Category Archives: Hospitality

Willing to enter the fastest growing tourism market? Come to the 20th HOSTECH in Istanbul!

Turkey ranked as Eighth Highest tourism earner in the word in 2010 and hosted 28,632,204 foreign tourist in its 3,379 hotels and holiday villages which has 786,453 bed capacity.

hostech by tusid

With its strategic location between Europe & Asia, Turkey offers a trading platform to the world’s hospitality industry players to faciliate the sourcing and selling of global quality products. Here other amazing facts about this fast growing market:

  • Total sales of large cooking appliances is 867 million USD and grow by 10% in retail volume terms and 13 % in current value terms in 2010.
  • Large cooking appliances is expected to grow by a 13 % volume CAGR and a 12 % constant value CAGR over the forecast period.
  • In 2010, durable goods retailers accounted for an 82% share of retail volume sales. Within durable goods retailers, electrical goods retailers independents held a 69% share of sales.
  • Small kitchen appliances (non-cooking) sales increase by 12% in both retail volume and current value terms in 2010 and is expected to grow by a 15% retail volume CAGR over the forecast period

Spanning over an area of 55.000 m2, HOSTECH by TUSİD, taking place fromMarch 28th to  April 1st at Istanbul CNR Expo, is expected to bring together 550 companies from 6 continent with 45,000 professionals mainly from Middle East, (CIS) Commonwealth of Independent States and Western Europe.

Main supporter of the 20th Hospitality Technologies Exhibition will be TUSID -Turkish Food Service, Laundry & Service Equipment Manufacturers and Businessmen Association. Fair also supported by KOSGEB – Small and Medium Sized Industry Development Organization (Turkey) TÜRSAB – Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (Turkey), TUROB – Touristic Hotels and Investors Association (Turkey) and TAFED – The Federation of Turkish Cooks (Turkey), SYRITEL -Societe Syrienne Des Hoteliers (Syria), IHA Israel Hotel Association (Israel) , FIHR – Romanian Hotel Industry Federation (Romania) , BHRA – Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association (Bulgaria) and GHA – Greek Hotels Association (Greece)

As active  member of FCSI, FoodService Consultant Society International, I am glad to invite you to come and visit us at the FCSI booth – please do contact me norman|at|desita|dot|it to schedule a meeting.

Meet us at SIGEP!

The next days are going to be very busy ones for us at DESITA, ECOFFEE and showfood. SIGEP – the 33rd International Exhibition for the Artisan Production of Gelato, Pastry, Confectionery and Bakery – will take place in Rimini from Jan.21st to 25th and we will participate meeting our current customers and prospects.

Artisan confectionery is one of the sectors for which Italy is famous worldwide. According to Confartigianato, between January and August 2011, Italian companies in this sector exported products for a value of 224 million euros, with an increase of 8.6% compared to the first eight months of 2010. The country that is fondest of Italian delicacies is France, followed by Germany and Austria. Since the beginning of the year, Italy´s ´cousins´ from the other side of the Alps have bought 50.3 million euros of confectionery (equal to 22.4% Italian exports of this type of product). Italy exported 35.8 million euros of pastry produce t o Germany (15.9% of total exports), whereas exports of confectionery to Austria totalled 16.8 million euros (7.5% of the total).

These results were achieved also thanks to the contribution of SIGEP, the world´s most important artisan confectionery expo, with its 90,000 m2 of exhibition space 850 companies taking part and approximately 20,000 foreign trade visitors over the five days.

The international success is the result of a precise strategy in event organization, with participants from the five continents, in sales communication and advertising and in the widespread network of relations set up through the years. A precise project is dedicated to internationalization activity – Top Buyers from 5 continents – which focuses on the qualified attendance of trade members from nations selected along with the exhibitors. Plus, to schedule effective business meetings before SIGEP, by means of the online Marketplace platform, precise daily agendas of meetings are programmed between Italian and foreign trade members, bringing together supply and demand.

With a view to SIGEP 2012 and to favour the arrival of foreign buyers, Rimini Fiera foreign marketing office concentrated on the so-called BRICST countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Turkey), as well as on the neighbouring nations: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Egypt, Ecuador, Singapore, United States, Malaysia and Qatar.

