A snippet of facts found this week

The catering and hospitality sectors have been placed below average when it comes to using their loyalty schemes to retain and develop customers during the current economic crisis, according to research by GI Insight marketing support services group.

Further research suggested that marketers need to bear in mind that the disposable income and wealth of the 45 and over age bracket is considerably higher than younger age groups. Therefore, although the influence of loyalty schemes may be lower, the proportionate effect on revenues can often be higher when dealing with the older customer.

 
A third of a price of a British pint now goes in tax. Beer sales in pubs are already at their lowest levels in nearly 40 years and pub closures have accelerated to a rate of five a day.

By 2012 beer tax is set to rise by a further 40%, at least 7,500 more pubs are set to close, and more than 40,000 pubs are likely to be lost.

More than one in 10 people have tried to cut down on processed meat such as bacon as a result of a cancer prevention report published by World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF).

According to the survey, older people were more likely to have tried to make changes. For example, 37% of over 55s said they had tried to cut down on processed meat, compared to just 6% of 18 to 34-year-olds.

Other highlights of the report found that 18% of people had tried to be more physically active, 9% had tried to cut down the amount of alcohol they drink, and 10% had tried to eat less red meat, such as beef, pork and lamb.

Despite VAT dropping to 15%, the government raised alcohol duties ensuring the price of alcohol remained the same. Spirits saw the biggest increase and figures from the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) showed that a £9 bottle of spirits would be 34p more expensive.

The UK chain hotel market has reported a 9% drop in profit last month, according to the latest HotStats survey from TRI Hospitality Consulting. The sample of 509 UK branded hotels reported a 3.2 percentage point drop in average occupancy to 77.4%.

In the Provinces, average profit as a percentage of total revenue in October fell year-on-year from 37.6 to 35.1%. An increase in the national minimum wage which came into force on 1 October may have contributed to the rise in costs.

Meanwhile average room rate dropped by 1.9% to £73.72 which, combined with lower volume, led to an 11.2% fall in daily IBFC to £36.88 per available room.

Members of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) have slashed their CO2 emissions by 17% as part of an ambitious plan to reduce their environmental impact.The reduction means the industry has been releasing an average of 58,000 tonnes less CO₂ per year since 1990 – the equivalent of taking 22,000 cars off UK roads each year.

Nearly half (45%) of all eight to 15-year-olds thought the most dangerous side effects of eating junk food were to make them put on weight, cause their teeth to rot, give them spots or make them unpopular, according to a survey published by The British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Seven out of 10 children (73%) were also unaware that a shortened life was the worst consequence of eating badly.

In addition, research also found that two thirds of all children will be overweight or obese by 2050 and today's youngsters may be the first generation to live shorter lives than their parents. Almost a third (31%) of 10 and 11 year olds are currently over weight or obese.

But the majority of children are oblivious to the impact obesity could have on their lives with more than half (56%) predicting they will live to be over 80 and one in ten (11%) believing they will live to more than 100.

Related Articles:

• 28 Apr 2009 - Lower hotel room rates keep occupancy high
• 25 Mar 2009 - Profit down by 17% at London hotels