The "dark art" of Revenue Management

Really interesting to read the report from the recent Hospace Conference, hearing the industry luminaries' view on the growing need for Revenue Management knowledge, or even better, real life experience.

http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/22/11/2012/346309/revenue-managers-are-the-hospitality-leaders-of-tomorrow-hospace-delegates-hear.htm

I have always maintained that the best and the most frustrating 12 months of my career were those during my sojourn in to Revenue Management.  It was a "pressure cooker" learning experience for me, in a role that had a huge impact on the business that I was employed in at the time.  The skills that I learnt have stayed with me, influencing every strategic decision that I now take with respect to both rooms optimisation and hotel wide promotional activity. 

As a General manager, you can apply the core principles of Revenue Management right across the business, targeting resources and spend appropriately; from taking a view on factors that drive additional demand, be they engaging existing clients to encourage loyalty, or price lead initiatives to bolster slower nights in the calendar, through to the value of packaging the business into inclusive products to drive on-spend and of course the obvious setting of room rates to achieve optimum Revpar.  In this respect, I get to really enjoy the application of my lessons learnt from "the dark side," whilst still engaging with guests, bookers and associates every day, which was the part of being bunkered down in the revenue office that frustrated me.

So, I wholeheartedly agree with the panel.  All aspiring General Manager's should aim to get some exposure to revenue management as part of their career plan.  You never know, you might actually enjoy it! :)

Restaurant Of The Year

We are on a terrific journey with the Highcliff Grill and although there is still some way to go, we are really pleased with our progress and believe that we are cooking some of the very best food in the region.

So too it would seem, do the ladies and gentlemen at the Bournemouth Tourism Awards, who picked out the Highcliff Grill as the Restaurant Of The Year at this years gala dinner award ceremony..

A very happy team!

Winter menu Taste Panel

Some great new dishes will be appearing on the Highcliff Grill menu from next week as we migrate across to our Winter Seasonal ingredients.

Just a few phone camera snaps from our taste panel yesterday....

There is nothing fishy about our rating....

A fantastic 4 blue fish rating has been awarded

to the Highcliff Grill

by the Fish2fork organisation

This award recognises the hotel and in particular the Highcliff Grill for our responsible and sustainable approach to the fish and shellfish that we source and serve.

This rating places the Highcliff Grill as the highest scoring restaurant

in the Bournemouth area, just pipped to second place across the whole of Dorset

by Mark Hix's fantastic Oyster & Fish House in Lyme Regis

You can read our review by fish2fork here:

http://www.fish2fork.com/en-GB/fish-restaurant/Highcliff-Grill-Marriott%20Bournemouth%202012.aspx

World's tallest hotel is officially open

Huge congratulations and very best wishes to all of our colleagues at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai - now officially open!

Officially recognised as the world’s tallest hotel at a height of 355 metres, only 26 metres short of the Empire State Building, New York, the JW Marriott Marquis is Dubai’s first world-class convention and business destination hotel.

You can't see the Isle of Wight from their bedrooms - but the views must be awesome all the same...

Eco Beach Meetings

Back in the Summer (already, that seems like a long time ago), we discovered a genuine gem of an alternative meeting space. 

A real "off piste" kind of environment to shake off the coporate mindset and help with some free thinking and action planning.

Set right on one of Dorset's most beautiful beaches within a National Trust managed environemnt, the Eco Lodge is great place to take your team and we can give it that profesional edge to ensure it is a truly conducive and productive part of your team meeting or conference here at the Highcliff.

The Highcliff Conference & Events team will set up the lodge with all of our own AV kit, serve coffee breaks and a great picnic or BBQ lunch for you and run the day in the Highcliff Style.

If the weather is great, the beach cafe is perfect to start the day with an al fresco breakfast.  If it is not so good, the wood burner in the lodge is a great place to muster around to get some team spirit flowing.

European union

I take my bavarian hat off to the team for another cracking Oktoberfest event at the Highcliff last night.

Well done guys, for another truly authentic event and a rather late night :)

 

Exciting news for "our friends in the north!"

I am so pleased and very excited for the team at the Renaissance Manchester.  The hotel already boasts the best location for a lifestyle hotel in the entire city centre, with some of the most guest focused staff that I have had the pleasure to work with;  and now they will have a product to live up to both.   

Exciting times indeed!!!

