CHAIRMAN'S Introduction BAHA Chairman's Thoughts Christmas is upon us and for some of us we have already been living Turkey and Tinsel for a number of weeks. Talking around town the conscious of opinion is that party bookings are on a level with last year but the margins that are being achieved have been reduced quite dramatically what we do have to hope for is that we don't get a repeat of last year's snow and the customers come to Party Nights with some money in their pockets.

I had a very good meeting with Conor Burns MP on the 26th of November where a good number of points were discussed including Planning, the long term vision of the Town centre, how important is tourism is to Bournemouth both Leisure and Business, Political Party Conferences, the relationship between the Councillors and the paid council officials and last but not least the smell on the Wessex way that greets everyone when they drive into Bournemouth. I have great confidence that now we have met up with Conor he will listen to BAHA in the future.

The Tourism awards went ahead and it was a very good evening, with good food, great entertainment and a well disciplined award ceremony which certainly did not drag on as it has in the past. If this can be done in six weeks imagine how good it would be giving it a whole year. Congratulations to Sara and Bernard from the Whitehall and Arlington Hotels for winning the small hotel award and great thanks to Gina Mackin from the Montague Hotel for arranging everything. Have a really great (and profitable) Christmas and a prosperous 2012.



Andy Woodland

Chairman - BAHA

EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S Introduction

It's been a busy month for BAHA.

We have had some new members join us and would like to welcome Morag and Mick Willsher from the Westbrook Hotel in Westbourne, Corporate Clothing Solutions who can offer you good prices on your uniforms and Book-on-line Ltd who can offer online booking and extranet management solutions.

Michael Regenhardt has joined the FJB Hotels group but is staying a committed member of the BAHA committee which is great. We would also like to give a big BAHA welcome to Andrew Francis, new General Manager at The Marriott Highcliff.

For 2012 we are looking forward to a full agenda – BAHA Spring Party, Exhibiting at Excursions 2012 in London, working in partnership with BCTC and the Council on a Food and Drink Festival plus launching our new name and website to name but a few.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and prosperous New Year



Mandy Payne

Executive Officer - BAHA

Events

Hotel and Catering Show 2012

More than 60 per cent of exhibition space has already been reserved at the 2012 Hotel and Catering Show. Firms stretching from as far as Cornwall to Yorkshire and Gloucestershire to Middlesex have signed up, proving that the Bournemouth-based Show is becoming the venue of choice for not only the hospitality industry in the south to launch new products, innovations and initiatives but also for firms based in all parts of the UK.

Taking place at the Bournemouth International Centre on Tuesday March 13, 10am to 6pm, and Wednesday March 14, 10am to 4pm, the Show is witnessing a range of new businesses from across the country confirming attendance to showcase wares alongside a multitude of long-standing exhibitors.

New firms preparing to share hundreds of secrets and top tips with visitors about the latest trends, services and products include food preparation equipment manufacturer Robot Coupe (UK) Ltd, Cornish strawberry specialists Boddington's Berries, trolley manufacturer Norseman Direct Ltd, food distributor Ritter Courivaud Ltd and wholesale coffee supplier Café Rico as well as Continental Bakeries, Cocktails For You, Better Business Energy Ltd and Signature Aromas.

Show organiser, Anna Wallis, says: "It's fantastic to see that the Show is attracting more firms from across the UK. I believe the interest we have received in exhibition space is due to the reputation the Show has for attracting high quality buyers, something we take great care to control.

"With thousands of operators involved in every area of hospitality, tourism and leisure visiting, the Hotel and Catering Show provides exhibitors with a host of opportunities all under one roof. Opportunities include generating new sales, discovering new buyers, launching new products, meeting decision makers face-to-face as well as building brand loyalty."

For further information on exhibiting at the Hotel and Catering Show, please visit www.hotel-expo.co.uk or telephone Anna Wallis on 01425 485040. Follow the Show on Twitter http://twitter.com/HotelExpoShow and join the Facebook fanpage http://www.facebook.com/HotelandCateringShow.

News for You!

Christmas comes early for our unique Bournemouth Hotel

Many are still not aware of the unique hotel that we have on our doorstep.
Macmillan Caring Locally opened a very special hotel in June this year and since it has opened it has been a valuable place of sanctuary for many returning patients who have cancer or life-threatening illnesses.

