Continued from page 8.

On his return to Kerry, Mr. Kelly got involved at administrative level, becoming Chairman of his own Club. He was also centrally involved in the promotion of hurling and spent around 10 years as Chairman of Kerry County board. He was involved in the appointment of Paidí O’Sé as Kerry Manager and as Cathaoirleach oversaw Kerry’s 1997 All-Ireland success, the county’s first since 1986.

He spent three years as Chairman of Munster Council and was also Chairman of the International Dimension Workgroup. His uncle, also Sean Kelly, won an All- Ireland Medal with Kerry in 1953, playing at full forward, while another uncle, Fr. Brian, was renowned as one of the great organisers and motivators in Kerry.

Mr Kelly was originally a candidate in the 1999 Presidential campaign, but withdrew before the Election. He is married to Juliet and has three children. GAA links to tourism are, if anything, even stronger off the pitch. The Association runs a major conference centre capable of holding up to 600 people in Croke Park and can also offer corporate or sporting organisation catering facilities.

The President is not concerned that the GAA’s centre will be affected when the proposed National Conference Centre is built just down the road beside the River Liffey. “We’ve made our name and have a good quality product to offer”, he says.

The famed museum that is an integral part of the stadium complex is another big attraction for visitors.

These links will be cement further when the Association’s new hotel comes on stream beside the stadium next summer. Jurys Doyle has been contracted to build the 200-bed hotel. “They figured there was a gap in the market in that part of the City, given its proximity to the airport, as well as the big numbers attending matches”, explained Mr Kelly.

He believes it is now time that the Association and Fáilte Ireland “sit down and talk about matters of common interest”. He says the tourist people have over the years suggested as much “but we have never got round to it”. Among the matters worth discussing would be, he suggests, how best to package trips to matches.

“There is a great opportunity now to use modern technology for ticketing and for selling them over the internet”, he adds. “We have been a bit shy promoting ourselves in the past, particularly outside the country”.

Mr Kelly believes the super success of the Special Olympics and the spectacle staged in Croke Park has been a major boost for the Association. “It has projected the very best of the stadium, the Association and this country to outsiders”, he suggests.

Knockranny House Hotel has launched its new website www.khh.ie. The new website will make it easier for customers to book online and will keep past and potential new guests abreast of new developments at the hotel.

The site is much more interactive than its predecessor and will feature recent reviews, menus of the month, customer feedback and latest news relating to the property. Visitors to the site will also be able to receive live updates on the weather in the local area.

With pictures conveying the luxury and tranquillity on offer throughout Knockranny House, the website is simple to navigate and will prove an excellent marketing tool for the hotel.

Trying to get quality feedback from guests can be a tricky business. Generally, if comment cards are completed the comments are skewed either toward the very negative or the very positive. People don't complete comment cards because they had an ‘ok’ time which makes building a general picture of guest satisfaction almost impossible.

Once the comment cards have been collected, another problem arises. To be of any use to a hotel manager, the data must be keyed into a PC and analysed to provide meaningful information in which trends can be identified. In short, getting customer feedback is a laborious and time consuming exercise for both guest and hotel.

Opinionmeter can solve many of the problems associated with collecting guest data. It is a service that collects customer feedback using an unattended device, situated in a lobby for example, on which guests answer multiple choice questions. Once completed, the surveys are stored on the unit.

A handheld version is also available which, for example, could be passed to guests following a meal to get specific feedback on the quality of a hotel’s restaurant.

When collected, surveys are analysed and turned into meaningful and useful reports on guest satisfaction rates. The information can show where are guests coming from; the differing needs of business guests to those of guests on a weekend break or for example could highlight the requirements of Irish guests as compared to British guests. Questions are decided by the individual property and Opinionmeter gets the answers.

By identifying trends in the data and spotting potential issues early, action can be taken to avoid those small issues turning into big problems. For more information email: scott@freedommarketing.ie or visit www.opinionmeter.ie.

SoftBrands Hospitality is a global supplier of enterprise application software. Currently focused on the hospitality and manufacturing industries, the company has more than 5,000 customers in over 60 countries now actively using its Fourth Shift, evolution, DemandStream, Medallion, PORTfolio, RIO and LANmark products.

SoftBrands has announced that Clio O'Gara, formerly General Manager of Bewleys Hotel, Ballsbridge, has joined its Ireland business unit in the new position of Customer Relationship Manager. Clio will be responsible for developing customer relationships and overseeing the SoftBrands hospitality business in Ireland and Northern Ireland where SoftBrands is the market leader in the supply of hotel property management systems.

For more information, contact Clio tel: 01-2721135 or 086-6862569, or email: Clio.O'Gara@softbrands.com

Modena is Ireland’s premier supplier of training to the hospitality industry. As well as off the shelf training Modena offer custom solutions and also run film-based training courses covering everything from customer service, performance management and team communication to HACCP training. With customized solutions, it works with hotels directly to develop training films that meet customer specifications and feature company logos, detail products, and convey marketing messages either for customers or employees. Its videos and DVD's, as well as training workbooks, provide a wealth of training strategies that can be used immediately by hotels and their staff to get measurable results.

