New research has revealed that less than a quarter of young Brits would consider a career in hospitality, with almost one in three (26%) admitting they didn't see it as an industry to work in after obtaining a degree.
Helena Suarez has been appointed Director of Global Sales for Rosewood Hotel Group. Helena will be based at the Global Sales office in London, managing the UK Leisure Market (high-end retail agencies & wholesalers). "We are delighted to have Helena join the the Global Sales team and share her extensive experience in the travel industry" says Thuy Tranthi Rieder, group vice president of sales and marketing of Rosewood Hotel Group. "Her background in the UK and European markets will complement our growing portfolio of properties". Helena brings more than 17 years of experience in the travel industry, in the UK and European markets. She started her sales & marketing career with COMO Hotels & Resorts, following this Helena has held positions with Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group for 6.5 years where she specialised in the high-end UK leisure market, working closely with new hotel openings and championing the launch of their Fan Club Program in Europe. Most recently, Helena held a position as Director, Luxury Sales for Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel, acquired in 2016 by Accorhotels, responsible for promoting their upscale and luxury brands, managing a portfolio of 500+ hotels, private homes and villas. Helena was awarded an honours degree in hospitality management from Les Roches International School of Hotel Management and has recently attained a certificate from Cornell University. Originally born in Sweden, Helena has lived in Belgium, Spain, Thailand, Italy and UK and is fluent in three languages, English, Spanish and Swedish.
Marketing your restaurant online is a lot easier said than done. In London alone there are a staggering 18,262 restaurants listed on Tripadvisor. So, how do you ensure your business stands out from the crowd?Working with restaurants across the UK, our friends over at Big Flavour are a specialist digital marketing agency for the hospitality industry. They have put together a brief, but comprehensive guide for restaurant owners looking to market themselves online and ultimately get bums on seats.So, without further ado, here's a quick run down on some of the most important DOs and DON'Ts to get your business off to a running start:DOs
Moxy Aberdeen Airport has appointed Colin Gunn as its new Captain, the brand"s twist on the general manager position. Gunn replaces Donovan Sumner who was instrumental in overseeing the opening of the 200-bedroomed hotel in December 2016 and has stepped up to working for Belvar, the hotel"s management company, in a head-office role. A Hospitality Management graduate of Robert Gordons University, 37-year-old Gunn has spent his career in the hospitality industry in Aberdeen. Before joining Moxy Aberdeen, Colin worked for 9 years with the Holiday Inn Aberdeen West, where he won numerous reputable awards. For the last 3 years, he has been named as the region"s Deputy GM of the Year at the Scottish Hotel Awards. Notably, in November, he claimed the Tourism and Hospitality Hero title at the Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards, which shortlists him for a prestigious Scottish Thistle, due to be awarded in March.
Hotels in the UK faced a challenging start to the year as escalating costs, particularly in payroll, completely wiped out the revenue growth recorded this month and led to a 3.9% year-on-year decline in profit per room, according to the latest worldwide poll of full-service hotels from HotStats.
trivago, a leading global hotel metasearch publishes a series of reports detailing incoming and domestic travel behaviour in the UK: "trivago Industry Insights." The reports aim to give hoteliers and tourism operators actionable insights into guest preferences to inform their marketing activities.
London, Manchester and Birmingham are set to collaborate and extensively promote British cities in China, India and also the Persian Gulf. The goal is to increase and develop tourism inflow from these three rapidly growing markets towards the future.
Interstate Hotels & Resorts - a leading global hotel management company of franchised branded and independent hotels and resorts - announces the appointment of Rogier Hurkmans as a regional vice president of operations for Continental Europe. Reporting to Ken McLaren, Interstate's executive vice president of international operations, Hurkmans will help to build the company's regional, multi-lingual operating platform, ensure operational excellence and achieve optimal profitability for managed properties.Hurkmans joins Interstate with more than 30 years of hospitality experience. In his most recent position as cluster general manager with Wyndham Dubai Marina and TRYP by Wyndham Dubai, Hurkmans successfully established and implemented a cluster organization, driving sales and revenue management while overseeing day-to-day operations. As general manager of prestigious properties such as Steigenberger Hotel Berlin and Crowne Plaza Brussels-Le Palace, Hurkmans has a proven track record of growing market share, repositioning properties and consistently gaining recognition for exceptional guest satisfaction and quality. Hurkmans also brings a strong multilingualism to his new role, with fluency in English, Dutch and German, and proficiency in French.
Overwhelming support from ALMR and BHA members yesterday triggered the creation of UKHospitality, a strong, united voice for the hospitality sector.
