Hotel Owner Hotel Owner July 2017 digital | Page 11

MONTH IN REVIEW
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TECHNOLOGY
Avvio launches
world first
AI-powered
booking platform
Booking engine provider Avvio has
announced the launch of its new
platform Allora, the world’s first direct
booking platform powered by artificial
intelligence (AI).
The platform will launch in October
of this year and will focus on driving
direct bookings and guest loyalty
while “orchestrating better online
interactions” with hotels and its guests.
Frank Reeves, co-founder and CEO
of Avvio said that the platform works by
“identifying patterns in a vast amount
of data and using the insight to make
predictions.”
He added: “It assesses all the past
interactions of a hotel’s booking engine
and learns with every interaction how
to make each visitor type more likely
to convert and with as high a booking
value as possible.”
The aim of this platform is to
make this process easier for individual
properties and give partnering
hotels an “ongoing insight” into
making changes which will directly
benefit them.
Reeves said: “In an era of exponential
data, hotels sit on large tranches of
data that they typically don’t have the
manpower to crunch. Allora is designed
to democratise access to AI – hotels
can rely on us to do this effectively for
minimal investment.”
Explaining the advantages of Allora
at the HEDNA Global Distribution
Conference on 14 June, Reeves said
that hotels could “unearth better
patterns more quickly” and allow
hoteliers to spend more time “tending
to in-house tasks”.
July 2017
CHAINS
Wetherspoon
invests €15m in
Dublin hotel
Wetherspoon is to invest more than
€15m in the development of a new
98-room hotel and pub in Dublin.
Work is set to begin in February 2018
for an early 2019 opening. The new
property is expected to create 200 new
jobs in the area.
The site is currently a row of derelict
properties on Camden Street in Dublin.
A number of the historical aspects of
the buildings will be restored including
circular stained glass windows which
were crafted by church decorators,
Earley and Company.
Part of the terrace was also a convent
of the Little Sisters of Assumption –
from 1890 until the 1940s. Their former
chapel will also be preserved and form
part of the new pub and hotel.
Tim Martin, chairman of
Wetherspoon, said: “We are looking
forward to developing the site into a
fantastic pub and hotel.
“It will be the biggest single
investment undertaken by
Wetherspoon and will result in our
largest hotel alongside a superb pub.”
The UK’s tourism VAT
rate at 20% is double the
European average. Northern
Ireland’s hospitality and
tourism businesses risk losing
customers to the Republic of
Ireland where Tourism VAT
is 9%
Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the
British Hospitality Association
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NEWS ANALYSIS
We have seen the industry put their
heads together to figure how to
work around the new government’s
policies and the impending Brexit
negotiations but amongst all that,
hotels have continued to go from
strength to strength.
Even recent tragedies haven’t
disrupted things; if anything,
we have seen the industry pull
together offering solace and hosting
fundraising events for those affected.
While concern remains for the
workforce of the industry, things
look promising as the BHA predicts
that 500,000 jobs will be created
in the sector in the next five years
signifying a continuous growth.
POLITICS
BHA responds to
Tory-DUP deal
The British Hospitality Asssociation
(BHA) has commended the Theresa
May’s Conservatives for including
tourism VAT in considerations for a
‘confidence and supply’ deal with
the DUP.
It applauded the government for
recognising the need to “examine
how Northern Ireland’s businesses
are impacted by the UK’s high rates of
tourism VAT.” A detailed report will be
commissioned and published as part of
this agreement.
As part of the deal, Northern Ireland
will receive £1.5bn funding to be spent
on infrastructure, health and education
over the next two years. The 10 DUP
MPs will also support the Tories
in Brexit negotiations and security
legislation.
Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of
the British Hospitality Association
said: “Reducing tourism VAT across
the UK is a key pillar of the BHA’s
recommendations to government to
support the UK’s fourth largest industry
and we look forward to working with
the Treasury and leading the industry’s
representations to this detailed report.”
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