The Caterer Blog

Fashionable beat combo the View were last week banned from every Travelodge in the country after trashing a room at a Liverpool Travelodge last November.

A Travelodge representative said:

"This rock and roll behaviour is not acceptable. People come for a good night's sleep and we have to be mindful of that"

One suspects the band will bounce back from this setback. They can, afterall, write off the £7000 bill they are facing against the PR their bad behaviour generated. But if they want to be considered real bad-boy rock and rollers, they'll have to do more than leave a few taps running. Keith Richards was known to throw televisions off his hotel balcony; Led Zeppelin used to ride motorbikes along the corridors; and Ozzy Osbourne once gutted a pair of sharks on his hotel bed.

Have you had any naughty rockers round your way? If so, we want to hear about it.

Chefs keen to promote the use of british produce might want to check out the Dalemain Marmalade Festival, which is being held on February 18th, in the Lake District. Sponsors, Sharrow Bay Hotel are offering dinner for two for the makers of the marmalade judged to be the best in the world.

I was pretty sceptical about Bill Marriott - the boss of US hotel giant Marriott's blog expecting it to be filled with corporate nonsense. But having read it briefly, I actually think it's a bit better than that.

For one - he posts fairly regularly, and even though there is a fair bit of corporate whitewashing in it, it's the view of a chief exec and one that's pretty influential at that.. good on you Bill for joining the blogosphere... I wonder who'll be the first UK hotel boss to become a blogger?

So Amanda is leaving the Waldorf after five years, for what will no doubt be a well deserved break.

What a shame for Hilton - who must be ruing the day, given she's one of the few female gms - and a very high profile one at that - in London. She was surely a great advertisement for them and women in the industry.

Let us hope she sticks by her pledge to return to the sector after her break, or the industry will the poorer for it. How can this industry learn to get and then keep more women at the top?

This post on Guillaume Thevenot's Hotels blog is really interesting - TripAdvisor is to allow its members to post short video clips on its site... wow doesn't this open up all sorts of problems for hoteliers??? I mean the camera never lies and all that. I'd love to hear your views on what TripAdvisor are doing....

Here's a good idea. Cloudy Bay Vineyards are launching a new online service, the Cloudy Bay Locator, on the first of March. The site will enable foodies and wine enthusiasts to locate restaurants in their area that feature the Kiwi company's brands on their lists. For Cloudy Bay stockists, this represents a nice bit of free marketing.

Good news for hoteliers - outspoken economist Roger Bootle doesn't believe that the current troubles in the world economy will result in a full blown recession.

In actual fact he was pretty upbeat about the future of the world economy, believing its medium-term outlook is "stonckingly good".

And as he pointed out a good period of growth in the world economy should bode well for the hotel industry, which will be at the forefront of benefiting from all that prosperity growth.

It's been the usual action packed conference in Berlin, where 1700 delegates have congregated to discuss hotels - in particular hotel deals and how to finance them and the economic climate.

Each year this conference grows - now in its 10th year it has its biggest list of delegates yet. And as the hotel investment grows so does the list of lawyers, property agents, deal brokers and consultants that support that activity.

Take CBRE - a hotel property and consultancy company - for example its team has expanded no end and now covers the whole of the globe.

Some things stay the same though - and as sure as eggs are eggs - Tuesday night in Berlin is CBRE party night.... normally resulting in a few sore heads at the conference the following day as a result.

It's all about hotels at the Berlin IHIF conference and so you learn some useless if interesting facts.

The one that sticks in my mind from yesterday was that Premier Travel Inn conducted a study that found that if it put flat screen LCD TVs in every room in its new build hotels the space saved would allow it to build an extra five rooms in a 100-bed hotel.

For the most competitive at the IHIF, there's only ever been one battle against your arch corporate rivals that's important to win and that's the CBRE table football competition.

This year's winner was financier Chris Eddis from Mornington Capital. But just to set the record straight, Chris definitely did not cheat by recruiting the knocked-out semi-finalist as his partner for the Grand Final kick off against InterContinental.

So what were this year's hot topics at the International Hotel Investment Conference in Berlin - watch our video to find out.

The Independent's article this morning about Rooms without service - lambasting the industry for its high rates and lack of service and quality does the indsutry an injustice.

