Celebrity chefs spice up hotel restaurants
Chains want to kick dining up a notch
By Michael S. Rosenwald • The Washington Post • September 1, 2008
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Buzz up!
WASHINGTON -- Kobalt, the restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton on 22nd Street, certainly had character.
The carpet matched the upholstery on the chairs. The drapes were so heavy that nobody could see in or out. The walls: wood with silk panels.
Of the food, in 2001 The Washington Post's food critic wrote, "Sometimes I wonder if the chef is tasting his creations."
"I thought it was absolutely atrocious," said Eric Ripert, the famed chef and occasional television star behind the four-star Le Bernardin in New York City. "It was sad. It was ridiculously formal. I hated it."
Ripert is dismissive about the restaurant in the same way that new homeowners often speak about the previous owners' tastes. He moved in to the old location, opening Westend Bistro late last year as part of a spate of deals that lodging chains are making with celebrity chefs to repair the damage done by upholstery and poor food and to beef up the bottom line by drawing not just more overnight guests but city residents, too.
At Westend Bistro, the floors are hardwood. The tables are bare. The colors are deep shades of orange and red. The food is a cross between French and American cuisine. And reservations are hard to come by. It seems the moves by Ritz-Carlton, a Marriott International brand, are paying dividends. Most of the diners are not hotel guests. Revenue is up 50 percent, and profit is up 10 percent.
"This improves the overall profitability of the hotel," said Ken Rehmann, Ritz-Carlton's executive vice president of operations. "We are now appealing to a wider network of customers and going head-to-head with stand-alone restaurants. We see this as a smart business move."
Destination dining
Two decades ago, hotel restaurants served up great meals by some of the best local chefs, but the industry lost its way. The carpet from the lobby tended to roll straight into the restaurant. The atmosphere was so hushed you could hear a hotel bill drop. Even guests went somewhere else for dinner.
But big hotel chains have long tried to emulate developments in popular culture, and recently they have turned their attention to the celebrity chef culture that has invaded American cities, making near rock stars out of Ripert and Wolfgang Puck and Tom Colicchio, the head judge on the popular TV show "Top Chef."
"They are trying to go back to the days when hotels were destination dining," said Michael Costa, an editor at Hotel F&B magazine. "One of the hardest things to do in the restaurant business is get someone to walk through the door. Having a celebrity chef is a way to get them there."
In most of the recent hotel deals, the celebrity chefs license their names for hefty fees, design the menu and the concept, oversee operations with regular visits and install proteges as the everyday operators.
The redoubled efforts to perk up hotel restaurants with star chefs come as lodging chains are looking for creative ways to squeeze out more revenue as fewer business and leisure travelers hit the road.
Ripert also opened a Ritz-Carlton restaurant in Philadelphia. D.C. celeb chef Jose Andres is launching a restaurant concept for a Los Angeles hotel owned by entrepreneur Sam Nazarian and managed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Michel Richard, the owner of Citronelle, at the Latham Hotel in Georgetown, licensed his name to a California hotel and will oversee culinary operations.
Perhaps the biggest celebrity chef deal is Starwood's with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the maestro behind Jean Georges, one of New York's top restaurants. Vongerichten is opening several dozen restaurants at Starwood properties, including the boutique W. (Las Vegas is a planet unto itself with restaurants by Puck, Colicchio, Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali, Thomas Keller and Alain Ducasse.)
Home in the suburbs
Some of the new star chef-driven restaurants are popping up in unlikely places: suburban hotels. Chefs Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier have opened Summer Winter, which has its own greenhouse, at the Marriott in Burlington, Mass., 20 miles north of Boston. It is their first deal with a major hotel chain. "We are finding that 85 to 90 percent of our customers are coming from the surrounding areas, which is a really wonderful thing," Frasier said.
For the hotels, the restaurants also provide a halo effect in drawing attention to the hotel that could drive more banquet, wedding and bar mitzvah business. Guests also want to stay in a place that they perceive as being a hip outpost in a city they have perhaps never visited.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Ways to identify and build repeat guests
Lessons from the Field: Ways to identify and build repeat guests
Aug 25, 08 1:59 am
By Dr. John Hogan,
There are only two ways to get a new customer:
solicit a new customer any way you can.
Take good care of your present customers, so they don't become someone else's new customers. Ed Zeitz
The book "In Search of Excellence" in the early 1980s by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman presented numerous examples and statistics on the need to pay real attention to the customer's needs and wants. This was a paradigm shift at that time, when customers in many industries were forced to choose from what was being offered to them, which was not necessarily what they were seeking.
The hotel industry has made adaptations over the past twenty five years with market and product variations. Most of the brands are currently focusing at least one initiative on customer service, but in these days of economic uncertainty, a reminder of the basics of customer service can be an amazing refresher for many hotel staff.
The following are offered for consideration in that refresher:
Focus on existing customers. This is critical, especially at a time when demand is lessening in various markets. If a hotel's efforts are focused primarily on acquiring new customers, existing customers will feel that from the staff and consider options. Think of advertisements for any product that is only offered to "New Customers". You may have had that residential cable service at your home for the past five years and today "new" customers are offered a value or incentive far better than what you receive. How do you feel about that service?
One of the leading causes of the high turnover of hotel sales managers isn't necessarily the economy - it's often ignored syndrome of customer attrition. The difference between a satisfied customer and a loyal customer is the first might return to your hotel again and might refer others, while the loyal customer will return again and will tell others about your hotel and its' service. What are the messages that your sales team is delivering? What does your marketing plan say about existing customers?
Stress value and guarantees. There is no doubt relating to the success of the Hampton Inn brand industry leading 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Every customer has their own preferences or definitions of value, but when your staff communicates the hotel's sincere commitment to meeting those preferences and needs, the customer/guest is impressed enough to become a repeat guest. I am not suggesting a "me-too" approach on how to communicate and deliver that commitment, but value and concerns must be there for sustained success.
A key point in training is to calculate and leverage the lifetime customer value. For example, if a guest stays 3 nights per month @ a rate of $150 per night, the monthly gross revenue is at least $450 or $5400 annually. While that may not seem like a huge number, when one calculates the number of existing customers that might be in this category (say 50 customers) , the value of the existing customers is has now grown with those 50 customers to more than $250,000 annually. These 50 customers do not need to be wooed or convinced to choose your hotel but they do need to feel appreciated and valued. Nearly all successful infomercials and other business models are based on repeat sales and word of mouth testimonials.
In an age when the cost or magnitude of mass communications makes it difficult to attract new customers, keeping the existing customer is so fundamentally obvious. With the technology available to create a simple or sophisticated CRM or guest history, there is no reason to ignore this.
Look at your hotel and its operational practices through your customer's eyes ... and you might be shocked at what you see. A simple illustration is found at every front desk. When someone approaches the desk, do they hear the question "Checking in??" or something more hospitable, such as "welcome" or "We've been waiting for your arrival!" Which sounds more inviting and personal? The approach should be personal, but it does not require much more than a little bit of creative staff team brainstorming and paying attention. "Have a Nice Day" tired expressions don't work anymore.
