Person of the Week

Gillian Holdom, Director, The Moller Centre, Churchill College, The University of Cambridge

Want to create a wow factor at a venue playing host to an increasingly international audience? Gillian and her team were recognised for their commitment to doing just that at this year's Hospitality Assured Business Excellence Awards, for excellence in customer service. Why did Gillian stand out? 10% of the Centre's business last year was attracted from China, forecast to increase this year. Measures taken by the team included: dedicated multi-lingual signage, materials and staff for these international guests, in addition to cultural awareness training.

Commenting on the scheme, which is an Institute of Hospitality initiative, Gillian said "We started our journey in 1999 and we wanted to do something that didn’t have too much paperwork - something that could involve the whole team. It needed to be based on what we already do, but signposting key areas for improvement for the business."

Quote of the Week

"If you are going through hell, keep going".

Winston Churchill

Article of the week

In this ongoing series from EP magazine, check out this week's article entitled: "The story has to change " - click here.

The article from the June issue of EP features Richard Hartman, Chief Executive, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels. Richard discusses his views on the hotel market, his vision for M&C and what he believes will change as a result of the economic downturn.

hotcatUK - Thank you

Thank you to Jose Ruiz and the team from hotcatUK who hosted a very successful hotcatLive event this week at Sophie's Restaurant in Covent Garden, including an EP magazine promotion. Check out the photos: http://www.hotcatuk.com/

Facts of the week

Dubai: the appeal of Islamic investment

The changing face of business in Dubai

• It was reported this week that Russia's second largest bank – VTB Capital – has setup an office in Dubai in order to raise money from Gulf investors through Islamic bonds.
• VTB state that Russian clients in petrochemicals, agriculture, utilities and tourism are interested in such a course of action.
• In a separate article, the promotion of Islamic finance pointed to the attraction of Dubai for customers in Palestine, Syria, Iran, Lebanon and India.
• Whilst there is still debate about the issues impacting on Dubai in light of the economic downturn, do these factors points towards a shift in the investment profile for the region?

Source: thisislondon.co.uk

The Jack Welch MBA

In light of the recent failure of GE, what might we learn?

• A university in Ohio has launched a Jack Welch Management Institute offering an MBA as part of it programme.
• Though the curriculum is likely to be fairly standard, this somewhat ironic article argues that, if it were draw upon Welch's "straight from the gut" management techniques, a student might be for quite an interesting education!
• Amongst other things, it is noted that Welch disliked the concepts of governance which favoured the hiring of independent directors – one of the first things his successor changed at GE on being appointed after Welch's retirement.
• Given the demise of the company since Welch left the business, the article suggests a debate about exactly why this was the case might be an interesting case study all by itself...

Source: economist.com

Master Innholders Scholarships

Hotel Management Scholarships funded by The Worshipful Company of Innholders and The Savoy Educational Trust

Applications are now invited for the Master Innholders Scholarships. Interviews will be held in London in November.

The closing date is 30th June 2009.

At least 12 scholarships are being awarded this year, to be taken during 2010.

The Master Innholders Scholarship Programme awards scholarships annually to managers in the hospitality industry. Successful candidates are granted places on a two week management development course at Cranfield University, Cornell University (USA) or the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne (Switzerland). The entire cost of tuition, board and lodging is included as well as a contribution towards travel to Cornell and Lausanne.

Full details of the application process, the courses on offer, the assessment criteria and background information can be seen by clicking on http://www.MI-scholarships.com