Contact the sales team on 01 4965728, web: www.modenamultimedia.com email: info@modenamultimedia.com

Action Recruitment specialises solely in the recruitment of hospitality professionals. The company was established in 1974 and continues to lead others in standards of service and ethical business practices. It values lasting relationships based on shared opportunity and trust.

For further information contact: Brian Fahy, St. Andrews House, 28-30 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2, tel: 01-6778544, email: jobs@actionrecruitment.ie

Casey Technology, energy management specialists, is offering a cost effective energy alternative through their subsidiary, BureauScope.

De-regulation of the electricity market means that consumers are entitled to purchase electricity from a number of approved sources. All sites consuming more than 100,000 kWhrs (units) pa qualify. A two monthly bill of more than EUR1,800 would mean qualification. In addition to this, certain sites are also entitled to purchase “Green Electricity” which can yield savings of up to 10% of a property’s current spend.

BureauScope offer a procurement service whereby they will do the following: -

• Establish a company's eligibility;

• If eligible, will secure quotations from vendors;

• Evaluate all quotations and recommend a preferred option;

• Complete the paperwork to affect the transfer.

BureauScope will check a company's eligibility free of charge and are offering a discounted rate of EUR125 per site to all eligible IHF members.

For further information, contact Conor Casey, tel: 056 7790840 or email: bureauscope@eircom.net

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has revised the 1991 Guidelines on Cook-Chill Systems in Hospitals and Catering Premises. The revised guidelines ‘Guidance Note No. 15: Cook-Chill Systems in the Food Service Sector’ reflect advances in scientific knowledge, changes in legislation and industry practices, and the extensive consultation process the FSAI engaged in.

The guidelines apply to all food service businesses where food is prepared using a cook-chill process and served to consumers for consumption either on the premises or in a private capacity. A cook-chill system is defined as “a catering process whereby meals or meal components are fully cooked then cooled by controlled chilling (e.g. blast chilling) and subsequently stored at a temperature above freezing point (i.e. 3ºC) prior to regeneration and/or service”.

The new guidelines show a reduction in the minimum safe cooking temperature from 74ºC for 2 minutes to 70ºC for 2 minutes or equivalent at the core/centre or thickest part of a food. This time/temperature combination is sufficient to ensure destruction of Listeria monocytogenes. The recommended safe chilling time has been increased from 90 minutes to 150 minutes to reach an initial core temperature of 5ºC. Chilling should then be followed by chilled storage to achieve a final storage temperature of 3ºC. For regeneration of cook-chill food a temperature of 70ºC instantaneously at the core of the food should be achieved before service.

‘Guidance Note No. 15: Cook-Chill Systems in the Food Service Sector’, will be available soon on www.fsai.ie or by contacting the FSAI advice line on 1890 33 66 77.

I am gratified that the issues of copyright and equitable remuneration are at last being brought to a reasonably satisfactory conclusion. While we must wait for a few more weeks for absolute finality on these issues, we can take some comfort from Miss Justice Mary Laffoy’s judgement in the appeal against the arbitrator’s ruling on the issue of equitable remuneration.

I am thankful to you, the members for your support, and in particular to Paul Keenan and John Power for their sterling work on this issue.

The ‘Value Menu’ initiative is being relaunched in late June in co-operation with the Restaurants Association of Ireland. This initiative deserves all our support because it places the good

value available in our restaurants front and centre, and gives the lie to those who would like it to be known that our restaurants are expensive. I urge you all to participate in this wonderful initiative. It is in our, and in our customers’, interest.

The local and European elections are almost upon us. You will all have received information on the issues that concern our industry, e.g. the continuing increase in the cost of doing business exemplified by the petrol increase, of which the exchequer gets in excess of 50%, and the local call-out charges for which we already pay through our inequitable rates system. These and the other issues in your information packs must be brought to the attention of our local and European election candidates.

Remember there are almost 60,000 of us working in the registered hotel and guesthouse sector. That’s a lot of jobs, and the job equivalents and families which our industry supports, so please use your influence and that of your fellow-workers to improve the environment in which we do business.

Richard Bourke

President, IHF

When it comes to providing an internet service for guests, broadband speeds are a real selling point, however in some areas of the country, conventional broadband internet services are unavailable. eircom can now deliver 100% nationwide broadband coverage, to even the remotest areas of Ireland using satellite technology with eircom broadband satellite.

Hotels and guesthouses can now provide guests with high speed internet access for real-time sending and receiving of email and downloading large files. Guests attending meetings or conferences can connect to their office and download large files at high speeds, anywhere in the country.

The benefits of eircom broadband satellite include:

• The ability to download large files in seconds

• A flat monthly fee to control costs

• Access to broadband speeds of 1MB/sec downstream.

• No download limits

According to eircom's commercial director, David McRedmond, this latest initiative is part of its commitment to build broadband in Ireland. "Satellite Broadband will suit customers who are currently unable to avail of our DSL broadband products," he said.

The satellite broadband range includes products for both home and business users, starting at a monthly rental of EUR39.99. For more information log on to www.eircom.ie or contact your Account Manager.