forget the world cup…. lastminute.com v Umi Hotels!

We’re a competitive bunch at the pink palace (the london hotel experts more so) so its quite fitting that when Umi hotels challenged us (ahhaa I mean, the footballers amongst us) there was only answer we could respond with (YOU WILL SUFFFEERRRRRR MMMWWWAHHAHAHAH).

The legendary athletically miracle that is Dan Evans (how does he do it seriously – my theory – there’s loads of Dan Evans’s, it’s the only logical way he could be good at everything), along with Larger than Large (and new London supremo) Alex the Large that is Large (& Large associates – by no way affiliated with Danzibar Confederation & associates), played last thursday against Umi Hotels (you may recall yesterday’s post re Steve Lowy, Umi Hotels founder & all-round great guy).

Here’s a few snaps of the gameplay…. what’s that you say? the score? piffle & codswollop, we don’t concern ourselves with mere details like that sir, enjoy the snaps, and that’s an order…..

oh yeah, so, errr, it was a draw! next time Umi, next time!

and the winner is…. London hotels again!

I’ve won soooo many awards recently I’ve had to move desks (I won the award for best desk-move in fact), which reminded me that last week was the annual Acorn Awards, where the top 30 under 30s (I know – it’s downhill from here guys trust me) get awarded for hotel industry excellence (from alllll areas of hospitality from GMs to M&Ms). I just happened to be glancing at the Caterer (boss look away) when cor-blimey I said to myself, if I didn’t know a few of these wonderful peeps who won……

The below is copied from the Caterer’s website… CatererSearch.com, congrats to the below, speaking from award-winning experience, my advice is be modest

Steve Lowy
Age 29
Position Founder, umi hotels
Nominated by Rachel Dines
Proudest career moment Apart from the Acorns, achieving a place in The Sunday Telegraph Top 50 Budget Hotels in the World for umi London and winning the North and West London Business Person of the Year award in 2008
Greatest inspiration My parents, who both worked in hospitality, taught me that you don’t get anywhere without hard work
Ambition I would love to open a hotel school in the UK and inspire young people to choose hospitality as a career

Steve Lowy is the founder, owner and managing director of umi hotels, a “luxury budget” hotel group.

Steve came up with the idea for the business while travelling after university, where he studied hospitality and tourism management at Salford University.

On returning to the UK Steve was general manager of a backpackers’ hostel in London, before launching umi in 2007 in the former Westminster hotel.

In October 2008, umi London was included in The Sunday Telegraph’s Top 50 Budget Hotels in the World.

Christopher Ball
Age 30
Position National account director – e‑commerce, Guoman Hotel Management
Nominated by Richard Bantock, head of leisure sales, Guoman Hotel Management
Proudest career moment Going for my current role was a risk – it proves that if you are passionate and driven, you will succeed
Greatest inspiration Jerry Keyes, my general manager when I worked in Chicago. He showed me that whatever happens, the guest comes first. And my current manager, Richard Bantock. It’s a joy to work with someone so driven and passionate, and follow in his footsteps.
Ambition Simply to keep on going and be successful through my career. I have no end goal – you have to keep progressing and challenging yourself. I want to be known as someone who tries to make life easier for people, whether they are colleagues or clients. I always try and get the best result for all involved.

Does hospitality do enough to attract young people into the industry? No – because unfortunately some people are afraid of hard work. We are still portrayed as a low-paying industry where you have to work hard for little gain. It shouldn’t be all about the money – the majority of people working in our industry love it. The current spate of TV shows does help, but people do need to be aware that to get to that stage it will take a lot of work and dedication – you need to be in hospitality for the long haul, and you need to love what you do. We need to show people that working in the industry isn’t just a job, it is a career.

As part of his hospitality management with tourism degree at Lancaster University, Christopher Ball spent a year as revenue manager at the Hilton Garden Inn in Chicago.

After returning to the UK in 2003, Christopher was room sales manager at Jarvis Piccadilly hotel in Manchester.

Last year, he joined Guoman Hotel Management as national account director responsible for e‑commerce and leisure sales.

Chris has changed the way Guoman’s hotels work with the short-break market and introduced a forward planning system for the online travel market.

Siobhan Walker
Age 30
Position London director of sales and marketing, the Doyle Collection
Nominated by Bill Walshe, CEO, the Doyle Collection
Proudest career moment Being awarded Manager of the Year at the London Hilton on Park Lane Annual Award Ceremony in 2007
Greatest inspiration I originally trained in ballet and danced with The English National Ballet until 1999. My mentor has always been my dance tutor, who taught me the importance of discipline, tenacity and dedication
Ambition My ambition is to see the Doyle Collection brand grow to one of the most recognised brands in the hotel arena

After Siobhan Walker’s career as a professional ballet dancer was cut cruelly short when she was 19 due to an illness, she started her career in hospitality, becoming a management trainee at Galileo International. She then moved to Hilton where she managed the sales relaunch of the Hilton London Green Park Hotel. In 2006, Siobhan was promoted to director of sales at London Hilton on Park Lane.

She then joined the Doyle Collection as director of sales and marketing for the Marylebone Hotel in 2008. In 2009 she was promoted to London director of sales and marketing.

Umi hotels get physical

Well, it’s all running, cycling, jumping, singing, dancing these days at lastminute.com, it’s great. We were just saying in the office today how running & keeping fit is so much more popular than ever before.

So it is only with admiration that we heard about what Umi Hotels got up to last weekend…..

On Sat 22nd May, employees of umi hotels were put through their paces in Hyde Park by former Royal Marines Officer Rob Suchet, all in the name of team-building. RJS Fitness, as part of their corporate service, ran a bootcamp-style team-building fitness session with activities designed to improve staff cohesion while improving their individual fitness levels.

The aim of the session was to take umi staff out of the workplace and get them working as a team completing physical challenges and team-building exercises. It has been shown that a workforce who are physically active are more productive and take fewer sick-days than their inactive counterparts. In addition, it is becoming increasingly necessary for every employer to cater for the health and wellbeing of their employees. The session was great fun but physically demanding at the same time, taking into account the different fitness levels of the group.

Steve Lowy (a.k.a MR Umi Hotels) told us… “It is really important for all my staff to look after themselves in regards diet and fitness. I know myself from playing sports and cooking fresh food what a difference it makes and I really believe that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind. With life being so hectic these days it can be hard to take that extra few minutes to walk somewhere and it’s easier to buy a microwave meal rather than make something yourself.”

He went on to say “Rob showed our staff how easy it is to stay healthy and it was also a great way of getting people together to do something fun with long-term benefits. I think it is important for employers to look after their staff, and guide them in looking after themselves where possible, particularly in the demanding world of hospitality.”

Excellent guys, loving your style