Breakfast Briefing - Quote of the week from Ben Carson, the spat between Boris and Chuka, a viral test sensation and industry news

Quote of the Week"Even if Donald Trump turns out not to be such a great president, which I don't think is the case — I think he's going to surround himself with really good people — but even if he didn't, we're only looking at four years, as opposed to multiple generations and perhaps the loss of the American dream forever,"Dr. Ben Carson said the slightly bemusing above when assuring Republicans who were skeptical that Donal Trump has what it takes to be president.Read more hereTest of the Week

Can you spot the letter hidden in these dots?This memory test has become a viral sensational. The answer to the above is 'G'.To take the full test click hereSpat of the Week

Boris Johnson and Chuka Umunna tell each other to 'man up'in public row over EU

The pair had a furious spat on the radio about whether the UK should leave the EU or remain after the Labour MP told the Mayor 'this isn't about you'Click the image or here to watch the clip

Global News from eHotelier

• Conrad Chicago focuses on tech to attract meeting and event planners
• SKAL International Australia elects new leadership
• Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills announces partnership with New York restaurateur Jean-Georges
• UK: Land of opportunity for US tech workers: research
• US national occupancy reaches new high while local levels begin to decline
• Best Western to open 13 new hotels in South Africa

Business News this Week

UK tops European pipeline for Feb 2016

• According to STR's February 2016 Pipeline Report, the UK continues to have more hotels under construction than any other country in Europe.
• There are 1,139 hotels under contract in Europe with a total of 163,826 rooms. These are all in the construction, final planning and planned stages.
• Only three other countries have more than 5,000 rooms under Construction - Germany, Turkey and Russia.

Average room rate in UK hotels rises 4%

• According to the latest Hotel Price Index from Hotels.com the average room rate across UK hotels rose 4% in 2015.
• Hotels in cities outside the capital saw the biggest rise with Coventry, Nottingham and Bristol seeing the biggest room rate rise at 13,11 and 9% respectively while Aberdeen, Edinburgh and London saw rates drop by 25, 2 and 1%.
• Despite the national increase, 32 of the 40 most popular UK destinations recorded an average rate of £100 or less a night in 2015.

Hourly hospitality pay rates revealed

• Software provider Fourth Analytics have conducted research which has shown that average wages for the lowest paid in the hospitality sector are just short of the National Living Wage.
• The new analysis has found that over-21s earned an average of £7.04 per hour in October 2015, 16p short of the new requirements.
• Inside the M25, workers were found to be already meeting minimum requirements, with hospitality employees earning an average of at least £7.23 in October 2015.
• Over-25s must be paid a minimum of £7.20 an hour from next month.

For more information on EP please contact Ben Butler