Hotels in Europe are doing well in spite of the ongoing Eurozone Crisis, according to the latest numbers from the European hospitality industry. Although the Eurozone Crisis has made it hard for the expansion of hotels in Europe, the hotels in Europe that currently exist are meeting the numbers they had at this time in 2010.

Hotels in Europe Performed Well This Year

Despite the ongoing instability in the European economy and the Eurozone Crisis, 51 percent of the hospitality chiefs said current trading is stronger than anticipated, while 17 percent said it is unchanged and 12 percent said it is worse than expected. Investment sentiment continues to favor luxury hotels in Europe in prime gateway locations, such as London and Paris. Significant investment in the refurbishment, re-positioning and acquisition of luxury hotels in Europe has been seen since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, demonstrating the resilience of markets where barriers to entry remain high and investment capital is seeking opportunities.

Hotels in the UK Expected to Flourish Through 2012

This may be due to the anticipation of the London 2012 Olympics, but hotels in the United Kindgom are projected to do well through the rest of the year and through 2012. Britain was named the most popular choice of destination for new hotel projects in a survey conducted by Deloitte, with 46 percent of respondents choosing it over four other major European hospitality markets – namely France, Germany, Italy and Spain. London hotels are doing much better than hotels in Europe in general, with an 11 percent higher year-to-date performance than 2010 and 13 percent ahead of its previous peak. When looking at 2012 and beyond, London and the rest of the hotels in the UK are expected to at least remain firm where they are in 2011.

Rest of the Hotels in Europe to be Steady through 2012

Many hotels in Europe, particularly in the southern and western regions, are still below their peak levels. The Eurozone Crisis is particularly hitting this region the hardest, as hotel developers are finding it difficult to secure the lending necessary to make the expansion of hotels in Europe possible. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide has been slowed of its expansion of hotels in Europe because of the lending problems. All loans not linked to Germany or Poland are being stopped, and many banks in those countries are cutting back on real estate lending.

Overall, the Eurozone Crisis has made it hard for the construction and the expansion of hotels in Europe, but the current European hospitality industry as is doing well and maintaining itself. It may still be a while before the continent is able to see significant growth again, but the good news is that the industry isn’t falling apart.

Image Source: askmesolution.com

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Plastics Recycling Popular Among Businesses

Coca-Cola, the world’s most valuable brand, announced last week that it will ensure that all clear plastic bottles at the London 2012 Olympics will be recycled. It is estimated that one fifth of the total consumer waste produced at London 2012 Olympic venues will the clear plastic bottles. This will help the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games to achieve its target of sending zero waste to landfill with at least 70% of all waste being reused, recycled or composted. The actual plastics recycling will take place at a new plastics recycling facility in North Lincolnshire and all those clear plastic bottles will be used to produce 80 million new Coke bottles within six weeks of the Closing Ceremony.

There’s actually a small UK company that’s trying to eliminate clear plastic bottles, and plastics recycling, all together, or at least within itself. GreenBottle, based in Suffolk, is working on paper bottles for milk and is now unveiling the world’s first paper bottle for wine. This invention, if it catches on, could help rid the planet of an estimated 30 billion clear plastic bottles that are produced every year – 6.5 million of them in the UK alone. Each day, over 15 million plastic bottles are used in the UK and the vast majority of these, whether sent for plastics recycling or not, are ultimately destined for landfill. Because they do not decompose, clear plastic bottles will pollute the planet for up to 500 years.

The Middle East and Plastics Recycling

The Middle East is doing its share to cut down on filling landfills with clear plastic bottles with an upcoming regional conference on plastics recycling. Media Fusion, the publisher of Waste and Recycling Middle East and Clean Middle East announced that it will be offering a conference on paper and plastics recycling, in conjunction with the US-based Recycling Today Media Group. The event will have session examining commodity markets for paper and plastics recycling in a global context, insights from local policy makers on regional waste, and recycling management development. Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference – Middle East, as the event is called, will be held Feb. 27-28, 2012 at the JW Marriott hotel in Dubai.

China and Plastics Recycling

China is critical to plastics recycling, as the Eastern giant has set a goal last week to recycle 70 percent of its waste products by 2015. To achieve this, China is implementing a system that should feature a complete waste collection network, advanced technologies, well-functioning sorting and standard management. To put that 70 percent in perspective, in 2010, the Chinese scrap plastics recycling industry processed over 20 million tons of material – 8.6 million tons of which were imported scrap. Additionally, according to new data from Plastics Recycling Committee of CPPIA, Chinese plastics consumption will reach approximately 71.4 million tons in 2011.

China has also long been suspected as the location where many major plastics recycling companies send those plastics, both recyclable and non-recyclable, where upon arrival they are instead put in a landfill instead of recycled. Perhaps, with a commitment from China and others around the world, more can be done to prevent those clear plastic bottles from ending up in decomposition.

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The Summer Olympics in London are just six months away. What’s the hospitality industry in London and the rest of the United Kingdom doing to get ready for the  half a million visitors (not including the athletes) projected to visit the city during the games?

