Hospitality Industry Sees Job Growth

The hospitality industry has seen some of the strongest job growth in its last quarter, pushing it high above the national average, reported by CV-Library.

Posted job roles in the sector rose by 22.4% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2015, when compared to Q4 2014, above the national average job growth of 19.1%.

Founder and managing director at CV-Library. Lee Biggins, had this to say: “It’s great to see such strong job growth within the hospitality sector. The fact that the hospitality job market is thriving and has grown throughout Q4 is excellent news for industry professionals and we expect this to continue in the year ahead.

Q4 is typically a quieter time of year, with the jobs market slowing down in the run-up to the festive period, so these numbers bode well for 2016.I”

As well as the job growth, the sector also experienced a rise in the number of applications received to available job roles. Job applications rose by 19.6% in the fourth quarter of 2015, in comparison to 2014.

Expect influx of Chinese visitors to UK hospitality industry, says VisitBritain

The UK hospitality industry is expected to receive an influx of Chinese tourists this month as their holiday season kicks in.

China’s week-long annual holiday ended on Friday, however, they are still expected to continue to travel outside of their country. Chinese visits to the UK have doubled over the course of the past 5 years. 2009 saw approximately 89,000 visits, whereas 2014 saw 185,000 visits. Furthermore, the seat availability on flights departing China has increased by 16% for October 2015 in comparison to this time last year.

Continue reading “Expect influx of Chinese visitors to UK hospitality industry, says VisitBritain”

Upcoming trends in the hospitality industry

The times are changing within the hospitality industry, like in many other sectors. There have been discussions that the new year will be a big one for the industry.

Regardless of the hospitality business that you run, below are some of the current hospitality trends and those that are upcoming.

Healthy eating becoming firmly mainstream

Restaurants, hotels and bed and breakfasts alike are continuously adopting a healthier menu. This has come to the extent of branded ‘healthy’ establishments no longer need to market themselves that way.

There has been a rise in the disappearance of vending machines that serve junk food and have now been replaced with healthier options such as berries, quinoa and yoghurt.

Reputation management on a new scale

Online reputation management hasn’t quelled either – its importance has essentially become more dynamic as a result of the growth of platforms beyond TripAdvisor that avid travellers use to share their hotel experiences.

Hotels are urged to be aware of the following social networking platforms during their attempts to influence the conversations about their establishment online.

  • Expedia
  • Facebook
  • Yahoo
  • Yelp

Hotel booking systems

A recent study conducted by Eviivo involving 500 individuals across the UK and Ireland has found that 74% of the 500 were less likely to make a booking with B&B or hotel which was without a website. Additionally, 68% argued that the website would need to be a good one as they would be put off by a poor site.

Continuing with the statistics, 73% had made most, if not all, bookings online in comparison the measley 5% who do not book online at all.

The above findings are point towards why a decent hotel booking system is a must.

Technology dominance

We know technology is advancing, thus why we should instill the idea that customers will now expect seamless experiences across all devices and platforms.

Many large hotel chains are now allowing check-ins on mobile phones – technology innovation hasn’t been more important for the hospitality industry than ever.

Working in the hospitality industry will see many changes as we progress. See the latest hospitality jobs in the UK here.

The Hospitality Show 2015

January 2015 sees the Hospitality Show taking place at Birmingham’s NEC between the 19th and the 21st.

Pubs are being invited to the event to indulge in free mentoring sessions with some of the most respected players in the hospitality sector.
The sessions are expected to last roughly fifteen minutes, one-to-one, and advice and guidance will be given on a variety of subjects that should be covered in hospitality such as catering equipment, innovation, crowd funding and social media.

Some of the mentors in the show will include:

– Chairman of the Catering Equipment Distributors Association and Managing Director of Vision Commercial Kitchens, Jack Sharkey
– Hotel Procurement Expert, Gordon Anderson
– Drinks Industry Guru, Stuart Rosenblatt
– Owner of consultancy service Yuzu Hospitality, Steve Cash
– Hospitality Consultant, Stephen McManus
– Hotel Profitability Guru, Peter Hales
– Chief Executive of the Institute of Hospitality, Peter Ducker

Design booth

There will be four mentoring booths dotted about the arena, and one of them will be dedicated to the business of better design.

This booth will allow visitors to discuss projects and design ideas in confidence with the experts from that specific field.

Managing director at Fresh Montgomery, Toby Wand, said: “Ask any successful business person about defining moments in their career and you can bet that at some point in their rise to prominence they will have been mentored.

There may be one or many, but the importance of a figurehead, there to help drive you on, or offer that bellwether piece of advice that you never forget and take with you throughout your career, cannot be understated.

The Innovation Zone

The Innovation Zone is another exciting highlight of the event which wil showcase some of the most recent equipment launches.