Rebuild all of your operational practices around your customer's real needs and desires. Your customers have changed over the last ten years. Have you?
Invest in your capital improvements each year to improve loyalty, not just satisfaction. Assess which aspects of customer satisfaction drive retention as well as those which do not.
Segment your customers for improved retention. Remember the expression : "different strokes for different folks", which means as people may choose their preferred swimming stroke, hotel customers also have their own preferences. A corporate traveler has different needs than a youth sports team. The resurgence of women's' floors is not the same as the "Lady Sheraton" rooms or suites offered a generation ago, but are targeting the unique needs of the professional woman traveler today that has become a major segment. What do your customers want? Are they receiving it?
Make the interaction with your customers real and personal - after all, people conduct business with people. Stanley Marcus, the co-founder of luxury stores Neiman - said it very clearly - Consumers are statistics. Customers are people.
Aug 25, 08 1:59 am
By Dr. John Hogan,
There are only two ways to get a new customer:
solicit a new customer any way you can.
Take good care of your present customers, so they don't become someone else's new customers. Ed Zeitz
The book "In Search of Excellence" in the early 1980s by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman presented numerous examples and statistics on the need to pay real attention to the customer's needs and wants. This was a paradigm shift at that time, when customers in many industries were forced to choose from what was being offered to them, which was not necessarily what they were seeking.
The hotel industry has made adaptations over the past twenty five years with market and product variations. Most of the brands are currently focusing at least one initiative on customer service, but in these days of economic uncertainty, a reminder of the basics of customer service can be an amazing refresher for many hotel staff.
The following are offered for consideration in that refresher:
Focus on existing customers. This is critical, especially at a time when demand is lessening in various markets. If a hotel's efforts are focused primarily on acquiring new customers, existing customers will feel that from the staff and consider options. Think of advertisements for any product that is only offered to "New Customers". You may have had that residential cable service at your home for the past five years and today "new" customers are offered a value or incentive far better than what you receive. How do you feel about that service?
One of the leading causes of the high turnover of hotel sales managers isn't necessarily the economy - it's often ignored syndrome of customer attrition. The difference between a satisfied customer and a loyal customer is the first might return to your hotel again and might refer others, while the loyal customer will return again and will tell others about your hotel and its' service. What are the messages that your sales team is delivering? What does your marketing plan say about existing customers?
Stress value and guarantees. There is no doubt relating to the success of the Hampton Inn brand industry leading 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Every customer has their own preferences or definitions of value, but when your staff communicates the hotel's sincere commitment to meeting those preferences and needs, the customer/guest is impressed enough to become a repeat guest. I am not suggesting a "me-too" approach on how to communicate and deliver that commitment, but value and concerns must be there for sustained success.
A key point in training is to calculate and leverage the lifetime customer value. For example, if a guest stays 3 nights per month @ a rate of $150 per night, the monthly gross revenue is at least $450 or $5400 annually. While that may not seem like a huge number, when one calculates the number of existing customers that might be in this category (say 50 customers) , the value of the existing customers is has now grown with those 50 customers to more than $250,000 annually. These 50 customers do not need to be wooed or convinced to choose your hotel but they do need to feel appreciated and valued. Nearly all successful infomercials and other business models are based on repeat sales and word of mouth testimonials.
In an age when the cost or magnitude of mass communications makes it difficult to attract new customers, keeping the existing customer is so fundamentally obvious. With the technology available to create a simple or sophisticated CRM or guest history, there is no reason to ignore this.
Look at your hotel and its operational practices through your customer's eyes ... and you might be shocked at what you see. A simple illustration is found at every front desk. When someone approaches the desk, do they hear the question "Checking in??" or something more hospitable, such as "welcome" or "We've been waiting for your arrival!" Which sounds more inviting and personal? The approach should be personal, but it does not require much more than a little bit of creative staff team brainstorming and paying attention. "Have a Nice Day" tired expressions don't work anymore.
Rebuild all of your operational practices around your customer's real needs and desires. Your customers have changed over the last ten years. Have you?
Invest in your capital improvements each year to improve loyalty, not just satisfaction. Assess which aspects of customer satisfaction drive retention as well as those which do not.
Segment your customers for improved retention. Remember the expression : "different strokes for different folks", which means as people may choose their preferred swimming stroke, hotel customers also have their own preferences. A corporate traveler has different needs than a youth sports team. The resurgence of women's' floors is not the same as the "Lady Sheraton" rooms or suites offered a generation ago, but are targeting the unique needs of the professional woman traveler today that has become a major segment. What do your customers want? Are they receiving it?
Make the interaction with your customers real and personal - after all, people conduct business with people. Stanley Marcus, the co-founder of luxury stores Neiman - said it very clearly - Consumers are statistics. Customers are people.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Star studded restaurants
Top Star-Studded Restaurants
John Mariani August 6, 2008
John Mariani August 6, 2008
Beso, Los Angeles
Very hot right now, thanks to a partnership between Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria and celeb chef Todd English. The menu features steaks, roast chicken and Mexican fare. The vibe is suffused with Latino music.
Very hot right now, thanks to a partnership between Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria and celeb chef Todd English. The menu features steaks, roast chicken and Mexican fare. The vibe is suffused with Latino music.
We’ll have what Madonna’s having
Comedian Fred Allen once defined a celebrity as “a person who works hard all his life to become well-known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized." Which is why, when you enter a restaurant, the only people likely to be wearing sunglasses are either recovering from eye laser surgery or go by only one name, like Madonna, Angelina or Uma.
Even if sunglasses don’t completely disguise a celebrity from view, they have a certain “do-not-disturb” effect in a restaurant, lest a fan wants to bound over for an autograph while the celeb is seasoning her Caesar salad.
See our slideshow of Ten Celebrity-Spotting Restaurants.
But let's be honest—spotting a celebrity, whether from the world of entertainment, sports, media or politics, gives a real buzz to an evening dining out. For some people, such sightings are more important than the food. Simply being in a place where Alex Rodriguez, Demi Moore, Brian Williams or Ted Kennedy dine makes the celeb-watcher feel part of the aura thrown off by the star.
Once upon a time, in Hollywood’s Golden Years, celeb sightings were relentlessly covered by the tabloids as part of the studios’ own publicity machines. Thus, a new starlet would be hooked up with an established star and sent to the Copacabana or El Morocco expressly for the purpose of having their pictures taken by the photogs.
This endures to a certain extent today at celeb-flocked restaurants like Spago and Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills, which count among its guests everyone from George Clooney to Elizabeth Hurley, whereas it is discouraged (though not unknown) in New York. (When Madonna and Guy Ritchie recently went to ‘Cesca on the Upper West Side, they were greeted by a phalanx of paparazzi outside the Italian eatery’s entrance.)
