'Best Hotel in Channel Islands' Award for Pomme

Now when it comes to awards, I have always been a bit of a cynic. This is probably because I have rarely won any! Nominated plenty of times - but almost always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
However, winning is everything and last week I was proud to be present when The Pomme d'Or picked up a new award for 'Best Hotel in The Channel Islands'.

A lot of awards are decided by an individual or committee and can be a matter of subjectivity. The great thing about this award from HotelClub (one of the world's biggest online hotel booking agencies) is that the winners are chosen by hotel guests. Over 10,000 voted for their top hotel in each region of GB & Ireland and in our region, The Pomme came out top beating off competition from other hotels across the islands.

It's a great result for Luis de Oliveira and his team at the hotel and recognises all the hard work they have put in to achieve the highest standards of guest service. With the Royal Yacht and Radisson opening, the Pomme needs to be at the top of its game and this award gives the whole team a real boost.

As you can see, Luis looks pretty pleased about it. Nothing to do with the fact that he's standing next to Holly Beasley from 'Home & Away' Well she's a lot prettier than the guy on the right!

Low cost airlines - is the honeymoon over?

This week Ryanair gave a grim forecast of difficult times ahead. Load factors are down (2% last month) and profit forecasts are at best showing zero growth. As a result the airline's share price has taken a sharp downturn. Ryanair's boss, Michael O'Leary blames higher taxes and airport charges, rising interest rates and passenger frustration with security delays. Easyjet reckons concern over the climate change issue is also a factor.

I have another theory. Whilst it has never been cheaper to jet off around Europe, the novelty of low cost air travel has started to wear thin. Water-cooler chat used to revolve around how cheap you had managed to buy a ticket to Dublin or Barcelona - with a feeling of competitive one-upmanship about it. Today, with so much capacity and consistently low fares the issue is no longer about how cheap it is to fly somewhere, but how much it costs when you get there.

This was brought home to me a few weeks ago when I took the family to London for the weekend. The flights cost a ridiculously low £120.00 return for 4 of us. Indeed the low cost of the flights was the motivator to travel. But as soon as we arrived in Luton, the meter started running. Train fares to London, hotel, restaurants, theatre tickets, taxis & shopping left us with little change out of £500. Not a cheap weekend by any means.

So as the novelty of jumping on a plane for next to nothing wears off, consumers start to count the cost of the complete trip & realise that the bank balance won't take it.

What does this mean for Jersey's tourism industry? We have plenty of low cost routes now, helped by Jersey Airport's aggressive approach to route development incentives. Airlines such as Thomsonfly like flying to Jersey because it offers a quick round trip to fill mid-day slots and a low fare entry point for their marketing. But ultimately if the consumer sees beyond the hook of a cheap air fare, it will result in routes disappearing.

And O'Leary's response to the drop in demand? A price war that could last all winter and deliver even lower ticket prices - but will the customer be tempted knowing that when they reach their destination they will have to dig deep into their pockets. Time will tell.

GST - it's time to move on

The latest monthly news sheet from the Jersey Hospitality Association includes a feature on the Goods & Services Tax - attacking the government for a lack of information about its implementation and generally going back over the old arguments of the administrative burden, the inflationary impact, how our poor industry will suffer etc. etc.

Guys, it's time to move on. GST at 3% is being introduced in 2008, probably in April and will apply to all our sales. With that information we can plan our pricing for next year and take it into account when budgeting. We now need to concentrate on the challenges the tax presents on top of a 4% inflation rate.

The JHA speak of a 'crucial and delicate time for our industry'. I disagree- this is a dynamic and exciting time for our industry. Let's look at the evidence:

• 300 new hotel rooms in the 4 star sector, opening in the next 3 months.
• New air routes from Heathrow, Luton, Paris & other regional airports.
• New ferry routes from France.
• 2 Michelin star restaurants.
• The creation of an exciting new waterfront retail and leisure centre.

In the last 15 years, there has not been a better opportunity to make a noise about how Jersey has finally shed granny's cardigan and received a makeover. If Jersey Tourism cannot build sales on the back of all this, then heaven help us.