Jim Murphy - PREM Group’s Managing Director

On Monday I was in Kilkenny. It had been a few months since my last visit and it was great to see the Days Hotel Kilkenny doing so well as we start into our second year. There was a lovely atmosphere in the Hotel, both the management and staff have really settled down well and are doing a super job. I did not get to see the latest Kilkenny attraction, Whispers, the new lap dancing club that has been creating a stir in the national media over the last few weeks.  Regardless of your opinion of clubs such as these I have no doubt that the owners are delighted with all the media attention. I tend to agree with my old schoolmate Councillor Pat Crotty, when he said that the club controversy was “not even a storm in a teacup and in six months time people won’t even remember it.” The likelihood is Whispers will go the same way as Dublin’s high profile club Stringfellows, which closed quietly last year.  At least the new name is a little better than the previous business, a Tex Mex restaurant called the Drunken Mexican. That name led to objections as some felt it promoted irresponsible drinking.  

These were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have a sense of humor. I presume that the Irish Tourism officials would be more patient with our customers ?

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Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia ? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? ( UK ).A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

__________________________________________________ Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? ( USA )

A: Depends how much you’ve been drinking. __________________________________________________

A: Sure, it’s only three thousand miles, take lots of water. __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________ Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia ? ( USA )

Q: Which direction is North in Australia ? ( USA ) A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we’ll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia ? ( UK ) A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do. __________________________________________________

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys’ Choir schedule? ( USA ) A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is … oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can Dispense rattlesnake serum. ( USA ) A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia ? ( USA ) A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia ? ( France ) A: Only at Christmas. __________________________________________________

Q: I was in Australia in 1969 on R+R, and I want to contact the Girl I dated while I was staying in Kings Cross*. Can you help? ( USA )

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA ) A: Yes, but you’ll have to learn it first.

Dublin Regional Tourism Authority has just published a Tourism Plan for the year 2008 to 2010. It is ambitious in its objectives planning to grow overseas visitor numbers by 6.5% per annum, with associated revenue growing by 8% yearly.  That would mean by 2010 that 5.5 million visitors to the Capital of Ireland would generate revenue of just short of €2 billion. The city break market in Europe is highly competitive with London, Paris, Rome and Prague by far the most popular city destinations. London tops the numbers list with in excess of 36 million visitors per annum. Barcelona, Vienna, Dublin and Amsterdam come in next with an average 7.5 million bednights each. Dublin is performing extremely well given that all the other destinations are easily accessed by train and road while visitors to Dublin will invariably fly. Therefore Dublin Airport remains crucial to the continued success of the city. 24 million passengers passed through Dublin Airport last year, a facility that is designed for far fewer numbers than that. Granted there have been improvements in recent months with the opening of Pier D, yet I believe the airport is fast nearing its capacity. The Dublin Regional Tourism Authority has set an ambitious target to grow visitors to Dublin between 2008-2010.  The success of this plan is dependant, in part, on the improved infrastructure in and around the city. The new Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport and the National Conference Centre are not due to open until 2010. I wonder if the growth plans can be achieved without these two pieces of the jigsaw being in place?  

PREM Group currently operates 12 Hotels in Belgium and one in Calais, France. These Hotels were acquired between September 2006 and September 2007 in a Joint Venture with Goodbody Stockbrokers.It has been difficult for a small company like PREM to integrate these Hotels into our Management Structure while trying to maintain the culture that we have cultivated over the last 12 years. Our culture is entrepreneurial with a real sense of ownership of the company by all who work in it. We strive to create a sense of community spirit while working hard but making sure to have some fun in the process. Needless to say the bigger the company gets the harder it is to maintain that culture.It is up to me and the rest of the management team to lead by example and behave in a manner that we expect to be reciprocated.Working with our team in Belgium and France has been an absolute pleasure. We have met some great people and the welcome we receive everywhere we go has been so friendly. We have been impressed by the work ethic of our colleagues, their professionalism and efficiency. In fact they probably work too hard and like all of us need to strike a balance between work and family life.One area of the PREM culture that our new European friends seem to have embraced is the ability to have some fun. On the 25^th January all the Hotel GM’s, the senior management and representatives from Dublin got together for a “knees up”. We all attended a performance of Riverdance in Brussels which managed to keep us away from the wonderful Belgian Beer for at least 2 hours.A good night was had by all and I need have no fear about our new colleagues embracing the PREM Group culture.

Some of the team after the Riverdance Show …

One of the interesting things about running a business in a number of different countries is to be able to observe how different countries do things.

I knew very little about Belgium before my first visit in 2006. I knew about Brussels simply because of the European Parliament but little else.

Having travelled the length and breadth of the country over the last two years I have been astonished to discover one of Europe’s best kept secrets. Belgium is a wonderful country to visit, whether it is the rolling hills of the Ardennes, the many beautify historical cites such as Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Mechelen to name but a few. You can enjoy seaside resorts such as Ostend while indulging in great food, amazing beers and chocolate to die for. There are world class museums and art galleries, not to mention great night life and fashion.

Yet I wonder why more people are not aware of what is on offer in Belgium. One of the problems seems to be political. Belgium has three district regions, Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia and don’t forget that Belgium is a small country the size of Munster. From a tourism perspective each region is marketed independent of each other. They do come together under the Visit Belgium banner but they have three separate Tourist Offices. Looking at www.visitbelgium.com I am struck by how old fashioned the site is, it certainly does not do the country it is trying to sell any justice.

In contrast it is worth looking at www.discoverireland.com - you will be struck by how smart and professional that site is. The state bodies such as Tourism Ireland have done a wonderful job in promoting Ireland internationally. They are always creative and innovate and I feel that the Belgian authorities should have a good look at the Irish model. I just wonder if there is a political will or are they happy to remain Europe’s best kept secret.

Welcome to the PREM Group blog where you will find regular news about PREM Group as well as news and views about things that are important to us. I will be making regular contributions while various members of our team will be making their views known on an ongoing basis.

Reading the business pages of the newspapers over the last few weeks has been pretty depressing. All this talk of an American recession, sub prime mortgages, stock market crashes, etc. can be difficult reading at a time when as a business you are trying to look forward in a positive way to a new business year.That’s why when there is some good news out there we should be shouting it from the rooftops. Last September PREM Group launched a joint venture with Goodbody Stockbrokers called the European Hotel Consortium. The purpose of the EHC was to raise €44.70 million from Goodbody investors and PREM Group investors to invest in Hotel opportunities in Europe.

The EHC now owns 11 hotels and 2 management contracts in Belgium and France, all of which are managed by PREM. It is anticipated that the group would be sold after 5 years giving a projected return on investment of 20% per annum.The good news for our investors is that the value of the investment has increased by 33% since its launch in September 2007. That is an impressive return in such a short period of time. We are working hard to ensure that this trend is maintained over the coming years.