Denham, UK, 2013-12-17 — /travelprnews.com/ — Almost 44 hours, which is more than the typical working week, are spent looking after guests’ needs over the holiday season, according to new global research released today. Perhaps not surprising then, that an average of 11% of hosts1 admit they would rather be at work than host friends or family.
From changing beds, entertaining, decorating and preparing food and drinks, some of the most time consuming elements when hosting this festive season are:
– Preparing meals – 6 hours
– Cleaning the house before guests arrive – 5 hours
– Stopping arguments breaking out among guests – 2.5 hours
The research by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®) polled over 5,000 people across Europe, the Americas and Asia. It showed that even though 1 in 5 say they like hosting, 15% of people admit to feeling stressed within just 10 minutes of their guests arriving.
Twenty per cent of hosts around the world this festive season also admit that guests outstaying their welcome, is one of their biggest concerns. With an average of 15 people to host per household, this could be expected.
Some of the top things that concern hosts most this festive season are:
– Having badly behaved children in the house – 24%
– Catering for fussy eaters – 23%
– The cost of hosting guests – 23%
To help ease the pressure for hosts around the world this festive season, IHG®, whose family of brands includes Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne® Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Hotel Indigo®, has tapped into its vast hospitality expertise to create a new interactive, IHG Guide to Hospitality. Hotels can provide respite for stressed out hosts but for those that still prefer to take the challenge head on, the IHG Guide to Hospitality is designed to help by sharing tips from hospitality experts working in some of IHG®’s 4,600 hotels and resorts around the world. Some of the top tips to help ease the holiday woes include:
– Practical Housekeeping tips, provided by Prolet Gale, Executive Housekeeper at Staybridge® Suites London: When making beds, fill a spray bottle with clear water or even add a drop of your favourite scent. Spray this in the air above a bed in a fine mist and straighten the sheets. This helps to avoid creases on the bed linen and can enhance sheets with a pleasant fragrance
– DIY Food and drink tips, provided by Nitin Sharma, Executive Assistant Manager of Food & Beverage at Crowne Plaza® New Delhi Rohini: Try to make some foods and drink DIY – a cupcake decorating station is great for kids as well as adults and means less work for the host
– Tips for entertaining kids at home, provided by Laura Brogdon, Activities Director at Holiday Inn® Resort Wrightsville Beach: Use any old holiday cards that were hidden away from last year and create a card game for the children. Cut the tops into even squares, then ask the children to draw pictures on the back – for example two of the same things or two things that go together. Turn them over and start to play this matching game with the whole family
According to the research, in some countries the art of hospitality is practiced at a high level, with36% of hosts in India leaving a chocolate on the pillow for their guests and 34% of those in the USA, saying they like to leave a scented candle in the room for their visitors.
Phil Broad, Vice President, Food & Beverage, IHG said: “Collectively, our family of brands has 250 years of experience in hospitality, with our teams around the world hosting millions of people every year. A number of the great insights and guidance that we live by at our hotels, can also be used by our guests in their own homes.
Every host should enjoy the festivities as much as their guests, so we’ve created the IHG Guide to Hospitality, to share some of our knowledge and experience and help people have a more relaxed, stress-free holiday period.”
Visit www.IHGplc.com/HospitalityGuideGlobal to see the IHG Guide to Hospitality and to find out more.
Contact details:
For more press info, please contact:
Jovana Lakcevic
e: jovana.lakcevic@ihg.com
t: +44 1895 512 864
Notes to Editors:
International creative market research agency, Census Wide (www.censuswide.com), conducted the research on behalf of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) during November/December 2013. In total; 5,027 respondents across five countries (UK, USA, China, Russia and India) were polled online.
1a ‘good host’ is determined as someone who spends time food shopping, preparing meals/ baking, making drinks, cleaning the house before guests arrive, tidying up whilst guests are there, entertaining guests, decorating the house and table, washing bed linen, towels, table cloths, getting things back to normal once guests have left and stopping arguments break out
About IHG:
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels & Resorts.
IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 76 million members worldwide. The programme was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet for Elites across all hotels, globally.
IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,600 hotels and 679,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,000 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.
Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg,www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.
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