BAHA Member - The Grove Hotel on the East Cliff is the home of the Local Macmillan charity – not the high profile charity that we are all aware of but a local hotel, run on a not for profit basis, that we can all be proud is in Bournemouth.

Bournemouth Area Hospitality Association (BAHA) Chairman, Andy Woodland, attended the launch of the hotel and was so impressed that he proposed that the Association choose Macmillan Caring Locally as their dedicated charity for 2011.

With the proceeds from the BAHA Annual golf Charity day members of the BAHA Committee, including Andy Woodland BAHA Chairman, Alison Gandolfi Vice Chairman from the Balincourt Hotel, Sara Uzzell from The Whitehall and Arlington Hotels, Jackie Edwards from Coach House cottage  supported by Cllr Rod Cooper, were able to present an early Christmas present of a wooden swing chair to Grove Hotel Manager Brenden Howard.  “We are very pleased and appreciative of the kind support that we have received from the BAHA committee, the swinging chair has already had great reviews from our guests and this also makes a great feature for our garden”.Brenden Howard

Andy Woodland stated that he and the BAHA Committee “very proud to be able to support what is thought to be the only hotel of it’s kind in the country and will go on to encourage more fund raising for a gazebo at the hotel within the BAHA Association.” “BAHA is the voice of the accommodation providers across Bournemouth and we are very pleased to name The Grove Hotel as one of our members”

FJB Hotels Group appoints Michael Regenhardt to head its operations

Independent family-owned FJB Hotels Group has announced the appointment of Michael Regenhardt as group operations director.

With almost 30 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, Michael has spent the last 14 years working for Marriott International within hotels based in London, the Midlands and Bournemouth.  His most recent position was at the Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott, where he was general manager for four years and instrumental in the completion of the hotel’s significant £4.5 million renovation programme and positioning the property as one of Bournemouth’s leading luxury hotels.

In his capacity as group operations director, a new role created within FJB Hotels, Michael will oversee the group’s portfolio consisting of a collection of Dorset-based hotels – The Haven, The Sandbanks, The Harbour Heights, The Chine - the FJB Watersports Academy as well as the language school, the Chine Academy.  Michael will bring his extensive corporate knowledge to this independent group and will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the group’s operations.

By working closely with the general managers at each establishment, Michael aims to create an easily recognisable brand for FJB which highlights not only the exceptional quality and uncompromising levels of service at each hotel but also FJB’s heritage which originated in theatre from the early 1930s until the 1950s when the firm’s interests moved to the hotel industry.

Michael said: “FJB is an extremely exciting group; rooted in great service and quality.  In this new role as group operations director I believe there is real opportunity to maximise the collections potential and consolidate the FJB brand.  My focus is to communicate a consistent FJB experience across the group while keeping those individual characteristics which make each hotel within the collection so different.

Speaking about Michael’s appointment, John Butterworth, owner and managing director of FJB Hotels Group added: “His reputation and track record with Marriott International is excellent and we look forward to Michael bringing his experience and expertise to help exploit the true potential of the FJB Hotels Group collection. It is exciting to have him join our team and I, for one, am looking forward to the new ideas he plans to introduce to FJB Hotels Group and I am confident our guests will too.”

The Green House Hotel Certified Gold by Green Tourism



The Green House Hotel is the only hotel in Bournemouth to be awarded the highest gold level by the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) for its outstanding performance as a sustainable tourism business.

The leading sustainable tourism certification scheme in the UK, GTBS, assesses businesses against a demanding and diverse set of criteria, from energy and water efficiency to waste management and biodiversity. A qualified assessor, who visited the hotel in October, scored the business highly across all categories.

The audit report commends the Green House Hotel for demonstrating a great commitment and staff awareness to being green and for its outstanding progress in energy and water management and dedication to purchasing from local suppliers, wherever possible. The luxury four star hotel’s commitment to green practices, such as injecting ozone into the wash cycle and use of induction burners for cooking, are singled out in the report as particularly innovative.

Commenting on the award, general manager Olivia O’Sullivan said: “We are thrilled to be recognised by the Green Tourism for our dedication to sustainability. It is true that in this current climate it would be easier, financially, to relax our green practices but quite the contrary. As well as continuing to maintain our high green standards, we are looking into investing and introducing new practices to further consolidate our green credentials.”