Many restaurants confer with celebs’ “people” as to the best tactics to avoid the paparazzi at the front door. The manager of the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood, where villas rent for up to $7,000 a night (and whose boast is: “Movie stars get big trailers. The really big stars get us.”) told me that if a big star like Madonna is dining at their intimate restaurant, The Room, she may be ushered through the service hallways to a back door while a double in sunglasses whooshes into a waiting limo at the front door.
See our slideshow of Ten Celebrity-Spotting Restaurants.
But for the average diner who wouldn’t mind sitting across from a celebrity, there are, in fact, rules of behavior. First and foremost, it's tacky to ask for an autograph. If seated next to a celeb, a simple nod of recognition should be all you allow yourself of intimacy. Celebs may well want attention, but on his or her terms.
In a place like New York’s Balthazar in Soho, the chances of spotting someone from the entertainment or fashion business is very high; many of those industry’s celebs either live or have offices in the area, like Martha Stewart, and on any given day you might find Bill Gates lunching with Bono.
Bill Cosby frequents New York’s Le Cirque in Midtown, and literally gets up from his table and goes around the room to kibbitz with the restaurant’s guests. In fact, Le Cirque is one of the city’s best-known celeb hang-outs, and counts among its regulars Woody Allen, Barbara Walters, Henry Kissinger and Paloma Picasso. Once, when a non-celeb newcomer complained that the tables were too close, Le Cirque’s owner, Sirio Maccioni, responded, “Sir, would you rather sit this close or this far from Sophia Loren tonight?—just as Sophia swept into the restaurant.
Of course, New York is the East Coast epicenter for celebrity dining. Some even own restaurants themselves, including Robert De Niro, who is a partner at Nobu with Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Lou Diamond Philips and Christopher Walken. De Niro often brings his friends in to dine, so if that looks like Leonardo Di Caprio, it probably is.
The Waverly Inn, owned by Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter, is so exclusive that the restaurant doesn’t answer the phone; either you have Carter’s personal phone number, or you beg for a table in-person that afternoon. Once there, you may pass Uma Thurman and Anne Hathaway in the front room—on your way to Siberia in the back.
At Manhattan’s legendary Four Seasons Grill Room, the titans of media and Big Apple politics gather and jockey for tables everyday at lunch, so you might hobnob with Mayor Bloomberg, Rupert Murdoch and Jann Wenner there. Once, while filming a TV show, Lauren Hutton and Raquel Welch tussled and tumbled into the babbling pool in the Pool Room. Ralph Lauren says that “the quality, the design, the food, and the people all come together to make a certain magic—there is no place like it.”
On the West Coast, Hollywood's restaurant-of-the-moment is the one drawing the most celebs. Restaurant publicists tell the media who dined where and when, and if an L.A. restaurant doesn’t have what they call a “sizzle factor,” it’s not likely to stay open long. The new Beso (which means “kiss”) is a Todd English restaurant—himself a celebrity chef—with partner Eva Longoria, who draws pals like Sheryl Crow, Jessica Simpson and Paul Abdul to sip mango mojitos and chow down on Mexican tapas like tortilla soup and skirt steak fajitas. The tortilla soup and guacamole are said to be Longoria family recipes. Angelino magazine advises that “the booths along the east wall offer the best views.”
Ortolan is a swanky French restaurant owned by Chef Christophe Eme and his wife, actress Jeri Ryan, who attracts her star friends and not a few Trekkies who come to see the woman who once played the Borg named Seven of Nine. Other good bets for celeb-watching are the more secluded and reclusive hotel dining rooms like the Bar Marmont at Château Marmont Hotel and Bungalows (Charlize Theron, Keanu Reeves, Courtney Love, Johnny Depp, Amy Winehouse, Sting); the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel (especially breakfast for studio bigwigs courting stars); and the poolside tables at the Bel-Air Hotel—Marilyn Monroe’s favorite, now where Russell Crow, Liz Taylor, Al Pacino and Tom Cruise drop by for the exquisite California cuisine.
Given that Las Vegas has developed a high-powered entertainment scene along with first-rate restaurants, you’ll find celebs visiting on a regular basis. Those who wish for a bit more seclusion from the crowds—like Sen. John McCain, Rush Limbaugh, Steven Spielberg, and Scottie Pippin—like to go to the Country Club Grill, a small restaurant tucked away inside Wynn Las Vegas.
In Washington, D.C., pols have to be pretty careful who they’re seen with and where. The best bets for sightings are at Teatro Goldoni, which also attracts the network media figures like Ted Koppel, Suzanne Malveaux, and Wolf Blitzer, and The Monocle, just shy of the Capitol, where senators go for lunch, alerted by a dining room bell that summons them back for an important vote.
Comedian Fred Allen once defined a celebrity as “a person who works hard all his life to become well-known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized." Which is why, when you enter a restaurant, the only people likely to be wearing sunglasses are either recovering from eye laser surgery or go by only one name, like Madonna, Angelina or Uma.
Even if sunglasses don’t completely disguise a celebrity from view, they have a certain “do-not-disturb” effect in a restaurant, lest a fan wants to bound over for an autograph while the celeb is seasoning her Caesar salad.
See our slideshow of Ten Celebrity-Spotting Restaurants.
But let's be honest—spotting a celebrity, whether from the world of entertainment, sports, media or politics, gives a real buzz to an evening dining out. For some people, such sightings are more important than the food. Simply being in a place where Alex Rodriguez, Demi Moore, Brian Williams or Ted Kennedy dine makes the celeb-watcher feel part of the aura thrown off by the star.
Once upon a time, in Hollywood’s Golden Years, celeb sightings were relentlessly covered by the tabloids as part of the studios’ own publicity machines. Thus, a new starlet would be hooked up with an established star and sent to the Copacabana or El Morocco expressly for the purpose of having their pictures taken by the photogs.
This endures to a certain extent today at celeb-flocked restaurants like Spago and Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills, which count among its guests everyone from George Clooney to Elizabeth Hurley, whereas it is discouraged (though not unknown) in New York. (When Madonna and Guy Ritchie recently went to ‘Cesca on the Upper West Side, they were greeted by a phalanx of paparazzi outside the Italian eatery’s entrance.)
Many restaurants confer with celebs’ “people” as to the best tactics to avoid the paparazzi at the front door. The manager of the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood, where villas rent for up to $7,000 a night (and whose boast is: “Movie stars get big trailers. The really big stars get us.”) told me that if a big star like Madonna is dining at their intimate restaurant, The Room, she may be ushered through the service hallways to a back door while a double in sunglasses whooshes into a waiting limo at the front door.
See our slideshow of Ten Celebrity-Spotting Restaurants.
But for the average diner who wouldn’t mind sitting across from a celebrity, there are, in fact, rules of behavior. First and foremost, it's tacky to ask for an autograph. If seated next to a celeb, a simple nod of recognition should be all you allow yourself of intimacy. Celebs may well want attention, but on his or her terms.
In a place like New York’s Balthazar in Soho, the chances of spotting someone from the entertainment or fashion business is very high; many of those industry’s celebs either live or have offices in the area, like Martha Stewart, and on any given day you might find Bill Gates lunching with Bono.
