Entries pour in for 2019 Excellence in Luxury Service Awards 

Entries are coming in fast for the 2019 Excellence in Luxury Service Awards. The awards, incorprating Luxury Bed & Breakfast and Innkeeper magazine, span categories both for B&B owners and suppliers ranging from Best Luxury Seaside B&B and inn to Best Luxury Breakfast Product.

The aim of the awards is to recognise and promote excellence in luxury across the UK B&B market and thus help raise even higher the existing bar on standards in the high-end UK B&B market.

The judges panel comprises Bed & Breakfast Association chairman David Weston; B&B business adviser Tina Boden of the B&B Keeper and the Tiny Troubleshooter; owner of The Chapel luxury B&B in Harrogate Mark Hinchliffe; Be My Guest event director Diane Lloyd; B&B coach Yvonne Halling; and Luxury Bed & Breakfast magazine editor Bill Lumley.

The winners will be announced at a central London awards ceremony on 9 May at the Crypt on the Green, Clerkenwell, on the edge of the City of London.

David Weston said: “I was delighted to be asked to be a judge in Luxury Bed & Breakfast magazine’s first annual awards.

“I hope the new awards will complement established awards such as those run by the AA and eviivo, and add a new, luxury-focused element to the national awards scene, and new opportunities for the owners of high-end properties to showcase their businesses.”

Diane Lloyd, event director for Be My Guest Events, said: “We are delighted to support JLD Media and Luxury Bed & Breakfast magazine on their inaugural Award series in 2019. It will be the perfect showcase for B&B owners up and down the country who are committed to delivering customer service of the highest order and delightful guest experiences. We can’t wait to read the entries and to see the winners awarded their deserved accolades.”

Deadline for entries is 31 March 2019. A shortlist of nominations for the awards will be announced in April.

To enter your B&B for an award go to www.luxurybbmag.co.uk 

Award-winning B&B launches wallpaper and soft furnishings range

Owner of The Chapel in Harrogate Mark Hinchliffe has designed and launched a collection of wallpaper and soft furnishings.

Winner of the Picture Perfect B&B award in the 2018 Vison Style Awards and a member of the judging panel for our the Excellence in Luxury Service awards this year, he tells Luxury Bed & Breakfast: “I have been collecting for many years, and a lot of the pieces I have are unique and very decorative. This gave me the idea of taking these designs from the artefacts in The Chapel and turning them into a range of wallpapers, cushions and soft furnishings.” 

Two of the wallpaper designs are taken from a metal headboard, dating from around 1890 and convey a very bohemian arts and crafts look. 

He says: “I would like to think that my customer is someone who appreciates history and contemporary design all with a modern spin on it. 

“I do think glamour and colour is making a huge return to interior design. Especially when you are staying in a luxury B&B, you want to feel comfortable and relaxed in the space around you.”

The Chapel’s range of wallpapers, cushions and soft furnishings will be available to view and purchase from January 2019. 

For more information contact www.thechapelhg1.com.

Sector working to reduce salt in food

Trade body UKHospitality has reacted to the recent report by Public Health England highlighting efforts by hospitality businesses to cut salt in food. The trade body has also emphasised that, for most customers, eating out is not an everyday occurrence.

Public Health England (PHE) has published the first assessment of the food industry’s progress towards meeting the government’s salt reduction targets, showing a mixed picture overall.

Set by the government in 2014, the most recent targets cover 28 food categories for the food industry to achieve by 2017. This applies to retailers, manufacturers and the out of home sector

UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “Hospitality venues have made significant efforts to reformulate menus, provide greater choice and transparency, and reduce salt. These efforts have been recognised by PHE’s report and we will continue to work towards targets to reduce salt and promote healthier attitudes to food.

“It should be remembered that, for the vast majority of our customers, eating out is not an everyday occurrence. It remains an occasional treat which should be factored into wider efforts to promote healthy eating and drinking.”

Hospitality businesses face new waste disposal costs

Businesses and manufacturers will pay the full cost of recycling or disposing of their packaging waste under a government strategy unveiled by the Environment Secretary today last month.

The move puts a legal onus on those responsible for producing damaging waste to take greater responsibility and foot the bill.

The announcement forms part of the first comprehensive update in more than a decade and aims to eliminate avoidable plastic waste and help leave the environment in a better state than we found it for future generations.

Any new measures to promote sustainability and cut waste must be proportionate and affordable, according to UKHospitality.

Following the Government’s announcement of a strategy to cut waste and promote sustainability, UKH has highlighted ongoing efforts by the sector and warned against piling costs on businesses that may undermine existing work.

UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “The hospitality sector shares the concerns of the Government and the public regarding sustainability. Our businesses understand there is a need to address issues like single-use plastics and food waste and they are already hard at work. Many outlets have already undertaken measures to cut waste voluntarily and UKHospitality, along with the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) has been leading efforts to promote best practice across hospitality.

