Jim Murphy - PREM Group’s Managing Director

A successful business Career that has emphasized partnership  September 4, 2008: New York, NY:The Ireland U.S. Council will present its Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2008 to Patrick Kelly for the remarkable business success he has achieved and the creditable work he has done in building the business relationships between American and Ireland. The awards will be the centrepiece of the Council’s 46^th Annual Dinner to be held at the Metropolitan Club in New York City on Thursday November 6, 2008. Michael J Gibbons, the President of the Council in New Yorksaid “The members and Directors of the Council are very pleased to formally recognize the extraordinary achievements of Paddy Kelly whose business interests have shaped a unique two-directional flow of investment ventures across the Atlantic between the United States and the Emerald Isle.” Mr Kelly’s privately-held family investment corporation is pivotal in over $2 billion in development projects either completed or underway in the United States. His Redquartz Development is a principal investor with Dublin-based Boundary Capital, in structuring RQB Partners, the Ireland-based consortium that purchased and is expanding the TPC Sawgrass Marriott development complex in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The property has over 500 rooms and will develop a new club wing, and has entitlement for 500 additional condo units. In Sarasota, also in the Sunshine State, Kelly is the prime mover in a major redevelopment project in the city’s waterfront area that will involve the building of 1.5 million square feet of hotel, offices, residential and retail space. Brian J Goggin, President of the Council’s Chapter in Ireland noted “We are so pleased to recognize the great contribution that Paddy Kelly has made to building investment flows in both directions across the Atlantic. His business deals have seen a major expansion of U.S. hospitality franchises entering Ireland. He is the main shareholder in PREM Group, which has 2,531 rooms and 464 apartments in Ireland, UK and Europe” Mr Goggin added “In addition to a major presence in the Irish real estate market Paddy Kelly’s four decades of consistent and successful investing have been characterized by his notable philosophy of partnership as a way to access expertise and resources and, at the same time, reduce the risk profile of projects. In building relationships in the United States, in Ireland and in other places around the world, such as Russia and Italy, he has moulded partnerships, consortiums and joint ventures that have brought him great success and generated ambitious and highly-regarded real estate developments.” Paddy Kelly lives in Dublin with his wife Maureen. They have four children and six grandchildren. The Ireland-U.S. Council was founded in 1963 by American and Irish business leaders. Its principal objective is to encourage closer business links between Ireland and the United States. The Council operates a variety of scholarship and internships programs, stages lectures, seminars and hosts frequent events in Ireland and in America aimed at building communications between business and political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic.

On behalf of all in PREM Group I want to congratulate Paddy on achieving this award . Paddy ,apart from been a major shareholder in PREM Group ,has been a source of inspiration to all of us since we met first back in 1995 . His  infectious enthusiasm and energy has created the platform for everything we have achieved in PREM Group . This award could not have been given to a more worthy person , we all value his friendship and continued support .

PREM GROUP Golf Society held its third annual charity golf outing in aid of BEYOND THE MOON at Tulfarris Golf Club, Blessington, County Wicklow on Friday August 29^th and a really fun and enjoyable day was had by all that participated, bearing in mind the poor summer that we have had, the day itself was thankfully dry with even some sunny periods. PREM GROUP Golf Society is close to its objective of raising € 8,000 for BEYOND THE MOON which is enough to send two families with sick children on a once in a lifetime vacation experience. We had 70 golfers that participated in this event and special thanks goes to Paddy Kelly, Vanessa Murphy and all the team at Tulfarris for the use of the course and the courtesy extended to all that played on the day and also for the meal afterwards.  We would also like to thank all our suppliers that donated prizes for the prize giving and to all our suppliers and clients that played on the day. Jim Murphy made the after dinner speech on behalf of PREM Group & BEYOND THE MOON & Peter Flood, Secretary of PREM Group Golf Society presented the prizes. The winners of prizes were as follows: 1^st) LENFESTY & CO AKA “ The Dream Team”  (winning for the second year in succession) 2^nd) PREM GROUP (Phil Sweeney) 3^rd) REDQUARTZ LTD Nearest the Pin (Ladies) : Mary Louise Colbert  Nearest the Pin (Men):      Colm Connolly Longest Drive (Ladies):      Vanessa Murphy Longest Drive (Men):          Brian Mc Kee 

Plans are already afoot for the 2009 Charity Outing.

For more information on Beyond the Moon visit www.beyondthemoon.com

 Stamp duty is to be suspended on sales of houses worth 175,000 or less in Britain in an effort to revive the housing market there.In the mean time in Ireland the Irish Government are conspicuous by there silence and business confidence continues to slide . In these times we need leadership and a Government that is innovative and proactive ,yet all we are getting from our Minister of Finance is silence . There is talk that the Irish Government are going to make an announcement on the state of the economy this month . It better be good as the have lost a lot of momentum ,they would be wise to take there lead from what is happening in the States and the quick response there to the economic crisis .

