Salary Series 2018- Hotel Salaries

 

Excel Recruitment are delighted to release our 2018 Salary Survey. Our Salary Survey covers all aspects of the Hospitality Industry including Hotel, Chef and Industrial and Corporate Catering salaries. In a series of blog posts, Excel’s expert team give their take on the year ahead and the factors affecting salaries in each industry.First up, General Manager of Excel Shane Mclave discusses hotel salaries and the effects of Brexit. To view our Hotel and Catering Salary Survey in full click here. To get consultant Laurence Roger’s take on the much-discussed issue of Chefs salaries, click here.

It’s been an interesting year for the hospitality sector in general, and the hotel industry in particular. Brexit and all its consequences, both real and potential, were on everybody’s mind. Its first effects were definitely felt with a 54% decrease in the national average of UK visitors in the last year, according to Failte Ireland. Despite this, it was still a great year for the industry with 69% of hotels and 63% of national attractions welcomed more visitors than in 2016

The minimum wage

We can see that from a salary perspective, there is not a huge difference on 2016 except for salaries at the lower end of the scale, up to €30,000. The general consensus within the industry is that the biggest challenge in 2018 will be to manage the increase in the minimum wage. The jump to €9.55 at the beginning of January has had a knock-on effect. In previous years, employers could allow for an extra 10c or 15c above the minimum wage to create more attractive packages. However this year, with a jump of .30c, this is not possible. We are seeing employers make the decision to raise the hourly pay rate to €10 per hour for entry-level positions. This is pushing up all the lower pay scales to a higher level making it very difficult for businesses in a candidate driven market.

Retention and reward

The next big obstacle for hospitality is to retain the staff that they already have in place through progression and reward. We can see that there are more and more internal promotions, allowing Owners and Managers to keep their core staff in key positions. While this may be a way of retaining staff without any immediate financial cost for the business, if not managed properly, it could lead to inexperienced staff holding senior positions, for which they are not yet ready. They also run the risk of staff getting frustrated at increased workloads and responsibility without feeling a financial benefit. Reward is a different approach that some key players within the hospitality industry are taking and it seems to be working quite well, rewarding staff financially for achieving milestones within the company, usually loyalty and length of service.

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Krispy Kreme gets go-ahead to open in Blanchardstown…with 24/7 drive thru!

After months of excitement, it’s been confirmed that US doughnut giant Krispy Kreme will soon be arriving in Blanchardstown Centre after Fingal County Council approved its planning application yesterday.The new store will also consist of a drive-thru which will be open 24 hours a day.

The retailer confirmed plans to brings its operations to Ireland in September 2016 to much excitement. According to the planning application “Krispy Kreme will include a food production area for the proposed cafe/restaurant use, which will also provide for distribution of produce to other outlets, and a drive-through facility. ‘The proposed development includes alterations to the elevations, alterations to the layout of the adjacent surface car parking area primarily associated with the drive-through facility, alterations to the existing service yard, signage for each unit, and associated ancillary works.

Krispy Kreme was founded in 1937, and it opened its 1000th international outlet in Peru last year. In total, there are over 1,300 shops in 31 countries, and after 81 whole years in business, the retailer will make Ireland it 32nd country.

An official opening date for Ireland’s first Krispy Kreme is yet to be announced.

retail news

Amazon open till-free grocery store to public for the first time

 

Amazon yesterday opened their first checkout free grocery store to the public. The store, named Amazon Go and located in Seattle, USA comes after four years of testing and legwork by the Internet retail giant.

So how does it work?

The store has a companion app that customers scan at the entrance in order to get in, and then uses a wide range of sensors, cameras and machine learning to detect when items are picked up from shelves. To start shopping, customers must scan an Amazon Go smartphone app and pass through a gated turnstile. If someone passes back through the gates with an item, his or her associated account is charged. If a shopper puts an item back on the shelf, Amazon removes it from his or her virtual cart.

The technology is able to rectify an indecisive shoppers’ bill when items are put back on shelves but some human staff will also be on hand to ensure everything runs smoothly, as well as carrying out necessary tasks such as confirming age when a customer wants to buy alcohol

The future of retail?