Bill Cosby frequents New York’s Le Cirque in Midtown, and literally gets up from his table and goes around the room to kibbitz with the restaurant’s guests. In fact, Le Cirque is one of the city’s best-known celeb hang-outs, and counts among its regulars Woody Allen, Barbara Walters, Henry Kissinger and Paloma Picasso. Once, when a non-celeb newcomer complained that the tables were too close, Le Cirque’s owner, Sirio Maccioni, responded, “Sir, would you rather sit this close or this far from Sophia Loren tonight?—just as Sophia swept into the restaurant.
Of course, New York is the East Coast epicenter for celebrity dining. Some even own restaurants themselves, including Robert De Niro, who is a partner at Nobu with Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Lou Diamond Philips and Christopher Walken. De Niro often brings his friends in to dine, so if that looks like Leonardo Di Caprio, it probably is.
The Waverly Inn, owned by Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter, is so exclusive that the restaurant doesn’t answer the phone; either you have Carter’s personal phone number, or you beg for a table in-person that afternoon. Once there, you may pass Uma Thurman and Anne Hathaway in the front room—on your way to Siberia in the back.
At Manhattan’s legendary Four Seasons Grill Room, the titans of media and Big Apple politics gather and jockey for tables everyday at lunch, so you might hobnob with Mayor Bloomberg, Rupert Murdoch and Jann Wenner there. Once, while filming a TV show, Lauren Hutton and Raquel Welch tussled and tumbled into the babbling pool in the Pool Room. Ralph Lauren says that “the quality, the design, the food, and the people all come together to make a certain magic—there is no place like it.”
On the West Coast, Hollywood's restaurant-of-the-moment is the one drawing the most celebs. Restaurant publicists tell the media who dined where and when, and if an L.A. restaurant doesn’t have what they call a “sizzle factor,” it’s not likely to stay open long. The new Beso (which means “kiss”) is a Todd English restaurant—himself a celebrity chef—with partner Eva Longoria, who draws pals like Sheryl Crow, Jessica Simpson and Paul Abdul to sip mango mojitos and chow down on Mexican tapas like tortilla soup and skirt steak fajitas. The tortilla soup and guacamole are said to be Longoria family recipes. Angelino magazine advises that “the booths along the east wall offer the best views.”
Ortolan is a swanky French restaurant owned by Chef Christophe Eme and his wife, actress Jeri Ryan, who attracts her star friends and not a few Trekkies who come to see the woman who once played the Borg named Seven of Nine. Other good bets for celeb-watching are the more secluded and reclusive hotel dining rooms like the Bar Marmont at Château Marmont Hotel and Bungalows (Charlize Theron, Keanu Reeves, Courtney Love, Johnny Depp, Amy Winehouse, Sting); the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel (especially breakfast for studio bigwigs courting stars); and the poolside tables at the Bel-Air Hotel—Marilyn Monroe’s favorite, now where Russell Crow, Liz Taylor, Al Pacino and Tom Cruise drop by for the exquisite California cuisine.
Given that Las Vegas has developed a high-powered entertainment scene along with first-rate restaurants, you’ll find celebs visiting on a regular basis. Those who wish for a bit more seclusion from the crowds—like Sen. John McCain, Rush Limbaugh, Steven Spielberg, and Scottie Pippin—like to go to the Country Club Grill, a small restaurant tucked away inside Wynn Las Vegas.
In Washington, D.C., pols have to be pretty careful who they’re seen with and where. The best bets for sightings are at Teatro Goldoni, which also attracts the network media figures like Ted Koppel, Suzanne Malveaux, and Wolf Blitzer, and The Monocle, just shy of the Capitol, where senators go for lunch, alerted by a dining room bell that summons them back for an important vote.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
U2's Bono, Edge win Dublin hotel legal battle
By Shawn Pogatchnik, Associated Press Writer
DUBLIN — U2 stars Bono and The Edge won a four-year legal battle Thursday to reshape their old-fashioned Dublin hotel, the Clarence, into a futuristic landmark — a decision that appeared to fly in the face of Ireland's conservative planning laws.
Ireland's planning board approved a $235 million plan produced by British architect Lord Norman Foster to gut and drastically expand the riverside hotel. The new complex would more than triple the number of its rooms to 166 and would feature a massive, floodlit glass roof atrium.
Bono, The Edge and their property-development partner Paddy McKillen said that the verdict was "great news for Dublin and for Temple Bar in particular." Temple Bar is the neighboring cobblestone-street tourist district packed with pubs and music.
Their opponents said, however, that the decision demonstrated the exceptional political clout wielded by Dublin's most famous musical sons.
"We would obviously condemn the decision. It undermines national legislation on architectural heritage because of the number of protected sites being demolished," said Ian Lumley, an officer with An Taisce, Ireland's heritage-protection organization.
Lumley said Foster's grandiose design was "a very impressively conceived scheme but in the wrong place. This would not be allowed in areas of comparable sensitivity in any other European countries."
The planning authority ordered the developers to preserve the facades of six buildings: the 1930s Art Deco original hotel and five other adjacent Georgian and Victorian properties being swallowed up by the future Clarence. It also ordered that an archaeologist be on the construction site at all times.
The planning panel said Foster's envisioned hotel "would provide a building of unique quality and architectural distinction" that would "in time become a significant feature in vistas along the Liffey (River) and would ensure the continued historic hotel use of a signature building."
Conservationists had successfully blocked an earlier, even bigger design for the hotel's redevelopment and fought the scaled-down Foster plans. The Irish government's environmental department also opposed the plans, as did a council-hired conservation architect, Claire Hogan.
Bono, The Edge and U2's other members — bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen — are among Ireland's wealthiest residents. In 2006 the band moved its royalties-collection company to Amsterdam, Holland, to maintain the tax-free status of their music profits, even as they have continued to amass a property portfolio in their homeland.
A Foster-designed U2 Tower has also been approved by planning authorities to become Ireland's tallest building. The planned 400-foot building is to be built by 2012 further east on the Liffey waterfront in a run-down area. U2's new recording studios will be at the top.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
DUBLIN — U2 stars Bono and The Edge won a four-year legal battle Thursday to reshape their old-fashioned Dublin hotel, the Clarence, into a futuristic landmark — a decision that appeared to fly in the face of Ireland's conservative planning laws.
Ireland's planning board approved a $235 million plan produced by British architect Lord Norman Foster to gut and drastically expand the riverside hotel. The new complex would more than triple the number of its rooms to 166 and would feature a massive, floodlit glass roof atrium.
Bono, The Edge and their property-development partner Paddy McKillen said that the verdict was "great news for Dublin and for Temple Bar in particular." Temple Bar is the neighboring cobblestone-street tourist district packed with pubs and music.
Their opponents said, however, that the decision demonstrated the exceptional political clout wielded by Dublin's most famous musical sons.
"We would obviously condemn the decision. It undermines national legislation on architectural heritage because of the number of protected sites being demolished," said Ian Lumley, an officer with An Taisce, Ireland's heritage-protection organization.
