hotels


Our sector can help the young and jobless


ufi ibrahim is chief executive officer of British Hospitality Association


Café royal launch pushed back


The reopening of the his- toric Café Royal in central London has been pushed back to October as work continues on its transformation into a 159-bedroom luxury hotel. It had been hoped the hotel


H


ow can the hospitality industry help the young unemployed? By providing jobs and training. It is one of the very few industries in


the UK creating jobs, apprenticeships, place- ments and career opportunities. BHA research shows that hospitality can


generate 236,000 jobs by 2015, which is half the government’s Youth Contract target for the next three years. At a major event earlier this month, key employers pledged to reduce unemployment by offering structured work placements, apprenticeships and job oppor- tunities in the next three years. Tese pledges were given in London at


the first of a series of Big Conversations in Hospitality. Te Big Conversation is an ini- tiative of the Talent and Skills Leadership Group of Business in the Community (BiTC) – one of Prince Charles’s chari- ties – and aims to boost dialogue between employers and youngsters. Te event brought together more than 140


young people and senior industry executives and was organised by Whitbread and Tistle Hotels, along with a number of other com- panies in conjunction with Springboard and the BHA. Te aim: to encourage more hos- pitality companies to introduce structured work placements and apprenticeships. Pledges were led by event chair Patrick


Dempsey, the managing director of Whitbread’s hotels and restaurants division, which includes Premier Inn. Whitbread has pledged to fill half of all new jobs from the ranks of the unemployed and recruit 500 apprenticeships this year. He urged other companies to make similar pledges. We’ve made a good start but more pledges


are needed – visit http://lei.sr?a=U8w4s to make yours. With more than 200,000 sec- tor businesses, if every one offered one work placement and employed one more local person, we would meet our growth target. Te BHA is working with Springboard


and BiTC to roll out more Big Conversations, both regionally and sectorally – and the cen- tral topic of the next Hospitality and Tourism Summit on 11 June 2013, organised by the BHA, will be the Big Conversation. Te BHA is putting its own pledge into action.


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would open last month (June) in time for the 2012 Games, with the 800sq m (8,611sq ſt) Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre among its facilities. However, general manager


Louis Sailer confirmed the launch date had been delayed due to the “complex and sen- sitive” nature of the Grade II-listed building’s refurbishment. Sailer said: “We had initially hoped and


intended that the Café Royal hotel would be open this summer in time for the Olympics. “During the extensive works, we have


uncovered a number of historical treasures and we are working with David Chipperfield


Café Royal is now set to open in October as a 159-bedroom luxury hotel


Architects and Donald Insall Associates to carefully restore these parts of the building. For us, quality and execution are paramount.” Once complete, the Akasha Holistic


Wellbeing Centre – developed in partnership with 4SeasonsSpa – will span two floors. Read more: http://lei.sr?a=n2y7o


PKF reports “tough June” for UK hotel operators


UK hotel operators experienced sharp declines in occupancy levels during June as economic concerns at home and overseas brought the sector’s recent recovery to an end. According to figures released by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services, London hotels saw


occupancy drop by 9.0 per cent to 82.0 per cent – compared with 90.1 per cent last June. Hotels outside London faired slightly better,


with an average fall of 3.0 per cent in occu- pancy from 78.3 per cent to 76.0 per cent. Read more: http://lei.sr?a=P7W5r


Report: Generation Y continue to eat out


Generation Y consumers – those aged between 18- and 34-years-old – continue to eat and drink out despite chal- lenging economic conditions, according to new research. BDRC Continental and


Deloitte’s annual Taste of the Nation report showed that young people dine out 29 per cent more often compared with the same time last year. UK consumers go out


for food and drink on aver- age 19.8 times per month – 13 per cent higher than last year and driven primarily by Generation Y consumers. Tere was an 18 per cent increase in the num-


Generation Y consumers fuelled the growth in eating and drinking out Deloitte’s Jon Lake said: “Te market remains


ber of times people in the south east currently go out for food or drink, although all other UK regions also showed signs of growth.


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


resilient owing to Generation Y’s more carefree lifestyle and a touch of austerity fatigue.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=V9G8S


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2012


image: daniel korzeniewski/shutterstock.com


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