Newsflash

Brand Building with Video

Video is a powerful communications tool, but hotels need to have a clear reason for posting videos on social media, a hospitality industry marketing and communications specialist has said.

Film-maker, producer and videographer Greg Manahan told Micheline Corr of The Firm, that some videos featuring animals in hotel lobbies and employees cycling indoors, did not convey a positive brand image for the hotels that posted them.

He was this week’s guest on The Firm Optimist discussion series.

‘Before a hotel posts a video, management need to have a mission objective for doing so. It must reinforce the core brand message of how the customer views the hotel’, he said.

Hotels, he said, are complex products from a brand perspective and hoteliers need to be careful about the messages they convey’.

Covid 19, he said, will change how consumers see hotels, with brand perceptions in the future likely to put more emphasis on safety and hygiene’.

‘But guests will also want a great hotel experience and the challenge for hoteliers is to balance these attributes in their offering’.

The local environment is also a key to the brand proposition of many hotels’, he said. ‘Hotels need to work with their local community, their town, village or high street to offer a complete experience- just as Killarney and Westport have done so successfully’.

He urged participants in Zoom meetings to learn the basics of good presentation, including camera position, (focus on the eyes’), lighting (‘in front of the participant and behind the camera’) and sound (‘buy a microphone’)

His three pieces of advice to hospitality businesses are to offer reassurance to customers and staff that they will be safe and comfortable, offer high speed broadband and commission high quality video which uses a story to convey the new brand proposition.

Watch the full interview on: https://youtu.be/emq6ni9IXSg

Fáilte Ireland Business Hub supports industry

In response to COVID-19, Fáilte Ireland has created a new online support hub for tourism businesses, including practical webinars and advice guides on key areas such as Busin pkelly1118 ess Liquidity, HR and Temporary Closures, as well as information on how to access Government supports and funding.

The National Tourism Development Authority is speaking to hundreds of tourism businesses across the country about the supports and advice they most urgently need. This suite of tailored business supports has been developed following this consultation and will continue to develop as the COVID-19 crisis evolves says Paul Kelly, CEO of Fáilte Ireland:

“The situation is changing by the day and so will Fáilte Ireland’s Business Supports so they meet the immediate and urgent needs of tourism and hospitality businesses. Fáilte Ireland is focusing its resources on the challenges and issues here and now but also importantly looking at rebuilding the tourism industry and the vital contributions it makes to Irish society.”

For more information on the supports available, please see www.failteireland.ie

Awards for Foodservice Suppliers

Organised by the industry for the industry, Food & Bev Live returns to the Citywest Dublin on the 4th and 5th February 2020. Continuing the event’s history of celebrating fblive1119

excellence, next year’s show will see the launch of the IFSA’s - The Irish Foodservice Supplier Awards.

A first of its kind in Ireland, the IFSA’s are a brand-new award scheme specifically aimed at highlighting product and service innovation within the Foodservice Industry. With six categories including best sustainable packaging product, best sustainable food product, energy efficiency innovation and supplier of the year; the awards will be judged by an independent panel, with a wealth of knowledge specific to the Industry.

Margaret Andreucetti, Food & Bev Live Sales Manager is pictured with Patrick Clement, IFSA Chairman.

Speaking about the launch of the awards and the importance of providing a two day show that delivers for both exhibitors and visitors, Patrick Clement, IFSA Chairman comments:

'Food Service Must Cut Waste' says Mahony

The Food service industry must play its part in reducing food waste, Noel Mahony, chief executive of UK caterer BaxterStorey has said. firmtrio1019

He was speaking at the RDS Dublin to Irish industry leaders in an Afternoon Tea gathering hosted by The Firm, the specialist hospitality sector recruitment consultants.

Noel is pictured (on right) with Dermot Jewell and Micheline Corr of 'The Firm'

Diets need to change and food waste must reduce dramatically if the food service industry is to meet 2030 agricultural emission targets, he said. The Paris Accord and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) are already driving a sea change in the retail and hospitality sector.

Hotels dump food worth €180m.

The EPA released a research report last week – “Reducing Commercial Food Waste in Ireland”along with a number of Fact Sheets and an updated “Less Food Waste – More Profit”

The key figure for the Hotel Sector is the analysis that hotels throw away c. €180 million worth of edible food annually. This works out at c. €200,000 per hotel in Ireland. Hotels with large functions discard a much higher quantity than the average.

This research, carried out in 2018/19, confirms the statistics that the Green Hospitality Programme (GHP) has been presenting to the hotel sector for the past 5 years and, whilst some of the KPI’s are different, the scale of the challenge is absolutely clear.