Lumley said Foster's grandiose design was "a very impressively conceived scheme but in the wrong place. This would not be allowed in areas of comparable sensitivity in any other European countries."
The planning authority ordered the developers to preserve the facades of six buildings: the 1930s Art Deco original hotel and five other adjacent Georgian and Victorian properties being swallowed up by the future Clarence. It also ordered that an archaeologist be on the construction site at all times.
The planning panel said Foster's envisioned hotel "would provide a building of unique quality and architectural distinction" that would "in time become a significant feature in vistas along the Liffey (River) and would ensure the continued historic hotel use of a signature building."
Conservationists had successfully blocked an earlier, even bigger design for the hotel's redevelopment and fought the scaled-down Foster plans. The Irish government's environmental department also opposed the plans, as did a council-hired conservation architect, Claire Hogan.
Bono, The Edge and U2's other members — bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen — are among Ireland's wealthiest residents. In 2006 the band moved its royalties-collection company to Amsterdam, Holland, to maintain the tax-free status of their music profits, even as they have continued to amass a property portfolio in their homeland.
A Foster-designed U2 Tower has also been approved by planning authorities to become Ireland's tallest building. The planned 400-foot building is to be built by 2012 further east on the Liffey waterfront in a run-down area. U2's new recording studios will be at the top.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
10 Top Traditional Hotels
10 Top Traditional 'Hotels'
Jul 16, 08 1:59 am
By Don Willmott
Authentic accommodations around the world
In Picture: The 10 Top Traditional 'Hotels'.As the world globalizes at a frantic pace, travelers have come to expect that many hotel rooms in Capetown, Amsterdam, Rio and New York will pretty much look the same. While you may be the type who finds such predictability comforting, it's our guess that if you're a true traveler, you find it deadly dull-and you're eager to seek out accommodations that more closely match the culture you've come to visit. After all, when in Rome, why not try to sleep like a Roman?
Opportunities to discover what might be called "indigenous" lodgings abound around the world. Let's start in Spain, the country that leads the way in promoting the concept of traditional lodging and puts its money where its mouth is. Back in 1928, they created an entire network of state-run hotels retrofitted into magnificent old buildings, castles, fortresses, convents and monasteries. Credit good ol' King Alfonso XIII for coming up with the idea as a way to preserve traditional architecture.
Today there are 92 paradores (translation: "places to stop") averaging 61 rooms apiece scattered across the Spanish countryside. They've recently undergone a multi-year $500 million renovation including the addition of new properties to bring the total number of locations to more than 100 by 2010.
"Staying at our hotels, travelers can follow routes such as Don Quixote, the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route or the white villages of Andalusia," says Juan Peiro of Paradores de Tourismo. The idea has proved so successful and so important from the cultural preservation perspective that it's been emulated in other Latin countries-most notably Portugal, where there are now 42 pousadas, and Puerto Rico.
Another authentic Latin-flavored lodging can be found all the way down in Argentina. In America, we have dude ranches, but in the pampas, where cowboys are called vaqueros or gauchos (and have the pants to match), they're known as estancias. You'll typically find a large main manor house converted into elegant lodging and lording over rolling countryside where cattle and sheep graze. On the menu: barbecue and strong red wine. This is how Eva Peron would unwind after a particularly stressful week.
Even if you travel all the way to China, you'll find that avoiding corporate hotel conformity can be a challenge. It can be a bit chilling to witness the speed with which this amazing country is racing to leave its architectural past behind. In Beijing, for example, the Grand Hyatt features an indescribably huge indoor pool that looks as if it were imported palm tree by palm tree straight from Vegas. Fun, sure, but not very Chinese. And yet just a few steps away down narrow streets you can find an entirely different hotel experience.
In the good old days, the Chinese merchant class lived in low-slung courtyard homes, which featured several pavilions arranged around a central space. After the revolution, most were divided up and assigned to several families. Today such traditional neighborhoods are under siege by voracious developers, but several courtyard homes have been lovingly recrafted into exclusive, high-end hotels. It's old China, made new again.
In Japan, where tradition maintains a much stronger hold, you can slide open an unmarked door, step inside a silent entryway with racks of slippers and kimono, and be instantly transported back in time to experience traditions of Japanese hospitality that haven't changed significantly in 400 years. You've arrived at a ryokan. Take off your shoes and enjoy some truly Japanese atmosphere.
Usually located in a rural location chosen for its natural beauty and its proximity to a relaxing hot spring, a ryokan should be considered a special treat on your Japanese itinerary. Even the Japanese themselves can find the ryokan experience intense (in many ryokan, visitors eat and sleep on the ryokan schedule and spend most of their time alone in quiet contemplation), and usually indulge for just a night or two when they need a weekend of stress relief.
External source: To read complete article 'Click Here' Source: Forbes Traveler
Jul 16, 08 1:59 am
By Don Willmott
Authentic accommodations around the world
In Picture: The 10 Top Traditional 'Hotels'.As the world globalizes at a frantic pace, travelers have come to expect that many hotel rooms in Capetown, Amsterdam, Rio and New York will pretty much look the same. While you may be the type who finds such predictability comforting, it's our guess that if you're a true traveler, you find it deadly dull-and you're eager to seek out accommodations that more closely match the culture you've come to visit. After all, when in Rome, why not try to sleep like a Roman?
Opportunities to discover what might be called "indigenous" lodgings abound around the world. Let's start in Spain, the country that leads the way in promoting the concept of traditional lodging and puts its money where its mouth is. Back in 1928, they created an entire network of state-run hotels retrofitted into magnificent old buildings, castles, fortresses, convents and monasteries. Credit good ol' King Alfonso XIII for coming up with the idea as a way to preserve traditional architecture.
Today there are 92 paradores (translation: "places to stop") averaging 61 rooms apiece scattered across the Spanish countryside. They've recently undergone a multi-year $500 million renovation including the addition of new properties to bring the total number of locations to more than 100 by 2010.
"Staying at our hotels, travelers can follow routes such as Don Quixote, the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route or the white villages of Andalusia," says Juan Peiro of Paradores de Tourismo. The idea has proved so successful and so important from the cultural preservation perspective that it's been emulated in other Latin countries-most notably Portugal, where there are now 42 pousadas, and Puerto Rico.
Another authentic Latin-flavored lodging can be found all the way down in Argentina. In America, we have dude ranches, but in the pampas, where cowboys are called vaqueros or gauchos (and have the pants to match), they're known as estancias. You'll typically find a large main manor house converted into elegant lodging and lording over rolling countryside where cattle and sheep graze. On the menu: barbecue and strong red wine. This is how Eva Peron would unwind after a particularly stressful week.
Even if you travel all the way to China, you'll find that avoiding corporate hotel conformity can be a challenge. It can be a bit chilling to witness the speed with which this amazing country is racing to leave its architectural past behind. In Beijing, for example, the Grand Hyatt features an indescribably huge indoor pool that looks as if it were imported palm tree by palm tree straight from Vegas. Fun, sure, but not very Chinese. And yet just a few steps away down narrow streets you can find an entirely different hotel experience.