We all know there are some bad examples in the industry - but to tar the whole industry with the same brush is unfair and close to irresponsible.

At a time when the indsutry is struggling against so many factors: rising energy and staff costs, low cost airlines threatening to take more and more people abroad for holidays, the announcement last week that capital allowances will be phased out, have all hit hoteliers directly in the back pocket; so it's no wonder prices are high.

You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.

So said poet John Lydgate in a phrase that has been adapted by Abraham Lincoln, Bob Dylan and others.

And it is a sentiment shared by Andrew Creese, general manager of the Malmaison in Leeds.

Never one to miss out on a bit of PR, budget hotel chain Travelodge's latest ruse to give customers a good night's sleep is, and I kid you not, goldfish hire.

Following its controversial appointment of a £60,000 director of sleep and trials of window transfers giving customers' nicer views than the nearest A road, the company is today claiming that staring at a friendly goldfish can take away the pain of a stressful day.

The excellent hotel-focussed blog site Hotelchatter has posted an interesting posting about how the Arizona Biltmore Resort has launched a series of podcasts to advertise its restaurant, spa and other amenities. This sounds like a good idea to me: if you could capture your chef on camera waxing lyrical about the new menu he has compiled, wouldn't that be a great message to send out to your customer database?

Independent Internet reviews are on course to make hotel and restaurant star ratings obsolete, according to new research among 5000 travellers by architects Woods Bagot.

Almost 58% of their respondents said they now resort to consumer reviews when looking for a steer on where to stay.

The research challenges the assumption that only web-savvy youngsters head online for hotel feedback. Over two-thirds of people aged between 35 and 54 reported being more inclined to check peer comments about accommodation on tripadvisor.co.uk and other sites.

Perhaps this can be explained by the fact that, the more you travel around the world, the more you appreciate the inconsistencies in regional ratings systems.

Of course, user-generated reviews bring problems of their own, with an emerging trend towards operators planting fake reviews for their own properties.

As the two finalists battled it out last night for the £100,000 job on Sir Alan Sugar's Apprentice last night, who should pop up on screen amongst a room full of dull property suits but our very own GCG - who surely stole the show with his pertinent and probing question about room size to eventual winner Simon Ambrose.

I've just hot footed it from the BHA Centenary lunch at the Grosvenor House Hotel where guests were, among other things, treated to a speech from Sir Rocco Forte sporting a new beard. So he took the opportunity to explain why he had grown one.

Apparently Sir Rocco has been mistaken for many an actor over the years, most commonly Dustin Hoffman and, on occasions, Al Pacino. But while recently staying in Florida, and doing a few laps of the hotel pool, he found three old biddies (as he called them), pointing at him while they chattered away to each other.

Congratulations to InterContinental chief marketing officer Peter Gowers (pictured) who has been promoted to Asia Pacific chief executive.

It seems that Gowers, who takes up the role on 1 November, is very well qualified for the job with the press release from IHG keen to inform the world that he holds a B.A in Economics from the University of California, San Diego and a Master of Professional Studies from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University

Having been a guidebook inspector himself, David Young, proprietor at the Cross at Kingussie, must just love reading about his business on travel websites.

But a recent entry may suggest a service that even David, a hugely hospitable man, isn't prepared to carry out. It appeared on www.responsibletravel.com and attempted to take large chunks of text from the Cross's own website - sadly missing out a rather important sentence or two.

For the offending excerpt, read on...

Had an interesting catch-up with Oxford Hotels & Inns this week, to discover what was going on at the company which rose from the ashes of the collapsed Swallow group last September.

There's plenty of investment across the group, with spend expected to hit £6.3m this year. This encompasses new acquisitions and refurbs of some of its properties, which include the likes of the Carnoustie Golf Hotel, the Lugger in Cornwall and the Huntly Arms in Aberdeen.

But despite the impressive catalogue it seems the team is most excited about a deal which is about to be agreed.

It was only a matter of time. The new Holiday Inn which overlooks the pitch at Norwich City's Carrow Road ground has issued its first ban to a football fan.

The Southampton supporter received the red card from the hotel after he used a room to watch the remainder of Saturday's game he had been ejected from for persistent standing.