The convenience-style shop opened to Amazon employees back in December 2016 in a test phase. At the time, the company said it expected members of the public could begin using the store in early 2017. The store had many teething issues during its initial testing phase including correctly identifying shoppers with similar body types and when children were brought into the shop during the trial, they caused havoc by moving items.

The store marks Amazon’s second foray into the world of grocery retail after buying the high-end supermarket chain Whole Foods Market last year for $13.7bn (£9.9bn). As yet Amazon has not announced any plans to open further Go stores or apply the system to existing, larger, more complex Wholefood Stores.

Discount retailer Dealz to add fashion outlets to 30 Irish stores

Popular discount chain Dealz has announced its plans to open 30 fashion outlets.

The retailer will roll out it’s sister brand ‘Pep & Co’ in 30 of its existing Irish stores next month. The Pep & Co stores within a store will create 120 jobs while also bringing the retailer, popular for their food and household items, to a new customer base. The first ten outlets will be launched on February 23rd and located within the brand’s flagship store in Blanchardstown, along with stores in Dundrum, Kilkenny, Naas, Newbridge and Castlebar.

A further 20 stores will open nearer to this summer, at locations including Killarney, Galway, Letterkenny and Cork. Pep&Co stores are expected to take up “20 to 25 percent” of the floor space of the Dealz outlets within which they are co-located. Much of the retail space required to accommodate the new discount clothing stores will be “liberated” by knocking through walls into storerooms, according to the company. There are no plans to open stand-alone Pep&Co stores here

Pep&Co will stock a full range of men’s, women’s and children’s discount clothing and prices will begin at €1.50 with an offering that includes jeans for €6.50 and €3.50 T-shirts. In addition to the cut-price jeans and T-shirts, it will also stock, men’s sweaters for €7.50, while some items in its range for young children are priced at between €1 and €2 among others.

Dealz operates in the UK as Poundland and the announcement comes in conjunction with plans to expand the Pep &Co across Ireland, the UK and France. More than 150 Pep&Co stores will open in the next 12 months in these locations.

1,300 hotel rooms to be added to Dublin, but supply will still be tight

It’s forecast that Dublin will see 1,300 new hotel rooms added to the capital this year. More than 500 of the rooms will come from extensions to existing hotels while six new hotels are expected to open in the city in in 2018.

Dalata, Ireland’s largest hotel group, will continue to grow opening three Maldron Hotels and a Clayton Hotel, a 140 room property on Kevin Street and a hotel on the site of the former Charlemont Clinic on the Grand Canal which will have 180 bedrooms opening in September. This month, the McGill family’s Iveagh Garden Hotel will open on Harcourt Street. The family also own the Harcourt and Harrington Hotels and the new 152 room property houses an underground river which will act as a source of renewable energy.

The Liberties will see the opening of Ireland’s first Aloft hotel in the spring with 202 rooms. The hotel is bound to be a hit with tech lovers as guests can use smartphones and Apple Watches to open their room doors. The Dean’s sister hotel, the 41 room Devlin will open in Ranelagh this summer, along with its own 50 seat cinema. According to Davy Stockbrokers said that 2018 will be the first time in almost 10 years that Dublin will see a “meaningful increase” in the supply of new hotel rooms.

Despite these new openings, Dublin’s hotel supply will still remain tight as Dalata close two hotels, the Ballsbridge Hotel and Tara Towers towards the end of 2018/start of 2019. Tara Towers will shut down later this year ahead of being redeveloped into a 140-bedroom Maldron Hotel while the groups lease on the 392-bedroom Ballsbridge Hotel is due to expire in October and while the group is expected to seek an extension of the lease until March of 2019, the property is then set to re-developed by Chartered Land.

Outside of Dublin, Belfast will get 4 new hotel additions, the Grand Central Hotel opening at the end of May with 304 rooms, the Maldron with 237 rooms, Marriott Hotel will open in the Quays area with 190 rooms and a Hampton Hotel will host 180 rooms. Cork’s South Mall area will also get sees a new Maldron too with 230 bedrooms.

Dunnes retain top spot as record amount spent on Christmas grocery shop

Irish shoppers spent a record €90 million on their grocery shop at Christmas with the average household spending a record €1,532, an increase of €38 on the previous year.

