The PVP programme gives BHA members fast track entry to the show and includes a free Hotelympia showguide and access to the Priority Visitor Lounge.

Delivering innovation for your hospitality business, Hotelympia is your best chance to experience thousands of new products from over 800 exhibitors. Register now for FREE at www.hotelympia.com

SCOTTISH TOURISM WEEK  6-13 March

ENGLISH TOURISM WEEK  10-18 March

For resources, information, ideas, inspiration for each of the Weeks visit the following websites:

• Wales:  www.wta.org.uk/tourism-week/
• Scotland:  www.stforum.co.uk/scottishtourismweek/stw2012.aspx
• England:  www.visitengland.org/england-tourism-industry/etw/index.aspx

…GET INVOLVED: The three Weeks provide the perfect opportunity to invite your MP/ MSP/ AM/ Councillors and other opinion formers to your establishment to put across the issues of concern to member businesses (VAT, regulation, etc). Tell them about the jobs and the value the hospitality industry creates in your local authority: www.bha.org.uk/hospitality-driving-local-economies-report/ has the figures for each area, with separate Scottish and Welsh editions available.

As part of this work we are developing a question set and guidance for use by local authority food hygiene inspectors, particularly aimed towards micro and small businesses.

We would ask that you (or a colleague) help with this work by attending a workshop being run by Greenstreet Berman Ltd. The workshop will include:

1.    An outline of the food safety culture tool;

2.    A review by you of the tool – comprehension, applicability to micro and small firms, and cultural appropriateness of the questions;

3.    A hypothetical assessment by you of a food business that you are familiar with;

4.    An assessment of the face validity and importance of each question;

5.    A general discussion and suggested amendments.

The workshop will provide you with an introduction to food safety culture, a copy of the draft tool and an opportunity to comment on a method that may be applied by food hygiene inspectors to your business.

The workshop will be held at the Thistle hotel in Barbican on the 28th February from 9:30am to 11:30am.

We are aiming for 20 persons to attend the workshop.

Please do contact myself Sharon Egan at the Food Standards Agency if you have any questions. My telephone number is 020 7276 8366 and my email is Sharon.Egan@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk.

The workshop is being organised by Greenstreet Berman Ltd, particularly Trevor Stockwell (T:020 3102-2125, trevor.stockwell@greenstreet.co.uk). Please respond to Trevor regarding whether you can attend the workshop.

Balloons, shelf barkers, posters and bunting – all enclosed in a special Love British Food 2012 pack with advice and top tips on taking part.

The standard charge for one pack is £10 inc. post plus VAT and can be purchased here

The closing date for orders is 11 May and packs will be distributed later that month in time for the Diamond Jubilee.

We very much hope you take part in Love British Food 2012.

The programme team is proud to have secured inspirational speakers including:

Daniel Gidney, the Chief Executive, of the RICOH Arena in Coventry on the transformational power of hospitality which has seen the venue develop from planning application to an international destination for business, entertainment and sport in just a decade.

And is also delighted to welcome: David Bridgford, Strategy Director, Merlin Entertainments and Dermot King, Managing Director, Bourne Leisure in discussion with BHA’s Chief Executive, Ufi Ibrahim on the challenges and opportunities facing UK hospitality businesses and the role hospitality can play in driving local economic growth.

Expert guidance on forthcoming legislation and the up-to-the minute information on industry issues from the BHA’s Deputy Chief Executive, Martin Couchman.

The conference concludes with an open forum to discuss the importance of Local Action to gain a National Reaction: your opportunity to work with the industry to create the BHA agenda for action on a local level and influence policy at the national level.

With plenty of time included to network with colleagues, the day is a ‘must attend’ event for amongst others: proprietors; general managers; finance managers; as well as those involved in operations and marketing.

A maximum of four places per establishment are available.  Please reserve your places no later than Monday 27 February by emailing events@bha.org.uk. If you have any queries about this event please contact philippa.brady@bha.org.uk or call 020 7404 7744.

KETTERING, UK – iO Adria Limited today announced the affiliation of its Dubrovnik Sun Gardens property to The Registry Collection^®, the world’s largest luxury leisure property exchange programme, and part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands.

Situated on the coast near to the village of Orašac, Dubrovnik Sun Gardens is 20 minutes from Old Town Dubrovnik and just 45 minutes from Dubrovnik International Airport. Boasting one of the most comprehensive spas in the Adriatic, The Spa by OCCO is recognised as a world leading spa, having just won the prestigious Spa Traveller Awards for ‘Best International New Spa’ beating some of the top names in the business. The resort has its own private beach, 13 bars and restaurants, three pools and an extensive sports club.