In the meantime the following is a summary of what was announced in the UK yesterday ,at least someone is making an effort .

The suspension will last for a year from tomorrow, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling announced this morning.

The change raises the threshold on which 1pc stamp duty is paid from its current level of 125,000.

The move will save eligible buyers up to 1,750 when they buy a home.

In a separate announcement, the UK government is to spend 200m to pay off mortgage arrears of “decent” families who have fallen into mortgage arrears and a further 100 million to pay their mortgage interest.

Under the terms of the initiative, a housing association will step in to clear the mortgage debt of homeowners hit by unsustainable mortgage bills or sudden unemployment.

The occupiers will then pay rent at an affordable level to the housing association.

Alternatively, the social landlord would buy a share in the threatened home - allowing some of the mortgage to be paid off - or provide a bridging loan to allow payments to be reduced. The intention is to help tens of thousands of homeowners, provided they have not “acted recklessly or irresponsibly”. There is also to be an expanded shared equity scheme for potential first-time buyers and a big boost in funding for affordable housing. The entire series of measures unveiled today is expected to cost about 1 billion.

The management of Days Hotel Galway produce a very informative newsletter every few months called ” The Galway Grapevine “. This newsletter is a very important communication tool in a hotel with 336 rooms and suites .The current addition is just out and I thought the following excerpts were worth sharing  ;

from Siobhan Burke General Manager

“Overall, we had a busy July and August which is a good complaint for us to have considering the way the economy has turned over the past number of months. We fed and looked after approximately 16,200 adults and 1,700 children during the month of July, an average of 580 per night! So far for August we have looked after 16,700 guests, on average 670 per night. It will give you an idea of how many eggs were cooked for breakfast!!!! “

and from Philip Hogan Head Chef ;

“we have been very lucky this summer to be as busy as we have been; we have certainly worked our way through plenty of supplies.

To give you an idea of the amount of food we go through in a week, Potatoes 950kg, vegetables 600kg & chicken’s 1000 – to put that in context – an average man weighs 80kg so that would make the equivalent of 11.8 men in potatoes & 7.5 men in vegetables (i.e. a football team in potatoes and volleyball team in vegetables!!).”

Despite the huge numbers that stay in the Days Hotel Galway every night the management and staff run this hotel with understated efficiency and style . They manage to give every customer a sense that they are staying in a much smaller property than they actually are .

Read the rest of this entry » »

Following on from my recent posts about the launch of a  customer review section on our Days Hotel sites in Ireland ,I received this very interesting article from Donna Morris ,GM of Premier Apartments Bristol . The customer review sections in Ireland have proven to be very successful and we are looking to roll this service out to the Premier Apartment websites in the near future .What we want to do is get more of our customers to book directly with us through our own website where we guarantee the best available rates .

 In the meantime it is worthwhile taking on board the 10 tips mentioned in this article .

 September 21, 2007 | Hospitality Industry, www.hotelmarketing.com

The combination of increasing numbers of web-savvy consumers, the web 2.0 frenzy focusing on social media, and increased travel site volume, have created a ‘wild-west’ environment where hotels’ traditional marketing dollars are being trumped at the point of decision by dialogue in the public square.

by Renier Milan

Traveller reviews have become part of the daily dialogue of web travel shoppers. The architecture of participation that is a basic hallmark of web 2.0 has resulted in users adding value to a site each time they write a review or upload a photo. It’s no wonder that up to 84% of people visiting a site hosting consumer generated content (CGC) have their hotel choices affected by what they see. Millions of travellers log on daily and may experience a property through hotel generated photos and written text, but they find reviews and candid photography much more believable.

Many in the industry feel review sites are not objective and may be manipulated. They feel the content is not controllable or actionable and reject the opportunity to manage these sites by saying the comments might be inaccurate. However, what matters in the issue of web 2.0 sites is whether guests perceive them to be accurate. So far, customer research indicates they do. Furthermore, the research shows increasing numbers of possible clients are researching on third party sites, even if they are booking on brand sites.

The model has changed from a brand or property image that was controlled by the supplier, to one that is forged in dialogue with consumers. And this image is being debated at the virtual point of purchase. The combination of increasing numbers of web-savvy consumers, the web 2.0 frenzy focusing on social media, and increased travel site volume, have created a ‘wild-west’ environment where hotels’ traditional comment card programs and advertising dollars are being trumped at the point of decision by dialogue in the public square.

The trend of traveller reviews is not going away. TripAdvisor.com’s unique visitors grows dramatically monthly, as does consumer generated content on sites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline and others. Given the juggernaut, it is important to know what to do internally when customer comments become the issue.