In the good old days, the Chinese merchant class lived in low-slung courtyard homes, which featured several pavilions arranged around a central space. After the revolution, most were divided up and assigned to several families. Today such traditional neighborhoods are under siege by voracious developers, but several courtyard homes have been lovingly recrafted into exclusive, high-end hotels. It's old China, made new again.
In Japan, where tradition maintains a much stronger hold, you can slide open an unmarked door, step inside a silent entryway with racks of slippers and kimono, and be instantly transported back in time to experience traditions of Japanese hospitality that haven't changed significantly in 400 years. You've arrived at a ryokan. Take off your shoes and enjoy some truly Japanese atmosphere.
Usually located in a rural location chosen for its natural beauty and its proximity to a relaxing hot spring, a ryokan should be considered a special treat on your Japanese itinerary. Even the Japanese themselves can find the ryokan experience intense (in many ryokan, visitors eat and sleep on the ryokan schedule and spend most of their time alone in quiet contemplation), and usually indulge for just a night or two when they need a weekend of stress relief.
External source: To read complete article 'Click Here' Source: Forbes Traveler
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Table Top Challenge
Yesterday the Table Top Challenge took place at Pacific International Hotel Management School in New Plymouth.
Semester 1 students displayed their creativity in dressing up a table in the restaurant. The first prize was won by Julia & Farrin (pictured on the right), second prize by Sumin and Karishma, third place getters were Sharyar and Vijay. The award for most original table went to Jayde and Laura.
Here are the pictures of the tables.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Sofital Wentworth Sydney wins top hotel accolades
Sofitel wins top hotel accolades
The Sofitel Wentorth Sydney has received the top honours at the 2008 AHA (NSW) Accommodation Division Awards for Excellence which aim to recognise the best of the best of the state's 3, 4 and 5 star hotels.
The hotel was named Deluxe Hotel of the Year for 2008 while Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort and Spa and Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley were the joint winners in the Regional Deluxe Property of the Year category.
Crowne Plaza Parramatta was awarded Superior Hotel of the Year 2008, and The Carrington Hotel was named Regional Superior Property of the Year 2008.
There were 29 winners announced from a field of 34 finalists.The glamorous presentation dinner attended by more than 460 people was held at the Four Seasons Sydney which also took out the award for Best Training 2008 award.
More than 460 people attended the gala dinner including the Hon Matt Brown MP, Minister for Tourism, the Hon Don Page MP, Shadow Minister for Tourism and Jayson Westbury, Chairman of the Tourism Industry Council, NSW.AHA (NSW) accommodation division chairman Richard Munro said the awards had attracted a record number of entries from across New South Wales and that the standard had been “very impressive”.“
The Deluxe Hotel of the Year is judged on all aspects of the hotel's operations, including the level of quality and service provided to guests. This year, Sofitel Wentworth Sydney has proved that if offers one of the best accommodation experiences in the State. And for an unbeatable hotel dining experience, you can't go past award-winning chef Sean Connelly's menu at Astral in Star City Hotels and Apartments,” Munro said.Sheraton on the Park, Hilton Sydney, The Observatory Hotel and Four Points by Sheraton Darling Harbour have also been outstanding in their Awards bid this year.
13 May 2008
The Sofitel Wentorth Sydney has received the top honours at the 2008 AHA (NSW) Accommodation Division Awards for Excellence which aim to recognise the best of the best of the state's 3, 4 and 5 star hotels.
The hotel was named Deluxe Hotel of the Year for 2008 while Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort and Spa and Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley were the joint winners in the Regional Deluxe Property of the Year category.
Crowne Plaza Parramatta was awarded Superior Hotel of the Year 2008, and The Carrington Hotel was named Regional Superior Property of the Year 2008.
There were 29 winners announced from a field of 34 finalists.The glamorous presentation dinner attended by more than 460 people was held at the Four Seasons Sydney which also took out the award for Best Training 2008 award.
More than 460 people attended the gala dinner including the Hon Matt Brown MP, Minister for Tourism, the Hon Don Page MP, Shadow Minister for Tourism and Jayson Westbury, Chairman of the Tourism Industry Council, NSW.AHA (NSW) accommodation division chairman Richard Munro said the awards had attracted a record number of entries from across New South Wales and that the standard had been “very impressive”.“
The Deluxe Hotel of the Year is judged on all aspects of the hotel's operations, including the level of quality and service provided to guests. This year, Sofitel Wentworth Sydney has proved that if offers one of the best accommodation experiences in the State. And for an unbeatable hotel dining experience, you can't go past award-winning chef Sean Connelly's menu at Astral in Star City Hotels and Apartments,” Munro said.Sheraton on the Park, Hilton Sydney, The Observatory Hotel and Four Points by Sheraton Darling Harbour have also been outstanding in their Awards bid this year.
13 May 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Celebrity-owned restaurants
Celebrity-owned restaurants
May 14, 08 1:58 am
May 14, 08 1:58 am
By Jeryl Brunner
The famous faces who feed the foodies
Most celebrities have an intimate understanding of restaurants-especially since a plethora of them worked as waiters waiting for their big break. "You feel like you know everything once you've been a waitress," Sandra Bullock, a former server, once said. But who knew so many stars, like Bullock, would be inspired to return to their roots? Indeed, a number of celebrities have added "restaurateur" to their resumes. And many of them have the same appetite for the craft as they do for their more glamorous jobs.
When it comes to cooking food or making films, Francis Ford Coppola leads with his heart. All of his cafes (as he prefers to call them) represent his personal vision. The Oscar-winning director began cooking in junior high school and has continued ever since. During college (as a very poor student) he couldn't afford to take women on dates, so he would invite them to his tiny apartment and make his mother's recipes. And later, he cooked for his cast and crew during film shoots. So opening cafes was a natural continuation of his passion for cooking and of good, genuine Italian food. In fact, his eateries are among only a handful in the U.S. whose pizza is certified Verace Pizza Napoletana (Genuine Neapolitan Pizza).
For the set design-er, décor-Coppola worked with Oscar-winning production designer Dean Tavoularis. "You make what you like. Whether you are a director or a cook, you're in the decision business," Coppola told Forbes Traveler. "All day long you're saying yes, yes, more of that, no, no, less of this." For the highly lauded director and screenwriter, this recipe has served him well. The Cafe Zoetrope in San Francisco and the Cafe Rosso & Bianco in Palo Alto are doing quite well.
Coppola oversees nearly every detail of his cafes, even working beside new chefs to show how the dish should look. And while other celebrities may not be as involved in their restaurant's operations, several are breaking into the business with gusto.
"Owning a restaurant is a dream for many-part of the "American Dream"-the allure being the hospitality and culinary aspects, and there's the sense of accomplishment brought by entrepreneurship," says Annika Stensson of the National Restaurant Association. It would seem this holds true for famous folks as well.