Further promotional activity was carried out in Morocco, France, Arab Emirates and Canada

Also worth stressing are the numerous contacts made by the Italian Chamber of Commerce for Germany for the promotion of the SIGEP Neo program during SIGEP 2012. The major German Chambers of Commerce and Artisan Business were contacted and several of them expressed interest in divulging Rimini Fiera´s invitation among their ´young´ member companies. Also on behalf of the most important German associations there is willingness to distribute invitations to the sector´s new ´recruits´: many regional bakers associations, such as the Verband des Rheinischen BBckerhandwerks, BBckerinnungsverband Hessen and associations that include large-scale bakeries such as the Verband Deutscher Groobbckereien, just like the Uniteis e.V., whose members are all the ice cream parlours in Germany, have confirmed that they will distribute the program among their members.

Please feel free to contact me normanatdesitadotit if you want to arrange an appointment – our schedule is very busy but we will do our best to get to know you in person.

2012 top trends to dominate Middle East hotel sector

Ten leading hoteliers present the top 10 industry trends expected to dominate the Middle East hotel sector in 2012

1. M-commerce
“Rapid advancements in travel technology are on the cards, especially mobile bookings which has opened a whole new world. According to industry sources 18% of mobile users are expected to make bookings using their smart devices.”Michel Noblet, President & CEO, HMH – Hospitality Management Holdings

2. Influence of consumer ratings
“Websites such as Trip Advisor will continue to push hotels to become better attuned to customer’s needs. It is no longer about what we say about ourselves in a brochure that maters, it is what our reviewers say. We need to listen to our guests and even though not every review can be positive, hotels need to acknowledge issues and work to fix them.”Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, President and CEO of Millennium & Copthorne, Middle East and Africa.

3. Digital booking
“Online booking will be another top trend. Our hotels will heavily switch to the online channel. Potential and existing clients are becoming tech-savvy experts. They know what they want, and are far more sophisticated in what they are looking for, easily accessing information about our hotels through digital tools. Thus, our key priority area is to be on top of the latest online tools and aggressively develop our digital services and presence: from mobile apps to E-Marketing, to our loyalty program, Le Club Accorhotels.”Christophe Landais, managing director, Accor Middle East

4. Growth of the mid-market

We think it will be a bit of a return to 2009 in 2012. In light of the economic instability in Europe I think added value packages will once again become very attractive. This instability will help grow another trend, mid-market hotels. I predict this will continue to grow in the region throughout 2012, especially the clearly defined brands within the mid-market segment.Marko Hytonen, Area Vice President, The Rezidor Hotel Group

5. Emergence of new brands

“I believe we will see the introduction and growth of brands that are new to the region, brands such as Hotel Indigo. We are yet to bring Hotel Indigo to this part of the world, but following the success of the brand elsewhere we expect to announce our first property early next year. The growth of our Staybridge Suites brand will also continue and this helps us cater for the needs of the long stay guest.”John Bamsey, Chief Operating Officer, India, Middle East & Africa, InterContinental Hotels Group

6. Spa and wellness

“Spas are becoming important to both the leisure and business traveler. Nowadays, they are a necessity rather than a luxury, just as a health and fitness club is today, as more and more people seem to be looking seriously at their personal health and well being. Rotana has introduced spa facilities to many of its properties following extensive research into the desires and needs of guests. The direction we are going is to include a Spa in each of our 5 star Resorts & Hotels.”Selim El Zyr, president and CEO, Rotana Hotels

7. Talent and training

“The battle for talent is a real one compounded by the complexities of the need to engage countries very real needs to immerse their own workforce in our industry” Jeff Strachan, vice president – sales and marketing, MEA, Marriott

8. Rise of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) travellers 
“These emerging economies are slowly but surely making their mark as strong source markets as well as development markets. Hilton has recognised this and, with particular regard to China, launched an initiative in 2011 called Hilton Huanying — a tailored experience for all travellers of Chinese origin. Inspired by the Chinese word for ‘welcome’, the programme enables visitors to book Hilton hotels with confidence knowing the properties will meet their cultural needs and expectations. These include, front desk team member fluent in Chinese, tea kettles, dedicated Chinese broadcasting channel on TV, welcome letter in Chinese and chinese tea available in the bedrooms. We also provide special Chinese dishes at breakfast. Over 50 hotels in the Hilton Hotels & Resorts portfolio have signed up to the programme.”Rudi Jagersbacher, President, Hilton Worldwide, Middle East & Africa