“We are supportive of new measures to promote sustainability and tackle waste, but they must be affordable and proportionate. New measures are going to hit businesses at a tough time when costs are increasing and consumer confidence is low. Any new scheme, particularly the deposit return scheme, must be workable and avoid piling further financial pressure on businesses.”

Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: “We welcome the Government’s intention to tackle waste. The UK wine and spirit industry has for some years now been working hard – and successfully – to reduce its impact on the environment, for example by shipping in bulk and using less glass in its bottles. However we remain unconvinced that glass drinks containers should be included within the scope of the proposed DRS scheme.

“The UK already exceeds EU glass recycling targets. About 70% of glass packaging is recycled against a target of only 60%. Introducing DRS for glass drinks containers flies in the face of this track record – and could undermine achievements to date. Moreover for wine and spirit drinks, the vast majority of which are consumed in the home, there is no evidence to suggest that glass drinks containers are contributing to litter.”

B&B restaurant numbers fall

The number of restaurants in rural licenced guesthouses in the UK fell by 5.1% in the year to September according to figures published today.

Restaurant closures in the rural B&B sector outstrip the net closure rate of 2% in the year to September reported in the new edition of the Market Growth Monitor from CGA and AlixPartners.

However, the report says there are opportunities outside London for ambitious and innovative hospitality businesses. “As ever, for operators to succeed, they need to show a deep understanding of their local communities and what will work for their customer base. Those who fail to meet these expectations will inevitably fall by the wayside. But for businesses in the sector looking to grow, there remain a multitude of options across both equity and debt and investors continue to see attractive opportunities.”

CGA vice president Peter Martin said: “The bulk of closures are from independents, while managed groups remain in growth—and this trend is welcome news for some of them, since it eases over-capacity and frees up more property. But these figures are a reminder that all restaurant brands need a well defined and brilliantly executed offer if they are to succeed in a survival of the fittest in 2019.”

The report on UK restaurants, pubs and bars found:

• The pace of closures over the year to September 2018 was higher in rural areas (3.6%) than on high streets (2.6%)
• Some city centres continue to grow their numbers of restaurants, pubs and bars—including Birmingham, which added 25 in the year to September.
• The north of England has seen a 2.8% fall in licensed premises in the last year—significantly lower than the decline of 4.0% in the south

Government tourism sector deal on the cards

The Government has unveiled plans to boost UK tourism by attracting more domestic and overseas visitors and helping drive economic growth.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Wright confirmed the Government will begin negotiations with the sector on an ambitious Industrial Strategy sector deal.

He has called upon the industry to respond with a renewed commitment to promote its offer throughout the year, not just in the peak summer months, and increase high-quality, well-paid jobs.

The sector has been asked to look at the key themes of making tourism and hospitality a career for life, making the UK the most accessible tourism industry in the world, sharing industry data to identify growth opportunities in new and emerging markets, and increasing accommodation capacity.

The announcement follows an initial proposal submitted by tourism industry leaders, led by Steve Ridgway, Chair of the British Tourist Authority. It also comes as the Government marks one year since the launch of its modern Industrial Strategy, which aims to boost productivity by backing businesses to create good jobs and increase the earning power of people throughout the UK with investment in skills, industries and infrastructure.

British Tourist Authority Chair Steve Ridgway CBE, former Chief Executive of Virgin Atlantic Airways, who is leading the UK tourism industry’s bid for a sector deal under the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy said:

“Tourism is an economic powerhouse, a growing industry with huge potential to scale-up productivity, so it is very welcome news that an official negotiation for a sector deal has today been confirmed by the UK Government.

“Securing this deal will be a game-changer for the industry, spelling a step-change in how we underpin the success of tourism for a generation, fixing issues from skills and productivity to extending the season year-round and building stronger tourism destinations up and down the country. And it will be a game-changer for the economy with a sector deal growing the value of the industry and increasing employment in tourism.”

The Secretary of State also challenged the tourism industry to use the sector deal negotiations as an opportunity to deliver more collaborative data sharing with VisitBritain, around visitor figures, behaviours and audience analysis. This is to help take a more strategic approach to promotional activity and a more united approach to environmental protection.

New migration proposals will “devastate” hospitality

UKHospitality has reacted with alarm at the apparent confirmation that, under new Government plans, future EU migrants will be required to earn £30,000.

UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “Since the publication of the MAC report, we have, along with others, repeatedly made the case for a future immigration system that supports hospitality.

“If the rumours are to be believed, then the Government is just not listening to the needs of business. This is an ideologically-driven decision that is not going to benefit UK businesses, it will only do harm to the UK’s economy.

“If hospitality employers do not have access to EU workers, and under the proposed terms they will not, then we will only see more venue closures. These proposals are going to significantly shrink the talent pool for hospitality and businesses are going to be devastated.”

Welsh business rates support not enough to support growth in hospitality