David Berry, director at Kantar Worldpanel, comments: “Much of this increase has been driven by staple items, with fruit, vegetables, meat and poultry posting a combined sales increase of €28m. “Shoppers were also partial to a Christmas tipple with sales of alcohol up almost 6% – a boost of €13 million. Wine was the drink of choice this year with white wine and red wine sales up an impressive 10% and 12% respectively.”

Dunnes Stores retained the top spot during this busy period with a 23% share of the market according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel as customers remain loyal to the store, with perks such as the ‘Shop and Save’ campaign encouraging customers to add extra items to their shopping baskets. SuperValu saw sales growth of 2%, encouraging customers to spend an extra 70 cents every time they shop. which brought its market share to 22.4%.

Tesco also performed strongly and saw its highest sales growth since February 2011 – an increase of 5.8%- bringing its market share to 22.8% according to the figures, which cover the 12 weeks ending 31 December. Historically shoppers have chosen to trade up over the Christmas period however Lidl seems to have broken the trend this year in their favour.The retailer enjoyed a positive performance over the Christmas period, with market share rising to 10.4% thanks to sales growth of 4.8%. Aldi’s sales rose by 0.9% but this was below the overall market level and led to a slight dip in market share to 10.3%.

The trend towards online shopping is showing no signs of slowing down. David Berry explains: “Online grocers experienced impressive sales growth of 24%, which boosted their share of the market to a record 2.3% over the Christmas period. Although grocery e-commerce shoppers haven’t increased in number, customers who already shop online have upped the frequency of their purchases with, on average, one extra order placed over this period.”

29 new stores to open in Kildare Village in new €50m expansion plan

The Kildare Village shopping outlet has been granted planning permission for a substantial new extension.

The expansion will see the development of 2.47 hectares into an additional 6,212 square metres of floor space to the outdoor shopping centre.

There will be 29 new stores added to the Village and the extension is expected to create hundreds of jobs in construction and retail. The village last expanded in 2015 and this extension is set to be bigger and better with plans of a €50m expansion now granted after being put forward by Value Retail last June.

To make way for the new units, three existing outlet units and one restaurant/café unit will be demolished. The expansion will directly adjoin the existing complex and will be made up of one and two-storey buildings. This will be made up of a number of restaurant/café units, several retail outlet units as well as public toilets and ATMs.

 

It is too early to say what brands will occupy the new units but the addition of new restaurant space will be welcomed by shoppers with only two, Dunne and Crescenzi and Le Pain Quotidien on offer at the moment.

Restaurants being urged to charge ‘no-shows’

The Restaurants Association of Ireland is urging restaurants to take a non-refundable deposit when customers are making a booking to guard against ‘no-shows’.

The Association is calling on its members to take the deposits as a way to discourage the practice of people booking tables and then not turning up. According to Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the association, the problem was “rampant across the country” during the Christmas period, with a marked increase in no-shows. In an attempt to curb the issue, the association is encouraging members to take non-refundable deposits which would then be deducted from the table’s final bill or forfeited if the party doesn’t turn up.

The association has proposed a €20 deposit on tables of more than four but according to Mr Cummins, the Competition Authority will not allow the association to set the rate and they are encouraging members to define their own policy in terms of both the price and the sizes of parties charged based on the size of their own operation.

Mr Cummins pointed out that bookings for tickets for concerts and the cinema are forfeited if people do not turn up. “The industry needs to do something about this. We need to stamp out ‘no-shows’. People will have to give advance notice of 24 to 48 hours if they are going to cancel.” Mr Cummins pointed out that bookings for tickets for concerts and the cinema are forfeited if people do not turn up. “The industry needs to do something about this. We need to stamp out ‘no-shows’. People will have to give advance notice of 24 to 48 hours if they are going to cancel.

‘No-shows’ can be extremely costly for restaurants, in terms of both staff and produce bought in. Mr Cummins used one example when speaking to Newstalk this morning of one restaurant which had experienced the ‘no show’ of a party of 20 which was one-third of the restaurant’s capacity and had been very costly for them.