9. Bargain hunters
“One of the most important trends is the very short lead of advance booking. This can be attributed to the availability of airline capacity to specific destinations which in turn relaxes customers urgency for advanced booking and allows guests the opportunity to search for last minute bargains. Guests are looking for added-value. In terms of preferences and behaviour patterns, travellers are still taking vacations and travelling widely but they demand extra value for money more than before. They are still looking for quality of service and personalized experiences but added value is a key factor while selecting their accommodations.”Gerard Hotelier, Vice President Operations- Middle East, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts

10. Social media
“Social media creates opportunities never envisioned before. It influences how you are positioned on google, your reputation can be damaged or enhanced within a blink of an eye, social commerce is coming, and all this is going mobile. It is a revolution for the hotel industry, and it is just the beginning. Said that, as a company you have to wonder how to invest and how much. The ROI is still not clear, and there is a RISK on spending too much.” Sami Nasser, SVP, Sofitel Middle East and Indian Ocean 

Via http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

A new open online platform to share knowledge on hotel sustainability by Accor

Accor, the world’s largest hotel group and operator of brands such as Ibis, Novotel and Sofitel, said it had launched the online platform to make information on sustainability, including, research, surveys and case studies of good practice, available to any operator, whatever their size, for free.

The move coincides with the completion of a major piece of new independent research by Ifop on behalf of Accor that shows the vast majority of hotel guests are concerned by sustainable development.

Research findings
Accor’s executive vice president for sustainable development, Sophie Flak, said the findings confirmed there could be no more excuses for hotels not taking action on environmental, social and economic development.

“Sustainability is a very well known concept among hotel guests,” she said. “Discovery has gone; it is time for concrete action.”

The survey of 7,000 Accor guests across six countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Brazil and China, found that eight out of 10 hotel guests felt sustainable development was important to them. It also revealed that guests had high expectations for hotels to take action across four key areas: water, energy, waste and child protection.

But Flak said one of the most important findings of the survey was that a majority of guests now expect a hotel that implements sustainable policies to be a comfortable one to stay in.

“66 per cent of guests said a responsible hotel was a comfortable hotel,” she said. “No one can tell me now that they can’t set up a sustainable hotel because it will not be comfortable.”

Environmental targets
Accor, which operates 4200 properties across 15 brands in 90 countries and employs 145,000 staff, launched its own five-year sustainability programme, Earth Guest, in 2006. The programme, however, has only been partially successful in meeting its objectives. Accor set itself a target to reduce its energy by by 10 per cent between 2006 and 2010 but missed it by 4.5 per cent, while it only reduced paper waste by 53 per cent against a 70 per cent target. But it exceeded its target on water, cutting it by 12 per cent against a target of 10 per cent. It has yet to set targets on carbon emissions, said Flak, but will be doing so in a new environmental strategy the company will be announcing in early 2012.

Common standards
The release of the data, early next year, will coincide with the planned launch by the £3.7 billion international tourism industry of common standards to calculate and report on the carbon emissions of the sector.

Accor said findings of its latest research were now available on its open platform, Earth Guest Research. It wants other hotels to use it to adopt sustainable policies and said it plans to release several pieces of new research a year. In return, it is calling on other hotels to share their research and methodology so the whole industry can benefit.

“Sustainability can’t be handled by people who know nothing about it,” said Flak. “That is why we need these documents and facts.”

In September, the UN World Tourism Organisation launched an online toolkit to help hotels evaluate energy consumption, find renewable sources and cut their cost through improved efficiency.

via accor news | Accor creates open platform to share knowledge on hotel sustainability.

Exclusive from the Abu Dhabi Tourist Green World Forum: where sustainability matters

Posting directly from Abu Dhabi, where I have been invited  by our worldwide ambassador, the Green Sheikh, and our supporter Goumbook, in the person of Mrs. Tatiana Antonelli Abella, to attend to the World Green Tourism event, supporting them during the opening day which took place last Monday, Dec. 5th.

The Green Sheikh and HE Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak at WGT 2011

The morning conference was opened by the introduction of  HE Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary General Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) who actively supports responsibility and sustainability actions in Abu Dhabi and UAE respectful of the local environment and wildlife.

Immediately after our worldwide Ambassador HH Abdul Aziz bin Ali Al Nuaimi, aka the Green Sheikh, captured the audience with an engaging presentation, merging his life philosophy and his belief together with his support for the environment and with his many travel experiences and encounters with people of all races, cultures and social classes. From Antarctica to Brazil, Iceland and Australia via amusing anecdotes, the Green Sheikh skillfully showed the audience that we are all equal, no matter if men or women, adults or children, Christians or  Muslims or Jews or following other religions, rich or poor.

