B E S T S T A Y NEWS Your resource for news on hospitality trends and events Europe's tourism BLOOMS Looks like 2018 is going to be another strong year for European destinations THE INFLUENCER GAME - a new era of storytelling Radisson Hotel Group's Sophie Clarke discusses new trends in marketing GUEST SAFETY AND SECURITY are in the hands of hotel staff What are YOU doing about it? HERE COMES AI How is tech changing hospitality? Adam Rowledge, GM @ Georgian House shares his view on the rise of AI
Hello & Welcome WELCOME FROM PROPER EVENTS & RESEARCH Best Stay is not just an event that happens once in a year but a yearlong community link which keeps you informed and engaged with the latest industry news in the hotel business. This first edition of Best Stay News, and the second one in September, will give you a glimpse into what your colleagues are working on globally to make your hotel business successful, safe and strong. This newsletter will offer you a peek into insights not available online, including snapshots from the Safe Stay event in London which took place at the end of April, the latest industry analyses, hotel developments, technology innovations and more. Keep an eye on our website beststayevent.com for the very latest updates... and looking forward to seeing you in Dubrovnik in November! WELCOME FROM RIXOS LIBERTAS DUBROVNIK I would like to welcome you to Rixos Libertas Dubrovnik, the proud partner and supporter of the Best Stay event in 2018. This hotel has welcomed many conferences since 2008, we are building an annex to the hotel with a bridge with 53 additional rooms next to the hotel and 60 close (car) park spaces opposite the Hotel entrance. I am particularly happy to host a group of hospitality professionals at our hotel this year and am certain that Best Stay event, and activities throughout the year will bring specific and relevant benefits to all of us, as it has in the past when I attended the event last year at Hotel Park Split. With Dubrovnik tourism industry growing year on year, it will be an excellent time in November to discuss our experiences from this year and how we can improve for 2019 and further in terms of attracting high quality guests throughout the year, with shared learning and best practices. I look forward to welcoming you on November 7th, and if we can help with anything beforehand, feel free to contact us. Ayhan Basci, General Manager Rixos Libertas Dubrovnik Anja Profozić Director, Proper d.o.o. Proper Events & Research Ltd.
BEST STAY NEWS FROM MINOR INCIDENTS TO MAJOR SECURITY THREATS, HOTEL STAFF ARE KEY TO GUEST SAFETY Snapshots from Safe Stay conference Cavendish Conferene Centre, London April 27, 2018 Safe Stay event, organised by Proper Events and Research, took place in London, in the bright and airy auditorium of Cavendish Conference Centre near Oxford Circus, on April 27th. Attended by Security Directors and Hotel General Managers from leading London hotels, other parts of the United Kingdom, as well as Paris, Brussels, Istanbul and Malta to mention just a few, the event was the first of its kind to focus specifically on securing guests at insecure times for the hospitality industry - at a time when the tourism industry is growing and yet, threats such as terrorism, natural disasters or cybersecurity threats are also on the rise. Just like at Best Stay event last year in Split in Croatia, where guest experience was the topic in the spotlight, Safe Stay brought to the surface just how important hotel staff are to guest safety and security. Guests of your hotel will look at the staff when an incident occurs, and your staff will need to show them what to do, pointed out Craig McMahon, Business Engagement and Hotel Liaison at the City of Westminster Police. Tim Levitan from The London Edition emphasised in his presentation that as hoteliers with specialty in loss prevention, rather than just security in the hotel, we need to focus on people, not policies, while Peter Milewski from Melia Hotels International concluded in his presentation that if your staff can handle a relatively small vandalism threat effectively, then they will be able to step up if a major crime, such as terrorism, occurs. But how to motivate staff who are just hired in a new hotel or in a hotel which has a high rate of turnover? Nick MacKenzie, who is Head of Safety and Security at The Ned, which opened in London in 2017 with 900 new staff, said on his panel about motivating staff that the way to get staff buy-in is to make it things real, giving them context, making things understandable and simple. Stuart Granger-Smith from Amba Hotel Marble Arch shares a similar view on this: I may only have one or two security officers on a shift, but I will have one or two hundred members of hotel staff, and part of their job is security. Darren Carter, who is Head of Group Security at Edwardian Hotels London, talked about how they engage staff by giving them security training within the induction programme and how Everybody understands within Edwardian that it is absolutely their responsibility to be part security. Our staff are our eyes and ears, and they are generally really excited about the fact that they are becoming part security officers - it's a bit like being a secret agent. It is also very competitive, so whoever gets information
