Backpacker hostels need records of residents too
Every day I phone dozens of backpacker hostels throughout the UK as part of my work.
I am always horrified that receptions, with very few exceptions, will have no idea who is resident in their hostels.
Occasionally I ask why this is so, and the answer is usually "we have hundreds of people staying here".
Always the thought of an emergency crosses my mind. It is little wonder that the investigation into the fire at a backpacker hostel in Australia is now dependent upon a six-month "calls of elimination" to determine the dead.
Why not check residents from the register? Because there will be none, that's why.
Cheap backpacker hostels evidently have their place in society, but surely not at a price of dispensing with life-saving controls.
Julian Peck, Proprietor, Lock House, Chester.
Backpacker hostels need records of residents too
Every day I phone dozens of backpacker hostels throughout the UK as part of my work.
I am always horrified that receptions, with very few exceptions, will have no idea who is resident in their hostels.
Occasionally I ask why this is so, and the answer is usually "we have hundreds of people staying here".
Always the thought of an emergency crosses my mind. It is little wonder that the investigation into the fire at a backpacker hostel in Australia is now dependent upon a six-month "calls of elimination" to determine the dead.
Why not check residents from the register? Because there will be none, that's why.
Cheap backpacker hostels evidently have their place in society, but surely not at a price of dispensing with life-saving controls.
Julian Peck, Proprietor, Lock House, Chester.
The issue of relations between travel agents and hoteliers has created a lot of interest recently in your letters pages (for example, Fred Hopkins on "no-shows", Caterer, 22 June, page 20).
I have good news: the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the British Hospitality Association (BHA) have recently agreed a Code covering a wide range of issues that have hitherto been a source of confusion or argument between our respective members.
The code covers such topics as when an agent can or cannot expect commission, notifying clients of booking and cancellation charges (for which a standard invoice form has been devised).
ABTA and the BHA have agreed that use of the code, which is available on our Web site (www.bha-online.org.uk), will be voluntary, but we hope that there will be widespread take-up of this initiative to the advantage of the hotel industry.
Bob Cotton, Chief Executive, British Hospitality Association.
Code to crack conflict
Welcomed back in from the cold
I refer to the article on Best Western branding and discontent leading to resignations (Caterer, 15 June, page 4).
Independents are inevitably independent, and to try and impose standardisation and branding is bound to be controversial. I was one of the members who felt that, even after 10 good years, enough was enough and I resigned.
This was an ill-advised move, and the thought of no longer having the "arms" of Best Western around us worried the whole ship.
The reality is that facing the world as a lone operation is frightening. In the short time that I searched for solid alternatives, I could not match the Best Western product. I ran back, and was welcomed like a prodigal daughter.
After feeling the draughts of the outside world for a short while, I am only too delighted now to brand with a capital B.
Sam Elliott, Proprietor, Grapevine Hotel, Stow-on-the-Wold.
Why does Rocco have it in for the euro?
I am surprised that Sir Rocco Forte is so against the euro (Caterer, 8 June, page 22), and, in being so, is content that our largest tourism market is being disadvantaged because of the strength of sterling.
Having resided in Guernsey for the past seven years it is clear that the European market has become a major component of the industry here.
In 1983-85, mainland Europe generated some 8,000 staying leisure visits to Guernsey. This increased nearly tenfold to 72,000 visits in 1996-98. However, it reduced in 1999, and early indications in 2000 is that the decrease is continuing.
Sir Rocco mentions that the UK's withdrawal from the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992 led to the collapse of 100,000 businesses, doubled unemployment and forced 1.75 million home owners into negative equity. Let's be fair Sir Rocco, that recession was going to happen, and the boom/bust policy of the late 1980s are probably more to blame than the ERM.
Finally, Sir Rocco reveals that 73% of UK businesses wanted to keep the pound. That poll was conducted with the co-operation of Business for Sterling and Britain in Europe and covered 7,080 firms of all sizes, in all sectors and from every UK region.
It shows that almost equal numbers of businesses favour a commitment to join (38%) or a decision to rule out membership for at least the foreseeable future (36%). However 24% of firms believe the UK should keep the position under review without making a commitment to join.
It is about time that our industry took a proactive view on Europe, saw the Europeans as our major leisure market and did all it can to attract more.
Stephen Bone, General Manager, Hotel Hougue du Pommier, Guernsey.
Time to tackle tips trouble
I am quoted (Caterer, 29 June, page 12) as welcoming the announcement that the minimum wage is likely to be raised above the £4-per-hour barrier.
This is misleading. While it is true that the introduction of the minimum wage has gone some way to improving the image of our industry with regard to pay rates, it would be foolish to predict whether the proposed increases are desirable.
The issue of much greater significance to the majority of restaurateurs, is the need for clarity regarding whether tips and gratuities count toward the minimum wage or not.
The answer is very simple. If gratuities are taxed, as they are with properly administered tronc schemes, they should count toward the minimum wage. It is nonsense for one government department to say it is income and for another to claim it is not.
As restaurateurs will tell you, most staff earn considerably more that the minimum wage. It is high time the Government sorted this out.
Ian McKerracher, Chief Executive, Restaurant Association, London.