 

RENAISSANCE HOTELS REAFFIRMS ITS POSITION IN MANCHESTER, UK

Marriott International to Extend Operation of the Renaissance Manchester Hotel

Marriott International, Inc (NYSE:MAR) has entered into a management agreement to continue the operation of the 203-room Renaissance Manchester Hotel. 

Benefitting from an unrivalled location on Deansgate in the center of Manchester, the Renaissance Manchester hotel will now undergo refurbishment with work undertaken throughout most areas of the hotel.  This will include upgrading the hotel’s guest rooms, public areas and renovation of the exterior of the building. 

Reiner Sachau, chief operating officer for Marriott International in Europe said “We are delighted to have reached agreement with the hotel’s owners to continue our operation of the Renaissance Manchester Hotel. We are also very excited about the refurbishment plans for the hotel and look forward to welcoming our guests in to see the new look early next year.”

Renaissance Hotels is the signature lifestyle brand within the Marriott International global portfolio and currently comprises over 35 hotels throughout Europe.  For more information on Renaissance Hotels, and to share your own local discoveries, please visit the brand's newly inspired website, www.renhotels.com.

Cockles, mussels, fresh lobster.....

Highcliff style of course!

Reconnaissance mission to the big smoke

Working on our "Pop-up restaurant" project for Summer 2013.

Watch this space.......

Bournemouth Tourism Awards

We managed to get all three of our applications submitted on time for the 2012 Bournemouth Tourism Awards.   Our large hotel of the year submission in the form of the Highcliff Herald broadsheet looked great.

Equally creative were our submissions for the Taste Of Dorset and Customer Service Excellence.

Now, we wait for the mystery shoppers and hope for success at the gala dinner!

A great British bake off..

A lesson in choux pastry for the boys and girls of the Highcliff Grill today

I was pleased to be able to lend my extensive expertise in quality control.

If you have not tried our fantastic Highcliff Afternoon Tea - you really
ought to!



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Oktoberfest - Highcliff Style

.............Lederhosen optional

Table with a view

We bring a new vista to al fresco dining

on the West Cliff

Beach huts

This way to the Highcliff

                              Thanks to Alan our Pastry Chef for this shot

Love this....

Our friends at the Marriott County Hall, London have come up with this great and very visual

Taste of London Canapés selection

Jellied Eels
London’s once famous and popular street food.

Foreman’s smoked salmon
Last of London’s original smokeries established in 1905 in East London.

Salt beef bagel
Representing Jewish community of London.

Onion bhajis
Representing London’s East End Curry culture.

Duck spring roll
Representing China town in Central London.

Fish and chips
The most recognizable and traditional street food of London.


"Now where did I put that map of the Dorset coast.....?"

A warm Air festival welcome

Team Highcliff dressed for the occasion for the duration of the Bournemouth Air Festival.

As fresh as a .....

After much planning and deep cleaning of our handful of former smoking bedrooms, I am pleased to confirm that as of today; the Highcliff is now officially a non-smoking hotel.

All of our bedrooms and suites are now completely non-smoking. 

Our guests are of course very welcome to use the heated smoking shelter at the rear hotel, when not taking in the breath-taking views of Poole Bay at the front of the hotel.  They may also want to request one of our Coastguard Cottage rooms, where they will have direct access to a sheltered outdoor area and in many cases, direct access to our beautiful lawn and gardens.

As we say in Bolton: " ne fumez pas SVP"

The Red Arrows dropped in for breakfast this morning

They insisted on lining up in formation on our front step!

We take our hats off to you gentlemen - welcome back to Bournemouth!

A fitting tribute...

I think Bournemouth council have done a fantastic job in their commissioning of the new Red Arrows memorial garden that is currently being prepared on the East Cliff. 

Here is a sneek peek:

The garden / sculpture, which will officially be unveiled this weekend during the air show, is of course in memory of John Egging, the Red Arrows pilot who sadly died during the airshow last summer.

It's "doors to manual" as we start to our approach to Bournemouth Air Festival

We are all getting very excited at the Highcliff about the Bournemouth Air Festival, which takes place on the beach and in the bay right beneath the hotel.  Infact, the poolside and gardens of the hotel are quite literally the very best seats in the house to take in this awesome 4 day event.

