HCTC lays off staff in effort to break even
By David Shrimpton
Forty staff have been made redundant at the Hotel & Catering Training Company (HCTC) in an effort to balance the books.
The HCTC, which carries out youth training, was formed in May 1996 as a commercial wing of industry body the Hospitality Training Foundation (HTF).
Together with Stonebow, a training consultancy for private companies, it was hoped that the HCTC could bring in funds for the HTF of up to £1m a year by 2001.
But HTF chairman John Brackenbury admitted this week that the HCTC had been losing money, although he declined to reveal how much.
The redundancies and subsequent restructuring would make the HCTC "much more effective and efficient" and Brackenbury expected the division to return to profitability by next March, the end of its financial year.
The job losses were largely in the areas of administration and development, he added, and would not impact on the HCTC's training activities. None of the HTF's other operations were losing money.
While it waited for profits from its commercial wings to start coming in, the HTF was trying to raise additional funds through a Founder Patrons Scheme, launched in August 1996. Companies, individuals and suppliers were asked to pledge £5,000 a year and the organisation hoped to raise £750,000 a year by 2000.
Without this financial backing, the HTF warned, it would not be able to carry out the programme of work that the industry wanted (Caterer, 22 August 1996, page 6).
Brackenbury claimed he was satisfied with the level of funds brought in by the Founder Patrons Scheme so far, but added that he would be reviewing the programme. "People want to be more closely identified with specific projects rather than the money just going to the HTF as a whole," he said.
French hotel giant Accor is to build a Novotel in the City of London at a cost of £22m.
The company has secured a site in Pepys Street, just south of Fenchurch Street station and close to the Tower of London. Planning permission has been granted for a 216-bedroom hotel, which Accor hopes to have open by late spring 2000.
Michael Flaxman, managing director of Accor Hotels, said the property would be pitched at a similar level to the Novotel at Waterloo, south London, which currently charges £120 a night for a single room.
Because the Pepys Street site is close to both the City and tourist attractions, Accor is confident that it can be filled seven days a week. "Based on our experience at Waterloo, there is a market for this size of hotel in this sort of location," argued Flaxman.
Last year, the Waterloo Novotel achieved average occupancy of 90%.
Property agent Healey & Baker, which acted for Accor, said the hotel would be the first built from scratch in the City of London since the Tower Thistle in the 1970s.
Meanwhile, Accor is looking for further sites in London. It is considering building another Novotel in Southwark, although the site does not yet have planning consent, and is also looking in Holborn.
Regal Hotel Group has sold the 55-bedroom Imperial Hotel in Barnstaple, north Devon, for £850,000 to West Country-based Brend Hotels.
A spokeswoman for Regal said business at the Imperial was very seasonal and the group wanted its hotels to enjoy year-round trade. Regal bought the property in 1996 as part of its acquisition of White Hart.
The group is considering selling several further hotels in the near future, to "focus on the branding and development of its core national portfolio".
Brend is to spend up to £1m refitting the property to four-star standard over the next 18 months. All 30 staff, apart from the general manager, have transferred to the new owners.
Joint managing director John Brend said the Imperial had "a lot of character" and could become a country house hotel-style property at the centre of the market town.
Continued strength in the UK and substantial improvements in Europe and the Americas have helped Ladbroke's Hilton International group boost pre-tax profits year-on-year during the first four months of 1998.
These gains, said Ladbroke, more than offset difficult trading conditions in Asia and Egypt, and the Hilton International group overall increased revenue per available room by 5%.
A further sales boost stemmed from the alliance with Hilton Hotels Corporation. The adoption of its customer loyalty programme last February has attracted more than 500,000 new members outside the USA, and it now accounts for some 20% of guest registrations.
During the four months, Hilton International signed seven new hotel management contracts, including the Buenos Aires, Nassau and Melbourne Airport Hiltons. The company plans to open more than 40 new hotels over the next four years.
By Christina Golding
One of London's most luxurious hotels is upset at rubbish left at its doors by the homeless who sleep rough outside.
The Savoy is in talks with the London Connection, a charity for the homeless, over the problems, caused because more food is distributed than the homeless can eat and food is being left to rot in the streets.
Some homeless people themselves admit the problem is so bad that they wake up next to food that is already cold or stale.
Up to 40 homeless people congregate each night in Savoy Way, a small road at the rear of the hotel.
A Savoy spokesman said: "There are so many charitable organisations that give food and every morning there is loads of it everywhere. It is extremely messy."
Colin Glover, director of the London Connection, said that up to six soup-runs in one night meant that unwanted food could attract vermin.
Local businesses also worry that homeless people give them a bad image, added Glover.
"Over the years there has been a ‘let's hose them away' approach," he said.
A mediation group involving Westminster City Council is now working to co-ordinate food supplies and improve street cleaning.
Assault case halts
The Crown Prosecution Service has decided not to proceed with any action against Chelsea footballer Bernard Lambourne, who was alleged to have indecently assaulted a young female worker at the Oulton Hall Hotel near Leeds (Caterer, 30 April, page 18).
Durham blaze
Twenty-four guests were evacuated from the Newbus Arms Hotel in Hurworth, County Durham, when a fire gutted the kitchen. Ground-floor rooms were damaged by smoke but the bedrooms were not affected.
Swithenbank dies
Catering equipment veteran Jim Swithenbank, who worked for more than 20 years with Premark's Hobart and Foster companies, and was a pivotal member of CESA, died on Sunday morning. Swithenbank, in his 60s, was found to have cancer shortly after he retired in 1995.
Food service fiesta
This year's Eurofeast, a national event to raise the profile of the food service industry, will run between 12-16 October.
Health at airport
Stakis is to spend £3m on creating a Living Well Club at its Edinburgh Airport hotel. A further £2.5m will add 16 new bedrooms and a conference centre for up to 300 people. The extension, which will be completed next year, will create 30 new jobs.
Receiverships up
Administrative receiver-ships and administration order appointments in the hospitality industry have risen sharply year-on-year, from seven in April 1997 to 12 in April 1998. The figures were compiled by consultants at Deloitte & Touche.
The new euro currency system agreed last week in Brussels will not have a cheque-clearing system as part of the initial procedures, bankers have confirmed.
Cheques drawn in euros on a local bank in one country will not necessarily be accepted at face value in another country as payment for goods or services. The emphasis in the new system is on electronic rather than paper transactions
The euro becomes legal currency from 1 January 1999. Paper and electronic transactions will start from that date, with notes and coins being issued in 2002.
However, hoteliers accepting a cheque from one of the other euro currency areas will have to treat it as they would a foreign currency cheque at present.
The result will be a delay in cashing the cheque until the cheque has been sent to the issuing bank for payment.
Healthy trade in the South-west, South-east and Yorkshire helped boost Swallow Hotels' sales by £2.8m to total £49.5m in the half-year to 21 March.
Profits, too, increased, from £10.7m to £12.1m, a rise of 14.3% like-for-like, or 5.2% taking into account the pre-opening costs of new hotels to open this summer in Huntingdon and Liverpool, plus the loss of profits from the sale last year of five three-star properties.
In April, the group boosted its presence in East Anglia when it bought the Manor Hotels group for £20m, which netted it three properties, in Norwich, Ipswich and Harlow.
During the six months, Swallow increased average room rate by £5.57 to £54.87, and yield to £38.08 from £33.72 before.
Average occupancy rates increased by one percentage point to 69.4%, with London hotels standing at 80.3% and provincial properties at 68%.
