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Dublin Airport has launched a new feature that allows passengers to receive flight updates directly to their mobile devices via Twitter, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

Passengers can subscribe to the new feature by selecting the social media platform of their choice via a small window at the bottom of the flight information page on Dublin Airport’s website.

The new feature keeps passengers updated on the status of both departing  and arriving flights, sending status updates directly to mobile devices, with information such as gate numbers, boarding times and delays for departing flights, and information such as when a flight is on approach and on which baggage belt luggage will be delivered for arriving flights

Chatbot Feature

Additionally, the airport has added a chatbot feature to its website, which will answer many of the frequently asked questions that passengers might have.

Passengers can also subscribe for flight alerts via the chatbot feature.

Original article on Hospitality Ireland by Dave Simpson.

According to hotel industry market data company STR, hotel occupancy in Ireland decreased by 77.4% year-on-year to 16.2% in November.

RevPAR

Meanwhile, as reported by The Irish Times, revenue per available room (RevPAR) decreased by 85.8% year-on-year to €11.93 in Ireland in November.

ADR

Additionally, the average daily rate (ADR) decreased by 37.1% year-on-year to €73.60 in Ireland in November.

Original article on Hospitality Ireland  by Dave Simpson. 

Accounts that were filed in the UK in December of 2020 for London’s Claridge’s, Connaught and Berkeley hotels revealed that businessman and hotelier Paddy McKillen received a £5 million management fee for his oversight of the Maybourne Hotel Group in 2019 from companies controlled by the emir of Qatar.

As reported by The Irish Times, McKillen was previously a co-owner of London’s Claridge’s, Connaught and Berkeley hotels, but he sold his interests to the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad al-Thani, in 2015, however, he was retained as an advisor to the emir following the sale.

It is believed that, in addition to his yearly fee, McKillen has a stake in any of future uplift in the Maybourne Hotel Group’s value, but he is not a shareholder in the hotels at present.

The Irish Times quotes a spokesperson for McKillen as saying, “Paddy McKillen personally manages and develops the hotels and the Maybourne brand with his team. He also has a substantial investment in the company.”

Claridge’s

Various accounts that were filed in the UK last month suggest that approximately £1.8 million of the management fee that was paid to McKillen’s Dublin-based Hume Street Consultants company in 2019 relates to his work at Claridge’s.

The ownership of Claridge’s is vested separately to the Maybourne Hotel Group’s other London hotels in Coroin, which also owns an investment property that is adjacent to Claridge’s.

Coroin’s accounts show a £9 million decrease in turnover to £58 million in 2019. Additionally, Claridge’s experienced a loss of £10.8 million after experiencing a pre-tax profit of £4.1 million the previous year, and its revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased by a fifth. Much of the hotel’s loss in 2019 was due to rolling closures of its room stock during that year to allow building work to take place.

Connaught And Berkley

Accounts for Selene Midco, which owns the Connaught and Berkley hotels as well as another London hotel development, indicate that the company’s revenues held steady in 2019 at £107.9 million while its pre-tax profits decreased from £6 million to £2.3 million. McKillen’s long-time associate Liam Cunnningham is a director of Selene Midco.

Originally published by Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. 

Bord Bia has launched a major UK marketing campaign that places grass-fed Irish beef in the spotlight in a bid to drive awareness of its premium qualities and Ireland’s unique grass-fed production systems.

The campaign, which involves a television advertisement that will run during the month of October on ITV breakfast shows as well as digital advertisements and collaborations with high profile UK chefs, is being released in parallel with the launch of Bord Bia’s new Grass-Fed Standard for Beef in the UK this month.

The Grass-Fed Standard is the world’s first independently verified standard on a national scale, which allows Irish processors to track and verify the percentage of grass consumed in the diet of Irish beef herds.

The Grass-Fed model will use data collected during the ISO-accredited Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS), which is Bord Bia’s quality assurance scheme on Irish farms, at on-farm audits to determine the grass fed status of each participating herd.

“A Timely Opportunity”

Bord Bia GB meat market specialist Emmet Doyle stated, “This campaign is a timely opportunity to showcase Ireland’s high standards in grass-fed production systems and highlight the tradition and care of Irish farmers with consumers across the UK. It enables us to showcase the commonalities between British and Irish beef, and how Ireland continues to be the perfect source of premium quality and delicious tasting grass fed beef.”