Our involvement in the Air Festival goes way beyond our fantastic hospitality packages and accommodating many of the events movers and shakers - The Highcliff is actually supporting the return of the awesome Hunter Jet - Miss Demeanour, possibly the most striking and beautiful aircraft in the show.
 

Miss Demeanour really is a unique aircraft and the team here at the Highcliff are thrilled to be bringing her back for 2012.

World's biggest Deckchair headed back to Bournemouth

The Pimm’s Giant Deckchair is to make a return to the golden sands of Bournemouth Beach on Tuesday 21st August at 10:30am.

The impressive giant deckchair is taller than a double-decker bus, weighing more than a fully grown elephant, it measures some eight and a half meters tall by five and a half meters wide.

The Giant Deckchair was originally commissioned by Pimm’s earlier in the year to celebrate the British Summer Time and it will now remain on Bournemouth Beach as a permanent ray of sunshine.

What better place to enjoy the most quintessential of British drinks, than the most quintessential of British beaches!

Exciting times ahead for Bournemouth beach

Not content with scooping the title for the UK's Best Beach earlier this year, Bournemouth will see the facilities and attractions of our awesome coastline really enhanced thanks to a £2m grant from the Government’s Coastal Communities Fund. 

The money will be used to develop Europe’s first National Coastal Academy right here at Boscombe.

http://youtu.be/jRzOlU_X4vg


Wax up your boards dudes and slap on plenty of sunscreen for those high impact sessions at the volley ball net.

The sun is out, the beer is cold...........

...... and one of these loungers could have your name on it!

#Highcliffstyle

Life's a beach!

We have miles and miles of the lovely golden stuff!

A sneaky peak...

... at our "Taste of Dorset" table d'hote menu; part of an entire new season's menu that goes live in the Highcliff Grill tomorrow evening:

Taste of Dorset Menu

Dorset Air Dried Beef with Celeriac, Shallot and Capers
Fresh Pot Caught Crab from Portland on Wholemeal Toast
-----------
Potato and Parsley Soup, Crisp Shallot Rings, Red Chicory (v)
Seared Portland Scallop, Cod Cheeks, Peas, Bacon and Lettuce
------------
Local Gurnard ‘Fish Pie’, Homemade Warm Tartare Sauce, Fresh Buttered Peas
Outdoor Reared Dorset Pork Belly, Pork Cheek with Roast Pineapple, Duck Egg and Treacle
-------------
Vanilla and Raspberry Set Cream, Raspberry Sorbet
Dorset Apple Cake, Fresh Blackberries, Clotted Cream
------------

£31.50

Please come and try us out and let me know what you think!

Getting ready for the new menu....

The boys and girls from the Highcliff Grill have been getting very busy this last week, playing with presentations and refining the dishes of our new menu.

A couple of quick camera phone snaps of trial presentations as they passed over the pass.  They didn't last long!

Pork belly wıth duck egg

Fıllet of sea bass

The new menu goes live in the Grill on Friday...... happy days!

Pier To Pier Swim

A huge congratulations to everyone that took part in yesterday's British Heart Foundation Pier to Pier Swim here in Bournemouth, including our very own Director of

Sales; Rebecca Osbourne.

Almost 1400 people took the plunge yesterday, swimming the 1.4 miles between Bournemouth and Boscombe pier, raising a massive £190,000 in the process.

Olympic Torch Update

So, the latest news is that the torch is currently making its way steadily across the Purbecks and should be passing the rear of the Highcliff at approximately 6.02pm

this evening.

The Torch will then make its way down to the beach via the lower gardens, where the party awaits!

The serious business of coffee

A great little video just to help refocus on the importance of making and serving great coffee.

http://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Business/How-to-improve-restaurant-coffee-Consistency-quality-and-training

We take our coffee seriously at the Highcliff, with all of our bar team being fully barista trained.

I'm a "black americano" guy myself!

Beach Polo returns to Sandbanks

Teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales will compete over the weekend for the Championship title on our very own Sandbanks beach.

The weekend's events also include floodlit polo tonight (Friday), Beach Volleyball and a charity pony race.

More on the food festival

What a great weekend it shaped up to be..

A cracking team effort from everyone involved and particular thanks to our ever-present Executive Chef, Matt Budden, who not only manned the stand every day, but represented the "Highcliff Style" splendidly, with a series of cook-offs in the festival's demo' kitchen. 

