RYANAIR FLYING HIGH!

Ryanair has been named the Best-Managed National Airline for the second year running by US magazine Aviation Now, as part of it's 1999 competitiveness study. The company was also the highest ranked carrier among all the companies listed in the magazine's 2000 Index achieving the top results for financial stability.

Pictured is the 1999 Rose of Tralee Geraldine O Grady with Don Buckley, Proprietor, the Castle Hotel & Leisure Centre.

Geraldine who hails from the Macroom, called in to the Castle Hotel & Leisure Centre, to thank everyone at the hotel for their support during her reign, before heading to Tralee to hand over her crown.

The Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny, is celebrating the Millennium with a once off Long Service Millennium Gift to all its staff, both full-time and part-tme, based on the number of years of unbroken service.

The gifts included a range of gift tokens and holidays vouchers, in addition to a personalised gold watch for those with over 25 years of service. 83 staff in total qualified for the awards and 12 of the longest serving staff members.

Pictures are (back row l-r) Terry Lyons, Banqueting Manager (27 years service); Declan McGowan, Maintenance Manager (28 Years); Mary Madigan, Reservations Manager (30 years) and Eddie Murphy, Bar Person (29 years) (front row l-r) Tom Carroll, Resaurant Manager (26 Years); David O'Sullivan, General Manager (32 years); Bobby Kerr, Managing Director (34 years) and Tom Phelan, Executive Head Chief (25 years).

RAISING HYGIENE STANDARDS

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is calling on Irish people nationwide to raise standars of food safety and hygiene in all food establishments by rejecting poor hygiene practises. The Authority recently launched a national poster advertising campaign with the message Poor Hygiene - Don't Accept It to promt consumers not to purchase or eat food from a premises where they believe standards are not excellent in every respect. This is the first national outdoor campaign undertaken by the Authority and was devised in response to concerns that food poisoning incidence statistics are on the increase.

According to Dr Patrick Wall, Chief Executive, FSAI, Ireland's millions of consumers have huge power to change poor hygiene practises if they refuse to accept poor standards from food premises.

'We want people to be vigilant about all levels of cleanliness right from floor surfaces and display counters to the appearance of the staff and their professional approach to food handling. Food safety is not rocket science. It is about keeping surfaces clean, having staff that are clean and tidy, fridges that are working effectively and preventing cross contamination from raw food to cooked food.', Dr Wall said.

Dr Wall maintained that foodborne illness results from poor hygiene and food handling practices and that the food industry must be vigilnt to stamp out bad practises and ultimately protect public health.

One of the Authority's poster advertisements.

Intranets and Extranets are secure versions of the Internet that let you share your company information securely either internally or externally.

An Intranet is a private network that is contained within a company, the main purpose of which is to share company information and computing resources among employees.

An Extranet is an Intranet that people outside your organisation have access to. Extranets let you securely share selected information with suppliers, vendors, partners or customers by linking two companies' intranets together or by providing special applications for these business partners.

With both of these solutions, companies are better prepared to address the forces that impact the competitive landscape:

1. Customers want everything faster. Speed has become a competitive weapon and customers expect everything instantly. Intranets that contain sales and marketing information such as brochures, price lists and customer information let sales staff provide customers with instant offers and room information while also being able to quickly answer customer questions and take bookings without call-backs.

2. Customers want everything cheaper. Intranets eliminate printing and distribution costs for marketing and sales information, documentation and internal policies and procedure manuals. They decrease faxes, phone calls and overnight letters between locations, saving dramatically on communication costs while improving internal communications.

These efficiencies will increase productivity and decrease costs internally. These savings can then be passed on to customers through lower prices creating a competitive advantage that competitors without Intranets will not have.

3. Customers want better quality. Customers not only want things faster and cheaper, they also want improved quality. Intranet’s will allow your employees internal discussion forums to access customer problems, feedback and brainstorm product improvements. With these changes you can improve quality and create new products that meet your customers' expectations more closely.

4. Business has gone international. You are no longer limited to doing business with the local market. Your customers can now come from anywhere in the world, especially in the tourism industry. Intranets will keep all employees, everywhere, aware of customers and competition, both nationally and internationally.

5. All the rules have changed. In addition to those who may work in your office, it is likely that you have employees and partners working from home or even other parts of the world. Intranets and extranets facilitate communication, co-ordination and collaboration among employees and teams, and even with business partners, regardless of their physical locations.

6. Marketing rules have also changed. With one-to-one relationship marketing and customer care, Intranets will help you ensure your employees have a single view of each customer, making it easier to do business with you and letting customers know that you notice them.