Ireland’s beef exports to the UK were valued at almost €850 million in 2019.

Original Article by Dave Simpson of Hospitality Ireland.

Operating profits at The Shed Distillery of Co. Leitrim amounted to €1.93 million during the year that ended on September 30, 2019.

Meanwhile, the Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin producer’s turnover rose to €8 million during the period from €7.1 million the previous year and it sold more than a million of bottles of gin last year, as reported by The Irish Times.

The Shed Distillery was on track to sell approximately 1.4 million bottles of gin this year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Coronavirus Impact

Talking to The Irish Times, The Shed Distillery founder Pat Rigney said, “If 2021 continues as 2020 has, I think it will put us all under.

“Everything has been turned on its head and things are obviously very challenging for us and everyone else out there in the sector.

“We can’t get out to our markets to sell, and obviously travel retail has been hit hard and that is down at least 80%. I’d say we have lost about two years in terms of growth when it is all added up and we have to get that back somehow.”

However, Rigney said that the Shed Distillery will record “a small profit” for 2020, despite the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Original Article by Dave Simpson of Hospitality Ireland.

The property that houses Dublin restaurant One Pico has hit the market via commercial real estate advisory firm QRE with a guide price of €1.95 million.

As reported by The Irish Times, the property, which is located at 5 and 6 Molesworth Place and 1 Schoolhouse Lane in the capital, is being offered for purchase with One Pico in place as a tenant.

Frossway Ltd, trading as One Pico Restaurant, is over-holding on an occupational full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease that expired in 2008, with a current contracted yearly rent of €110,000. The lease covers number 4A Molesworth Place, the freehold interest of which is not included in the sale. The yearly net rent receivable for numbers 5 and 6 Molesworth Place and 1D Schoolhouse Lane is €99,000.

One Pico’s main restaurant area, reception, kitchen and stores are situated on the property’s ground floor, and the first floor is comprised of a private dining room, an office, staff changing facilities and WC facilities.

“A Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity”

The Irish Times quotes Bryan Garry and Conor Whelan of QRE Real Estate as saying, “The acquisition of this landmark property will provide an investor with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a renowned restaurant investment property in the heart of Dublin’s central business district. Alternatively, the purchaser is likely to consider the redevelopment of this unique corner site in the longer term in light of the scale of nearby development undertaken in recent years.”

Original Article by Dave Simpson of Hospitality Ireland.

Photo by Dimitry Anikin on Unsplash

Airbnb Inc is planning to list its shares on the Nasdaq, setting the stage for one of 2020’s most high-profile stock market debuts.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the company was aiming to raise $3 billion in its IPO, which could give it a valuation of more than $30 billion, and that it was targeting a listing before the end of the year.

The push to go public and the growth in its potential valuation underscores Airbnb’s dramatic recovery from earlier this year, when it secured emergency funding from investors and the outlook for the travel industry was uncertain.

San Francisco-based Airbnb, which has benefitted as travellers shy away from larger hotels and instead prefer to drive to local vacation rentals, said in July that customers had booked more than one million nights in a single day for the first time since March 3.

Airbnb did not give a timeline for when it may complete its IPO. The company filed confidentially for an IPO with US regulators in August.

Reuters reported earlier this year that billionaire investor William Ackman had approached Airbnb about going public through a reverse merger with his blank-check company but that Airbnb was prioritising going public through a traditional IPO.

Lead Underwriters
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc are acting as the lead underwriters for the IPO, Reuters reported last month, citing people familiar with the matter.

News by Reuters, edited by Career Vision Recruiters.

19% increase in consumption as people holidayed at home Pattern suggests most commercial activities were rebounding Consumption will be monitored closely over the coming weeks with Dublin moving to Level 3

Energy consumption in the hospitality sector increased by 19% during the summer months according to the latest Savills-Pinergy Energy Monitor.

The sector, which comprises of hotels, bars and restaurants, saw the biggest drop of all sectors between March and May due to Covid-19 restrictions, with consumption levels at 30%.

