and

improve their own skills and knowledge in line with what their professional job role demands.

How to Record & Log CPD Points • Members maintain a yearly PDP (professional development plan/record) which outlines all CPD targets/achievements for the year. • Members are responsible for recording and logging their own CPD points. • Members are required to submit achievements on an annual basis on the PDP provided. The PDP Plan/Record Each year, members are required to submit their completed PDP record direct to the IHI. This record sets out exactly how each individual has achieved their mandatory CPD points and the detail of each required number of core CPD points in order to gain overall accreditation. The record should be submitted only when the individual member has accumulated over the course of the year 60 CPD points that determines CPD accreditation. (PDP/record available within the member’s zone of the IHI site.)

Verification of Member’s CPD Points Verification of CPD points for each member will involve a check on the points achieved per competency. A completed ‘PDP/record template’ will be provided to members and this should be used for clarity purposes when completing your own individual PDP/Record. In order to verify each activity undertaken a specific ‘Activity Record Sheet’ should be kept by the individual member as evidence of completion of each activity with the relevant backup and signatory. It is these activity record sheets that may be requested by the IHI as supplementary evidence when formally confirming accreditation of CPD points. For educational verification your certificate issued with results from the relevant college would be requested for verification. Certification of IHI CPD Once all submitted documentation for CPD has been submitted and verified, each member who has reached the designated number of CPD points will be awarded CPD status within the IHI.

Failure to Achieve required CPD Points CPD is a mandatory programme required for members of the IHI (member, associate and graduate). Should a member fail to achieve the required number of points the following will occur: • Member – Under 60 points but 30 points or over – designation will reduce to associate • Associate – Under 30 points – individual will cease to be able to use any designation • Graduate – Under 30 points – individual will cease to be able to use any designation. Any member who feels that they have a valid case to retain their membership designation level without achieving the required points may make representations to the IHI Council who may, in their absolute discretion, award designation or refuse to award designation. As soon as any member achieves the required points for the designation they are aiming for, subject to all other conditions of membership being adhered to, that member’s designation will be reinstated. u

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AWARDS

Top: Michael O’Driscoll, head doorman, Ettienne Van Vrede, general manager and Karen Fleming, assistant manager, celebrate winning the prestigious Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Excellence 2011. Above: MC Anne Cassin welcomes finalists and winners at last year’s Gold Medal Awards; The Westbury Hotel team get ready to party; The Burlington turned gold for the night; the gang from Bijou celebrate taking home a gold gong.

Go for Gold

Do you think you have what it takes to strike gold in 2012? Would you like to get feedback from industry judges about the standard of your offering?

otel & Catering Review is currently preparing to launch its prestigious Gold Medal Awards programme for 2012. The leading independent awards programme for the hotel and catering industries on the island of Ireland, the Gold Medal Awards recognises and rewards excellence in Irish hospitality. Returning for the 24th year this year, the Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards are open to hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, catering operations and private clubs across Ireland. Entry details will be published in Hotel & Catering Review this

spring, with judging taking place over the summer months before the Awards are announced at a gala ceremony in October. To keep up to date with the latest developments in the Gold Medal Awards and for entry reminders, keep an eye out for Hotel & Catering Review, check out our Weekly Bulletin news ezine service (sign up at hotelandcateringreview.ie), follow us on Twitter @HC_Review and like us on Facebook. Who knows, this year it could be YOU celebrating on that famous golden stage. u

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*Nielsen MAT ending Nov 27th 2011

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