The Caterer Blog

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.

Today Ultimate Leisure has formally changed the name of its business to Premium Bars and Restaurants. Although I fear it is too late I use this blog to make an impassioned plea: if a last minute veto can be cast I urge Ultimate to heed my advice. Don't bother. It's rubbish.

Hospitality has an obsession with terribly unimaginative names for businesses. Just a few of my favourites include: Pubs'N'Bars (note the upper case N), The Restaurant Group (unbelievably a group that manages restaurants), The Hotel Corporation (go on, have a guess) and, perhaps the worst of the lot, The Food and Drink Group.

There are a fair few of this genre of names that have not been taken so for any business looking for a quick change to a state the obvious name, here is a handy list.

Corporate Contract Catering (for all your corporate catering needs)

London Restaurants and Bars (You can change the name depending on where you are based, Leeds, Bath, Wigan... etc etc)

South-West Taverns (Equally applicable to any region)

Premier Hotel Group (perhaps a little bit too close to Premier Inns, Travelodge or Premier Travelodge's)

and to top it off - The Premium Casual Dining Group...

You can have them all for free.. anyone requiring additional consultancy can contact me here

The Second Test in the four-match series between England and South African starts today at Headingley.

While most cricket watchers are expecting another close game, after the bore draw at Lords, one London-based South African restaurateur has, quite literally, put his shirt on his country winning series.

Gerrie Knoetze, owner of Vivat Bacchus in Farringdon Street, has promised his (largely England-supporting) customers that if South Africa lose the test series, he and his staff will wear the England cricket top for a week. 

The owner of pub chain Yates's has renamed its Mansfield outlet after double Olympic gold medal winning swimmer - and local girl - Rebecca Adlington.

The newly renamed Adlington Arms has promised the 19-year-old swimmer a free meal whenever she wants one

Toby Smith, chief executive of Town and City Pub Company, said: "Rebecca Adlington has achieved a phenomenal feat.

"As a nation we're very proud of her and she is a shining example to all young people of what can be achieved with hard work and commitment.

"What better way to honour her than to name her local pub after her.

"We hear she's a fan of burger and chips, so, Rebecca, whenever you come into Adlington Arms your meal is on the house!"

He'll no doubt be glad that Adlington was in Beijing when the BBC's Rogue Restaurants programme exposed the Yates's in Reading for poor hygiene.

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>>