10 Things You Can Do In Response to Traveller Reviews

10. Read them: As simple as it is to say, monitoring these sites occasionally may not be enough! It is recommended sites be visited at least weekly for new reviews and photos.

9. Audit them: A friend at a major brand hotel recently told me he found 6 unflattering photos posted by a guest on a site. Fortunately, they were not of his hotel. It seems there was an error in posting the photos. He was able to work it out with the website involved.

8. Study them: Any hotel might have a poor review, but patterns of poor reviews are of particular concern. If you see the same issues arise on a site, or across several sites, one might identify operational deficiencies. These comments should be treated the same as customer comment cards or letters. They may be more anonymous, but an hotelier recently told me that internal public discussion of web commentary usually yields someone that knows the situation and the guest. This enables the hotel to take action by contacting that customer for follow up.

7. Celebrate them: As with any feedback system, the positives must also be rewarded. Posting these comments, offering employee incentives for improvements, and reading positive comments in meetings allows one to focus and enhance strengths, not just see vulnerabilities.

6. Correlate them: Public comments should be married to existing internal comment card scores and not taken as isolated. The issues of one may be illuminated by commentary on the other.

5. Distribute them: Website comments should be shared at all levels, from housekeeper to regional manager. If each is aware of comment card scores, each should be aware of virtual scores (especially since these are seen by many more people).

4. Compare them: A smart hotel analyzes their scores and those of their competitors. It is important to know quality ratings when setting rates, just like it is important to know operational advantages when selling a group against a competitor. The best revenue managers take quality and page placement into account when establishing rates. Likewise, sales teams should use public forum commentary as competitor intelligence.

3. Analyze them: It is critical to know that rate is just one factor in a buying decision. Each set of comments, when compared to rate, creates a competitive ranking in perceived quality and/or possible risk. Perceived quality is the real issue, and perceived quality is affected by public commentary. It is critical to know the nexus between rate and perceived quality, the result of which should be better than your competitive set. Remember, the goal is to be the most attractive to a client, not necessarily the lowest priced.

2. Track them: Trends are more valuable when viewed over longer periods of time. As such, traveller review scores, rankings, and rate strategies should be viewed retrospectively for patterns. Comparing these critical factors will allow an hotelier to see tactical changes by competitors and gauge the effectiveness of hotel specific changes.

1. Respond to them: TripAdvisor.com allows posted responses from hotels and studies show those who respond are viewed favourably. Other sites will soon follow, but internal discussion of problems will yield the names of disgruntled guests, which, in turn, will allow a hotel to respond. Internal incentives to improve web site scores or rewarding departments for not repeating problems can also be effective. Since most hotels produce positive customer experiences, encouraging web-booking customers to write about the hotel online can be effective as well.

The big picture of a hotel’s reputation includes traveller reviews because there is no insulation from the trend. Consider as proof that buying decisions are now made by balancing brand identity in light of word-of-mouth public feedback. While brand may yield recognition for an individual property, it may not be enough to overcome negative reviews or photos of a run down room. Consumers understand individual property experiences vary and are eager to learn if reputation is reality.

The great Irish playwright John B. Keane said that the “Galway races are a state of mind”. Indeed they are, a state of mind that is distinctly Irish, often copied but never equalled. It has been said about the festival that it once brought Galway city to a standstill but now brings the country to a standstill. I have been told that those who have been there will understand that, those who have yet to visit are still strangers to this country’s greatest sporting festival.Galway is my favorite city in Ireland ,but I have allways avoided race week . I have always felt that the city’s unique atmosphere would be spoilt by the massive crowds that converge on it for Race week every year . Well all that is about to change and next week I have decided to put my concerns to one side and plan to attend the races for two days .

I have also been told that whether or not you  are a regular follower of horse-racing is immaterial, the salient pre-requisite for Galway racegoers is that they know how to have fun because that is the currency of the occasion. Starting in late July, the high point of the Summer holiday season, it has become the Irish equivalent of Mardi Gras, and is the fastest growing festival in the world. It effects an almost magnetic force on the population and once this force draws you into its field the experience that follows is almost hypnotising. The sights and sounds of the occasion all assail your senses at once; sight of constantly changing faces; horses; myriad colours of silks and clothing; sound of laughter; roars of triumph; challenging tone of bookies; children screaming; parents gently scolding; smell of the newly intruded-upon turf; horses’ sweat; quixotic odour of perfume. Such sensory bombardment on this grand scale leaves you powerless to resist, it’s too exciting, too seductive. It’s easiest to just give into it and get swept away by the thrill of it all.Sounds like fun ,lets hope it lives up to the promise .

If you decide to travel to Galway for the Races we might have some rooms left in Days Hotel Galway ,book on line at www.dayshotelgalway.com .