Person of the Week

Peter Banks, Managing Director, Rudding Park

Rudding Park, based near Harrogate, Yorkshire, was ranked the sixth best luxury hotel in the world this week. The annual Trip Advisor Travellers' Choice awards are based on millions of online reviews and opinions. The hotel was described as "faultless", whilst past guests have included Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Bill Clinton.

Quote of the Week

Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan wants his staff to set an example for the bureaucracy by working shorter days and having more time for dates.

Kan created a panel to examine ways to improve employment conditions, including "establishing a work environment where people can date on weeknights," the ministry said in a statement.

Facts of the week

Goodbye email, hello waving?

A report from the 2010 Master Innholders Conference

• What will the future look like? Technology and the needs of the future consumer were two of the most thought-provoking themes at this year's event.
• Amongst the many high-lights, Professor Ian Millar set out his top ten trends in technology, including:
  • the requirement for solid internet connectivity to cope with the increasing demands on internet usage
  • the dominance of mobile phones for internet access as opposed to laptops and PCs
  • an increasing preference for 3D technology
  • The increasing popularity of waving, an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration which can take the form of a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps and so on.
• Meanwhile, Tim Savigar from The Future Laboratory discussed the needs of the future consumer, arguing that experiential travellers would be looking for raw, unique experiences which emphasised simple values. The challenge is to meet expectations at a lower price.

Click here for the full report

Financing for small and medium sized businesses under the spotlight

UK government seeks views on barriers to diverse forms of funding

• Access to non-bank lending is the subject of a discussion paper issued by the UK Treasury last week, as it seeks to widen funding choices to companies beyond bank loans.
• Prior to the credit crunch, 9 per cent of UK corporate funding was raised through the bond markets, whilst 32 per cent was in the form of bank loans, and trend which is echoed in Continental Europe.
• The US, in contrast, sourced 25 per cent of liabilities from banks, whilst 14 per cent was raised via bonds.
• One potential issue being investigated is whether companies need to be more transparent about the finances to improve investor confidence, and help open their market.
• Some bankers believe the lack of use of credit ratings is an issue, with the report high-lighting that, compared with the US, a smaller proportion of UK companies are rated.

Source: ft.com

The Young Hoteliers Summit (YHS), 28th and 29th January

Industry professionals and hotel management students from all around the world meet for a unique creativity challenge

The Young Hotelier Summit (YHS) is a project initiated by the Career Club, a student-run organization at the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). The aim is to broaden communication between international hotel schools. YHS will feature a competition amongst teams composed of members from different participating schools competing against each other to give solutions to a creativity challenge proposed by the Jumeirah Group.

Click here to find out more

Article of the week

EP Condense is EP's weekly e-newsletter. But did you know that EP is also a bimonthly magazine available via subscription? Our Article of the Week provides a sample of what we have featured in past issue.

This week we feature a story from the EP archives. It is a people feature entitled "True courage: Richard Shepherd's Great British Odyssey". EP met with the highly respected chef and owner of Langan's Brasserie. During the late 70's and early 80's it was all in a day's trade to find Michael Caine hosting a table, Dudley Moore on piano and artists exchanging pictures for food. Richard was first its rescuer from insolvency and then its visionary. His story is one of high stakes, personal sacrifice and enduring passion.