Holiday Inn took the action after he was seen "waving and shouting" to his fellow Saints fans from the room, which had been booked by one of his friends.

Premier Travel Inn (soon to be just plain old Premier Inn) has become the latest hotel company to be recognised with its own Wikipedia entry - although the authors of the world’s ultimate and mostly-true information site will have their work cut out to keep up with the budget hotel company’s relentless growth, one suspects.

Premier Travel Inn joins the esteemed likes of Travelodge, InterContinental, Starwood and Marriott in having its own dedicated entry, so if there’s anything you’ve ever wanted to know about the group I suggest you check it out or of course use Caterersearch’s own dedicated Company profiles section (PTI is listed under Whitbread), which we’re in the process of updating and streamlining.

For the full story check out Hotel Blogs

Anyone discovered any other hospitality companies on Wikipedia?

Whitbread restaurant division enjoys buoyant sales>>

Despite being a journalist writing about hospitality I am, like the rest of the population, a consumer of hospitality too. I appreciate excellent service and a quality product as much as anyone else. From time to time though the odd thing will really get my goat: like hotel bed sheets.

I recently stayed in a hotel in Paris and was subject to some pretty zealous house-keeping. Don't get me wrong - I love coming back to a clean and tidy room after a hard day of exploring one of the most romantic cities of the world. But one thing just plain annoys me: bed sheets. Is there really any need for them in this day and age?

The creator of an interesting new website that launched last week has been in touch to publicise his idea - a blacklist for badly behaved guests.

The happyguests site features a database for small hotels and B&Bs to add the name of problem guests.

The password protected site will keep the names of blacklisted guests on the system for three years. Participating accommodation providers will have to include the fact they are a member on their terms & conditions.

The great and good of the hotel industry will hopefully by now have shaken off the effects of last night's inaugural Hotel Cateys at the London Hilton on Park Lane. The Caterer team were certainly quieter than usual today.

It was an undoubtedly successful evening and our congratulations go out to all the winners, and indeed those shortlisted, as we had hundreds and hundreds of entries - Housekeeper of the Year alone received 50. Grant Hearn, from Travelodge (pictured) was the big winner with the Outstanding Achievement award.

Jumeirah, owner of the landmark Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai, is extremely ambitious and the state-owned company is clearly one of the coming forces in global hospitality.

Speaking on Thursday (15 November) at HR consultancy and executive recruitment firm Chess Executive’s latest H Talk, Gerald Lawless, executive chairman of the Jumeirah Group, said the company was holding some 130 discussions about potential sites to build or take over the management of luxury hotels at.

Jumeirah, which has 11,500 employees (or colleagues as Lawless prefers) in Dubai alone has set itself the target of having a presence in 26 locations around the world.

It wants to be viewed as nothing less than the very best everywhere it operates and I wouldn’t bet against them achieving this having listened to the scale of the company’s operations and commitment to doing things properly.

Surely if you left a fake limb behind at a Travelodge you wouldn’t have a leg to stand on?

Bizarrely – and that really is the only word in this case – a list of things left behind by Travelodge’s varied clientele last year includes fake limbs, a glass eye and false teeth (‘it was only when I went to tuck into my Subway baguette I realised…’)

Speaking from experience I have actually managed to leave my house keys in a Travelodge post wedding party (not mine) but the couple that actually left their kid behind are getting a bit beyond careless.

Check out the full Travelodge lost and found list 2007 and e-mail me some of the strangest things you’ve found around a hotel or your more embarrassing moments of absent mindedness…

Travelodge Lost and Found List 2006>>

We all know the old saying: “Did you get out of the wrong side of bed this morning?” But now research by budget hotel chain Premier Inn suggests there’s more truth to it than you might have thought.

The group got a bunch of experts together, who discussed and researched getting out of bed in the mornings and came up with the following conclusion: when it comes to getting up, right is wrong and we should all aim to get out of the left side of our beds.

“Wake up call sir?”
“7.45 please.”
“Newspaper?”
“The Independent will do nicely thank you.”
“Hot bath?”
“I beg your pardon?”

Yes it’s true, guests can now order their bath to be filled to their desired level and temperature so it’s ready to climb into immediately they step out of bed, thanks to bathomatic.

