The ANNT Candle Company has launched two new non-toxic votive and tealight candle products which are now available to UK hospitality buyers.

Price cuts temper London hotel performance as the regions press on Hotels in the regions continue to outperform whilst their London counterparts discount prices, according to preliminary hotel figures for the month of April released today by business advisory and accountancy firm, BDO LLP.

Regional hotels posted a 0.1% year-on-year increase in room rate to £54.71, compared with £54.67 12 months ago, and a 5.6% rise in occupancy from 69.1% to 73.1%. This resulted in rooms yield growth of 5.7% from £37.82 to £39.96.

London, by contrast, experienced a 7.0% drop in room rate to £115.77, compared with £124.51 in April 2012, and a 1.7% reduction in occupancy from 83.9% to 82.5%. Rooms yield consequently declined by 8.6% from £104.46 to £95.45.

Robert Barnard, partner at BDO LLP, commented: “The figures for London look disappointing but need to be put into context: April 2012 was a particularly strong month for the capital’s hoteliers – rooms yield increased by 7.8% this time last year – and was therefore always going to be a tough act to follow.

“We’re also seeing continued evidence of price discounting amongst operators as they seek to fill the extra capacity created ahead of last summer’s Olympics, which has the effect of squeezing yields.

“This is another stellar performance from regional operators. Make no mistake: the operating environment remains challenging for much of the sector, so hoteliers in the regions deserve credit for consistently delivering year-on-year top line growth.

“Looking ahead, London will be hoping to benefit from the forthcoming Champions League final, which will be played at Wembley for the first time since 2011, and from the gradual uptick in consumer and business confidence that we have started to see recently.”

Hotel and leisure management services company Legacy Hotels & Resorts has signed a deal with Surya Hotels which will see it operate its existing and expanding hotel portfolio and will grow its own UK portfolio to 19.

The Swan Hotel in Suffolk, Gidleigh Park in Devon and The Feathered Nest pub in Oxfordshire have been named among the winners of the VisitEngland Excellence Awards 2013. 

2012 was a bumper year, and – in comparison – the UK 2013 events calendar is empty. To make matters worse, new hotel openings were a weekly occurrence in the run up to the Olympic Games, and the supply pipeline is still bulging with rooms!

UK hoteliers are asking where the demand is going to come from in the face of oversupply?

With no clear answer to this question, Hotel Industry Magazine has started the hotel training project that the industry is crying out for.

Sell More … Don’t Perish!

Hotel Industry Magazine has leveraged its unique position to learn from other markets and bring this expertise to the UK.

In June, we are flying over experts from Ireland to deliver the same tried-and-tested workshops that have enabled Irish hotels to survive the sales challenge we are about to face in the UK.

The first workshop, How to Sell More Weddings, is on Tuesday 11th June 2013.

Lessons from Ireland

Ireland holds the key to success for UK hoteliers. They have already been through what UK hoteliers are about to experience: overconfidence and oversupply led to a “sell or perish” situation … does that sound familiar?

These workshops are designed to ensure you “sell” … not perish!

How to Sell More Weddings

• Date: Tuesday 11th June 2013 (Lunch Included)
• Price: £130 per delegate
• Location: Croydon Park Hotel, London
• Contact: Linda Halpin on 0844 502 5250 or learning@hotel-industry.co.uk

Under the Lec Commercial brand, professional appliance manufacturer Glen Dimplex has launched a range of sustainable, environmentally-friendly bottle coolers.

The hospitality industry will need to invest in its future workforce if it wants to realise its full potential in 2013 and beyond, the British Hospitality Association has warned as it prepares for its second British Hospitality and Tourism Summit. 

NatWest and RBS have worked closely with VistEngland on the details of a new £150m fund designed specifically for the leisure industry which was launched today.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has issued new guidance around mackerel, making it clearer to chefs and consumers about which fisheries the species can be sourced from safely. 

A survey by budget hotel operator Travelodge has revealed that almost two thirds (65 per cent) of Brits will be spending their summer holiday on home turf this year with London replacing Cornwall as the top holiday destination for domestic tourists. 

Construction work has begun on a £90m mixed-use development in Bromley which will include a new 130-bedroom hotel and a set of restaurants and bars.

The Paragon Hotel in Birmingham has been bought out of administration by Iraqi businessman Namir El Alakbi. 