At the heart of the resort complex is a 201-room contemporary Radisson Blu hotel and guests from the new resort development of leisure properties will become visitors to the hotel to access its restaurants, bars and other guest facilities.

The development features whole-ownership properties, which the developer has affiliated to The Registry Collection to bring another level of holiday lifestyle benefits to his offering to increase its attraction to buyers. The development comprises of 207 high-end one-, two- and three-bedroom residences offering both garden and breathtaking sea-views of the Adriatic, and the first 25 units have now been released for sale. The luxurious residences have been inspired by internationally-recognised interior designers Hirsch Bedner & Associates, and are equipped with modern appliances and generous indoor and outdoor living spaces. First release pricing ranges from €170,000 (£149,000) to €555,000 (£488,000). Mortgages of up to 60 per cent LTV are available with Erste Bank on a 15-year term at a fixed 6.6 per cent interest rate which, coupled with peak season occupancy rates of 95 per cent and rental returns of 4 per cent, are likely to make purchases as popular with investors as those dreaming of a holiday home in the sun.

This is the first phase of a planned three-phase development which will see the addition of another five-star 130 key hotel and a further 200 Residential keys. Owners will be able to enjoy the benefits of affiliation to The Registry Collection, giving them the opportunity to stay at a choice of more than 180 luxury properties around the world.

“It was an easy decision to work with The Registry Collection,” said Julian Houchin, Commercial Director for iO Adria Limited. “One of the most common objections to the purchase of ‘seasonal’ resort real estate is that potential buyers can sometimes have challenges justifying the significant amount of capital for a purchase they use for only a few weeks a year.

“We see this more and more in today’s economic climate and know from first hand experience, potential buyers considering investing at Dubrovnik Sun Gardens have asked members of our sales team whether or not they can exchange their asset during the year. We selected The Registry Collection for this very reason, as we strongly believe that investors today are interested in leveraging their asset to get more out of their investment. Given the quality and diverse nature of Dubrovnik Sun Gardens and the luxury asset portfolio that is The Registry Collection, we believe that this partnership is a key strategic decision and one that will assist us in our sales efforts.”

Matt Holmes, acting head of business development for The Registry Collection in Europe, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Dubrovnik Sun Gardens into The Registry Collection network. It is a majestic resort in a wonderful location and will be a tremendous addition to our collection of the very best vacation destinations.

“The resort’s fantastic location in an increasingly popular destination – which will get more popular when Croatia joins the EU in July 2013 – and excellent on-site amenities are sure to be a big hit with our members.”

These associations represented the large, medium and small sized hotels including bed and breakfast, self-catering and holiday Letts.

BAHA became the voice of all in a focussed plan to become one voice to support its members and work with the council and tourism departments. The remit was and still is to improve the environment, increase communication and support the marketing of Bournemouth in order to increase visitors to the town leading to Bournemouth holding the title of No 1 British Seaside Resort

Times they are a changing and BAHA changes with them.

Andy woodland, Chairman of BAHA announced and led the celebration of a new name and brand image at a high quality dinner for BAHA Accommodation members in association with Bournemouth and Poole College at the Escoffier restaurant.

The new name will be Bournemouth Accommodation & Hotel Association – still keeping the well know anachronism of BAHA!

Supporting this is a new logo which will  be distributed to all BAHA members  -both those who are accommodation members plus the attractions, restaurants and trade support members that make up the Association.

By the end of March the new state of the art BAHA website will be up and running giving a huge resource to its members.

Andy woodland, Chairman of BAHA stated “Working closely with the Bournemouth Council, tourism departments, Bournemouth Chamber of Trade and Commerce and having members of our Committee sitting on vital groups in the town such as the Bournemouth Tourism Management Board, planning and marketing committees as well as the town and coastal BID’s is vital for the accommodation providers constantly growing BAHA membership.  Our new image is because we are prepared to change with the times and be up to date and ready to face the next stage in our ever changing economic and social climate”.

Climate Week is backed by every part of society – from the Prime Minister to Paul McCartney, the NHS to the Met Office, the TUC to the CBI, Girlguiding UK to the National Association of Head Teachers. During the first Climate Week in 2011 over 3,000 events were attended by half a million people across the UK.

