T

he mind-blowing potential of the Internet as an information source, research tool and means of doing business, be it for personal or business use, is now taken as read.

Websites devoted to every conceivable topic, nuance and fad appear to be available. And new ones keep appearing every minute of every day, slotting often inconspicuously into the seemingly endless cyberspace.

But even the most sophisticated surfers of the world wide web would have to agree that quantity does not necessarily translate into quality in this instance. All too many leave a lot to be desired. Many business sites, for instance, are little more than ineffective promotion tools, used to flag a company’s name or provide basic details about products or services.

FOCUS ON QUALITY

It’s often a case of simply following fashion – getting a website up and running without ensuring it enhances the customer/supplier relationship. Many companies approaching e-commerce for the first time do so as another means of ultimately saving costs by developing an alternative or additional distribution channel to customers or suppliers.

Gerry McGovern, chief executive of Internet Consultants Nua Limited argues, "the trick now is to focus on value delivered rather than the costs saved, and the quality of how information is delivered".

Nua was formed just five years ago by McGovern and a couple of colleagues, but has already established an international reputation as a developer of websites for business.

The company itself, he explains, is not involved in e-commerce but is focused instead on Internet space.

"Our core business is content space management – creating systems for companies who have a lot of information that they need to get to a target audience, whether they are buyers, suppliers or staff".

McGovern’s own background as a writer and occasional poet means he is ideally placed to deliver on what he believes the Internet is fundamentally about – communication.

Nua, he explains, has developed a publishing system for the web – in effect an editorial website through which companies can deliver their message in the most efficient and rewarding manner.

"Most companies would already have sites when they talk to us. These would have been brought to a certain stage of development, providing product descriptions and so on. But they are not getting the information up quickly and effectively enough, and that’s where we come in", he says.

INDIVIDUAL CLIENT APPROACH

The client list is growing and now numbers many major corporations, including big names like Lucent Technologies and Oracle.

Working with a Lucent operation in Europe selling complex telecom systems, he explains how the buyers of these products required comprehensive and detailed technical information to be available to them at short notice.

Nua re-organised the Lucent business’s website so that this was possible.

Word of mouth is obviously an important marketing tool but Nua does not rely solely on this. It publishes a weekly newsletter New Thinking which reaches an estimated 250,000 people and this has helped to make the company a recognised authority on Internet development as mentioned by Fortune last year.

SETTING UP NUA

McGovern (38) is from Colmcille, a small village in Co Longford. He was schooled in St Mel’s College, Longford and went to the College of Marketing in Dublin, where in addition to marketing he admits to having learned "a little about computers".

His first job was for a distribution company installing computers. Not convinced this would be his future career path, he left to become a writer, a freelance journalist and tried his hand, not too successfully, he admits, at music.

His freelance writing helped rekindle an interest in computers. He convinced the National Software Directorate to commission a report on the Internet. This gave him time to fully research the subject and Nua followed in the mid 1990s. Three years later Eircom bought a 20% stake in the business.

Gerry McGovern is also author of The Caring Economy, a 400-page book on the effect of the Internet on business.

LOCAL IRELAND

Outside of its core activity of content space management on the Internet, Nua has also developed its own portal Local Ireland, which now also has a US version.

This is a guide to all-Irish information and communities with the content supplied by the grassroots Irish communities in Ireland and overseas. Local Ireland US, which has its own office in New York, is in effect a gateway to Ireland on the Internet.

"This site focuses on tourism, travel and genealogy – targeting Americans who want to visit Ireland or just people who want to track their roots", explains McGovern.

Nua may be best known to surfers for its other electronic newsletter Internet Surveys, through which it gathers and presents useful information on a range of subjects. Distributed by e-mail, as is New Thinking, this communication tool is used by Nua as a means of marketing itself.

Nua generated a turnover of $4m last year. This is not expected to grow much, if at all this year, because the company has been going through a period of product development. Developing, as McGovern puts it, "for the next phase of expansion".

He’s coy about the prospects of Nua coming to the market, just saying that the question of floating the company "will be looked at in due course".

Noting how the investment climate for new high-tech or dot.com ventures has changed in recent months, Gerry McGovern is not all that surprised.

"There was a lot of hype", he admits.

The Ambassador Hotel in Cork recently received a Silver Star 2000 Award for excellence in cleanliness, ambience and attention to detail in accommodation services. This award is run in conjunction with CERT, AHAM, Hotel & Catering Review and sponsors, King Ireland/Irish Merchants.

Pictured is (2nd from right) Brendan Cooney MD King Ireland, presenting the Silver Star Award to Breeda Murray, Housekeeping Manager. Also pictured are: Housekeeping Assistants; John McCarthy, Food & Beverage Manager; Dorie Fennell, AHAM President and Michelle Conneely, Housekeeping Supervisor.

20 members of the IHF Cork Branch recently visited Manchester to promote Cork as a holiday destination. The initiative was developed due to the increase of Aer Lingus Manchester to Cork flights daily. The trip was carried out in conjunction with the Irish Tourist Board, Aer Rianta, Cork Regional Marketing and British Regional (BA).

This exhibition was a tremendous success and allowed Cork to be displayed to the general public who showed a great interest in visiting the area.

When Denis Irwin came home to Cork recently to celebrate ten years with Manchester United, he was presented with a Cork Person of the Month Award.

