Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* Restaurant news dominated the list of most read blogposts on our WhaleTales blog in November, the Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant Awards write-up being by far the most popular blogpost:
1. Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant Awards: best event ever, some highs, some shocks!
2. Mother Nature hits Mother City and the Winelands!
3. South African hotelier slates TripAdvisor and its blackmail power!
4. Mediclinic Vergelegen Sweet Service and Giorgio Nava Sour Service Awards!
5. Restaurant Review: La Parada Bar de Tapas Bree Street is Espanol puro!
* A new hospitality consulting company PMR Hospitality Partners has been created by industry stalwarts Tony Romer-Lee and Euan McGlashan. Their newest venture is PMR Hospitality Partners. The media release describes the company as a ‘ boutique African hospitality management company based in Cape Town, South Africa and Atlanta, USA, through its sister firm, Valor Hospitality Partners (www.valorhospitality.com)‘. Romer-Lee has worked for McGrath Hotels, and before that both partners worked at the Cape Grace, and Halcyon Hotels, which previously owned the Bay Hotel.
The focus will be on quality customer service, driven by PMR’s on-time/on-budget ethos. Services offered include ‘due diligence, design and development, operations, management, sales, marketing and PR, human resources and financial management, deal underwriting, revenue generation, cost and expense controls all culminating in profitability maximisation. Services also include site selection entitlements, conceptual design, construction and project management, procurement, technical services, pre-opening management, and total operations management‘. (received via media release from Waterford Communications)
* A new electronic cigarette smoking lounge has opened at Heathrow, the first of its kind.
* The Ministers of Tourism of the SADC (Southern African Development Community), including from South Africa, are meeting in Mozambique to discuss matters of common interest.
* The International Public Relations Association World Congress will be held in Johannesburg from 27 – 29 September 2015. About 500 international delegates are expected.
* Etihad Airlines of the United Arab Emirates has won the World’s Leading Airline for the fifth year running, as well as World’s Leading First Class, and World’s Leading Airline Cabin Crew awards at the World Travel Awards.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.comTwitter: @WhaleCottage