EDITOR’S LETTER
Doing our bit
CONTRIBUTORS
STEPHEN W. AYERS
In the wake of the BBC’s Blue Planet II series aired
Stephen is a British and
Canadian author and former
hotel manager. He is the CEO
of Stay Ahead Hospitality,
a company that helps
independent hoteliers in
Europe and North America
to attain high standards and
increase profit
last year, few can have failed to notice a rising tide
of public opinion that something substantive must
be done about plastic waste. Striking images of
plastic products that have found their way into the
oceans, either poisoning or trapping unsuspecting
sea creatures, have become the focal point of an
effort which very quickly spanned government,
DEBORAH HEATHER
Deborah is the director
of Quality in Tourism;
providers of independent
quality assessments and
gradings. Deborah manages
an extensive field force of
assessors who each grade
some 300 properties a year.
corporations and activist groups.
That’s why it’s welcome to see AccorHotels UK and Ireland
pledging to discontinue the use of plastic straws in its restaurants,
cafes and bars by June 2018. The commitment will initially take effect
across the 125 hotels it manages in the UK, and the group will also
be working with its franchise partners to implement the initiatives
as widely as possible across its franchised estate of 113 hotels. The
group is asking its bars, restaurants and cafes to consider their
PETER HANCOCK
Peter has been the
chief executive of Pride
of Britain Hotels - a
collection of never more
than 50 luxury and
independent properties -
since 2000. He previously
managed hotels and
restaurants in Sussex and
Hampshire, having started
out as a waiter
ANGIE PETKOVIC
Angie started as our
resident marketing advice
columnist and has now
built a substantial following
for her straight-talking
answers to the common
questions about executing
a professional marketing
strategy
drinks menus and go completely straw-free where possible, ordering
alternative paper biodegradable straws sourced by AccorHotels’
procurement services team where absolutely necessary or specifically
requested by guests.
The move comes ahead of a government consultation that will
begin later in 2018 and will consider a potential ban on cotton buds,
plastic drinking straws and other single-use plastics. Accor follows
McDonalds UK making the same move, and at the time of going to
press, The All England Lawn Tennis Club has just announced they will
be banned at Wimbledon this year. I sincerely hope the flurry of anti-
straw policies is the tip of an activist iceberg rather than a short-lived
bandwagon – it represents the kind of small change that, when made
by enough people, genuinely makes a difference.
I hope you enjoy this month’s issue.
Michael Northcott
|
MAY 2018 £5.95
Editor, Hotel Owner
WWW.HOTELOWNER.CO.UK
HOUSEKEEPING | RENOVATION | FOOD & BEVERAGE | SPA | PROPERTY | EDUCATION | TECHNOLOGY
hotelowner
ISSN 2049-7709
A POUND A NIGHT
Bristol hoteliers are resisting a proposed tourism tax.
We ask why they are so strongly opposed,
and where has it worked before?
4
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www.hotelowner.co.uk
ON THE COVER
Illustration
commissioned
by Hotel Owner
and produced by
Russ Tudor.
‘‘
STRIKING IMAGES OF PLASTIC PRODUCTS
THAT HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY INTO THE
OCEANS, EITHER POISONING OR TRAPPING
UNSUSPECTING SEA CREATURES,
HAVE BECOME THE FOCAL POINT OF AN
EFFORT WHICH VERY QUICKLY SPANNED
GOVERNMENT, CORPORATIONS AND
ACTIVIST GROUPS
May 2018