First, businesses are evaluating their staffing needs, and the UK hospitality industry is seeing a major boom in the demand for jobs. The Hospitality Employment Index from Sector Skills Council People 1st and Caterer.com found that job vacancies have soared from 26,550 in the second quarter of 2009 to 45,000 new roles for the same period in 2011 for the UK hospitality industry. As a result, the number of job applications has grown by more than a third from 640,000 to 800,000 submissions in the past year, reflecting increasing competition in the jobs market. There is especially increased demand for skilled restaurant managers and chefs, highlighting the ongoing challenges of recruiting skilled staff, even in the wake of something as prosperous as the London 2012 Olympics. The index also found that:

● The most jobs were for restaurant management positions, with 7,740 vacancies – a growth of nine percent since the first quarter.
● Demand for head chefs grew by 34 percent; the number of posts for chefs de partie grew by 19 percent.
● London and the South-east proved to be the greatest job generators over the past year creating 12,770 and 13,606 new vacancies followed by the North-east where the number of job vacancies increased by a quarter to 821 new positions.

Second, a demand for hotel rooms and accommodations are also booming, as many tourists would like to get their London 2012 Olympics accommodations before they run out. 2012 is expected to be a record breaking year for growth in the London hotel market, with a projected 50,000 hotel rooms to be built between now and 2026. This demand for hotel rooms has also caused a boom in construction jobs, with over 6,000 people taking the chance to help build Olympic Park and other facilities for the London 2012 Olympics.

Another accommodation choice that’s particularly popular with American, Spanish and French visitors is renting a house. There’s a general trend for the French and Spanish to travel in large family groups and value the opportunity of cooking their own meals whilst sharing the communal benefits of renting comfortable homes for the games. Visitors from the United States are used to booking luxury homes for rent by owners, and enjoy the flexibility of self-catering and eating out combined with the extra facilities offered by renting a house for the London 2012 Olympics, such as satellite TV, fast broadband, and free parking. There hasn’t been any evidence of an increase in the construction or demand of rental and luxury homes.

Any businesses in the UK hospitality industry needing help in getting ready for the London 2012 Olympics can check out the Olympics planning guide. The guide offers specific information in staff training, transportation, and marketing. The hope among leaders and officials in the UK hospitality industry is that this boom from the London 2012 Olympics won’t turn into a huge drop in demand and jobs.

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The 2012 London Olympics Basketball Arena

The reusable-recyclable Basketball stadium of the 2012 Olympics, unveiled last week, is the fourth Olympic Park venues completed a year in advance of the Olympics, and is being dubbed as one of the quickest venues to complete construction, according to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA)

The London 2012 Olympics Basketball Arena is one of the largest temporary venues ever used for an Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to the official 2012 London Olympics website.

Designed jointly by Sinclair Knight Merz, Wilkinson Eyre and KSS, this recyclable, reusable 2012 Olympics Basketball Arena, located in the Olympic Park, East London will be dismantled after the Games to be reused elsewhere.

First-Ever Detachable Basketball Stadium

With the master-plan for the detachable 2012 Olympics Basketball Arena being executed in October 2009, the recyclable venue has been completed on perfect budget and within estimated time.

Dennis Hone, Chief Executive of the Olympic Delivery explained the motive behind the recyclable-reusable arena in a media release, saying that, “Completing construction on the Basketball Arena delivers another striking Games-time venue for the Olympic Park and an innovative structure that can be re-used elsewhere after 2012. As the fourth Olympic Park venue completed and one of the quickest to finish construction, the Basketball Arena is another milestone for the Olympic Park ‘Big Build’ and a tribute to the companies from across the UK involved in its delivery.”

Designed by architects Sinclair Knight Merz along with Wilkinson Eyre and KSS, the reusable 2012 Olympics Basketball Arena has been carefully designed and built in a manner which allows it to be dismantled and further reused or recycled.

The mammoth Arena, which provides seating for 12,000 people, is 35 meters high and 115 meters long, and has been built using a 1,000-tonne steel frame which is covered in 20,000sqm of white recyclable, environment-friendly PVC membrane.

With every component used in this assemble aiding the dismantla-bility and collapsibility of the stadium, the 2012 Olympics Basketball Arena also boasts a creative lighting design on the exterior white recyclable canvas, enhancing the green, temporary nature of the building.

Reports say that once the games are over, the arena will be dismantled and handed over to the next country hosting the Olympics in 2016.

Heralding London’s Green Transformation

With Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, promising around the end of May that London will see hundreds of green projects come to fruition in time for the opening ceremony on 27 July, the recyclable-reusable Basketball Arena becomes only the beginning.

Describing his vision about the statement London will make at the 2012 Olympics, Mayor Johnson said, “I want London to look its very best in 2012 as the eyes of the world are upon us. The games are a unique opportunity for London to secure its position for another generation as the best big city in the world.”

With a series of major new initiatives being implemented across the city, London’s green transformation includes the most famous buildings in this world capital being re-fitted with low-energy lights, ensuring homes in the Olympic boroughs are as eco-friendly as possible, and implementing a fleet of electric cars that would be used by officials and athletes for travel during the games.

image courtesy london2012.com

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