The presentation was accompanied by amazing images and he used the cardinal points as a guide for his presentation -N, E, S and W- each one having its own enhanced meaning: N as Nature, S as Social, E as Empowerment, and W as World. Because travellers too can make a better world, through a more aware, green and responsible tourism

To my great surprise – and I want to publicly thank the Green Sheikh for this- the Green Sheikh introduced the ECOFFEE platform to the audience, presenting it as a great opportunity for young entrepreneurs.

ECOFFEE as a “Sustainable entrepreneurship platform” was in fact coined together with the Green Sheikh during our first meeting some of months ago, while talking about  ECOFFEE’ services and projects, like the Franchising coffee shop, especially designed for those entrepreneurs who want to run a profitable, responsible and ethical business.

What I am witnessing here at the WGT event is the growing importance of the environment, sustainability and responsibility issues which are now actually transferred into daily business practices even in the Tourism industry – I am glad and proud to be among those who are actively supporting it each and every day with DESITA and ECOFFEE’s business practices.

World Green Tourism leaders meet in Abu Dhabi

Presented by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, World Green Tourism Abu Dhabi (Dec. 5-7) is a global event to provide the much needed platform dedicated to sustainable tourism.World_Green_Tourism

Held over three days, the event is the largest ever gathering of government officials, regional and international tourism authorities, environmental agencies, industry leaders, urban city planners, architects, developers, institutional investors and financiers, airlines and tour operators, green product suppliers, universities and academics to examine this issue.

The event aims to support and further enhance sustainable tourism globally and in the region by creating opportunities where industry leaders can meet and discuss immediate challenges and effectively formulate solutions to pressing environmental issues.

The WGT is a three-day conference with heavyweight keynote speeches and interactive panel debates, workshops and an exhibition that will showcase sustainable products, services and technologies relating to the travel and tourism industry. With visitors including hotel GMs, responsible travel agents and environmental consultants the exhibition is the ideal place to showcase your solutions. In addition the exhibition will feature existing and planned developments, hotels and projects that are taking a sustainable approach.

The dense conference program will start on Dec. 5th. Introduced by a speech by ECOFFEE’s Worlwide Ambassador, H.H Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi (the Green Sheikh), the conference will follow dealing with Industry related themes: How can large scale tourism ever be made sustainable? ,“Empowering consumers to make a responsible choice: What steps should the travel industry take?” , “Whose responsibility is it to green the tourism industry?” ending with “Green branding and marketing: Making sure your values are consistent with your message” panel.

In the next two days, the conference will deal with other important topics, such as Water conservation and energy use and regenerating and developing destinations
using sustainable principles. It will be also possible to book site visits that will take place to sustainable tourism projects in and around the city of Abu Dhabi. Delegates will be accompanied by representatives of the ADTA and EAD as well as the consultants who work with them.

We will attend the event to support the Green Sheikh and to bring back news and ECOFFEE’s new interesting prospects and projects. Please do not hesitate to contact norman|at|ecoffee|dot|it to plan a meeting at the upcoming WGT.

Branded Sustainability Measurement System Save Hilton $74 Million

Global hospitality company Hilton Worldwide says it saved more than $74 million in 2010 across its portfolio of 10 hotel brands as a result of its sustainability measurement program, called LightStay.

Hilton Worldwide claims to be the first major multi-brand hospitality company to make sustainability measurement a brand standard, and the company reported the following results:

  • 6.6 percent reduction of energy use
  • 19 percent reduction of waste output
  • 3.8 percent reduction of water use
  • 7.8 percent reduction of carbon output

LightStay measures multiple utility and operational metrics such as energy, water, carbon, housekeeping, paper product usage, waste, chemical storage, air quality and transportation. In addition, LightStay features a “meeting impact calculator” element that calculates the sustainability impact of any meeting or conference held at a property.

Hilton recently added new features to LightStay that allow hotels to track projects, share best practices and communicate with one another through a social network dashboard. Thus far, LightStay has more than 1,200 projects in the system, which is expected to double by next year, as all of Hilton’s more than 3,750 properties are required to begin using LightStay by this December.

“LightStay has provided us with a platform to measure hotel performance and economic improvement, proving to be invaluable given today’s increased operational demands and resource constraints,” says Christopher J. Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton Worldwide.