Climate Week Cuisine is a new part of the campaign for 2012, encouraging people to make the food that they eat a part of the solution to climate change. Hospitality organisations can get involved by putting on low carbon dishes or a whole sustainable menu. This could be locally sourced food, vegetarian meals or just using less meat and dairy.

Tips and celebrity recipes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Sir Paul McCartney, Prue Leith, Levi Roots, and many others can be found on the Climate Week website.

To find out more about Climate Week, or to register your event, go to www.climateweek.com, email info@climateweek.com or telephone on 020 3397 2601.

CSSC is born from the collaboration between London First and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). It is designed to facilitate a partnership with businesses and the public sector on issues of safety & security.  Initial focus is to improve the quality, scope and timeliness of sharing information to improve overall public safety & security particularly during the Olympic games period with a legacy for the future.

To date up to 25 separate industry sectors have been identified by the project team and an ISL (Industry Sector Lead) nominated for each sector.  ISL’s were predominantly identified as a person or body who maintain an existing form of communication on safety and security issues within their respective industry sectors.

IHSM (Institute of Hotel Security Management) is one such organisation that has for many years maintained a healthy membership which frequently shares information of this nature and have taken on this role for the Hotel sector.  I will be managing the role of ISL as Vice Chairman of IHSM along with two industry colleagues, Bob Stanbridge – Gouman Hotels and Malcolm Clark – Marriott Hotels.

Key Roles are to:

• Share relevant safety & security Messages by all appropriate means
• Provide expert feedback on the safety & security information we receive
• Participate in routine conference calls with the Police and other ISLs to share information
• Share information received from conference calls and by other means with industry sector members

NOCC – National Olympic Coordination Centre

This is made up of the public sector bodies listed below.  They will be working together with ISLs to ensure business receives timely and relevant information,

• Metropolitan Police (MPS)
• City of London Police (CoLP)
• British Transport Police (BTP)
• National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO)
• Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI)
• Home Office (HO)

Information received from the NOCC will be shared with BHA via our IHSM Circulation system by email as the primary means.  The type of information shared will be in the form of either: Routine, Emergency or a Change in status i.e. a change to planned events, roads, transport, travel, key events etc.

Of equal importance is the need for members of BHA to use this resource to feedback information into NOCC also.  Members are encouraged to contact BHA with any questions they may have or to seek advice on any aspect of the games and their involvement with it or games activity in their local area.  We can filter any such requests and may even be able to answer questions locally at IHSM.

All information received from the CSSC project will be shared directly with you as the BHA point of contact.  The information that you then send to your members should not be re-interpreted or changed in any way that may risk changing or altering the original intended message.

Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact bha@bha.org.uk

Quarterly Outlook for London’s Hospitality and Leisure sector

In late 2011, RSM Tenon commissioned Longitude Research to conduct a survey to examine business confidence in London’s Hospitality and Leisure (H&L) sector.   This is the first report in a series of quarterly performance snapshots and each quarter will focus on an issue affecting the industry.   In this report we take a look at human resource challenges and why the role of human resource management is so crucial.

Ufi Ibrahim, CEO of the British Hospitality Association notes that “The present economic situation makes significant salary increases difficult to implement, so this makes every other aspect of the benefit package that much more important” to staff.

Report Highlights

• Nearly half of London H&L businesses surveyed believe performance is better than a year ago
• H&L business owners across London continue to believe in the value of marketing, one of business surveyed plan to invest in marketing this quarter.
• Working environment, pay, brand and training are seen as the key factors in attracting and retaining staff
• Nearly two thirds of firms plan to give pay increases (largely in line with inflation)
• Less than half of London’s H&L have a HR manager to deal with employee issues despite a strong need within the sector

Jonathan Perrin, RSM Tenon’s Head of Hospitality and Leisure, said: ‘With interest rates remaining low, the Diamond Jubilee, and the Olympic Games only six months away, I think this year could be a positive one for the hospitality and leisure sector within London – especially for those business owners that are looking for ways to stand out and take advantage of what could be some very rewarding one-off opportunities.’

Click here to download the report

For a hard copy of the report please contact Ashleigh Halliday at ashleigh.halliday@rsmtenon.com.

RSM Tenon has now launched its second quarterly hospitality and leisure survey, which asks questions around growth and exit strategies.

To take part in the survey, please click here.

4It should take no longer than five minutes to complete and your response will be completely anonymous and confidential. All participants will automatically be entered into a draw for a kindle and you will receive a complimentary copy of the report before publication.