HOTELS


A website can only tell you so much


PETER DUCKER is chief executive officer of the Institute of Hospitaity


Hotel transactions up 66 per cent E


very year the Institute of Hospitality organises a student debating com- petition known as Passion 4 Hospitality. Over the years, the


event has grown and expanded and Passion 4 Hospitality 2014 will include a careers fair and competition to run a virtual hotel. I recently spoke to Simrian Kaur who was


a runner-up with the London Metropolitan University team last year. She graduated last summer and is now working in food- service for BaxterStorey in a job that she “really loves”. I was very pleased to learn that she got her position as a direct result of participating in our Passion 4 Hospitality debating competition. Having worked through university,


Simrian had a choice of more than one graduate position when she leſt, but she chose BaxterStorey because of what she had learned during Passion 4 Hospitality. Before attending the debate, Simrian


had researched BaxterStorey and was impressed. She also knew who was judging the competition and knew that one judge was a BaxterStorey manager. “P4H was a huge platform and I knew


what I wanted to get out of it. I wanted to get a real understanding of BaxterStorey. A website can only tell you so much, but a person who works for the company can tell you much more about what it’s really like day-to-day,” she said. As a result of meeting the BaxterStorey


manager during the debate, Simrian was offered a six-week trial as part of BaxterStorey’s graduate management scheme which she “absolutely loved” and now she is a graduate trainee manager and has already worked at two central London sites. Simrian’s experience demonstrates that net-


working and participating in industry events are still the best way of making personal con- tacts within your industry and bringing you into contact with industry professionals. No matter how technology-dependent


communications have become, and how use- ful social media is, at the end of the day a website can, indeed, only tell you so much. Getting out and networking at industry events can take you and your career much further.


8


The buying and selling of hotels across the UK has increased by two-thirds in 2013, according to business advisory firm Deloitte. Activity totalled around £800m in the second half of 2013 – 66 per cent higher compared with numbers from the second half of 2012. Te total transaction vol-


ume for 2013 passed the £3bn mark, reaching a six-year high with London dominating in terms of single asset deals, with 75 per cent of deals com- ing from the capital. Notable transactions


London has been a hotbed for hotel purchases throughout 2014


included the £90m debt disposal of the Radisson Blu Portman to London & Regional and the £88m deal between private equity firm Carlyle Group and Shiva Hotels for the rede- velopment of Millennium Bridge House. Activity outside London remained pre-


dominantly driven by distressed sales and included two disposals in York for a total of £24m (Park Inn and Ibis) as well as the acqui- sition of the Novotel Cardiff for £12m by the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.


Transactions for 2014 have also started


strongly, with the sale of the London Edition – which closed in January – and further deals are expected to be completed early this year; including the De Vere Venues. Sovereign wealth funds, specialised invest-


ment groups and private equity will remain the dominant buyers in 2014 and Deloitte predicts a continued influx of foreign invest- ment into London throughout the year. Details: http://lei.sr?a=Y2k2B


IHG argues for online hospitality regulations


Richard Solomons, chief exec- utive of InterContinental Hotels Group has said that fast-growing internet com- panies should be subject to the same regulations as reg- ular firms. Speaking to Te Telegraph,


Solomons said there was a “slight naivety” about online businesses and governments should treat internet firms – many of which are develop- ing into global companies – in “exactly the same way” as tra- ditional companies. Solomons said that tradi-


Online ventures have different regulations to traditional companies


tional hotel firms, which are often far bigger employers than internet ventures, are currently at a disadvantage to fast-growing internet companies such as Airbnb – the accommodation website with financial backers including actor Ashton Kutcher – as one example where online firms were subject to different rules. Airbnb allows people to rent out spare rooms


to visitors and Solomons raised issues such as fire safety, food safety, security and cleanliness


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


– areas where hoteliers are required to meet basic standards. “If you are paying somebody for a service


and that service is sold as a major operation, it’s becoming a big business then why would differ- ent standards apply?” said Solomons. “Governance and regulation needs to treat online businesses the same way as existing businesses so that exist- ing businesses are not put at a disadvantage.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=z7W4W


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2014


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