By 2014, Hilton Worldwide is committed to reduce energy consumption, CO2 emissions and waste output by 20 percent, as well as reduce water consumption by 10 percent from direct operations within the company’s owned hotels and corporate properties.

Over the next three years, Hilton says it will continue to invest in their owned assets to improve building performance. Projects will include the installation of energy-efficient chillers, boilers, motors, building automation systems, water reclamation systems, high-efficient windows and white roofs. The Hilton New York, for example, will be installing an onsite cogeneration system, which will offset 54 percent of its electrical needs and 33 percent of its thermal needs.

Hilton recently earned ISO 14001 certification for Environmental Management Systems, achieving one of the largest ever volume certifications of commercial buildings.

via Branded Sustainability Measurement System Save Hilton $74 Million | Sustainable Life Media.

Welcome to the Organic Academy among ECOFFEE’s partners!

I am glad to announce that another great partnership has been recently signed between ECOFFEE by DESITA and the Italian leading project about Culinary Knowledge and Environmental Respect, the Organic Academy.

The Organic Academy is based on the foundations of a respect and nurturing of one’s self, others, and the surrounding Nature, which can be found also in its willingness to elevate the vegetarian cuisine to its best thanks to the incredible receipts of Executive Chef Simone Salvini, whose amazing curriculum shows experiences at the Joia Restaurants (Michelin starred), at the Italian Camera dei Deputati (Parliament) and at the Italian Association of Vegetarians.

The Organic Academy is supervised by Chef Pietro Leeman, Joia restaurant owner.

This respect and nurturing is also manifested by development and practice of culinary arts, nutrition, and hospitality, development skillfully managed by Organic Academy’s Managing Director, Enrico Buselli, successful restaurant owner and sustainable tourism consultant.

ECOFFEE and the Organic Academy are also collaborating to develop the Organic Bistrot, following the ECOFFEE’s protocol.

I am sure that this partnership will lead to great innovative –and delicious- projects having sustainability at its core!

New Sustainability Book Highlights Best Practices in Hotel Development and Operations

Sustainability is an important topic that affects every stage of hotel development and operation. Hotel Sustainable Development: Principles and Best Practices, published by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI), provides hospitality professionals with a wealth of information about key factors to be considered when exploring sustainability.

Editors A.J. Singh, international lodging, finance and real estate associate professor in The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University, and Hervé Houdré, general manager of the InterContinental New York Barclay, and leading sustainable development experts identify emerging trends and discuss how sustainability affects regulatory, policy, development, architectural, financial, and operational issues. Each chapter presents important elements in the implementation of sustainable development to provide valuable insights to hotel investors, developers, owners, and lodging operators.

The book is divided into four sections:

  • Historical Context: Local and Global Perspective
  • Development and Investment Perspective
  • Hotel Corporate and Property Perspective
  • Operating Perspective

The overarching theme of the book follows John Elkington’s approach of the “Triple Bottom-line.” This is the most commonly accepted perspective of sustainable development by most businesses, as it comprehensively looks at sustainable development from three perspectives: People, Planet and Profit. The common theme across all the chapters is “value creation.” While value creation addresses all stakeholders in a hotel development or operation, the primary question that each chapter addresses is whether sustainable development metrics indicate financial incentives for investors, developers, owners, and lodging operators.

A number of hospitality organizations supported the publication of this book, including the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), Green Meetings Industry Council (GMIC), National Association of Hotel and Lodging Engineers (NAHLE), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Hotel Asset Managers Association (HAMA). (Source: Hotelnewsresource.com)

Upcoming Events: our agenda

Here’s a list of all the leading events that we will follow in the next months.

8th-11th September, 2011: Sana, Bologna IT.
15th-17th September, 2011: FCSI FAME Conference, Stockholm SW
8th -12th October 2011: Anuga, Cologne D
16th – 18th October 2011: Qatar International Environment Protection, Doha
17th-19th October 2011:  Green Middle East, Sharjah, UAE
21th -25 October 2011: Host Milan, IT
4th-7th November, 2011: Salone Franchising Milano, Milan IT
9th-12th November, 2011: Ecomondo, Rimini IT
16th – 18th Nomber: Mapic, Cannes FR
22nd-24th November: Diyafa, Qatar
24th November, 2011: Green Awards, London UK
5th-7th December: World Green Tourism, Abu Dhabi

Meeting you will be a great pleasure: just sent me an email norman(at)ecoffee(dot)it to synch our agendas.