When it comes to maximising drinks sales, beer has always stood in the shadow of higher GP wine and there has been little faith that diners would ever choose grape over grain. But, with a rise in the popularity of craft beers and a continuing surge in...
The Government should encourage people to return to pubs and bars to drink if it is to control night-time violence caused as a result of alcohol, according to new research from the Institute for Health and Community at Plymouth University.
McCain Foodservice is giving chefs who are proud of the hand cut chips they make for their menus to pitch them against their own Gastro Chips range to see how they compare in terms of taste, appearance and operational efficiency.
A number of high-profile closures across the capital in recent months could be the first signs that London is no longer the recession-free zone many have considered it to be.
Volume sales of wine at restaurants, hotels and pubs fell 6 per cent in 2011, according to the latest Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) Market Report with spirit sales down slightly less at 2 per cent.
A survey of UK consumers has found that restaurant service remains a more important factor than food pricing to drive whether diners make recommendations to friends and family or leave a restaurant early.
The intense competition for prime city-centre restaurant sites is spreading rapidly into shopping centres across the UK, as landlords, established food concepts and emerging brands are increasingly recognising the potential of such high-footfall locations.
Rapidly-expanding gourmet burger chain Byron has been hailed as the fastest growing restaurant concept of the past six months having more than trebled its portfolio in the past three years.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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’.
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).
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.
Hotel prices have dropped across every city in the UK apart from London, which is one of only seven major cities in Europe to have seen an increase in room rates for February.
Stephen Kyjak-Lane, general manager of the Lancaster London hotel and the new chairman of the London advisory board of hospitality careers charity Springboard, has said a Government minister for hospitality is needed to promote the industry to jobseekers...
Pub company Admiral Taverns is to freeze the prices of a broad selection of its draught beers in an attempt to hit back at imminent increases in the amount of duty levied against alcohol sold in pubs and bars.
The Prime Minister has called for more action from the drinks industry and pubs on binge drinking in a speech ahead of the publication of the Alcohol Strategy which may suggest some form of higher minimum alcohol pricing.
InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) has announced global operating profits of over $550m in 2011, representing annual growth of 26 per cent, while revenue per available room (RevPAR) also rose despite a fall in the last quarter of the year in the UK and...
Traditionally a quiet month for the hospitality industry, January is the time when many businesses plan for the year ahead or recover after the busy festive season, but evidence has shown that many restaurants and pubs have been experiencing an unusual...
The number of insolvencies among the UK restaurant sector has jumped by 31 per cent to 194 in the last financial quarter of 2011 – the highest rate for over three years.
Two surveys have revealed the way to the hearts of Valentine's Day diners could be Italian or French cuisine or a special offer with 55 per cent of Britons planning to take advantage of money saving deals when they treat their loved one this year.
Britain’s tourism and hospitality businesses are surfing on the wave of a record-breaking 2011 for overseas visitors and spending, making perfect preparation for a bumper 2012, packed full of iconic, once-in-a-lifetime events.
Enterprise Inns has announced the appointment of Robert Walker as chairman and released its interim management statement ahead of an AGM with figures revealing a slight boost in trade as like-for-like income per pub rose by 1 per cent in the 18 weeks...
Half of new publicans and nightclub owners admit they are ‘struggling’ because they don’t know where to go for specialist advice and guidance or setting up and running their own business.
Pubs planning to show the 2012 Olympics or European football championships on TV in their venue over the summer have been warned most sports fans intend to vist the pub less and publicans need to bear in mind the size of their screen and drinks prices...
The number of hospitality businesses falling into administration increased by 19.3 per cent in 2011, indicating that the sector was one of the worst hit by the economic crisis.
With two major events happening in Britain this year - the Olympics and the Queen's Jubilee, food trends agency The foodpeople is predicting a rise in demand for classic British dishes on menus in 2012.
Hotels in London are being warned that they could be putting the lives of guests with hearing loss at risk by not having appropriate procedures in place for emergency situations.
The number of European hotel transactions has risen by nine per cent since 2010 and the UK remains the most active investment market of them all, with total transaction volume of €2.7 billion.
Chef Richard Phillips has closed his restaurant at Chapel Down Vineyard in Kent after the local council restricted the number of weddings it could hold.
Chefs and caterers are being urged to take a second look at their menus, or risk missing out on a potential £700m market of diners hungry for more enticing meat-free options.
Employers in restaurants, hotels and pubs and bars have been encouraged to take advantage of the extra time that has been provided before they need to comply with automatic pension enrolment obligations.
Fuller's, the brewer and pub operator, has reported like for like sales growth of 4.1% for the 42 weeks up to 21 January 2012 ahead of a busy year of sport and acquisition openings for the London-based company.
With six months to go until the London 2012 Olympics begin, the majority of businesses have not prepared themselves for the Games, according to a survey by hospitality skills council People 1st.
With another year plagued by a poor economic backdrop, hotels in London were able to record a second consecutive year of profitability growth in 2011, but provincial properties suffered a fourth successive year of profit decline.
Good weather around Christmas 2011 helped keep Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) festive sales buoyant, the managed pub operator has reported, with like-for-like sales up 6.5 per cent for the nine weeks to 21 January.
With more than two-thirds of chefs and kitchen staff incurring injury in the workplace at least once a month, current first aid provision in commercial kitchens needs tightening up according to a survey by food hygiene specialist DayMark.
An industry taskforce chaired by the British Hospitality Association featuring representatives from restaurants, hotels and pubs and bars has submitted a report of recommendations on cutting red tape and regulations to the Tourism Minister John Penrose.
As part of Food Allergy & Intolerance Week Allergy UK has called for guidelines or enforced training for restaurants and hospitality businesses on their diners allergens and intolerances.
The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has claimed public health has started to change as a result of the Responsibility Deal which includes calorie labelling in restaurants.
Eating out at restaurants and pubs is fast-becoming a treat reserved for special occasions, as cash-strapped consumers are more cautious with their discretionary spend, according to foodservice consultancy Horizons.
The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has today urged the Government to take action to save Britain’s historic pub culture in the light of new research which reveals that 16 pubs now close across the country every week.
Beer sales continued to fall in 2011 with pub sales down by 3.4 per cent in the last year but the rate of decline has shrunk to the slowest since 2004, according to the latest Beer Barometer from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).
International hotel operator Accor opened a record 39,000 hotel rooms across its global estate last year, driven in part by franchise deals that saw 24 UK hotels converted to its Mercure brand.
With fewer than 200 days until the London 2012 Olympics, the UK is preparing for an influx of visitors from around the world. But just how much of an impact will the Games have on the nation’s hotels?