For further information on Esat Intranet and Extranet technology please telephone 01-2166300 or eMail ecommerce@esat.net

A new website weddingsonline.ie may be of interest to members wishing to achieve greater exposure to this market. It is an international website offering visitors access to Irish wedding related products and services. The site brings together all the information, advice, planning tools and purchasing opportunities needed to organize the ideal Irish wedding.

WeddingsOnline.ie can offer IHF members the opportunity to achieve high visibility, by properties becoming a part of their directory, which is syndicated across websites in Ireland and America. For further information please contact Ciara or Vanessa on 01- 8500440. Email ciara@weddingsonline.ie or vanessa@weddingsonline.ie.

Pictured at the launch of the website in the Shelbourne Hotel is (l-r) - Helen Russell; Peter Bryans; Kim McGuire; Minister Mary O’Rourke; Vanessa Smith & Ian Dodson.

Fitzpatrick Hotel Group has revamped its website offering a 360 degree virtual tour of the hotel’s facilities at www.fitzpatrickhotels.com. Pictured are (front to back) Paul Fitzpatrick, Managing Director, Fitzpatrick Hotel Group; Margaret Fleming and Toby Shelley, both form the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Killiney.

Choice Hotels Ireland recently launched their new eBusiness website at www.choicehotelsireland.com. This new eBusiness venture allows visitors to the Choice Hotels Ireland website reserve their rooms using the online reservation system. Visitors are provided with detailed information of each hotel’s amenities and nearby attractions, with a map given of the precise location.

Other facilities include a special offers section and an email newsletter. The newsletter is sent to all subscribers and provides information on promotions available online.

When it comes to insurance you need:

• Qualified professionals who understand your business
• Speedy and accurate service
• Competitive premiums
• User-friendly forms
• Premium instalment facilities
• Guidance when making a claim

AlB Insurance Services has a team of dedicated insurance professionals who can meet these requirements. We also have access to a range of tailor-made hospitality sector policies which enable us to provide you with the right cover at the right price.

Guest Houses - Policies are tailor-made and designed exclusively for guest houses. You can obtain an on-the-spot quotation by telephoning us or simply e-mail us for an enquiry form, which you can complete at your leisure.

Hotels - Hotels often have a wide range of additional activities including night clubs, function rooms, sports and leisure centres, hair and beauty salons and so on. Depending on their experience of dealing with claims related to such activities, insurers are selective as to the type of hotels they wish to underwrite. It is exactly for these reasons that you need to talk to the AIB Insurance Services team, as we understand your business and have the experience to place your hotel with the right insurer.

Home and Property Insurance - Our extensive portfolio of clients has enabled us negotiate some of the best home and property insurance products available in the market, incorporating facilities for investment properties, apartment blocks, industrial and commercial properties, holiday homes and even travel insurance.

Whether your needs are great or small, we have a product to suit you.

AIB Insurance Services is an independent insurance broker. You are not obliged to bank with AIB in order to place your insurance business with us.

For more information contact: Jimmy Grehan, AIB Business Insurance, Tel. (01) 6326937 or e-mail james.f.grehan@aib.ie

I hope that you all prospered during this busy summer season and that all our guests, whether foreign or Irish, enjoyed their opportunity to experience the best of Irish hospitality in the hotel industry.

Continuous product innovation is considered by marketing gurus as being the formula for competitive advantage in the marketplace. This ‘innovation’ concept is extremely dynamic in nature, encapsulating a multitude of areas including conception, implementation, delivery and finally revision, before the cycle starts all over again. The hotel industry in Ireland is a pioneer of innovation, with the fruits of our labour being discovered every day. However, what is crucial to maintaining this product-oriented momentum, is the people who drive it and participate in its implementation.

I cannot emphasise enough the amount of innovative thoughts and ideas that we as employers must embrace. Within our organisations, an energetic pool of employee partners with a zest for continuous learning and self-improvement exists. We must exploit this untapped opportunity.We are coming to the end of the season for many hoteliers, and the traditional pool of tourism employees are returning to their college or second level studies.

In the light of this scenario, we as hoteliers and guesthouse operators, need to pose the following questions:

• Have we provided them with a lasting impression of the Irish hotel industry?
• Have we given them a moment of time to enlighten them about the excellent careers in the hotel industry?
• Have we put the work in their ear?
• Will they come back next year to work for us?
• Will they tell their friends about the exciting experience they had with us?
• Will they tell their parents and career guidance teacher about our vibrant and fun industry?

We are depending on these people to tell the good news stories for us. That’s why I wish to reiterate the value of these young people to us.

As they return to college and to school, I would like to encourage all of my colleagues to pursue every opportunity to get involved with your local schools and colleges, particularly so with their transition year programmes. We need to build greater contact with them by offering our services as guest lecturers, show arounds, help build progress, offer prizes and show that we need these people to become our Ambassadors for the future.