Alan Murchison's 10 in 8 Group to open sixth restaurant at Macdonald Bear Hotel

22-May-2012 - The 10 in 8 Fine Dining Group, founded by Michelin-starred chef Alan Murchison and headed by Nina Basset, is teaming up with Macdonald Hotels & Resorts to open its sixth restaurant at the four-star Macdonald Bear Hotel in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. 

‘Idle’ British youth and bad attitudes blamed for lack of home-grown hotel staff

22-May-2012 - An array of top UK hoteliers have slammed ‘the total idleness of the British youth’, claiming it is ‘the elephant in the room’ for hotels and insisting that more must be done to get young people working in the industry. 

IHG’s boutique Hotel Indigo brand hits Wales

22-May-2012 - Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) is continuing to expand its boutique hotel brand Hotel Indigo with the signing of Hotel Indigo Queen Street Cardiff, the first Hotel Indigo to open in Wales.

YTL Hotels receives funding to open five-star Gainsborough Hotel & Spa in Bath

21-May-2012 - YTL Hotels, owned by the Malaysian-based conglomerate YTL Corporation Berhad, has received a £20m loan to fund its plans for a redevelopment of the Gainsborough Building in Bath and two other buildings into a five-star hotel and spa.

Diamond Jubilee boost to hospitality businesses but hotels face a challenge

21-May-2012 - The upcoming Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations may provide a boost to hospitality businesses of a similar scale to the one enjoyed during the Royal Wedding last year but hotels may face a challenge to fill rooms, according to Priceaterhouse Coopers (PwC).

Smeg Foodservice Solutions launches commercial warewashing range in UK

21-May-2012 - Experienced commercial appliance manufacture Smeg Food Service solutions has launched its range of warewashers in the UK adding to its trade portfolio of products that includes cooking equipment.

'Highly profitable' coaching inn up for sale

21-May-2012 - The Rose & Crown – an historic, 18th Century coaching inn hotel in Romaldkirk, County Durham – has been put on the market freehold for a guide price of £1,350,000.

ASK THE EXPERTS

How hotels can comply with fire safety laws

21-May-2012 - Geoff Wilkinson, a building inspector, fire engineer and managing director of Wilkinson Construction Consultants, explains what hotels and other hospitality businesses need to do to stay within fire safey laws following recent prosecutions.

St. Ermin's hotel put on the market for £165.5m

18-May-2012 - St. Ermin's hotel in Westminster, which is currently run by Accor under a franchise agreement as part of its MGallery brand, has been put up for sale for £165.5m.

Reform Social and Grill to open at The Mandeville Hotel

18-May-2012 - Reform Social and Grill, a 110-cover restaurant and bar serving 'the best of British', is set to open in London's Mandeville Hotel next week.

IDEAS FROM YOUR PEERS

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Special: What's your business doing?

18-May-2012 - To celebrate The Queen's Diamond Jubilee next month, BigHospitality has spoken to restaurants, hotels, pubs and bars from across the UK to find out about the Jubilee-themed special offers and promotions they're running to capitalise on the increased footfall.

£5m development to convert Wyreside Hall into luxury hotel gets go-ahead

17-May-2012 - Wyreside Hall, a Grade II listed property in Nether Wyresdale near Dolphinholme, Lancashire, is to be converted into a luxury 5-star hotel and leisure complex after developers Graham Anthony Associates got the go-ahead and received planning permission.

UK hotels post 'exceptionally strong' April results

17-May-2012 - Hotels in the UK posted April results that PKF Hotel Consultancy Services described as 'exceptionally strong' with a stronger performance compared with the same month in 2011 when the industry was boosted by the Royal Wedding. 

‘Challenging’ times for MWB as revenues flatten and RevPAR falls

17-May-2012 - Malmaison and Hotel du Vin owner MWB Group has today admitted that trading for the first quarter has been ‘challenging’, with room occupancy and F&B revenues across both brands levelling out, and a ‘slight reduction’ in Malmaison’s revenue per available room (RevPAR).

Glass crusher to be rolled out to more pubs, restaurants and hotels following trial success

17-May-2012 - An engineering firm has partnered with recycling company Ekko to roll-out a glass crusher to more pubs, restaurants and hotels following a successful trial in 100 companies, including pub-restaurant chain Mitchells & Butlers.

MWB sells Bistro du Vin restaurants

16-May-2012 - MWB Group, the company behind Hotel du Vin and Malmaison, has today confirmed the sale of two Bistro du Vin restaurants in London to the owners of the Burger & Lobster brand for £1.2m.

Rains Farm named UK’s Friendliest B&B at AA Awards

16-May-2012 - Rains Farm Bed and Breakfast in Allerston, North Yorkshire, has been crowned the Friendliest Bed and Breakfast of the Year by the AA in its annual Bed and Breakfast Awards.

The Linen Group launches new polyvant linen with Union Jack table range

16-May-2012 - Hotel and restaurant linen supplier The Linen Group has secured an exclusive license for a new ‘polyvant’ range of linen in a bid to provide a more deluxe service for businesses. 

Travelodge creates 65 new 'Men in Black' maintenance jobs as hotel estate grows

15-May-2012 - Budget hotel chain Travelodge has created a further 65 jobs in its recently-launched 'Men in Black' maintenance division following the scheme's success and growth of its hotel estate.

Meliá Hotels predicts strong 2012 performance in UK

15-May-2012 - Meliá Hotels International has predicted it will experience a 'strong' performance in the UK in the third quarter of the year driven by the Olympics and the opening of ME London as the Spain-based operator reported increased profits and revenue per available room (RevPAR).

National Chef of the Year 2012 semi-finalists announced

15-May-2012 - The 40 chefs who have made it to the semi-finals of the 2012 National Chef of the Year (NCOTY) competition have been revealed by the Craft Guild of Chefs. 

Kraft Foods makes ‘wholebean instant’ coffee Kenco Millicano available to the trade

15-May-2012 - Kraft Foods has launched its ‘wholebean instant’ coffee Kenco Millicano into the out-of-home sector following the product's success in retail.

Gordon Ramsay to run a hotel with Mary Portas for Channel 4 TV series

15-May-2012 - Gordon Ramsay is to turn his focus on the hotel industry when the celebrity chef takes on the running of a hotel with retail guru Mary Portas for a new Channel 4 TV series with the working title Hotel Britannia.

BHA restructures in bid to raise hospitality industry’s influence on Goverment

14-May-2012 - The British Hospitality Association (BHA) has restructured its organisation, with the creation of a Board of Directors to replace the former BHA Council and National Executive. 

English wine's marketing board gets new look

14-May-2012 - English Wine Producers (EWP), the marketing board for English wine, has redesigned its logo as part of a move to better promote what it feels is a modern, growing industry to the trade.