But, as Stensson warns, you shouldn't open a restaurant to get rich. "Profit margins are generally fairly slim, and running an eatery involves a lot of hard work and dedication... However, everyone needs to eat." And, as Coppola explained, there are spiritual riches to consider: "Having dinner with someone can really cement a personal relationship that can last a lifetime."
Every restaurant has a story, particularly if its proprietor happens to be world-famous. Jennifer Lopez opened Madre's in 2002 to celebrate her Latin heritage. "She wanted a reminder of her maternal grandmother, Julia Rodriguez," says Wassim Boustani, Madre's general manager, "whom she visited when she was growing up in the Bronx on the weekends and made her favorite dishes." The warm décor recalls an inviting Caribbean home, with lace tablecloths, dark wood floors, hand-picked vintage china and chandeliers.
In November 2007, Sandra Bullock opened Bess in the old bank vault of a building built in 1918 on Austin's Old Pecan Street. The structure's historic brick columns and arches, iron railings and old timbers were painstakingly preserved as solid pecan woodwork, custom tile, extraordinary etched glass, antique mirrors and artwork was added.
Danny DeVito's new Italian chop house, DeVito South Beach, pays homage to the actor's family and his childhood. The actor remembers how his mother laid out sheets of pasta on the bed and spent hours and hours stirring the meatball sauce to perfection. Executive chef Francis Casciato (who, like DeVito, also hails from Philadelphia), puts that same care into his own food. He buys San Marzano tomatoes from an exclusive volcanic region of Italy; they're considered to be the best in the world. The pasta sauces and meats at the restaurant are highly seasoned, just like Danny's mother flavored her food. And a number of dishes, including popover bread and giant meatballs, are DeVito's childhood favorites.
Sometimes, opening a restaurant is a celebrity's way of supporting a particular community. Seventeen years ago, Robert De Niro asked the celebrated restaurateur Drew Nieporent if he would join forces to create a restaurant serving the film community of Tribeca, his neighborhood in downtown Manhattan. The Weinstein brothers have been holding court at Tribeca Grill with the likes of Paul McCartney and Tom Cruise ever since.
De Niro continues to foster development in Tribeca. This month, he partnered with celebrated chef Agostino Sciandri to open a New York version of their famed Ago restaurant in De Niro's 88-room Greenwich Hotel. The actor played a major part in the restaurant's creation and look, and he's often found dining there. He chooses much of the design and fabrics featured in the restaurant and hotel and the artwork lining the walls is by his late father, Robert De Niro, Sr.
De Niro continues to foster development in Tribeca. This month, he partnered with celebrated chef Agostino Sciandri to open a New York version of their famed Ago restaurant in De Niro's 88-room Greenwich Hotel. The actor played a major part in the restaurant's creation and look, and he's often found dining there. He chooses much of the design and fabrics featured in the restaurant and hotel and the artwork lining the walls is by his late father, Robert De Niro, Sr.
Other ultra A-list actors are in the game, too. Paul Newman collaborated with noted chef Michel Nischan to open Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant on the grounds of the newly renovated Westport County Playhouse. Profits support the theater. According to Nischan, Newman "envisioned the playhouse and restaurant working together to become a community gathering place where folks could enjoy the types of interactions which once made local American communities like Westport so rich in neighborly relations and local culture." Local purveyors even sell their produce in the parking lot, which hosts a regular Farmer's Market.External souce: To read complete article click hereSource: Forbes Traveler
Monday, May 12, 2008
Australian Hospitality Statistics
Australia foodservice is a $13.7bn business
Australia's cafes, restaurants and caterers generated $13.7bn in income during 2006-07, according to the latest new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
According to the ABS data the main sources of income for the 15,423 cafes, restaurants and caterers were takings from meals consumed on the premises (47 per cent, takings from catering services (24.1 per cent), and the sale of liquor and other beverages (19.9 per cent)
There were 1.1 million seats available for dining and looking for bums and all up cafes and restaurants generated $9.7bn in income, and employed 145,546 people (47.4 per cent as casuals).
Waiting staff represented the biggest number of employees (41.7 per cent).Over two-thirds (67.5 per cent) employed fewer than 10 people. These smaller businesses accounted for 27.7 per cent of total cafe and restaurant income.Larger cafe and restaurant businesses (those which employed more than 50 people) accounted for 1.5 per cent of all cafe and restaurant businesses and generated over one-fifth of total income (21.8 per cent or $2,115.5m).
More than half (56.8 per cent) were licensed to sell alcohol.
During 2006-07, operating profit before tax for these businesses was $368.3m and their operating profit margin was 3.8 per cent. Meanwhile for the period catering services generated almost $3.9bn in income, employed 50,268 people (58.5 per cent as casuals). Of those employees waiting staff made up 27.2 per cent, kitchen hands accounted for 23.3 per cent and chefs and cooks represented 18.6 per cent.More than half (57.8 per cent) employed fewer than ten people.
These smaller businesses accounted for 9.1 per cent of total catering income. Larger catering businesses—those which employed 50 people or more—accounted for 78 per cent of the total catering income.During 2006-07, operating profit before tax for these businesses was $208.1m and their operating profit margin was 5.3 per cent.
Around the nation New South Wales accounted for the largest percentage of all café, restaurant and catering businesses (36.3 per cent), followed by Victoria (27.4%). Queensland, ACT, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory collectively accounted for 36.7% of all cafe, restaurant and catering businesses.
1 May 2008
Source: Australian Hospitality News, Products and Services
Australia's cafes, restaurants and caterers generated $13.7bn in income during 2006-07, according to the latest new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
According to the ABS data the main sources of income for the 15,423 cafes, restaurants and caterers were takings from meals consumed on the premises (47 per cent, takings from catering services (24.1 per cent), and the sale of liquor and other beverages (19.9 per cent)
There were 1.1 million seats available for dining and looking for bums and all up cafes and restaurants generated $9.7bn in income, and employed 145,546 people (47.4 per cent as casuals).
Waiting staff represented the biggest number of employees (41.7 per cent).Over two-thirds (67.5 per cent) employed fewer than 10 people. These smaller businesses accounted for 27.7 per cent of total cafe and restaurant income.Larger cafe and restaurant businesses (those which employed more than 50 people) accounted for 1.5 per cent of all cafe and restaurant businesses and generated over one-fifth of total income (21.8 per cent or $2,115.5m).
More than half (56.8 per cent) were licensed to sell alcohol.
During 2006-07, operating profit before tax for these businesses was $368.3m and their operating profit margin was 3.8 per cent. Meanwhile for the period catering services generated almost $3.9bn in income, employed 50,268 people (58.5 per cent as casuals). Of those employees waiting staff made up 27.2 per cent, kitchen hands accounted for 23.3 per cent and chefs and cooks represented 18.6 per cent.More than half (57.8 per cent) employed fewer than ten people.
These smaller businesses accounted for 9.1 per cent of total catering income. Larger catering businesses—those which employed 50 people or more—accounted for 78 per cent of the total catering income.During 2006-07, operating profit before tax for these businesses was $208.1m and their operating profit margin was 5.3 per cent.
