Hotel Owner September 2017 | Page 7

MONTH IN REVIEW GO ONLINE www.hotelowner.co.uk START: THE MONTH’S NEWS BEGAN HERE DISPUTE New York hoteliers use Manchester terror attack to discourage Airbnb use A coalition of hoteliers in New York have used the Manchester terror attack to create an ad campaign suggesting home-letting companies indirectly support terrorism. The campaign, backed by The Hotel Association of New York City, created an ad questioning the guests who stayed in Airbnb properties. The ad goes on to explain that Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was staying in a short-term rental property at the time of the attack, where he is believed to have been sent chemicals to help create the bomb. The property that Abedi stayed in was not an Airbnb listing and the company has described the ad as an “outrageous scare tactic”. Peter Schottenfels, a spokesperson for Airbnb told the NY Daily News: “The fact is Airbnb had nothing to do with the tragic events in Manchester and we are one of the only hospitality companies that runs background checks on all US residents, both hosts and guests. “Hotel CEOs have a responsibility to tell us why they don’t do the same and why they continue to fund this sort of despicable, cynical advertising.” Airbnb has run its own counter- campaign called ‘Scare Tactics’ which raises questions about hotel safety. September 2017 1 2 3 4 5 REWARDS SECURITY The Manorview Hotels & Leisure Group has launched a Profit Share Scheme, called the HeartCount Fund which will allow their entire workforce to benefit. The group, which celebrated 10 years in June, has nearly 600 employees and managing director Steve Graham took the opportunity to focus on people as part of the Group’s next stage of growth. He has introduced a set of initiatives via a series of workshops which have been rolled out throughout the entire group. Under the Profit Share Scheme announced for the financial year to 31 March 2018, Manorview has committed to allocating 10% of its pre-tax profits to the HeartCount Fund to be shared across the company’s workforce. All employees who have worked for the Manorview Group for a continuous period of 12 months will qualify for two Profit Share pay outs; one calculated on half year profits and a further payment based on full year results. The HeartCount Fund will be distributed in proportion to qualifying employee’s earnings. The first Profit Share payment will be made in January 2018. Cyber security experts, FireEye, have warned that a Russian spying group is targeting travellers who stay at hotels in Europe and the Middle East. Manorview Group gives back to employees with Profit Share Scheme Russian hackers targeting European hotel Wi-Fi networks, experts warn APT 28, who are suspected to be linked to the military in Russia, are said to have targeted hotel Wi-Fi networks sending malicious emails and stealing passwords. In July, the group targeted ‘high profile’ business and government guests who stayed in hotel chains in seven countries in Europe and one in the Middle East, with aims to ultimately affect their networks back home, the report from FireEye claimed. The malware tricks hotel employees into downloading a fake hotel reservation, which then runs internet sites remotely controlled by APT 28, which uses the malware to capture the login details of guests. QUOTE OF THE MONTH “Best of luck lads we’ll be watching on the tele. John Paul George and Ringo”. Decades ago the Beatles wrote this to footballer Bill Shankly in a telegraph which will be displayed at the Shankly Hotel in Liverpool. www.hotelowner.co.uk 7