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Bookassist scores at HotelTech Awards

Irish hotel technology company Bookassist has won three awards at the International HotelTechAwards.

Superior unbiased feedback and peer reviews from over 10,000 hoteliers across the globe earned Bookassist the global titles of Best Digital Marketing, Best Website Design and Best Metasearch company.

Bookassist was the only Irish company to make the Global Top 3 Booking Engine fInalists list, pipped for the top award by tech giant Cloudbeds. Bookassist came in ahead of international company Siteminder who secured 3rd pl

Bookassist was also awarded a People's Choice Award for outstanding customer centricity based on total verified customer reviews, geographic reach of reviews and overall review sentiment and ratings

High prices for Dublin pubs

Strrong prices were achieved by some of the 12 Dublin pubs which were sold in 2020 thanks partly to the development potential of the properties and the deep pockets of some pub0118 of the purchasers– including mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor– according to agents Bagnall MacMahon Doyle.

John Ryan of Bagnall Doyle MacMahon said that while the number of 2020 pub deals was fewer than the 18 in 2019, the average price increased from €3.25m to €3.8m.

The most valuable of them was The Storehouse, Temple Bar which Punch Taverns, backed by Alan McIntosh of Emerald, bought for a near record price of almost €16m.

Dunnes Stores bought the Magic Carpet pub and development site in Cornelscourt, Dublin 18, for a price believed to be about€9m.

'Just Eat' orders soar

European food-ordering firm Just Eat Takeaway.com said it had received 57% more orders in the fourth quarter than a year earlier, as strict social distancing rules and work-from justeat0619 -home trends continued to boost online orders.

Order growth accelerated from a 46% jump in the third quarter, as countries across Europe went back into lockdown due to swelling numbers of coronavirus infections.

Takeaway's orders were up 56% in Germany and 58% in the UK. Restaurants in the Netherlands delivered 39% more meals through the company's platform.

The company said it expects revenue to have jumped more than 50% in the whole of 2020, with an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of around 10%.

The figures were presented on a pro-forma basis, to reflect Takeaway's $7.8 billion takeover of Britain's Just Eat that closed in April 2020.

Event sector seeks vaccination role

The Events Association of Ireland has written to the Taoiseach to offer the industry’s skills and resources to assist in planning the mass vaccination rollout. CCD10 20

Elaine O’Connor, the co-founder of the representative group, said the events industry has the relevant expertise to aid the rollout of mass vaccination centres across the country.

“We have thousands of people literally sitting around doing nothing… it’s horrible to sit by knowing that there are so many experts, so much infrastructure to roll this out quickly.”

The association submitted a letter by email to Micheál Martin, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan and HSE CEO Paul Reid.

The government’s vaccine rollout plan states that the mass ramp-up of vaccinations will take place in the second phase of the rollout.

Mass vaccination centres are expected to be brought in for this as vaccine availability increases and more people are eligible to receive the jab.

These centres are already in use in other countries, with England opening its first ones today in locations including a racecourse, a football stadium and a tennis club.

Blasket Summer Jobs offer

A job on one of the country’s most iconic islands, which has no hot running water and electricity is again on offer.. blasket

Last year more than 40,000 applications were made for two summer caretaker jobs on the remote Great Blasket Island, home to the late author and storyteller Peig Sayers.

Billy O’Connor and his partner Alice Hayes, who own three cottages and a coffee shop on the island, are to post the vacancies on social media this week.

The couple were inundated with enquiries by phone, email, social mediaand paper applications from around the world and from as far afield as Mexico, Finland and Argentina.

The flood of applications itself prompted international media attention and barely one week after the job was listed, more than 23,000 people had applied.

Located about three miles off the coast of Dingle, Co Kerry, the Great Blasket Island is home to diverse animal, sea and plant life.