Around the nation New South Wales accounted for the largest percentage of all café, restaurant and catering businesses (36.3 per cent), followed by Victoria (27.4%). Queensland, ACT, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory collectively accounted for 36.7% of all cafe, restaurant and catering businesses.
1 May 2008
Source: Australian Hospitality News, Products and Services
Customer Service - Engage Me
Engage Me...the voice of your customer
Engage me,
Make me feel special,
Make me feel included,
Make me feel valued,
Make me feel appreciated
Engage me,
Tell me that you’re happy to see me,
Tell me that you’re happy to serve me,
Tell me that you’re happy I chose you, instead of your competitors
Engage me,
Welcome me, as if I were a guest in your own home,
Tell me about the service I am about to receive
Engage me,
Thank me for choosing you,
Tell me it was a pleasure to serve me,
Invite me back,
Tell me that you look forward to serving me again…and mean it genuinely
Engage me,
And I will return the favor by being an engaged customer (and your biggest ambassador)
Engage me,
Engage every part of me,
Engage my emotions, my laughter, my curiosity, my anticipation
Engage me, I want to be your customer…that’s why I’m here,
And I will reward you with my patronage, my referrals, and my loyalty...
Engage me.
Written by Bryan K. Williams
Engage me,
Make me feel special,
Make me feel included,
Make me feel valued,
Make me feel appreciated
Engage me,
Tell me that you’re happy to see me,
Tell me that you’re happy to serve me,
Tell me that you’re happy I chose you, instead of your competitors
Engage me,
Welcome me, as if I were a guest in your own home,
Tell me about the service I am about to receive
Engage me,
Thank me for choosing you,
Tell me it was a pleasure to serve me,
Invite me back,
Tell me that you look forward to serving me again…and mean it genuinely
Engage me,
And I will return the favor by being an engaged customer (and your biggest ambassador)
Engage me,
Engage every part of me,
Engage my emotions, my laughter, my curiosity, my anticipation
Engage me, I want to be your customer…that’s why I’m here,
And I will reward you with my patronage, my referrals, and my loyalty...
Engage me.
Written by Bryan K. Williams
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Alcopop tax 'will stem teen binges
Renee Viellaris and Greg Stolz
April 28, 2008 12:00am
PUBS and clubs face audits by the Rudd Government if they profit from a new excise on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks.
The Government has increased its excise on alcopops – alcoholic beverages marketed at teenagers – and other ready-to-drink products from $39 a litre of alcohol to $67 a litre.
Stakeholders admit some pubs and clubs may now start increasing their prices, although the excise only applies to products that were transferred from factories at midnight yesterday, and not current stock.
However hoteliers have welcomed a new 100 per cent tax increase on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks, saying it will stop young people drinking them "like cordial".
Prices are expected to increase by up to $1.30, and are now at the same excise rates as bottled spirits. Almost $2 billion is expected to be raised from the move, with some money directed at preventative health strategies.
A spokesman for Health Minister Nicola Roxon said pubs and clubs would be caught out by existing audits if they tried to profit from the new measures.
Australian Drug Foundation chief executive John Rogerson applauded the measure, saying increasing the cost of alcohol reduced excessive consumption, especially by teenagers.
Mr Rogerson told The Courier-Mail some pubs and clubs might try to increase prices prematurely, but should refrain from taking the step.
Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia executive director Gordon Boderick said the tax was unfair, given one of their biggest markets was ready-to-drink dark spirits, generally bought by adult men.
Queensland Hotels Association Gold Coast chairman Tony Condon said the tax increase would "definitely slow the kids down".
"A lot of them have been drinking it like it's lolly water or cordial and all of a sudden, they're off their tree," he said.
"With the tax doubling, pubs and clubs will have no choice but to pass the cost on and I think it will definitely have an impact. I think it's a good thing. The kids might be content to have a few beers now instead of a half a dozen bourbons before they go out."
However a group of young people drinking pre-mixed bourbon and cola in a park at Currumbin on the Gold Coast yesterday said the tax increase would not stop them or their friends buying the drinks.
"I don't think it will," Alicia Wiggins, 23, said.
"It's convenient and it's tasty and I think we'll just find the extra money."
Her friend, Krystal Knight, 30, said high taxes had not stopped her smoking "and I don't think it's going to stop me drinking bourbon and coke".
Ms Roxon told Channel 9's Sunday program she thought the former Howard government contributed to teen binge drinking.
Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson dismissed the claim, saying: "It is an outrageous slur on the previous government for anybody to suggest that by not further increasing the excise or tax on these alcoholic drinks, that that in some way has led to their abuse."
Share this article What is this?
April 28, 2008 12:00am
PUBS and clubs face audits by the Rudd Government if they profit from a new excise on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks.
The Government has increased its excise on alcopops – alcoholic beverages marketed at teenagers – and other ready-to-drink products from $39 a litre of alcohol to $67 a litre.
Stakeholders admit some pubs and clubs may now start increasing their prices, although the excise only applies to products that were transferred from factories at midnight yesterday, and not current stock.
However hoteliers have welcomed a new 100 per cent tax increase on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks, saying it will stop young people drinking them "like cordial".
Prices are expected to increase by up to $1.30, and are now at the same excise rates as bottled spirits. Almost $2 billion is expected to be raised from the move, with some money directed at preventative health strategies.
A spokesman for Health Minister Nicola Roxon said pubs and clubs would be caught out by existing audits if they tried to profit from the new measures.
Australian Drug Foundation chief executive John Rogerson applauded the measure, saying increasing the cost of alcohol reduced excessive consumption, especially by teenagers.
Mr Rogerson told The Courier-Mail some pubs and clubs might try to increase prices prematurely, but should refrain from taking the step.
Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia executive director Gordon Boderick said the tax was unfair, given one of their biggest markets was ready-to-drink dark spirits, generally bought by adult men.
Queensland Hotels Association Gold Coast chairman Tony Condon said the tax increase would "definitely slow the kids down".
"A lot of them have been drinking it like it's lolly water or cordial and all of a sudden, they're off their tree," he said.
"With the tax doubling, pubs and clubs will have no choice but to pass the cost on and I think it will definitely have an impact. I think it's a good thing. The kids might be content to have a few beers now instead of a half a dozen bourbons before they go out."
However a group of young people drinking pre-mixed bourbon and cola in a park at Currumbin on the Gold Coast yesterday said the tax increase would not stop them or their friends buying the drinks.
"I don't think it will," Alicia Wiggins, 23, said.
"It's convenient and it's tasty and I think we'll just find the extra money."
Her friend, Krystal Knight, 30, said high taxes had not stopped her smoking "and I don't think it's going to stop me drinking bourbon and coke".
Ms Roxon told Channel 9's Sunday program she thought the former Howard government contributed to teen binge drinking.
Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson dismissed the claim, saying: "It is an outrageous slur on the previous government for anybody to suggest that by not further increasing the excise or tax on these alcoholic drinks, that that in some way has led to their abuse."
Share this article What is this?
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