Breakfast Briefing - The latest hospitality news
Quote of the Week
"Being successful at networking is realising that, to get where you’re going, you need to help others get to where they’re going"Kelly Hoey Tweet of the Week
@Khaaasteh tweeted: #Saudi prince has reportedly bought 80 plane tickets for his #falcons! To view the full tweet, click here News of the Week
Starbucks To Hire 10,000 Refugees In Latest Expression Of 'Conscious Capitalism'
Starbucks is planning to hire 10,000 of the world’s 65 million refugees over the next five years in the 75 countries where it operates stores, starting with the U.S. market.The move is a swift, direct response to Donald Trump’s executive order to effectively ban people from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S., including refugees fleeing wars. Today, retailers are paying closer attention to their social/philanthropic strategies in part as Millennials, which have eclipsed Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest buying group, have shown an inclination to favor brands that align with their beliefs — and shun ones that don’t.Read more here Story of the Week
Tourists visiting London face a hefty tourism tax under proposals from London mayor Sadiq Khan. The plans, endorsed by Khan at a cross-party event inside London's City Hall last week, would see visitors paying up to 5% extra on their hotel bills.The levy is based on similar taxes imposed in cities such as Berlin where tourists pay an extra 5% on their bill.Under Khan's proposals local authorities would be given the option of imposing the levy, which would then be used to pay for infrastructure and environmental improvements in the city.Khan argues that the uncertainty around Brexit means that London should be allowed to take back control of money and powers currently in the hands of national and European government. Read more eHotelier Hospitality News
More than half of US travel agents are home-based: The news emanates from research conducted by The Travel Corporation, and was advised by Trafalgar President Paul Wiseman to Travel Market Report. Find out more Chinese hotel sector growth expected to continue in Australia for 2017: Since 2009, Chinese visitor numbers have grown over 350% from 300,000 to 1.1 million, with China expected to become Australia’s leading inbound market by the end of the year. Learn more Choice Hotels continues robust development growth: The strong RevPAR performance of the company’s brands, coupled with the expansion of programs and services designed to increase franchisee return-on-investment, have helped to fuel an increase in new construction activity. Find out more Global Hospitality News
Mexico On Trump: Number Of Tourists Shall Not Fall: Although diplomatic and economic relations between Mexico and the United States have reached a rocky phase since US President Donald Trump took office on January 20, the Mexican Tourism Secretary declared that so far there is no indication of a need to worry about the tourism sector. Learn more 4.4 Million foreign tourists visited Abu Dhabi: According to Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, who announced the latest data, the increase of foreign tourists represents a new record for the capital. Find out moreSpain Has The Most Overnight Hotel Stays In EU: Last year, Spain was the country in the EU that registered the most overnight stays in hotel establishments, with 454 million nights, 7.8% more than in the previous year. Read moreCorners of the World
From north-east to far-east: Aberdeen Provost to sign trade deals in South Korea and Japan: Aberdeen’s Lord Provost will jet off to the far-east this week to try and boost business links with cities in South Korea and Japan. Read more Marriott is considering hotels with common rooms and electronic booze dispensers: The public and anyone attending the Americas Lodging Investment Summit were invited to check out some of the ideas under consideration by Marriott’s engineers and designers. Learn more Austria village churches hire bouncers to block tourists: A picturesque Austrian village has brought in "bouncers" at its churches in order to stop tourists disturbing services, it's reported. Read more
@Khaaasteh tweeted: #Saudi prince has reportedly bought 80 plane tickets for his #falcons! To view the full tweet, click here 
Starbucks is planning to hire 10,000 of the world’s 65 million refugees over the next five years in the 75 countries where it operates stores, starting with the U.S. market.The move is a swift, direct response to Donald Trump’s executive order to effectively ban people from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S., including refugees fleeing wars. Today, retailers are paying closer attention to their social/philanthropic strategies in part as Millennials, which have eclipsed Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest buying group, have shown an inclination to favor brands that align with their beliefs — and shun ones that don’t.Read more here 
Tourists visiting London face a hefty tourism tax under proposals from London mayor Sadiq Khan. The plans, endorsed by Khan at a cross-party event inside London's City Hall last week, would see visitors paying up to 5% extra on their hotel bills.The levy is based on similar taxes imposed in cities such as Berlin where tourists pay an extra 5% on their bill.Under Khan's proposals local authorities would be given the option of imposing the levy, which would then be used to pay for infrastructure and environmental improvements in the city.Khan argues that the uncertainty around Brexit means that London should be allowed to take back control of money and powers currently in the hands of national and European government. Read more