The qualified assessor from the Green Tourism Business Scheme, Paul Jeffries, said: “The strength of the business is reflected in the high scores across all categories - this is an outstanding green business that can continue to build on its strengths.

For further information regarding the Green House’s green practises, go to www.facebook.com/greenhousehotel.

Members Information Station

BCR Associates

Our cost reduction review can be seen as a free, no obligation health check for your business' cost base.
The review takes hardly any of your time as we do all the hard work, including all tendering,
negotiation and paperwork.
Step 1
. Pass us copies of your service bills.
. Sign a Letter of Authority entitling us to contact suppliers on your behalf.
Step 2
. We will tender your account to our wide network of suppliers and partners.
. We negotiate on your behalf to ensure that you have access to the best tariff available for your requirements and circumstances.
. We will send you a quote highlighting the potential savings. With most services you will receive this quote within one working week.
Step 3
. If you decide to go ahead with the service we will organise all the necessary paperwork with the supplier.
. You sign the contract, send it back to us and then get on with running your business in the
knowledge that your account is in safe hands.
. We will automatically get back in touch with you at the relevant termination and renewal dates.

Kim Harris
BCR Associates Consultant
Tel: 0844 556 1307
Email: kim.harris@bcrassociates.co.uk

And even if you decide not to go ahead after our review (although we don't think you will!) we won't charge you a penny.

BAHA Member Testimonial... We would like to recommend BCR Associates. They are able to review the essential overhead expenditure of companies in a number of key areas: Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications and Insurance as well as Staff, Leasing and Finance, and make no charge for their services. This almost sounds too good to be true, but it is. We were introduced to them via BAHA and what they say they can do is true, they have obtained real savings on renewing our gas and electricity contracts that will save us 17% on gas and 25% on electricity over the next 12 months. For a small business in today's competitive world these savings are most welcome. David Saltern Director / Owner Beach Lodge Guest House 61 Grand Avenue, Southbourne, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH6 3TA Tel: 01202 423396 | www.beach-lodge.co.uk

Bournemouth's Coastal Districts BID Steering Group has now published the main projects which they believe businesses want to see in the BID Business Plan. Attracting more people in the shoulder months (April/May and September/October) for both leisure travel and conferences; creating more events in the town centre and locally across the coastal strip; highlighting the uniqueness of the different areas within Bournemouth's coastal districts, as well as helping promoting Boscombe, Southbourne and Westbourne locally in their own right have come out tops for businesses in the BID area.

These findings are set out in the latest BID newsletter which has been sent to all eligible businesses. Following this the BID team, including members of the Steering Group, will be back in touch with businesses to gain their feedback before fine tuning the Business Plan during December and January while business concentrate on trading during the run up to Christmas and the New Year.

The priorities have emerged over the last six months as businesses across the Business Improvement District have taken the opportunity to put forward their ideas on what they believe will make their business more profitable. The consultation has included both postal and on-line surveys, 15 workshops and literally hundreds of face-to-face meetings.

It is anticipated that the full Business Plan will be posted out in February prior to the ballot taking place in Spring 2012. If more than 50% of the businesses that vote are in favour, and they represent more than 50% of the rateable value of those that vote, the BID will then automatically go ahead.

Regards

Des Simmons - Managing Director (Bournecoast Ltd)

Vice Chairman (Bournemouth Area Hospitality Association - BAHA)
Vice Chairman (Bournemouth Tourism Management Board - BTMB)
Chairman (Bournemouth Coastal Districts BID)

Town Centre BID Information

BID BALLOT EARLY NEXT YEAR

YOU will have the opportunity to vote for the Town Centre BID in a postal ballot early next year.

If a majority vote yes, the town centre will benefit from an investment of around £3M over the next five years on projects chosen by you to boost your profits. These will include:

* A MAJOR MARKETING PUSH, raising awareness and bringing more people into the town centre through new and improved events, promotions and professional, sustained advertising.
* A team of dedicated TOWN CENTRE RANGERS, providing a friendly welcome and addressing anti-social behaviour issues.
* IMPROVEMENTS TO THE SIGNAGE AND MAPPING, ensuring visitors can find your business easily.
* Improvements to the physical environment including a CLEANING 'HIT SQUAD' to tackle grime hot-spots, graffiti, chewing gum and similar issues.

