32 hospitality PORTSMOUTH
With state-of-the-art technology and updated design, the Portsmouth Marriott Hotel’s conference areas enable delegates to take meeting productivity to a new level.
It used to be that a good handshake was all you needed to close a deal, said the hotel. “Well, times have changed. Today’s business people emphasise productivity over protocol, and
MARRIOTT HOTEL Where conference space redefines ’best business practice’
the Portsmouth Marriott Hotel is responding in kind. Its new, interactive meeting rooms are some of the most innovative on offer on the UK’s south coast, with technology and design working hand-in-hand for a seamless experience. It is a new kind of handshake, and this hotel understands better than any other how to do it.“
One of the hotel’s greatest abilities to foster success is its state-of-the-art Epson projector technology. Its EB-1410Wi projectors encompass short- throw projection, an interactive whiteboard and digital flipchart among other features, to deliver sleeker, more-effective presentations. Its interactive capabilities mean everyone in the room can contribute to the meeting. Ideas can be voiced, shared and saved within the presentation.
These tech-friendly updates also help the environment. As
Zero-hours contracts suggest a brighter horizon for tourism
Around one third of staff working in guest houses, hotels, restaurants and pubs are now employed on zero-hours contracts, according to the latest ’Travel & Tourism Survey’ conducted by MHA, the UK-wide association of chartered accountants and business advisers.
Yet, despite the flexibility this arrangement offers employers, well over 60% of these staff regularly work 20 hours or more – and more than 75% of these are routinely employed for 40 hours per week.
The survey paints a picture of an industry starting to benefit from an upturn in trading conditions, with 56% reporting improved profitability in the past 12 months and 58% predicting that 2014 will be better still.
www.businessmag.co.uk
Said Andrew Burnham, head of the MHA Travel and Leisure sector group: “One indicator of this growing confidence is the number of employees working extended hours on zero-hours contracts – this sector was always going to be an adopter of this employment option, but the numbers working what might be considered a ’standard’ working week suggest that this arrangement is working for both parties.“
Almost a quarter of the operators covered by the survey look set to increase investment this year in premises refurbishment.
16% will be spending more on marketing – particularly social media – to support business development.
a Gold Award recipient of The Green Business Tourism Scheme, the hotel has actively worked to reduce its overall waste and carbon footprint, and the interactive business technology promises to dramatically reduce its generation of paper waste.
From environmental advantages to enhanced productivity, the hotel’s new meeting rooms are custom designed to answer the needs of tech-savvy, on-the-go millennials.
DETAILS
EXECUTIVE MEETING PACKAGE
Includes room hire, interactive technology, unlimited tea, coffee, soft drinks and specially-designed snack breaks to increase productivity and brain power. This exclusive package is available from £495 per day for up to 20 delegates.
PORTSMOUTH MARRIOTT HOTEL Southampton Road, Portsmouth, PO6 4SH
023-9238-3151
www.PortsmouthMarriott.co.uk
Phone habits spoil restaurant dinners
New research from online restaurant booking service Bookatable reveals that Brits are reaching their boiling point over mobile phone use in restaurants, with a whopping 79% saying they find the habit rude and annoying.
The behaviour, including taking calls, texting and posting photos to social media, triggers a varying degree of annoyance, from the 46% who mutter under their breath and admit they’re too scared to complain, to the brazen 12% who do take the extra step and complain to the restaurant.
Whether it’s catching up with an old pal or an important business meeting, for one in four Brits the most frustrating thing about restaurant mobile phone use at the table is how it interrupts the flow of conversation.
So it comes as no surprise that the research also found that 20% of Brits would visit a restaurant more often if it banned mobile phones altogether.
For the 28% of respondents who regularly update their social media when dining out, offending their fellow dinner guests and diners doesn’t seem to be enough to stop their habit.
And when it comes to posting photos of food on social media, in spite of over a quarter of respondents saying that Facebook and Instagram posts of friends’ meals are boring, the trend is increasingly popular.
In favour of this trend is the 40% who admit to feeling inspired by seeing what meals their friends and families are enjoying at dinner; with one in five admitting to discovering new restaurants and cuisines via social media.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – SEPTEMBER 2014
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