This rebounded to 37% post phase 1 re-opening of the economy and is now at 56% of normal levels as business increased during the summer months.

Elsewhere, energy consumption in offices remains at 77%, with a significant proportion of the country’s office workers still operating from home. The retail sector has rebounded to 97% of normal levels of consumption – up from 92% in June – and the professional, science and technology sectors is at 76% – up from 69%.

Interestingly, consumption in the health and leisure sector (private clinics, gyms, sports clubs etc) has seen a small adjustment from 79% in Phase 2 to 77% to end of the Phase 3.

haryn McAndrew, Head of Energy & Sustainability at Savills Ireland commented:

“With ‘wet pubs’ remaining closed, it’s not surprising that the hospitality sector has seen the biggest decrease in energy consumption during Covid-19 restrictions. However, since the 29th June, when hotels and restaurants re-opened, there has been a significant increase in consumption across the country, which can be attributed to the rise in staycations.”

Peter Bastable, Director – Pinergy said

“As Ireland unlocked economic activity during the summer we saw welcome rebounds in activity across a number of sectors, and in particular retail & hospitality. Real estate and offices remain at close to three quarters capacity as many people are working from home some or all of their time.”

Consumption will be monitored closely over the coming weeks with Dublin moving to Level 3 of the Living with Covid-19 plan.

Original post by Ciara M|September 21st, 2020 for hotelandcateringreview.ie

Michelin star Aniar Restaurant and Chef-Owner JP McMahon have launched an exclusive element to the restaurant and cookery school, Aniar At Home.

Aniar At Home brings the food of JP McMahon to your home with an added element of the Aniar Cookery School. Experience JP’s take on contemporary Irish food in the comfort of your own home while JP and his assisting chef create recipes from The Irish Cookbook.

Aniar At Home can be designed for up to six adults and includes a cookery demonstration of up to five dishes and tasting of all dishes. To add a special element to the evening, Aniar At Home can also add the expertise of their sommelier to teach and advise on the accompanying wines. The experience comes with all the food and produce, and wines if adding that element, plus serving plates and bowls for a truly unique experience.

JP McMahon, chef-patron of Aniar, said, “The Irish Cookbook has been such a success and I wanted to bring that experience into peoples homes, particularly now with Anair remaining closed until next year. The experience is a special, intimate one and of course we take all health and safety precautions before, during, and after each experience. The feedback so far has been wonderful, it gives a light relief and provides a unique evening.”

The dishes are chosen by the host from The Irish Cookbook and JP will advise on the best dishes to provide the best possible experience. Seasonal aspects will also play a part in dish choice, with dates from September allowing for wild game dishes to be created.

The Aniar At Home experience is available nationwide with an additional cost for travel and staff outside a 10km radius of Galway city. Within Galway city, the cost is €595 which includes approximately 2.5 hours of Aniar At Home experience with JP McMahon, all food, staff and serving dishes.

Examples of dishes include oysters with trout roe and sea lettuce; poached lobster with butter and cider sauce; turbot with fennel and seaweed; lamb fillets with samphire and cockles; sirloin steak, yellow chanterelles in duck fat and thyme; wild garlic and hazelnut pesto; and bread and butter pudding, elderflower custard with hazelnut crumble.

Dates are filling up fast for the Aniar At Home experience which takes place once a week. Enquiries to food@aniarrestaurant.ie.

 

Original post by Ciara M September 22nd, 2020 for http://hotelandcateringreview.ie/

Serdang Ltd is seeking permission to transform 56 holiday cottages on the site of The Blarney Hotel & Golf Resort into residential properties.

According to The Irish Examiner, Serdang has lodged plans with Cork City Council for a change-of-use of the existing 56 holiday cottages on the site of the hotel and golf resort, which shut last year, in the hopes of turning them into private residential buildings.

“Never A Financial Success”

In its application, Serdang stated that the hotel and golf resort was “never a financial success” and that transforming the 56 holiday cottages into private residential properties would ensure that they “do not fall into disrepair and become a burden in the area”.

Five of the cottages are already privately owned.

Open Space And Residential Car Parking

Serdang’s plans also include the provision of open space and residential car parking.

Original Article by Dave Simpson of Hospitality Ireland.