The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) is to launch the first National Licenced Hospitality Apprenticeships Summit to demonstrate how apprenticeships can provide a motivated workforce in the hospitality industry.
MWB Group, the owner of boutique hotel chains Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, has successfully reduced its debt to £180m in just six months, with total revenue rising by nine per cent and occupancy and room rates holding firm.
At the opening of the 500th Travelodge in the UK in Stratford, the budget hotel chain has announced significant London expansion plans with another 184 sites planned for the capital by 2025 creating 5,000 jobs across the city.
Baffito’s Bar & Pizzeria has opened the doors of its first venue - a 140-cover site in Warrington - as the new brand plans to expand to 10 sites within the next three years.
A decade of Government investment in the local brewing sector has produced an industry that is ‘thriving’, although the future remains threatened by ‘punitive’ levels of beer taxation, according to the Local Beer Report 2012 published today by the Society...
After suffering a period of decline in Q4 2011, London hoteliers are back to their best in the first month of 2012, recording a seven per cent increase in profit per room and a 2.5 per cent rise in RevPAR.
Simon Vincent, president Europe of Hilton Worldwide, has been tasked with leading the Hospitality Guild, a new umbrella organisation set up to champion skills development within the hospitality industry.
Aiden Byrne has decided to change The Church Green, the pub he bought in Lymm three and a half years ago, into a British Grill because it was no longer financially viable to run it as a fine dining restaurant.
The MagicArt range of linen trolleys from TTS that can be completely customised by a hotel or hotel chain is now available in the UK from Leicester-based distributor Ramon Hygiene Products.
A 160-bed Tulip Inn hotel from France-based operator Louvre Hotels is at the heart of a new Glasgow development in the shadow of the Celtic FC football ground, plans of which were announced today.
A new interactive reservation experience, voiced by actor John Hurt, has been created by Heston Blumenthal for The Fat Duck which allows diners to enter a secret online sweetshop and view an animated version of the menu.
Linen and chefs wear supplier the London Linen Group have been in attendance at Hotelympia this week to launch EkoChef Trousers, made entirely from recycled plastic bottles.
Richard Harden, co-founder of the Harden’s Restaurant Guide, has slammed rival guide book Michelin, claiming the business is only involved in the restaurant industry for publicity and that The Michelin Guide ‘falls in love with the chefs it creates’.
Restaurants and pubs across the UK may need to consider revising their menus due to the continuing spread of the Schmallenberg virus, which could dramatically reduce supplies of lamb and increase its costs.
Work experience has hit the headlines as Government talks with businesses concerned about the scheme to get unemployed youngsters on placements continue; BigHospitality asked hospitality industry leaders at Hotelympia, including Raymond Blanc, for their...
Nestle Toque d'Or, the culinary competition for catering colleges, has taken on a new format for 2012, doing away with the first round paper entries and putting more emphasis on exposing students to 'real life' hospitality scenarios.
Meantime London, the Greenwich-based craft beer brewing company, has launched Yakima Red, a limited edition seasonal beer, to the trade market as the latest addition to the range of craft beers from the company.
The British Culinary Federation (BCF) Chef of the Year competition reached its climax at Hotelympia last night with Simon Webb from Restaurant Associates, Merrill Lynch, taking the prize after impressing judges including Raymond Blanc and Ashley Palmer-Watts.
The Cornwall-based brewery and pub operator, St Austell Brewery, has agreed a £40m refinancing deal with RBS and Barclays banks to help fund the company investments in its 174-strong pub estate.
Fred Sirieix, general manager at Galvin at Windows, has designed a new service college course with Westminster Kingsway College for restaurant managers that will be available for those already working in the industry.
Publicans have been warned by a leading sports lawyer not to misread the victory of Portsmouth landlady Karen Murphy in the High Court as an acceptance of the legality of showing Premier League matches without a valid UK subscription service.
