HOTREC - Hotels, Restaurants & Cafés in Europe

Dear followers, our 𝓷𝓮𝔀𝓼𝓵𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 is out now! 🎉 We at HOTREC wish you all a wonderful summer break! ☀️ Congratulations and welcome to the new cohort of MEPs. We are excited to begin this new chapter with you. Together, let's contribute to a more resilient, competitive, and innovative hospitality sector in Europe. Here's a selection of 5️⃣ policies impacting the European hospitality sector. 🔹𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 .𝐜𝐨𝐦 The recently designated gatekeeper platform has four months to comply with the Digital Markets Act. The time has come to end unequal and unbalanced relations between online travel agencies and hotels for a fair accommodation market in Europe. 🔸𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 HOTREC members and hospitality businesses in Europe aim to address food waste through education, collaboration, and implementing best practices across the food value chain. Ingredients for success and food for thought! 🔹𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬 The Environment Council’s position will lead to higher costs and increased administrative burden for SMEs. A balanced approach is needed to ensure the survival of micro-enterprises and family-run hospitality businesses in Europe. 🔸𝐄𝐔 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐨𝐥 The creation of a new EU talent pool would help tackle labour shortages and skill gaps in the European workforce. 🔹𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 Clarity is needed in distinguishing different types of traineeships and compensation schemes. We must ensure a robust framework and maintain training opportunities for young workers.  Read our full newsletter 👇 https://lnkd.in/erXrW8cv #Hospitality #Tourism #Hotels #Restaurants #Bars #SME #DMA

At the European Parliament today, HOTREC met newly elected MEP Daniel Attard. A pleasure it was to discuss the future of tourism and hospitality in Europe. MEP Daniel Attard (🇲🇹, S&D) has willingly endorsed our HOTREC Tourism Manifesto, further solidifying our collective commitment to a thriving and sustainable tourism industry.   Additionally, we expressed our strong support for the continuation of the Tourism Task Force, as it plays a crucial role in addressing the challenges and opportunities within our sector.   Together, we are dedicated to driving positive change and ensuring the continued growth and success of the tourism and hospitality industry.   Thank you Daniel for your support and shared vision of our sector's future! We look forward to working with you. ▶️ https://lnkd.in/edsM9ujK   #Tourism #Hospitality #EuropeanParliament #SustainableTourism #Innovation #MEP #DanielAttard #TourismManifesto #TourismTaskForce #TransformingHospitality

A HOTREC a magyar EU-elnökség alkalmából Könnyid Lászlóval, a Magyar Turisztikai Ügynökség vezérigazgatójával készített interjút. 🇪🇺 Melyek a kulcsfontosságú prioritások az európai turizmus- és vendéglátóipar fejlesztésére? 🇪🇺 HOTREC tagjai közös stratégiát dolgoznak ki a Net Zero by 2050 terv megvalósítására. A változások megfelelő végrehajtásához a vállalkozásoknak uniós- és nemzeti támogatásra lesz szükségük. Milyen finanszírozási lehetőségek állnak rendelkezésre? 🇪🇺 A magyar EU-elnökség egyik kiemelt témája az utazási csomagokról szóló irányelv (PTD) felülvizsgálata. Hogyan biztosítható, hogy a PTD ne csak az utazók, hanem az utazásszervezők számára is előnyös legyen, akik többnyire kis- és középvállalkozások? A válaszokért kattintsatok az alábbi cikkre! https://lnkd.in/dpauh7hJ

Congratulations to Ursula von der Leyen for her second term as European Commission president. Representatives of HOTREC - Hotels, Restaurants & Cafés in Europe the voice of European hospitality are looking forward to collaborating on crucial issues that affect us all. 👉 #sustainable prosperty & #competitiveness #SMEs 👉 Tackling #labour and #skills shortage 👉 #Digital fairness & #innovation 👉 Resilient & sustainable #Tourism The upcoming months will be crucial as the new Commission team is appointed, with clear portfolios and strong mandate for action. Ready to engage 🙌

🚀 Today marks the launch of the European Tourism Manifesto. Over 7️⃣0️⃣ organisations representing the tourism sector in Europe lay out their priorities for the next legislative term. Here's how to enhance the #travel and #tourism industry: 🌿 Decarbonisation 💶 Smart EU Funding 🌍 Resilient Connectivity & Freedom of Movement 👔 Skills Training & Sector Appeal 🇪🇺 Commissioner for Tourism European Commission | Tourism Taskforce European Parliament | Ministerial Meetings Council of the European Union ➡️ We look forward to working with the European Commission, Parliament, and Council to ensure the visitor economy delivers benefits to communities across Europe. Discover the 🆕 European Tourism Manifesto 👇 https://lnkd.in/dWX9gjs