BEST STAY NEWS to security first, is awarded. The staff engage in this voluntarily and know that it keeps their workplace safe, just like they want to keep their home safe. Peter Claeson from Scandic Hotels, who participated in a panel about safety and security in the eyes of our guests, concluded that If you can show guests you have strong security, then it will be a USP. At the end of the day, secure hotels also get more business, because an increasing number of corporate, but also leisure guests, are asking about this important aspect when they inquire about the hotel and that's why the general manager, as well as the whole commercial team, should closely cooperate with the security team. Tim Molden from The Savoy explained in an interview he gave us at Safe Stay that Certainly over the last 12 months, corporate but also leisure guests have been asking about what the safety plans are, what the risk prevention strategies are and we as security directors are brought to the table at the contract stage, which is something that didn't happen before... Potential guests already know that our F&B is of high standard, they know that we offer luxury, they can see what our rooms look like but they do not know what the safety and security is like. A large percentage of our guests are from the US and they very often ask these questions, they very much see it as not just a London, but a European issue. The basis for how we operate as an industry is reputation, maintaining and preserving your brand. Security plays a significant part in this. So, I have a General Manager of ours here today, from our flagship hotel, because he recognises the need to be here., concluded Darren Carter from Edwardian Hotels London in his interview. If you are a General Manager, then you might get a few ideas from this article about how to work more effectively with your security team, effectively manage potential risks but also make this a USP. For more information about Safe Stay event, our speakers, partners and attendees, please visit the website safestayevent.com be ready for the new season with hrvatski telekom services! THE NETWORK. INTUITIVE. choose our technology solutions for the hospitality industry and welcome your guests well-equipped. Choose between fixed and mobile telephony and technologies designed specifically for the hospitality industry We tailor our technology solutions to suit your needs Maintenance and 24/7 expert customer support included Option to pay in fixed monthly installments For more information, visit hrvatskitelekom.hr/poslovni/hospitality or call 0800 0005. Constantly learning. Constantly adapting. Constantly protecting. Only from Cisco. #networkintuitive
BEST STAY NEWS MEDITERRANEAN MARKETS SHINE In 2017 Europe benefited from strong demand and limited supply growth and reached overall increase of 5.6% in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar). After having 7 years of continuous growth Europe posted all time high occupancy level of 72% which is well above prerecession levels. Looking at the numbers it is clear that there is a sea of positivity across Europe with positive RevPar growth from East to West and South to North part of the continent. It is expected that 2018 will be another strong year for Europe, but missing some of the sterling weakness and recovery rebound seen in 2017 it is forecasted that RevPar growth will slow down to approximately 5%. 2017 was particularly strong for Mediterranean destinations with strong recovery in Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia, and double digit growth in Iberian Peninsula, Greek Islands and Croatian coast. Dating back to 2010 with the Arab Spring in Egypt, unrest in Northern Africa has shifted a significant amount of the region s leisure tourism to Southern Europe. This has resulted in stellar performance levels for hotels in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. At the same time, hotels in Northern African countries, including Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, have seen their performance levels plummet. In 2017, however, Northern African countries saw significant recovery, although this did not seem to tip the scale for hotels in Southern Europe, as growth continued throughout the year. by STR, UK. be ready for the new season with hrvatski telekom services! choose our technology solutions for the hospitality industry and welcome your guests well-equipped. Choose between fixed and mobile telephony and technologies designed specifically for the hospitality industry We tailor our technology solutions to suit your needs Maintenance and 24/7 expert customer support included Option to pay in fixed monthly installments For more information, visit hrvatskitelekom.hr/poslovni/hospitality or call 0800 0005.