 

Excel Recruitment Retail News

Black Friday boosts retail sales by 2.6% in November

The volume of retail sales increased by 2.6% in November on a monthly basis, with retail sales up 6.8% on an annual basis, according to the latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office. The figures, which were stronger than expected, come on the back of strong Black Friday sales during the month. Retailers reported their strongest ever ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ sales on the 24th and 27th of the month.

Electrical goods performed particularly strong in the period with sales seeing a 14.5% increase from the previous month. Department stores sales increased by 6.7% while “other” retail sales – which include the likes of carpets, toys, flowers, plants, pets animals and pet food – increased by 5.7%.

There is some debate amongst analysts as to whether the U.S inspired Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotional events actually increase sales and encourage shoppers to make additional purchases or just act as an incentive for shoppers to do their Christmas shopping early. “The question remains whether spending has merely been brought forward from the traditional December season to November,” Davy analyst David McNamara said, noting industry surveys suggested that December spending was disappointing for Irish retailers.According to Retail Ireland, early indications show that December sales will be on par with 2016. However, he acknowledged that Irish consumer spending “will be higher once again in Q4 as a recovering labour market and wage growth drive demand”.

Merrion economist Alan McQuaid said that while retail sales remain erratic on a monthly basis and are still swinging back and forth, the underlying trend is positive. “While most attention has been on new car sales in the past couple of years, which were lower in 2017 than 2016, personal spending in other areas has picked up over the same period and is becoming more broad-based,” the economist noted.

Barry Whelan, CEO Excel Recruitment

8 WAYS TO GET A GREAT JOB IN 2018!

New Year, New Career? If you’ve decided 2018 is the year you find your dream job, CEO of Excel Recruitment Barry Whelan shares his top tips on starting your search…

2017 was a great year for jobseekers and with unemployment currently standing at 6.1%, 2018 is shaping up to be even better with a strong job market, salaries on the increase and companies looking to employ. We are already out the door here in Excel Recruitment and if landing a great new job tops your wish list this year, there’s a good chance your wish will come true. Job hunting is always tough, but with a little effort you can really increase your chances of landing a great job,

Upgrade your LinkedIn Profile.

LinkedIn is simply your CV on social media. Potential employers are going to look you up on this platform. Build your profile professionally. Use Keywords that recruiters will search for and make sure your job title is not too bespoke or obscure and for the love of god, DON’T use a Selfie as your profile picture. Selfies are generally unflattering and unprofessional. All retailers know we buy with our eyes when it comes to product, well it’s the same with people. Get a professional headshot done.

Engage with a great recruiter.

Ask your friends and colleagues who they used, who they would recommend and get on that recruiter’s radar (Or save yourself some time and just click here to find the best recruiters in the biz.) Pop them a speculative CV and ask for a quick chat. Whilst they may not have your dream job now, they may in the future.

Upgrade your profile

Promote yourself as a knowledge leader in your industry. Join Trade associations, Volunteer to speak on Panels, Blog something of interest, and create a record of expertise for yourself.

Streamline your CV

Your CV a tool you use to get an interview. Make it a sledgehammer! Streamline your CV to really highlight your best achievements and the career success you have enjoyed, don’t overkill with lengthy cover notes or crazy detail. It is just the tool to raise interest in someone meeting you. The detail will come in the interview.

Erase your soft skills…and irrelevant experience

To streamline your CV just delete your soft skills and early career. If you are 10 years or more into your career, work in the corner shop or winning the all-Ireland ping pong championship when you were 12 is just taking up valuable space. Delete hobbies unless they are relevant to your job. Nobody cares!

Highlight your tech ability

We live in the world of technology, regardless of our job or industry. Make sure both on your CV and on LinkedIn you highlight every tech system, package and product you have ever had the pleasure of using. Microsoft this and that all the way to SAP, name check them all

Don’t follow the money

Nobody really likes greed, no matter how healthy the economy might be. Besides, a great job, short commute, route to progression and good Work/Life balance can go a long way to happiness in a job that money alone can’t offer. Don’t chase the Euro or at least, don’t come across as obsessed by money.

Know your Value

Research the market value of the position you are going for and pitch yourself accordingly, don’t frighten a new employer off by pitching yourself too high or indeed, undervalue yourself.

Good luck in your job hunt and be sure to check out our current live jobs to kick-start your search!