Web watch
In last month's Budget, Chancellor Gordon Brown handed independent operators an unmissable incentive to join the dotcom rush to riches. For the next three years, he said, small businesses investing in e-commerce or buying computers could write off against tax "the full, 100% cost" in the year of purchase. This is an opportunity worth taking. To help move things along the Department of Trade & Industry has set up its Information Society Initiative, offering jargon-free advice, consultancy and training to small and medium enterprises through more than 100 centres around the UK and through its Web site at www.isi.gov.uk.
More specific advice for hospitality businesses is coming at the end of May when the Caterer & Hotelkeeper Guide to the Internet (Butterworth-Heinemann, £14.99) is published. Co-written by hotelier and Web site designer David Grant, the guide covers all the basics for making the Internet a profitable ally, without requiring any technical computer knowledge. Should you create your own site or get someone to do it for you? How much will it cost? How do you take bookings on-line? The 176-page book will give straightforward answers and guidance with particular relevance for readers of this magazine. Reserve a copy by ringing 020 8652 3221.
Worcestershire publican Richard Redfern has made his bid for Internet glory with this Ale On Tap site, selling real ale and cider in five-, 10- and 20-litre kegs for speedy delivery anywhere in the UK (delivery is free within Hereford & Worcester). The site's design and spelling fail to do justice to the nobility of the product, but the prices are good.
Fully searchable versions of the Which? Good Food Guide 2000 and Alisdair's Good Pub Guide 2000 are now available free on the Web at Virgin Net's Food & Drink site.
Lancashire training and consultancy company Advanced Food Safety has launched a Web-based distance-learning course in hygiene and food safety that gets the thumbs-up from the Royal Institute of Public Health & Hygiene (RIPHH). It costs £35 plus VAT per person and covers such topics as HACCP, preventing food poisoning, pest control, food storage and handling, and food hygiene law. Those who complete the course are eligible to take the RIPHH First Certificate in Food Safety exam. A free sample module is available from the "Distance learning" section of this site.
Oooh! Do you fancy a private fitting, sir? The Cringletie House hotel in Peebles has worked out that it can offer Londoners a two-night break with flights and car hire, plus a top-class, tailor-made suit, for about half the price of a suit bought in Savile Row. Measurements are made during the stay, and the finished suit is delivered to the guest's home.
Next Web watch: 25 May