Overwhelming support from ALMR and BHA members yesterday triggered the creation of UKHospitality, a strong, united voice for the hospitality sector. UKHospitality will be the voice of a sector that generates £130bn revenue each year, providing an authoritative voice to over 700 member companies, operating 65,000 venues in a sector that employs 2.9 million people. The association will spearhead hospitality"s representation on the strategic, structural and regulatory issues it faces, campaigning for policies to help the sector achieve further growth as a key driver of the UK economy.The Board of UKHospitality will be led by Kate Nicholls, CEO; Nick Varney of Merlin Entertainments, Chair; and Steve Richards of Casual Dining Group, Deputy Chair. Ufi Ibrahim, Chief Executive of the British Hospitality Association, has decided to pursue other interests after eight successful years with the organisation.
Independent craft brewer, BrewDog, has announced plans to build the world"s first craft beer hotel, and will launch an immersive craft beer hotel & brewery expansion at the brewery"s headquarters in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The DogHouse, as the hotel will be called, is scheduled to welcome guests in the first half of 2019.
Stark has over 20 years" experience in the hospitality industry and is a graduate of the general manager"s programme at the USA"s prestigious Cornell University.
Joining Hilton London Metropole as Conference & Events Operations Director, Aaron Phillips has 23 years" experience working in hospitality and events. Having graduated from Ohio University with a degree in Telecommunications, Aaron began his hospitality career specialising in audio-visual at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. In 2005, Aaron became the Senior Banquet Manager at Chicago Renaissance Downtown, before becoming Conference & Banqueting Department Head at Chicago Marriot O"Hare in 2008. Having headed the conference & banqueting operations at several leading hotels in US cities, Aaron moved to the UK in 2014, joining the Royal Horseguards Hotel as Meetings and Events Operations Manager. Married with a young daughter, in his spare time Aaron enjoys spending time with his family, cooking and watching films.
With a degree in Tourism Management from Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Burak Aktekin has 14 years" experience within the tourism sector and eight within financial management roles for large hotels. In 2013, he joined Hilton as Assistant Director of Finance at Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Cente, before becoming the youngest Director of Finance for the hotel, one of Hilton"s largest properties, in 2015. During his time at the hotel, Burak led the pre-opening financial operations, hiring and training all staff, managing a team of 15 finance personnel and playing an integral part in the hotel being awarded "Overall Best Performance in EMEA Region" for Hilton. Burak joins Hilton London Metropole from Hilton Doha, where he was Director of Finance and responsible for creating a financial Shared Service Centre, for Hilton"s three exisiting hotels and eight upcoming hotels in Qatar. Outside of work, Burak has a keen interest in photography, basketball and table-tennis. On joining Hilton London Metropole, Burak Aktekin said, "I"m honoured to be joining the team at Hilton"s largest hotel in Europe, and I look forward to using my experience to help drive the hotel"s continued success and performance."
With a diploma in Tourism Administration from Istanbul University and a BA in Business Administration and Management from Anatolian University, Onur Avkan has more than 20 years" experience within the hospitality sector. Having overseen the pre-opening and ongoing operations for Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Centre, Onur has taken the leadership of various departments. In 2016, Onur moved to the UK to become the Front of House Manager for Hilton London Gatwick, overseeing a team of 70 across the Front Desk, Executive Lounge, Switchboard and Concierge departments. In his spare time, Onur enjoys travelling and playing the guitar.
Following extensive success with their brand membership platform overseas, the US's fastest growing hotel chain, Magnuson Hotels, is launching a range of brand membership opportunities tailored for the UK hotel market.
Industry veteran joins the world"s largest hotel company as President and Managing Director for the EMEA regionWyndham Hotel Group, the hospitality giant with an unparalleled global portfolio of more than 8,400 hotels, today announced the appointment of Dimitris Manikis to the role of President and Managing Director for Europe, Middle East, Eurasia and Africa (EMEA). He will be based at the company"s London offices.
2018 looks set to be a big year for the UK hospitality industry, with a wealth of new hotels opening throughout the year. We check out some of the hottest hotel openings over the next 12 months across the United Kingdom.
Bel has more than 20 years" experience in the hospitality industry, and has spent the last two years as general manager at Malmaison Aberdeen. He replaces Lisa Steele, who has been general manager of the property since 2016 and left last year to join the AC Hotel by Marriott Belfast.
It's 2018. Looking for new ways to attract customers to your venue 24/7? Have a venue to show off? Have facilities to hire? Run a luxury hotel?