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Wellness and wellbeing keep the sector upbeat


More properties offering spa programmes show a demand for high-end experiences


A Lord Young suggests all food outlets should take part in FHRS


Report urges 'compulsory' FHRS Study calls for all eateries to display hygiene ratings


By Tom Walker Following the proposals of a government report, pubs, restaurants and other outlets may soon have to display their food hygiene rating. Common Sense, Common


Safety was prepared by Lord Young at the request of Prime Minister David Cameron and follows a Whitehall-wide review of the the operation of health and safety laws and the growth of the compensation culture. One of the recommendations


concerns the Food Standards Agency's Food Hygiene Rating


Scheme (FHRS), about which it says that local authority participation should be made mandatory, with businesses being given a rating of 0 to 5 and the information made freely available online. Other recommendations in


the report cover combining food safety and health and safety inspectors in councils; promoting the use of the rating scheme in the media; encour- aging the voluntary display of ratings, with this being made compulsory if necessary; and the publishing online of the results of all council inspections.


Beer sales down across UK sector


The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has said that increasing consumer


'uncertainty' led to a 9.7 per cent drop in total beer sales for the third quarter. According to the latest UK


Quarterly Beer Barometer, an anticipated post-World Cup slowdown and a wet summer had also contributed towards the declining sales figures. Pub beer sales dropped by nearly 8 per cent, but were


© Cybertrek 2010


more resilient than supermar- kets and the off-trade, which reported a decline of 12 per cent compared with 2009. BBPA chief executive Brigid


Simmonds said: "As has occurred after every World Cup, the beer market hit a bump in the road, which was not helped by a wet summer. "But these exceptional


factors are underlaid by lingering economic and consumer uncertainty."


t a time when the hospitality industry had been bracing itself for a negative turn of events,


the outlook has been surprisingly upbeat and optimistic. High occupancy rates and a slow return of the events and meetings business have been features of the third quarter of 2010. Nowhere has this positive feel been better evidenced than in the increasing number of properties which are incorporating spas and wellness programmes into their offer. The link between this growing spa


culture and the increasing tendency for customers to pursue fashion brands has become clear. For example, the new spa at Blythswood Square in Glasgow uses products which have had an exclusive clientele in Paris for some time. Connected to these increasingly luxurious experiences is the vocabulary of high fashion, underpinning the notion of pampering and indulgence; for example the Dorchester in Park Lane has its Spatiserrie, where guest can enjoy champagne and pastries along with facials. All this is, of course, in marked contrast to the current


austerity 'climate' being encouraged, and enforced, by the government. Yet it does show that there is a real demand for these high-end experiences. This concept of pampering comes naturally to the hoteliers operating such luxury brands and properties, for it is an extension of the basis of all hospitality. In an age of austerity, the availability of these experiences


becomes altogether more important, as people look to escape the restrictions and irritations of a more cost-conscious society. And with more hoteliers providing such spa facilities the choice and variety available will both encourage demand. The spa day is now being branded as a separate product to


good effect. For example, the Spa at the Carrick (an annex to the De Vere Cameron House property on Loch Lomond) is designed as a destination in its own right. Thus, for all concerned, customers and hoteliers alike, this move towards pampering could prove really fruitful. The customer feels better, both physically and psychologically, while the hotelier is able to mine a rich seam of business, not only for the spa activity itself but also for ancillary spend that can be derived. At a time when the recession is beginning to bite, we all


need an escape from the challenges this will create. Through wellness we can all achieve well being!


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PHILIPPE ROSSITER is chief executive of the Institute of Hospitality (IoH). Leisure Opportuni- ties is a member benefit of the IoH, for your free copy call 01462 471932


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