Continued from page 8.

Eircom’s wi-fi service is currently operating in 40 spots around the country. “Our intention is to grow this number and fast”, says Fordham.

Wi-fi is only one part of Eircom’s business products suitable, he believes, for hotels. “While this technology will stimulate customer activity in the reception or conference areas, even boost the hotel’s revenue stream, we are extolling the virtues of DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) in the bedrooms”. DSL technology provides instant, highspeed connectivity over ordinary copper telephone wire. Dialling an external phone number, as with a standard PC modem, is no longer required. “Hotels could, for example, re-brand rooms with DSL as business rooms and charge a little more for their occupancy or again they may just wish to give this as an added-value service”, says Fordham.

He says that Eircom customers have had no problem with the cost of either wi-fi or DSL access (EUR45 a month). “The benefit it gives businesses – and particularly smaller firms – way outweighs the cost. Just think about how much easier it is for them to access the internet, be it to find information on suppliers or competitors; send and download emails; access key online sites like the Revenue and banking in real time”. “Our business customers are telling us it makes their business more dynamic”, he says. He also says that Irish hotels should consider email marketing more than they are at present, arguing that this is “extremely cost-effective relative to direct marketing”. For the same cost as 2,000 stamps, he claims you can get 5,700 hours online dial-up connection.

As importantly, he stresses that those in the hospitality sector should ensure never to let a customer slip away without first getting his or her email address. “And also get a detail about them and their stay that will allow you to tailor or personalise future correspondence to them so that it won’t seem just like a spam message”.

Fordam, who joined BT from college, also says that it is crucial for hotels to have up-date, professional websites. “Do not expect people to come to your hotel, guest house etc – you have to work to attract them”, he suggests. “Work hard to ensure your website is properly designed to show up prominently on Google or whatever search engine chosen”.

Finally, ever the salesman, Andrew Fordham also recommends that hospitality companies use different phone numbers to measure the response they are getting back from different marketing outlets, be it newspapers, TV or whatever.

Mood Media Ireland is the leading provider of professional Music Solutions to over 1,200 customers. The MP3200 computer hard drive is the company’s latest product, which was developed specifically for the hospitality industry. It offers a choice of 41 music categories, a music bank of 10,000 tracks and the facility to zone i.e. to play different channels in different areas of the hotel. Customers include The Thomas Read Group, Jurys Doyle Hotels, Quinn Hotels, Luigi Malones, Lemongrass Restaurants, The Jas Mooney Pub Group, Trentuno, Dublin Airport, and The Fitzwilliam International.

To avail of a free trial contact tel: 01-2847244 or web: www.moodmedia.ie

Hotelkeeper.ie features 100’s of jobs, news, products, training and events for Ireland's hospitality industry. Users can reach 1000’s of jobseekers, post a single job advert for only EUR99 or sign up for a Recruiter Account to enjoy discounts and benefits.

For further details contact the jobs hotline tel: 01 8209904 or web: www.hotelkeeper.ie

Thomas McLaughlin Hotel & Restaurant Equipment supplies a diverse range of products to a variety of clients including hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes. The company’s catering division provides a complete design installation and after sales package and the company can provide computer aided design layout. The furniture division also provides an extensive range of Irish and internationally designed furniture.

For further information contact the sales team on tel: (048) 37 511999

Quadriga Worldwide is the provider of Quadriga Genesis, which delivers a fully digital, on-demand guest entertainment system designed to entertain and support guests and transform hotel room revenues. Genesis offers unlimited high-speed internet access through both the hotel TV and laptop.

For more information contact Kevin Brady, Sales Manager tel: 0044 118 903 3907

Shop Equipment Ltd., provides systems solutions to the hospitality industry in Ireland. The company provides fully integrated systems to help run an efficient and successful hotel, restaurant, pub and leisure operation. Some of the largest and most prestigious hotels within Ireland use Micros Systems commissioned by Shop Equipment Ltd. Products on offer include Micros POS Systems and Stock Control Systems. Next year will see the addition of Premier Spa Software and also a Gift Voucher System to their existing suite of products.

For more information contact Kevin Barry, tel: 01 4035361 or email: kbarry@shopequipment.ie

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) recently launched the first food safety training programme specifically tailored to the needs of Ireland’s Chinese food sector, which comprises almost 6,000 restaurants and takeaways. The programme, entitled Food Safety Training for Management in the Chinese Food Sector, is available in English and Chinese and will ensure that management in the Chinese food sector has access to food safety training that is specific to their work practices.

