Costly concerns on Hospitality Exchange menu

By Janice Gault, Northern Ireland Hotels Federation CEO  

Hospitality Exchange is back live in 2022 and we’re looking at the big issues affecting the sector. Hopefully there will be some solutions, as well as an opportunity to air your views and share your woes.

Always an important element of business, cost control, has never been more critical. The turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on the supply chain which has resulted in a massive increase in the price of consumables. Pricing aside, scarcity and supply disruption have also caused issues for the hotel and wider hospitality sector.

Inflation in many cases is running at a double-digit level. Costs have trebled and to add to this heady cost cocktail, a global labour shortage has necessitated significant pay increases to retain current staff and gain new employees.

Several influencing factors are well beyond the remit of local businesses and have come about due to global market and international political situations.

Concerns about costs have never been more prevalent and it’s going to be a balancing act to keep them under control in the coming months.

Michael Williamson, Consultant to ASM Chartered Accountants, will be on hand with top tips to help steer you through these challenging times. Information is key to managing costs and we are delighted to welcome back Sarah Duignan from STR whose benchmarking metrics will help inform your decisions, show you if your business is performing to the market norm or if you have some work to do.

Costs are a longer-term issue and we’ll be looking in depth at the biggest cost for businesses at the moment – People. The programme will explore how to get the best out of your team and how to look after their well-being.

There will even be a couple of robots on site to deliver tea, coffee and perhaps a stronger tipple as the day wears on.

The countdown is now officially on for Hospitality Exchange 2022, which takes place in the Crowne Plaza Belfast on the 11th and 12th October 2022. Whether you own, manage or work in a hotel, B&B, pub, restaurant, museum, airline or coffee shop, if you’re interested in developing and want to tap into innovation to drive business, then Hospitality Exchange is where you need to be. For further information, log on to hospitalityexchange.org.uk.