MONTH IN REVIEW
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TECHNOLOGY
UK holidaymakers
want ‘more AI
and virtual tours’
at hotels
Travel companies need to embrace
new technologies such as artificial
intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR)
and augmented reality (AR) to create a
more “immersive and enjoyable” travel
experience for holidaymakers, new
research suggests.
Mobile technology group, Apadmi,
found that almost half of Brits (48%)
would like to see investment in
interactive technology, like VR and AR.
Of those asked, 21% said they
believed that the use of artificial
intelligence and digital chat bots would
improve the booking process.
It was suggested that by asking a few
initial qualifying questions and filtering
a plethora of options down to a handful
of highly personalised choices, AI could
lead to a more tailored experience.
The report surveyed 1,000 people who
had taken a holiday in the last 12 months.
Some 27% UK holidaymakers
had complaints about the number
of options when booking a holiday.
Apadmi suggested that due to the
increased levels of personalisation in
many other aspects of modern life,
travellers also wanted reflected in the
booking process.
Nick Black, CEO of Apadmi,
said: “Creating loyal customers is
becoming increasingly difficult for
companies operating in the travel
sector. Competition is becoming fiercer
between different travel agents and
operators, and customer expectations
are changing continuously.
“Our research has found that
customers are asking for more
innovative technology from the travel
sector. Investing in areas such as AI, VR
and AR will help travel companies create
and maintain competitive advantage,
and build that elusive consumer loyalty.”
TOP 3
FROM THE WEBSITE
1. Premier Inn walks away from
Newport hotel development
2. Lake District’s Miller Howe seeks
offers over £3m
3. Novotel London Canary Wharf
awarded four stars after 6 months
EMPLOYMENT
Parents don’t rate
hospitality as a
career choice for
their children,
survey finds
Just 17% of parents consider a career in
a hotel or restaurant in a positive light,
a survey from Best Western Careers
Index has found.
The number rose by 4% to 21% when
asked about management roles in
hospitality however.
About one-third of parents (31%)
said they’d discourage their child from
a career in hospitality. Poor pay was
the most popular reason, with 61%
citing low wages as a factor while 52%
of parents highlighted long hours as
another disincentive.
The independent survey of more than
1,000 parents revealed that medicine is
the top preferred career for the second
year in a row, with 48% of parents
indicating they would be happy to see
their child become a doctor.
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MARKET
Hotel owned by
celeb chef and
Daily Mail editor
up for sale
Offers over £3m are being sought for
Miller Howe, one of the Lake District’s
best known hotels, by real estate
advisors Colliers International.
The sale is being undertaken by Julian
Troup, head of UK Hotels Agency at
Colliers, almost 20 years after he sold the
property overlooking Lake Windermere,
on behalf of John Tovey, one of the
original celebrity chefs, in 1998.
Tovey launched Miller Howe in 1971
with an investment of £53,000 and by
1989, and following several best-seller
cookery books and a popular television
series, the hotel and restaurant had
become renowned internationally and
his business had soared in value.
The property was later sold to
Charles Garside, former editor of
The European newspaper and now
assistant editor at the Daily Mail, who
managed the business with his brother
and sister-in-law before selling it to the
Ainscough Family.
The AA three-star hotel has 15 en-
suite bedrooms, a restaurant with two
AA rosettes, and a residents’ bar and
conservatory. Planning permission has
been granted for two additional en-
suite letting bedrooms and to redevelop
and extend the conservatory.
Julian Troup, of Colliers International,
said: “Miller Howe is arguably the
most high-profile and prestigious
country house hotel in the Lake District
National Park, offering unrivalled views
over Lake Windermere”.
END: THAT’S ALL. YOU ARE NOW UP TO DATE
September 2017
www.hotelowner.co.uk
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