After a long career in the hotel industry, which included a stint with IHG as a chief operating officer, Arie van der Spek is now the senior vice president of Laureate Hospitality Education and is helping to launch a London branch of hospitality management school the Glion Institute of Higher Education.

The hospitality and leisure industry is one of the most engaged sectors when it comes to taking on apprentices, according to the results of Barclays Corporate Banking’s Job Creation Survey.

Today, both large and small hotels can cost-effectively market directly to potential guests thanks to the web.

But social media is not without its challenges: new online channels are popping up all the time and it’s not easy keeping track of how each one works and how best to utilise it. But marketing and digital specialists, electricjelly, are here to help.

Finding Your Voice

As the old phrase goes, “it’s not what you say, it’s the way you say it”, it’s important to find your voice; the tone with which you want to represent yourself, brand, business and stick to it.

1. Match your voice to your audience: The idea of social media is to engage with your audience on a mutual level of understanding. So if you’re a street clothing brand you may want a voice like the ‘kidz innit’, however, if you’re a firm of lawyers, you certainly don’t.
2. Whether stuffy or street you want to be conversational: Ask questions, invite feedback, discuss relevant news/events, run promotions, polls and competitions.
3. Create guidelines: All team members blogging, Tweeting etc on behalf of the business need to know how to go about it. For example: Business speak is it banned or encouraged? Do u allw txt spk? (If your audience is over 25 and your brand is aimed at professionals I’d suggest best not) What will you, and better still what won’t you be sharing about your business activities, employees and financial matters?
4. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”: NEVER get involved in a social media slanging match and don’t share anything defamatory. Do however address negative feedback and criticisms from customers if they come in via a social media channel but remember to handle them faultlessly professionally – remember millions of people have the potential to see how well or badly you address the issue.

So you’ve found your voice, what next?

1. Plan ahead: Even though the nature of social media is to respond to what is happening NOW, you need a plan in place. It’s very hard to prioritise if you don’t have a structure to follow, you can also use it to review what went well and what didn’t.
2. Get back to basics: As well as a plan, it is essential that things like brand standards, social media policies and objectives have been decided on and implemented. Setting up your social media profiles and ensuring they are populated correctly with all the correct information and images is essential to get the right traffic to you pages.
3. Try to do one thing well: Decide what your objective is (the most common are: sales, brand awareness or loyalty) and work towards one objective – not all of them!
4. Teamwork: You will need lots of different people and departments to contribute to social media, even if it’s not directly. Make sure the whole team are aware and excited about your presence and are ready to support when necessary – turnaround needs to be quick to get relevant information out in real-time.
5. Blog: Have a blog hosted on your website or blog somewhere else, but make sure you blog! It gives a reason for people to visit your site or social media platforms, is great for email marketing, engagement and SEO.
6. One channel at a time: Better to use one channel well than lots badly. Pick one (the most appropriate one for your target demographic) and focus on that before you start adding anymore.
7. Be consistent: If you have a profile on a channel then make sure you are using it and that you are setting expectations for your fans and living up to them. The first thing people will look at when they find you on social media is when your last update was and if it wasn’t recent they are not likely to follow or trust that page.
8. But don’t bombard: Equally don’t post too often or do loads of posts or retweets in one go. Make sure you are using the appropriate frequency for each platform.
9. Me, me, me: Even if your main objective is sales, this should still not be the focus of what you mainly write about. This is not broadcast media; be social, listen, reply, build relationships over time.
10. Be patient: You are not going to get to grips with social media or see fantastic results overnight, or even within a couple of months, this is about trial and error, building rapport and trust, developing your strategy – you are in it for the long term so be patient and you will start reaping the rewards.

The general manager of Chateau Impney Hotel & Exhibition Centre in Droitwich is hoping that a million pound refurbishment will help reposition the venue as a ‘leading exhibition centre and hotel’ in the UK. 

BDL Management and Redefine Hotels have merged to create the UK’s largest independent hotel management company. 

Hoax, a luxury hostel featuring a design-led restaurant and bar, will launch in Liverpool in August and the brand’s backers are already planning to expand the concept to the capital and beyond. 

Hoax, a luxury hostel featuring a design-led restaurant and bar, will launch in Liverpool in July and the brand’s backers are already planning to expand the concept to the capital and beyond.