News Briefs

Happenings From Around the Industry

Restaurant Industry Insights

The National Restaurant Association each year prepares a comprehensive overview of the restaurant industry providing a look at trends and what’s ahead. The report is considered the most authoritative source for restaurant industry sales projections and trends. The State of the Industry report is based on analysis of the latest economic data and extensive surveys of restaurant operators and consumers and includes insights on trends and economic forecast for operations, menu, sales and workforce. Visit Restaurant.org/research for more information.

New Training Tool for Today’s Service Challenges

The Oregon Hospitality Foundation, ORLA’s 501c3 nonprofit, released a new and affordable 24/7 internet-based training tool to help address the myriad of service challenges your team may be facing. “Providing Service While Supporting Safety” offers coaching by example via videos that address four common challenges: Communication, Credibility, Compliance, and Creating a Positive Experience. The entire curriculum can be viewed in less than 40 minutes or, each scenario can be viewed separately in 15 minutes or less. Best practices are illustrated via both video and narration, are specific to either lodging or foodservice situations, and are reinforced by downloadable worksheets that can help generate discussion for your situational needs. See more details on our English and Spanish flyers. Visit OregonGuestServiceSafety.org for more information.

Oregon Tourism Leadership Academy

ORLA’s second year of the Oregon Tourism Leadership Academy (OTLA) is shaping up to include a full class of participants when it launches later this summer. We received more applications than spots available in the class, which is both a testament to the demand for more experiential learning in this sector and the value this experience provides as expressed by our first-year participants. To learn more about OTLA, and how you (or your team members) can apply for the 2022 group, visit OregonRLA.org/OTLA.

Free Restaurant Guidance

ORLA partnered with Oregon’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network to launch a new, nocost, one on one confidential advisor network. The Oregon Restaurant Covid Assistance (ORCA) program includes a network of seven professional restaurant consultants ready to assist industry operators with ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic. ORCA's advising services and webinars are provided via Zoom and email throughout Oregon. For more information or to sign up, email orca@oregonsbdc.org, call (541) 896-1714 or visit Oregonsbdc.org/orca.