Pictured at the event are (l-r) Manus O’Callaghan, Southern Advertising (Award Sponsors); Sir Alex Ferguson; Liam Lally, General Manager, Rochestown Park Hotel; Denis Irwin; Paula Cogan, Jurys Hotel (also sponsors) and Minister for Health and Children, Michéal Martin,TD.

Mespil Hotel

The Mespil Hotel, Mespil Road, Dublin recently opened a new wing comprising 100 new bedrooms and a new bistro style restaurant. This brings the total capacity of the hotel to over 250 rooms.

THREE IS THE LUCKY NUMBER!

Knock House Hotel has had three reasons to celebrate recently. It reached its first birthday, was awarded 3 stars by Bord Fáilte and 3 stars by the AA. At the announcement Brian Crowley, Manager, paid tribute to all the dedicated staff at the hotel and said he was delighted to receive the AA plaque on behalf of their work and commitment.

Right is Brian Crowley, Manager, Knock House Hotel.

New Management Trainee Programme

The Fitzpatrick Hotel Group has received accreditation from Edexcel, a leading UK education and training institute to run a new Management Trainee Diploma Programme. The first of its kind in Ireland, the new three and a half year diploma offers students an opportunity to pursue a recognised industry-based qualification in hotel management. The programme combines an off-the-job academic programme, with structured on-the-job training, leading to a Higher National Diploma in hotel management.

The new programme will be run in training centres at the Group’s hotels in Killiney and Bunratty, Co Clare.

Pictured at the launch of the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group's New Management Trainee Diploma Programme were (l-r) John Power, Chief Executive IHF; Deirdre Clohessy, Human Resources Manager, Fitzpatrick Hotel Group and Paul Fitzpatrick, Managing Director of Fitzpatrick Hotel Group.

Innsight is offering readers the chance to win a case of draft bottle Guinness and a Guinness Sherpa jacket, valued at £100.

Simply answer the 3 questions below and send your answers to Innsight Competition, Irish Hotels Federation, 13 Northbrook Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.

Closing Date: Friday 10th November 2000

1. When was Nua Ltd. formed?

2. What is the target audience of Get a Life...in Tourism magazine?

3. How many journalists visited Dublin as part of the IHF Dublin Branch Press trip?

Congratulations to the winner of the September competition, Shane McShortall, Quality Hotel, Shannon.

Celtic Linen is a leading supplier of bed and table linen, dust mat services and cabinet roller towels. Wherever hospitality is offered Celtic Linen provides a quality driven service, tailored to individual customer requirements, which ensures cost effective linen solutions are achieved.

With a comprehensive distribution network they can deliver directly to your location.

For further information contact: Martin Murphy 053 42244 or Sales@CelticLinen.ie

RingShield Cabinets & Pressings Ltd. manufacture an extensive range of branded and bespoke security cabinets. Among its range of branded products is its Inn-Room hotel safe. This safe has been designed as an inexpensive deterrent to the theft of valuables from bedrooms.

The safes can be adapted with activator switches for guest rental to provide additional revenue for hotel owners and RingShield also offers the option to rent rather than buy safes

For further information contact, Colm Bennett, Business Development Manager (01) 4601133

AremisSoft

Hotels now have the opportunity to sign up for www.hotelsforbusiness.ie - a web enabled hotel booking service that links the customer requiring accommodation in Ireland directly with a hotel that matches their requirements, uniquely delivering the booking automatically into the AREMIS or IGS HOTEL PMS.

For further information call Philip Rock on (01) 202 0806. Email: hosp.sales@aremissoft.com

Curragh Carpets

Curragh Carpets specialises in the supply of wool carpets to the hotel industry. Curragh's niche area is the bedroom and corridor market. A customised service is provided whereby carpets, patterns and colours are individually designed to meet individual customer requirements. This can be done on-site, with a state-of-the-art laptop computer.

A sample is then submitted for approval. All carpets are manufactured in Curragh Carpet's purpose built factory in Newbridge, Co. Kildare. Our service is second to none and we are fully committed to the requirements of the customer.

For information contact: Anthony Holden, Tel: (045) 431 304

Guild Workshops Ltd.

Guild Workshops now offers a comprehensive service – at a lower cost and faster delivery direct from the factory. The new company is backed up by the experience and working knowledge of Cotton Box Design Group who have been designers to the hotel and leisure industry for many years. The Guild can provide a complete service on a country-wide basis including; custom made drapes; quilted bedspreads; padded head boards and pelmets; contract furniture and recovering service.

Production staff ensure all products are made to the highest quality standards and to the correct industry specifications. They offer a flexible service by working with interior designers and architects to produce the best possible solution for the client.

For further details please contact: John Mullarkey 1890 377 888 or sales@guild.ie.

Paragon Business Systems is a specialist hospitality information technology provider. They have integrated two of the worlds’ leading hospitality systems for front office and F&B solutions to provide a seamless management solution. They provide integrated technology solutions for reservations billing, conferencing, bar & restaurant, leisure membership, customer loyalty and e-commerce, ensuring complete management control. In conjunction with their Clarity EPOS System, with over 100 installed sites, Paragon is committed to providing full management solutions for the Irish hospitality industry. Paragon also provides a WAP information service directly to the general managers phone.

For further information contact: Paragon Business Systems, Tel (056) 52400, Fax (056) 65849, e-mail: info@tst.ie.