The businesses on the project's Steering Group have set the ballot early next year to give you the space to concentrate on the vital Christmas trading period, but still allow those who haven't yet got
involved with the BID the time to have their say.

Before the vote you will receive a Business Plan showing how much the BID will raise, how the money will be ringfenced and spent only on the projects chosen by you, and how it will be run as an independent, not-for-profit organisation representing and run by you.

The Steering Group and BID team are visiting hundreds of businesses to explain the BID personally, and to take on board your views. If you would to arrange a visit please email gregg@bournemouth-in-business.com [1]. If you prefer to comment online please visit the website [2] or
follow this link [3]to a survey setting out the draft plan and allowing
you to have your say.

THE BOURNEMOUTH TOWN CENTRE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT IS A BUSINESS-LED INITIATIVE WITH PROJECTS CHOSEN BY YOU, AND SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO INCREASE FOOTFALL, INCREASE DWELL TIME IN THE TOWN CENTRE AND _IMPROVE YOUR PROFITS_.

What is a BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT?

An arrangement whereby BUSINESSES get together, decide what ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS they want to make, how they are going to MANAGE and DELIVER those improvements and what it will COST them. This all goes into a BUSINESS PLAN which is VOTED on by all those who would have to PAY. The
BID can last for a maximum of 5 YEARS and must be able to demonstrate how it has BENEFITED businesses who have funded it.

The Bournemouth Plan: Core Strategy and the Bournemouth Town Centre Area Action Plan has now been submitted to the Secretary of State.

The Bournemouth Plan

Core Strategy and the Bournemouth Town Centre Area Action Plan have now been formally submitted to the Secretary of State. They will now each be considered at an Examination in Public by an independent Planning Inspector. Each of these documents has been produced by the Council following previous periods of public consultation and engagement.

The following submission documents are available for Inspection:

a.. Bournemouth Plan: Core Strategy
b.. Bournemouth Town Centre Area Action Plan
c.. Sustainability Appraisal Reports for both documents
d.. The Statement of Community Involvement
e.. Summary Consultation Statements of bodies and persons previously invited to make representation on both documents, how they were invited, what representations were made and how they were taken into account
f.. Statements of the number of representations made in respect of both submission documents and a summaries of the points raised
g.. Copies of representations made in respect of both documents
h.. Supporting documents relevant to the preparation of documents A) and B).

Places of Inspection:

The documents can be viewed at the Council's website via the following links;

a.. Bournemouth Plan: Core Strategy - www.bournemouth.gov.uk/corestrategy
b.. Bournemouth Town Centre Area Action Plan - www.bournemouth.gov.uk/tcaap

Alternatively the documents can be viewed at the Town Hall Annexe, St Stephens Road, Bournemouth, BH2 6EA during the following hours: 9.00am - 4.30pm Monday to Thursday and 9.00am - 4.00pm Friday and at all public libraries in the Borough during their normal opening times.

If you have any queries then please call 01202 451323, or e-mail planning.policy@bournemouth.gov.uk.

BAHA Recruitment Station

If you have vacancies -would you like to advertise them on here?

If you have had to make some real stars redundant – would you like to tell us about them to help them get the post they deserve? No names of course

If you know of students or adults who would like to work in the industry – would you like to tell us about them here?

BAHA has been contacted by a young lady aged 20 with slight learning difficulties – she would really like to work within the hospitality industry and has experience of working in Marks and Spencer's.
Please email me if you may have a position for this young lady – mandy@bahaexec.org

What's on in Bournemouth

	Welcome to new BAHA Members Pavilion Dance Southwest – please follow the link to see what´s on More info >		What´s on at the BIC and Pavilion? More info >
	Bournemouth Mini Guide More info >		Bournemouth Tourism – things to do! More info >

Thinking of joining the Bournemouth Area Hospitality Association?

Do you have an accommodation or hospitality business or own a business in Bournemouth which could support the hospitality sector?

Please get in touch and have a chat to find out more.

Contact Mandy Payne
BAHA Executive Officer
T: 07730249737
E: mandy@bahaexec.org