Since the FSAI first started serving enforcement orders in 2001, the Chinese food sector has consistently received 1 in 6 of all Closure Orders. It is hoped that this new programme will ultimately reduce the high number of enforcement orders being served on the sector due to breaches of food safety legislation.

Chinese cooking practices are entirely different to those of European cuisine, therefore this programme is developed to adequately and effectively address the unique needs of the Chinese food sector. The programme focuses on the following areas: Personal Hygiene; Food Safety Hazards; Food Microbiology and Food Preservation; Premises Design and Layout; Cleaning and Pest Control; Food Safety Management and Food Safety Training.

The FSAI, in conjunction with appointed Chinese nationals, will deliver the training programme in Chinese food to businesses interested in taking part. The training programme was developed in consultation with the 11 Health Boards and is supported by environmental health officers throughout the country. It entails workplace training comprising 3 x 3 hour training sessions to be undertaken by the owner, manager and head chef of Chinese food businesses. Each business taking part in the programme is trained individually and the cost per business is EUR250. For further information, contact the Food Safety Authority of Ireland at 1890 33 66 77.

My first message is a ‘thank you’ for this wonderful opportunity to serve as your President. It is a singular honour that I wholeheartedly embrace.

So now it is down to work and taking on board the concerns that were expressed by you all at the A.G.M., Conference and at the six Branch meetings that I have attended so far. It is my intention to get around to all the Branches before the end of summer to hear the concerns of the members at grassroots level and to encourage branches that are not very active to take up the challenges facing us all.

The key to the success of the Federation is the level of energy and commitment at branch level, and I want to encourage that commitment and harness that energy to enable the Federation to get its message out to the influencers, particularly in relation to the regulatory environment, the taxation regime, access and infrastructure. These are some of the many challenges facing us as an industry.

We must ensure that Government as a whole, and not just the Department of Tourism, acknowledges the importance and value of the tourism industry to the economy - what other indigenous Irish-owned industry generates the level of employment and has the geographic spread of the whole island that our industry has? We must continually remind our elected representatives of these facts at local level so that when decisions that are injurious to our industry are being made at Government level, they are in a position to represent us in an informed way.

I welcome Minister O’Donoghue’s allocation of a further EUR500,000 to promote domestic tourism.

We must be competitive in all our markets. I said in my inaugural address that we do not need to be told to be competitive - we do so, so that we can stay in business; we do it to survive. I wish, when decisions on taxation or excise duty are being made, that Government showed the same level of concern as our members do about being competitive.

If we can harness the energy and influence that we have as employers at local level, we can create a force that will help change the environment in which we do business. This is key to how we as a Federation go forward. It is not enough anymore to rely just on the hard and sterling work being done on our behalf by the Executive of the Irish Hotels Federation, we, all the members of the Federation, have to share the burden and take action at local level to ensure that as an industry we are properly represented in the corridors of power. What other industry has the access that we have to our public representatives? We meet them every day.

We must get improved access and more air routes opened up. Where are the tourists that are going to drive the ‘doubling of tourism’ by 2010 going to land, if we do not provide the second terminal at Dublin and improved regional access?

There are other issues which require significant effort and focus, such as:-

• VAT

• Excise Duty

• The implementation of the recommendations in “New Horizons for Irish Tourism” and our role in that process

• The expansion of the role of the Personal Injuries Assessments Board (PIAB)

• The issues surrounding copyright

• The review of the liquor licensing legislation

• The negotiations on the review of the classification system

These are some of the many issues about which I will be talking to you, the members, over the coming period.

In the meantime, I urge you all to play a full role in the Federation - read the information being disseminated to you by the Council and the Executive; attend your branch meetings and contribute to them; encourage another member in your area to attend branch meetings and remember -a vibrant Federation derives from an active membership.

Richard Bourke

President

There is a well-worn saying in marketing that “50 per cent of all advertising is wasted, but we don’t know which 50 per cent”.

Freefone numbers (1800 or 1890) are a very effective way of tracking how well your advertising is working. Every advert placed, whether on radio, TV, in newspapers, the Golden Pages, fliers, direct mail or an outdoor display, should have a freefone number on that advertisement or media. The reports received from the phone company will show just how many calls each advertisement generated. Combined with an internal tracking system, this will enable a business to work out exactly what return was generated from each advertising campaign and use this to improve future advertising.

Freefone numbers offer a number of options - the call made by the customer to hotel or guesthouse can be free, or they could be charged the price of a local call, a national call or a fixed amount.

Customers have varying styles and preferences when it comes to purchasing. Rather than forcing them into a way of doing business provide them with different alternatives. Ask them for their preferences - it could be a combination of telephone, fax and the web. Don’t lose business by being inflexible.