Developed by Unique Automation, it’s a digital bath filler that fills the bath at the touch of a button. It can be operated by guests themselves from a wall-mounted touch-screen pad but the really clever bit is the ability to activate it from other locations via an automation system or PC.

De Vere may be about to unleash its hi-tech Hub onto an unsuspecting meetings market but one independent is planning to fight back...with reading glasses.

Yes while the opening of the latest Village hotel in Ashton Moss this April will see the launch of the first Hub, a state-of-the-art purpose built business facility with seven conference rooms, plasma screens, Wi-Fi, air conditioning and natural daylight and blackout facilities throughout, the Bear hotel in Hungerford is taking a more low-key approach.

Although many won’t have seen this one coming, Bear general manager Colin Heaney has introduced complimentary specs to use during meetings ranging from +1 to +3 for long-sighted delegates.

Heaney said:

“I’m always looking to add value for our customers and this is a small touch that I am sure will be appreciated. On occasions I’ve discovered a desperate delegate struggling to read a document or menu, purely because they’ve left their reading glasses on the table at home.”

Whether Village plans to follow the Bear remains to be seen.

Village Hotels puts £60m into refurbishment>>

One of Golf’s most famous names, The Belfry hotel in Warwickshire, has launched its own Belfry Blend of coffee.

Those facing the hotel’s Brabazon golf course – four times host of the sport’s premier team competition the Ryder Cup – can enjoy a cup of the black stuff, which is being supplied by the nattily named Wicked Coffee Company, before they head out.

David Toulson-Burke, general manager of the Belfry, said: “We like to give our guests a highly tailored experience when they visit us at the Belfry and we hope our own brand of coffee will help towards making their experience that little bit more special.”

The Belfry brand is available at fore of the hotel's restaurants and bars.

The Belfry hotel to redevelop as exclusive golf course>>

Ryder Cup venue the Belfry to be pulled down and rebuilt>>

De Vere walks away from the Belfry hotel>>

After being decribed by a critic as a "Real Life Basil Fawlty", hotelier Andy Hageman decided to publish his memoirs of running Mortons House Hotel in Dorset. In his book "Innkeeping with Mr Fawlty", he recounts the trials, tribulations and triumphs that lie behind the scenes of an up-market hotel.

And although, unlike Basil, he never picked a fight with his guests, in his 15 years of running the hotel, he was unsuccessfully sued by one guest, assaulted by another, he plunged a guest's mobile phone into an ice bucket and dealt with a naked man who sleep-walked into reception.

Big news for the budget hotel sector this morning with speculation suggesting the two major players - Premier Inn and Travelodge - are considering a £3b merger.

According to weekend reports, Premier Inn owner Whitbread has been in talks to take over Travelodge's 330 budget hotels from Dubai International Capital (DIC).

DIC bought Travelodge from Permira in 2006 for £675m, but the joint company could be worth up to £3b.

We're speaking to Travelodge this morning so watch this space...

Update: Informed sources tell us the talks are definitely ongoing, although both parties are staying schtum for now.

Having already set its sights on tackling the family market with the purchase more than two years ago of Luxury Family Hotels it seems Von Essen Hotels has a new target, pet owners.

The company, which owns the Cliveden in Berkshire, Sharrow Bay in the Lake District and the Royal Crescent hotel in Bath, has launched the Very Important Pet Package (VIPP) ahead of National Pet Month from 5 April to 5 May.

Hilton’s Doubletree has come to the UK – quick we need an event to mark the launch!

"Well, there’s trees in the name and everyone’s obsessed with being green and sustainability these days."
Excellent
"And Doubletree is part of the Hilton family and you get family trees."
Sounds good, keep going
"So, families often show affection for each other with a hug."
Like it, like it
"So let’s get some tree huggers hugging trees in army fatigues…"
Brilliant. What was that last bit about the army? No, nevermind. Right, now we have to come up for something for Red Roof Inns…
"Well, there’s roofs…."

Hilton opens first Doubletree in Cambridge>>

Hilton recuits new head of global development>>

Premier Inn executives pictured with the hump and it’s nothing to do with the aborted tie-up with Travelodge.

Yes with the official launch of the first Premier Inn (PI) in Dubai tomorrow (8 April) there are cheesy photos to be taken and the bods at PI have excelled themselves, opting for the association game: Middle East and camels.