New Admiral Taverns licensees will have a membership of the British Insitiute of Innkeeping (BII) for the lifetime of their agreement funded by the Chester-based pubco, following a similar announcement from Fuller's last year.
Restaurants and hotels can learn from what both sectors already do well on sustainability and responsibility for the industry to progress on environmental issues, according to Mark Linehan of the Sustainable Restaurant Association who was speaking at...
Raymond Blanc has called on the industry to do more to ensure young staff are getting the right training and are being properly developed so that they are equipped with the right skills to progress through the industry.
Hotelympia kicks off on Sunday at the ExCel centre for five days (26 February-1 March) of awards, product launches, chef demonstrations and more. As a media partner, BigHospitality will be there reporting on all the news as well as providing exclusive...
Jamie Oliver has acquired a site in the Covent Garden Market Building that was occupied by a pop-up restaurant from British chain Canteen. It is understood the celebrity chef is likely to open a Union Jacks on site, or alternatively a Jamie's Italian...
The consumer reviews website Qype has removed over two thousand ‘fake’ posts in the last month, just weeks after an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ban on TripAdvisor from suggesting its reviews were ‘honest, real or trusted’.
Largely self-taught chef Laurie Gear started his career washing dishes in a local Dorset hotel. After he met his wife while learning his trade in the kitchen of the Combe House hotel in Gittisham, Gear worked with her to achieve their dream in 2002 of...
Former bar and conference venue Cafe Royal is set to re-open its doors as a 159-bedroom luxury hotel in June following three years of restoration and building work.
Oldham council is planning to build a hotel and hospitality training academy in the town which it believes could become a blueprint for more academies across the UK in the future.
TV chefs John Burton-Race and Jonathon Davies have partnered to create The Restaurant Experience – an innovative interactive restaurant, chosen by the people for the people.
2012 is set to be a record year for occupancy in London hotels but the situation after the Olympics will remain difficult although hotels in the regions may benefit in 2013, according to latest forecasts from Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC).
Catering equipment supplier Imperial has brought a new tough shelving range to the market, especially designed for use in commercial kitchens and refrigeration units where storage is needed.
A new report commissioned by the British Beer& Pub Association (BBPA) shows that 300,000 young people are directly employed in the beer and pub industry, fuelling concerns that plans for huge beer tax hikes in next month’s budget will put more young...
Tim Martin, the founder of JD Wetherspoon, is among the pub and bar industry personalities headlining the annual Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) conference in May celebrating the organisation’s 20th anniversary.
International hotel operator Accor has revealed the group consumes more than 18bn kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy, ahead of a spring publication of a new sustainable development strategy for the company.
FRIMA UK has launched the VarioCooking Center Multificiency, a high-tech piece of catering equipment which claims to be multi-functional and sustainable.
Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza operator, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), has announced it is to create nearly 3,000 UK jobs over the next three years, with more than 1,000 coming in 2012 as the operator launches the IHG Academy in Newham, London.
In the latest instalment of our Kitchen Equipment Special Feature we asked chefs working in pub, restaurant and hotel kitchens to tell us the one bit of kit they couldn't live without and we filmed three of them showing us exactly what made the equipment...
The Acadamy of Food and Wine service (AFWS) has this week launched its 2012 UK Sommelier of the Year competition and is calling for sommeliers and wine waiters nationwide to test their knowledge and skills by entering.
The Devonshire Arms – Gordon Ramsay’s failed pub in Chiswick, London – has closed with immediate effect having only re-opened under new ownership in July last year.
Ten hotels, restaurants, pubs and inns have been awarded by guide Les Routiers UK for demonstrating ‘exceptional service, hospitality and quality of food’ throughout the year.
Pesto, the Italian restaurant chain founded by La Tasca founder Neil Gatt, is to open three more sites under the Pesto in the Pub concept in the next six months after the first under the brand was successfully opened at a Punch Taverns site in Cheshire...