ANNOUNCING BEST STAY 2018 ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Best Stay 2018 November 8-10, 2018 Rixos Libertas Dubrovnik Michael Caspar Radisson Blu Hotel Split, Croatia Mario Ovsenjak Hotel Gotham, UK Sophie Clarke Radisson Hotel Group Belgium Josipa Jakić Olympia Vodice Croatia Adam Rowledge Georgian House, UK Marin Kirin Falkensteiner Resort Borik, Croatia Tomislav Hrala Kempinski Slovenia Tea Pestotnik Prebeg Valamar Riviera, Croatia Robert Gasser Courtyard by Marriott Belgrade City Center, Serbia Andrea Glavan Hotel Bellevue, Mali Lošinj, Croatia Joze Tomaš Hotel Park Split Croatia Ayhan Basci Rixos Libertas Dubrovnik, Croatia To keep track of news in the lead up to Best Stay event, keep an eye on beststayevent.com HOTELIER INTERVIEW SNAPSHOTS "In F&B, we're seeing much more of a trend towards plantbased dining with guests eating meat less frequently and a more flexible approach to dieting than in previous years" - mentioned Adam Rowledge from Georgian House Hotel. "The second area is technology and from this perspective, we need to look towards personalisation and artificial intelligence (AI). The guest experience at every touchpoint now needs to be more personalised than ever, and AI has the power to help us achieve this." Sophie Clarke (Radisson Hotel Group), on the other hand, turns to marketing where, "so much has changed over the past years, but to pick a couple of key changes it has to be technology and
BEST STAY NEWS hotel companies themselves. From a hotel company perspective, we ve seen a lot of consolidation. I was working for Starwood Hotels at the time of merging with Marriott which launched the world s largest hotel company, and we can see other companies also consolidating, including Accor Hotels purchasing Fairmont Raffles and Onefinestay. And I doubt these will be the last. From a technology standpoint, there s continuous development from opening your room with your mobile phone, to the rise of flows and bots automating the research and booking process on social media." "The challenge today is showcasing that marketing goes way beyond storytelling. Especially in social media, because a lot of people use their personal social media accounts on a daily basis, many people consider themselves experts in the field. What I work on is showcasing all the work we do within content marketing and social media and building a business case to show everything from content production and distributing content to our target audiences, to managing social care as more and more people turn to social media to comment on their experiences, and social commerce. I love that part of my job surprising people with everything we can achieve. The best advice I can give is to showcase what you do. If you ve done something great, create a presentation showing the clear KPIs and ROI and send it to key stakeholders. Because the social landscape is constantly changing, you need to show what you do as a lot of people aren t familiar with these new forms of advertising." Challenges for Adam Rowledge include, "reducing the cost of acquisition of business and talent management. Both are huge topics with no fixed answer on how to face them but in terms of the approach to doing so, you need to be open to doing things differently, break down your processes for everything and examine each step to identify where waste or errors are occurring and where value is being added to. Then take a data-driven approach to decision making rather than relying on the way things have been done previously." Read full interviews and check out the programme where Adam and Sophie are speaking - beststayevent.com.
1. PACK your bag and travel to Dubrovnik. 3. KICK-OFF Collect your delegate badge. 4. GRAB THE FRONT SEAT to hear the Keynote and all other exciting presentations and stimulating discussions on Nov 8. BEST STAY 2018 ATTENDEE JOURNEY 5. NETWORK Get to know all the attendees by participating in Speed Networking, 1-2-1 Meetings and Hosted Lunch. 2. PRE-CONFERENCE DRINKS Join your colleagues on Wednesday, November 7 for some drinks. 7. CHECK OUT THE EXHIBITION Head to the exhibition hall and check which companies are showcasing their latest offerings - make sure to vote for the best one. 6. GET INSPIRED Make sure to take notes, ask questions and join others on Twitter by posting your comments - use #beststay18 8. BEST STAY AWARDS Celebrate this year's best hotels, general managers and hotel solutions. Join us in Dubrovnik in November - REGISTER BEFORE JUNE 1 for best prices and deals for you and your team www.beststayevent.com 9. PARTY! Dance the night off at Best Stay themed party. 10. WORKSHOP Join one of specific workshops on F&B, revenue management or sales and marketing on Nov 9. 11. OFF-SITE Continue your Best Stay experience at an off-site half day HR workshop on Nov 10. BEST STAY NEWS By Proper Events & Research Proper d.o.o., Primorje 50, 51222 Bakar, OIB 15091068569, +385 51 580 730, +385 99 8305 134, info@proper.com.hr, www.proper.com.hr