⛔ 𝐅𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 Online platforms hosting reviews must play a key role in fighting fake reviews. 🇪🇺 Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders confirmed this in his response to a European Parliament question, emphasising the need for stronger measures on platforms more susceptible to fraud. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e2QyFNnk 📈 Over a million fake reviews were identified in 2022. These fake reviews mislead consumers and harm business viability, especially in the hospitality sector, where they can damage reputations, revenues and misinform clients. 👉 Reviews are crucial for informed consumer decisions. According to HOTREC member FIPE - Federazione Italiana Pubblici Esercizi, 65% of Italian consumers read reviews before choosing a restaurant, and find them decisive in making a choice. These figures highlight the need for robust monitoring against fraudulent practices. We must ensure reviews reflect real experiences, essential for maintaining trust and integrity in the digital age. #Hospitality #Restaurant #Review #FakeReview #ConsumerChoice

𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐬, 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐌𝐀 Today, HOTREC published its latest Hotel Distribution Study which looks at digital trends in the European accommodation sector. Find out how consumers book hotel rooms by reading our press release and study 👉 https://lnkd.in/ex2ig-cR The main findings confirm the need for proper implementation of the Digital Markets Act (#DMA). These fair digital rules will ensure a more balanced treatment of hoteliers by Online Travel Agencies (#OTAs). Did you know❓ 🔹Booking .com has a share of 71% in the OTA market, up 10% in the last 10 years. 🔸Sales channels for European hotels return to pre-pandemic trends where direct bookings continue to decrease. 🔹Online Travel Agencies undercut prices set by hotels in 4 out of 10 cases. Marie Audren, HOTREC Director General, commented: "Hotels face unfair business practices from Booking .com every day: financial loss, operational strain and reputation damage. This must end. The DMA and fair digital rules are a first step in the right direction to tackle these pressing issues." "Booking. com is withholding guest data from hotel partners and preventing hotels from offering better prices on their own websites. Affordability, transparency and choice are crucial for European consumers and travellers. This should finally be resolved thanks to the DMA." #Hospitality #DigitalMarketsAct #Booking #Hotels #Distribution

HOTREC represents 2️⃣ million companies which employ 1️⃣0️⃣ million people. Over 9️⃣ in 1️⃣0️⃣ #hospitality businesses are micro, small, or medium-sized enterprises. On this #SME Day, let's celebrate our #hotels, #restaurants and #bars, and highlight their ability to create jobs and promote economic growth. SMEs are the backbone of our economy. We must ensure they remain competitive, innovative, and responsive to evolving consumer preferences. However, labour shortages and skill gaps remain a crucial challenge for the hospitality sector. A skilled workforce is important to ensure that our SMEs continue to thrive and survive. To tackle these pressing issues, the EU should encourage different ways of working and promote upskilling and reskilling. Effective EU and national actions are imperative to attract, train, and retain talent. Ursula von der Leyen stated that 3️⃣ in 4️⃣ SMEs face skill shortages. This will inevitably impact business operations of our restaurants and bars across Europe, especially ahead of this summer's peak tourist season. #SMEday #LabourShortages #SkillGaps #TransformingHospitality

HOTREC has just published its position paper on the European Commission’s proposals on a Directive on Traineeships and a Council Recommendation on a reinforced Quality Framework for Traineeships (QFT). More clarity is needed however, especially for SMEs. HOTREC’s main priorities on the Traineeships Directive are as follows: • It is unclear what type of traineeship is addressed. If the intention is to cover open market traineeships, part of a labour relationship, this should be clearly explained. • In countries where open-market traineeships exist, the trainee is already protected by national labour law or collective bargaining, as there is a labour relationship. Further legislation is not needed. • The Directive should not create a new category of worker at EU level. • Red tape should be cut, where possible, and reasonable timeframes considered, especially for SMEs. • Definitions of traineeship and trainee are inconsistent. • Collective bargaining agreements should be able to derogate from the Directive. • There should not be an overlap between apprenticeship schemes and open-market traineeships. • Instead of a new Directive, a revision of the Council Recommendation on QFT is more appropriate. On the Council Recommendation on a reinforced QFT: • All traineeships should not be included, subsidiarity must prevail. • Remuneration should not be made compulsory, compensation is often a fair alternative. HOTREC full position paper: https://lnkd.in/dAF4kvjm

🥗 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 🍲 Our intern Jan Palyza and Public Affairs Manager Marine Thizon recently attended the international conference on #FoodWaste in the Netherlands. Many thanks to the organisers: Food Waste Free United and 🇪🇺 Platform on Food Waste led by DG SANTE European Commission. 🔑 𝙆𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 :   🔸 Rising consensus to better capture the edible segment of food waste in EU reporting methodology. 🔹 Variability in food services' share of food waste across Europe, from 1% in Lithuania to 5% in Croatia, and 9% at the EU level for 2021. 🔸 EU countries prefer soft measures rather than regulatory interventions (1%) to tackle food waste according to a European Environment Agency study. 🔹 What works for IKEA canteens, does not work for the vast majority of family restaurants. No one-size-fits-all solutions. 🔸 Smart food tech's vast potential to provide accurate information on food shelf life. 🔹 Raising awareness at all levels is crucial as much as bringing youth to the table! 👎 One regret: losing the food waste quiz! Nonetheless, our colleagues had a lot of fun teaming up with stakeholders Marta Sieniawska and Wilfried de Moor from IUNGO waste treating plant.   Smart Food Tech Coalition Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2024 European Environment Agency IUNGO Sp. z o.o. Sp. k. Too Good To Go