Main Course Matt

Our festival menu main course - Gurnard 'fish pie' warm tartare sauce, fresh peas

Highcliff food fact: We sold over 30kg of scallops during the course of the weekend

A great team effort - #highcliffstyle

First Day at Bournemouth Food Festival

A great first day at the festival today; with Matt showcasing the starter from the Highcliff Grill's Food Festival menu in the demo' kitchen, whilst we made some great new local produce contacts.

Saturday will see Matt back in the demo kitchen to cook the main course from the aforementioned menu and then Sunday will be all eyes on the desert.

Our Bournemouth Food Festival menu has been available in the Grill all this week and will continue into next week.

Come and see us at the Highcliff hut over the weekend for scallops and a glass of fizz, where you can pick up recipe cards for each of the dishes that Matt is showcasing.

Independants keep us on our toes and moving The Highcliff forward

A little insight into my thinking....

Just as I am pulling together the agenda for my management team "half year" business planning day to take place later this month, I read about the exciting expansion plans of Robert Hutson's "The Pig" brand.

Far from worrying me; I find the growth of an independent brand like “The Pig” truly inspiring and great news for us at The Highcliff.  This type of niche development and innovation will help to further highlight our region and will push us to stay on our toes, ensuring that we too continue to innovate our product, in a mainstream market where we largely have no real "like for like" competition at the moment.

A good day for hospitality on the South Coast.

The ignition sparks on another Goodwood FOS

In just a matter of hours Goodwood will open the gates for the Festival of Speed, kicking off with the Moving Motor Show.

The Formula 1 season has never been so exciting and this is reflected in the star drivers and riders attending over the weekend. Festival-goers can expect to see at least six current Formula 1 teams, an incredible line up of motor racing heroes including Vettel, Webber, Hamilton and Button, a showcase of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s vehicles, exciting sideways action on the Forest Rally Stage, adrenalin fuelled FMX and BMX action sports, and much more, ensuring this year’s Festival will be a year to remember.

The car park here at the Highcliff had some very interesting motors in it this morning, as it will for the rest of the weekend - as the knowledgeable have become aware that by staying here with us for Goodwood's Festival of Speed and Revival weekends, they not only get a great hotel experience but a fantastic run through the New Forest on their way through to Chichester.

The other Marriott blogger

OK, so I am certainly not the first hotelier to blog and not the first at Marriott either.

Always keeping time with innovation; Mr Marriott himself has clocked up 5 years of successful blogging, documenting his many trips to our hotels around the world and the people he meets, together with the real-time evolution of our company.

http://www.blogs.marriott.com/marriott-on-the-move//jw-marriott-jr.html

Saturday is main course day...

at the food festival:

Gurnard 'fish pie' warm tartare sauce, fresh peas

Learn to cook this yourself.  We will have recipe cards for all our dishes at the Highcliff Hut and Matt will be cooking this dish in the demo' kitchen on Saturday.

Food Festival dishes

Our Bournemouth Food Festival menu went live in the Highcliff Grill over the weekend with our guest's getting a first look and taste. 

So here is our starter that Matt will be cooking in the demo' kitchen at the festival on Friday. 

Portland crab with cucumber, crisp pea shoots and radish

If you are in the area over the weekend come and see us at the Highcliff Hut for some great scallops and a glass of fizz.

Our Bournemouth Food Festival menu

Hot off the press today, showcasing some great seasonal Dorset produce:

Bournemouth Food Festival Menu

To Start
Fresh Pot Caught Dorset Brown Crab from Portland, Cucumber, Radish and Crisp Shoots

Main Course
Local Gurnard ‘Fish Pie’, Homemade Warm Tartare Sauce, Fresh Buttered Peas   

  
To Finish
Dorset Apple Cake, Fresh Blackberries, Honeycomb, Clotted Cream Ice Cream      

Matt will be cooking these dishes in the live demo' kitchen during the festival;  Starter on Friday, main course on Saturday and desert on Sunday.

If you can't wait until then, this menu is available from tomorrow night in the Highcliff Grill.

Bournemouth in the city

Great work by our friends at Bournemouth Tourism Marketing - Bournemouth branding has been placed on all ticket gates at each of the Waterloo underground stations and at all 165 National Rail concourse ticket gateways at Waterloo.

To escape the summer of sport - you know where to come....

"Bournemouth - open for business and open for beaches!"