Keith Warren, the Associate Director of the Innovation Zone, which has been organised in conjunction with the Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA), commented on what a fantastic opportunity this is for operators to take a look at the most relevant up-to-date equipment on the scene.

Warren explained: “The Hospitality Show is the largest showcase next year for innovative and energy-saving equipment that will be of huge interest to caterers.

The CESA Innovation Zone is a great opportunity for our members to showcase what they are developing and what the latest equipment has to offer in terms of user benefits and features.

Networking Dinner

In correspondence with the show, on Tuesday 20th January, a networking dinner will take place at the Arden Hotel.
Adam Bennett, Chef Director at the Cross in Kenilworth, Warwickshire will oversee the menu.

Adam will be representing Team UK for a third time at the Bocuse d’Or chef competition in January which will be held in Lyon.

Show Exhibitors

Also appearing at The Hospitality Show will be a variety of catering equipment suppliers available for visitors to discuss equipment with.
Jestic will be making use of the show by launching a brand new piece of equipment, although, for Smeg, Grant Sous Vide and Nayati UK, this will be their first time at the show.

For more information on The Hospitality Show 2015, visit the website!
To find hospitality jobs near you, visit our website!

Hospitality hiring is on the up

With a recent surge of hospitality work becoming available in the UK, hiring is on the up.

Recruiters in the UK’s hospitality sector are to become even busier in 2014 as rates of hiring in the hospitality industry have risen in the last few months of this year. An upturn in hiring is plain to see in a survey publish by the Confederation of British Industry.

Despite the growth of hospitality jobs available to everybody nationwide, a worry for skill shortages has shined through with the new demand for staff.

According to the survey by the Confederation of British Industry, a total of 151 firms in the UK, including restaurants, bars and hotels said that their staff numbers grew strongly for the third time since last year.

The evidence of a rise in UK employment for the hospitality sector and its associated businesses comes as organisation The National Forest says it will create up to 2,000 new jobs in six years thanks to an increase in the tourism levels that the UK is bringing.

The research, which was also carried out by The National Forest, has said that the organisation expects to hire a massive total of 6,500 people in the woodland based economy by 2020, which comes as a direct result of the economic value and visitor numbers brought to the area through tourism and local naturalists.

The National Forest are also said to be providing work opportunities for both training and work preparation for young adults in their local community as well as those who suffer from employability barriers, which will both aid the National Forest and teach young adults and alike valuable work skills.

A massive 21% of growth was since in 2014 for the uprising of the hospitality sector, as jobs advertised went skyward with their figures. A total of 34,000+ jobs were being advertised for a number of hospitality businesses through the Caterer.com website. The year on year growth was also considerably stronger, seeing a sizeable increase of 14%, with equalled to a grand total of 126,000+ individual job postsings being listed on the site.

So, what does this mean for the hospitality industry? Is it good that more opportunies are becoming available or is it going to be difficult to fill the demand with skills workers?

Leave your ideas in the comments below!

For more on the hospitality industry, please visit our website for news, jobs and more.

Hospitality jobs enjoyed an 8% growth last year

A rise in hospitality jobs pleased the industry

The hospitality industry underwent a healthy growth last year according to Caterer.com. The industry experienced a growth of 8% in jobs throughout 2013, with an increase of a massive 16% coming in the final quarter compared to previous years. Applications are said to have fallen by around 5% per job throughout 2013, so whilst this could actually mean that fewer people are applying for the roles they come across in their job hunt, it could also mean that hospitality candidates are becoming more and more selective in their job hunt, expressing more interest in the options available to them.

The trend has seemed to continue into 2014, with 12,000 jobs being advertised for the hospitality industry in the few months. The sectors included range from food and pubs to restaurants and hotels, outlining the need for numerous employers to continue their attempts in attractive new talent in the hospitality industry.

Hospitality jobs enjoyed a hike last year
Hospitality jobs enjoyed a hike last year

The hotel sector may be experiencing some of its best growth in years as Scotland is enjoying a huge growth, where some job levels increased by a fifth last year, driving a huge 20% increase compared to 2012. Applications for each job were also at a high, potentially highlighting a recruitment drive paying off in the Scottish hotel industry. Scotland is also experiencing a considerable growth in their food service, with adverts for the sector rising by 22% when compared with last year. The East and South East of England, along with Wales, are experiencing a hike in recruitment activity, whilst London suffered a decrease of 14%. This figure could be down to big businesses moving from London, wishing to avoid the expensive costs of office space.

The hotel sector as a whole seemingly experienced a huge increase in finance as the hotel budgets grow along with the sector. This has led to pressures on the industry being hiked by investors and owners alike, so companies have had to change their talent strategies. Hotels are responding to the increase by boosting the strength of their employer bran identities, which makes talent the centre of their customer offerings. There’s an increased demand for specialist skills, such as chefs, as they grew 2.6% on their own, a move away from the traditional cook.

For more on hospitality jobs and industry news, please visit our website.