Harry Crosvbie says that he was ‘very impressed’ with the British team which planned the visit of Queen Elizabeth. ‘They are concentrated on selling the idea that British is Good’, he said. ‘Every photo opportunity was planned in advance. They had a detailed script showing exactly where the Queen would stand and at what angle. Onlookers were gently moved aside and the cameras could not click until Her Majesty looked perfect- her hat, her hair, her handbag. It was a lesson that in marketing you should keep the message simple- and repeat it again and again’

Speaking at the IHI Hospitality Managers Conference he said that the people  at NAMA were ‘very straightforward’. ‘They know that it was not people like me that caused the problems. But they need to put property on the market and the banks need to release the funding to get the market going. The banks simply are not working- they do not even answer the phone.’

‘Sack the gobshites- or they will sack you’, said entrepreneur Jerry Kennelly at the IHI Conference. The Kerryman who built up an image business and sold it for €120m, said that modern businesses cannot afford to carry underperforming employees. ‘We don’t have a jobs crisis- we have a talent crisis’, he said. He told IHI members that to build a business 'you should use partners to achieve rapid growth, ‘network like crazy’, meet customers face to face, know the competition and recognise the point where the business is moving towards a downturn. ‘Then sell out’, he advised.

Jerry now runs Tweak.com, a graphic design and printing company, which he says, is ‘faster, better and cheaper’ than its competitors.

While most Irish hotels now have websites, their content is not always accessible to Europeans who do not speak English or who have only a modest grasp of the language, Failte Ireland has been encouraging client hotels to include some foreign language content on their sites and to train staff to reply to e-mail requests in the language of the sender.

Many hotels who take this advice have turned to the Google Translator service as a means of converting English text into French, Italian, Spanish or German. They do not realise however that 'Translator' is primarily a dictionary and frequently produces linguiistic horrors when used to translate text.

A colleague who provides a translation service has sent me extracts from Italian hotel websites which have used Googl Translator. Here are some examples:

'Welcome in our HOTEL, where you will have a pleasent stayng , in confortable rooms and aboveall, where you could appreciate the beauty of the city, its beautiful attractions and its marveoussites, which are a throw of stone from the HOTEL CAIROLI.'

'Our hotel is close to the foothill that degrades in the sea. We treat you between the colours and Mediterranean perfumes of an elegant and comfortable ambient
The Hotel Residence’s Tramonto wellness centre is a marvel place, you will immerse in releasing warm of the Roman
Bisazza’s Opus.'

'The 4 stars hotel Borgo Marina in Rodi Garganico distinguish it selves since two years for his capacity to make the stay of his proper guests a moment of serene and joyful experience for living in our earth, the Gargano, hospitality earth of tradition.'

The message is clear. If you decide to include non-English translations on your website- get it done professionally and don't rely on Google.