While not as lateral a leap in concept as Hilton’s Doubletree tree huggers, you have to note that the camel looks somewhat unimpressed.

Still, fair-play to Patrick Dempsey, PI managing director (the one on top) for going along with the idea of the man holding the reins Gerard Tempest, PI’s marketing director.

The budget hotel company is off to India next so here at Caterer we can’t wait for the take-a-tiger-by-its-tail pictures. Good luck Patrick!

Premier Inn gets set for first Dubai launch>>

Whitbread outsources food supply operation>>

 "The challenges are unique". Yes that's certainly one way to put the idea of building the world's first hotel on the craggy, no gravity surface of the Moon. And yet that's just what budget hotel chain Premier Inn is intending to do.

The Whitbread group has bought an option to build on the moon for a Princely sum of £24. The land will subsequently cost a further £1m from Moon Estates (come on are you kidding me?) Apparently the group feel "it is now more feasible than ever to expect travel to and from the moon to become a common occurrence within the next 20-30 years."

Now it might be just me, but if I had blown, what is bound to be, a hefty wad on flying to the moon, I think I might, just might, want to stay somewhere a tad more upmarket than a Premier Inn. A Four Seasons perhaps, hell even a Hilton!  This, coupled with the fact that you are most likely to be indoor-bound due to the absence of gravity outside for the entirety of your stay, makes the scarcity of extras in a budget hotel a very bad idea.

With Team GB and most of the nation still in shock at our Olympic success, those kind people at the Sofitel London Heathrow have created a new cocktail to bring us back to our senses.

The Gold Rush is available now in the hotel's library bar at £13, just ahead of the predicted Olympic fervour of the winners' parade set for the 16 October in London.

The cocktail, served in a Martini glass and following on in spirit from the recent Pentathalon Pudding, comprises Goldschlager, Noilly Prat (!), and Chambord topped with Champagne and a glacier cherry to garnish.

So go for gold and order one at the bar to get you in the mood for 2012.

Sodexo in Olympic sponsorship>>

British Olympic success will drive tourism to the London 2012 Games>>

Last week the Royal Lancaster hotel hosted its third annual "Green Day".

Rather than a tribute to the alternative American rock band of the same name the day instead involved a series of events to increase awareness of the luxury hotel's green polices amongst staff and suppliers.

Funnily enough, this October see's the return of Caterer's own annual Green Month full of useful tips and features on how to cut your energy use and save money while helping the environment.

It all starts on 2 October with top environmental hotelier Vanessa Scott checking out three properties and providing advice.

There's also exlcusive Caterer research on the progress the hospitality industry has made to date. And don't forget you can keep up-to-date as the month progresses and read previous articles in our Green Zone.

A to Z of going green>>

Premier Inn to launch its first Green hotel>>

Compass Group gains Marine Stewardship Certification>>

After a distinctly disappointing, grey summer in the UK the launch of Sun Meadow at K West hotel and spa in London seems like a bright idea.

For stressed or depressed commuters everywhere, and of course hotel guests, the Sun Meadow is claimed to make use of the latest in light therapy technology to relax and rejuvenate you.

According to the press release "as you lie in the cool contemporary room, whilst gentle sounds fill your ears, you can feel the mild heat of the ultraviolet sun beams caress your body from head to toe", which has to be a better alternative to slapping on a load of cheap fake-tan from Boots and mixing yourself a Margareta.

Also, if you get a bit down during these grey old days the treatment is supposed to be perfect for combating SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and safer than a bottle of whiskey (oh, is that just me).  

So don't be SAD this winter be happy. 

Special K>>

Secrets of the modern minibar>>

With money tight hotel marketing consortium the Leading Hotels of the World has come up with a timely way to mark its 80th birthday.

Today at 1pm UK time it will be offering hotel rooms at a credit crunch friendly $19.28 (£10.39 in real money) to mark its foundation as a business, you've guessed it, in 1928.

The offer, subject to availability and open for 80 minutes only, means 61 European hotels are on offer including the Baglioni and Langham in London as well as Gleaneagles. So as they say, don't delay.

Visit www.lhw.com/1928 for more.

Langham sets sights on rapid international expansion>>