Breakfast Briefing - The latest hospitality news
Quote of the Week
“Reality leaves a lot to the imagination”John Lennon Tweet of the Week
Rhodri Jones @rhodri_jones, Head of Home News at Channel 4 News tweeted: Not sure how to put this but THE TORIES HAVE NOT WONT THE POPULAR VOTE IN WALES SINCE 1859 WHEN 28 OF 32 SEATS WERE UNOPPOSED To view the full tweet, click here News of the Week
Tackling youth employment in Europe
Marriott International’s commitment to changing young people’s lives has resulted in nearly 5,000 youth employed into the company’s European operations since 2015. A further 10,600 training opportunities in the form of work experience placements and apprenticeships have been created since 2015, giving young people an invaluable step into employment. Marriott’s commitment to tackling youth unemployment has shaped a promise to create 20,000 training opportunities for young people by 2020. By the end of 2017, Marriott Europe expects to announce a new and more ambitious goal to support youth employment that reflects the company’s scale and breadth of opportunities, ensuring trainees are exposed to an extraordinary array of professional expertise and stimulating experiences. The goal sits at the heart of Marriott’s World of Opportunity programme, an ambitious scheme to find and nurture the wealth of talent that currently lies untapped in 15-24 year olds throughout Europe. Working in partnership with The Prince’s Trust in the UK and SOS Children’s Villages in the rest of Europe, Marriott’s World of Opportunity training courses develop not only employment skills, but “life skills” that will help young adults take their first step into work. For more click here Story of the Week
STR: Europe hotels see strong performance increases in Q1 2017
Concluding with strong growth in March, the European hotel industry reported increases in each of the three key performance metrics during the first quarter of 2017, according to the latest data from STR.Compared to the first quarter 2016, occupancy in Europe increased by 4.1 per cent to 63.5 per cent. The average daily rate also improved by 2.3 per cent to €100.94, while RevPAR increased by 6.5 per cent to €64.06. UK hotels continued a run of positive year-over-year performance that started late in 2016. Occupancy increased by +2.6 per cent to 70.6 per cent. ADR (+4.1 percent to £83.73) and RevPAR (+6.8 per cent to £59.12) also saw increases. Read more eHotelier Hospitality News
GCC projects form backbone of regional hospitality sector. Ongoing projects in the GCC will form the backbone of the regional hospitality industry in the coming years, as the governments of the Gulf countries gradually move towards diversifying their revenue base and reducing their dependence on hydrocarbons. Find out more Airbnb fires back at hotel industry. The company’s head of policy, Christopher Lehane, accused hoteliers of price-gouging customers and called their fight against Airbnb a “campaign to punish the middle-class” in a letter last Wednesday. Learn more Travel industry investment into data and analytics to rise substantially in 2017. Travel is awash with data and companies are loosening their purse strings to get to the insight this provides, according to EyeforTravel’s new industry-wide State of Data and Analytics in Travel Report 2017. Find out more Global Hospitality News
Starbucks invests in vast solar project to power 600 US store: Starbucks has invested in a 260-acre solar farm in North Carolina that will supply enough energy to power 600 stores in a handful of eastern states. Learn more Brexit: Worries for small businesses with EU staff: More than half of small firms employing workers from the EU are worried that Brexit will stop them recruiting sufficiently skilled staff. Find out moreSojern creates a European hub for RevDirect, a multichannel direct booking offering: Sojern, travel’s leading performance marketing engine, has announced the opening of its new office in Dublin focused on servicing the European market with its RevDirect offering, a multichannel, pay-for-performance, direct bookings solution for independent hoteliers. Read more Corners of the World
Monte-Carlo SBM and Galaxy Entertainment Group form strategic partnership in the Asia-Pacific region: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), world renowned owner and operator of iconic luxury hotels and resorts in the Principality of Monaco, Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), one of Asia’s leading developers and operators of world-class, luxury, integrated entertainment and resort facilities, have announced the formal establishment of a strategic partnership. Read more Caribbean Journal Reader's Choice names Nevis as #1 Destination for Romance: The Nevis Tourism Board announced that it has been awarded the top spot in the Reader's Choice award for Most Romantic Caribbean Island for 2017. Learn more Indian government releases coffee-scented stamp amid growing café culture in the country: Those opening their mail in India will soon have the scent of coffee to look forward to, but without having to pour a cup themselves. Read more