Each year “thirty under thirty” emerging hospitality industry figures are chosen to receive the reputable Acorn Award.  In the award’s 24th year, Steve Lowy, 29, became an honoured recipient of the award which lists household names Gary Rhodes and Marco Pierre White amongst its previous winners.

The Acorns celebrate the industry’s top rising stars, from chefs, to operations managers to entrepreneurs.  Winners of this award are nominated by their fellow employees for making a positive and outstanding impact through their work. Acorn recipients are then selected by a judging panel who recognises them as the future of the industry.  The judges obviously saw the qualities that they were looking for in Lowy.  His enthusiasm and determination for the success of the umi hotel brand have proven to be exceptional.

After studying hospitality and tourism at Salford University, Lowy became the general manager of a backpackers hostel in London.  In 2007, he opened the umi London, in the former Westminster Hotel.  The umi group now boasts three locations including Brighton and Moscow and there are plans for further international expansion.

Lowy is not unfamiliar with recognition for his work within the industry.  Umi London has been named one of the ‘Top 50 Budget Hotels in the World’ by the Telegraph.  In 2008 Lowy was recognised as the North and West London Business Person of the Year and was then named the “one to watch in tourism” in The Courvoisier The Future 500 list.

All of the Acorn Award winners attended the weekend-long recognition ceremony at the ABode hotel in Chester.  Team-building activities took place, such as making chariots from cardboard and racing them through a course, providing the winners with an ideal opportunity to network with fellow industry professionals.  The celebration continued with a reception and gourmet dinner in The Michael Caines Restaurant before the formal presentations the following day.  Winners were praised for their achievements and then became members of the respected Acorn alumni.

Utilising white labeling technologies, the development of the booking engine provides umi with a new product in their range of franchise and hotel business solutions packages, enabling umi to drive forward not only umi branded hotels but also other accommodation providers.

umi’s Founder Steve Lowy commented: “we’ve worked with a number of booking engines in the past and they all just do the job, no one knows the industry like we do so we set to work building a system from the bottom up that would be functional, flexible and sleek whilst allowing the user to do what they want to do: book.”

Book it with [umi Hotels]

Initially the booking engine will be incorporated with the umi Hotel websites however under the brand Book It With, the booking engine is to be incorporated into a number of other accommodation providers (including hotels and apartments) enabling them to race ahead of their competitors by providing their website visitors with a turbocharged user interface.

A network of websites is currently being developed that will feature the booking engine and the hotels using it, this allows your potential guest multiple points in which to interact with your brand allowing you to overtake your competition.

Benefits for Hoteliers:

Conversion driven user interface
Easy website integration
Simple data entry interface
Scalable solution
Channel Manager integration
Apps for Apple and Android
Detailed Reporting and Conversion Tracking

Whether your existing booking engine is slow and lacks performance or you are only just considering the right model for you make sure you contact Steve Lowy at steve@umihotels.co.uk for more information and make sure your guests Book it with your hotel.

Keeping up with founder Steve Lowy’s goal of providing students with opportunities within the brand, Caroline, an intern from the Maastricht Hospitality School, is responsible for creating this new service for guests. This project has helped her to learn more about the popular locations in the area around the umi hotel. It also allowed her to conduct research on the services that guests want the hotel to offer. In the first two weeks of the tours launch Caroline has enjoyed seeing her hard work pay off when guests return with positive feedback.

Although this tour may be taken at any point during a guests stay, it can also serve as a valuable solution to hotel check in wait times. Guests, especially ones travelling from outside of the EU, often arrive to their destination before their hotel’s check in time. This situation can leave jet-lagged visitors with no where to go or to store their belongings. Umi’s walking tour is able to fill this period of time and give guests the opportunity to begin their visit to London right away. Travellers can store their suitcases in umi’s convenient luggage storage area, and then they may begin on the journey to learn about the remarkable area surrounding the hotel.

The umi walking tour includes a map marked with fifteen popular locations in the region, such as Westbourne Grove, Jimi Hendrix’ House, Portobello Road, Kensington Palace and Hyde Park. It also consists of an mp3-player which serves as the tour guide, giving information and explaining the significance of each site listed on the map. Guests have the choice of listening to the full tour, or skipping to the places in which they are most interested. They are also able to explore at their own pace and still have time to take a break, shop, or stop for lunch.

Whether travelling for business or for pleasure, the complimentary umi walking tour is an excellent way to learn about the trendy Notting Hill and Bayswater area. And, it is an innovative idea from the mind of yet another driven intern at umi London.

umi hotels are made up of umi Hotel London, umi Hotel Brighton and Petrovka Loft Hotel Moscow

Contact Steve at steve@umihotels.co.uk

Yogesh Mistry is 22 years old and currently completing his degree in hospitality and tourism.  Having worked his way up through reception, concierge, conference and events roles at umi hotel London, he is now moving into a senior management position.  The new role of Management Trainee involves living on the hotel premises, financial analysis and overseeing the daily running of the 117-room hotel.

Umi hotels Founder, Steve Lowy, has made the effort to work with many academic institutions both in the UK and abroad to help train hospitality students right from the moment he began his business.  Ranging from 1 week GCSE work experience to 6 month language and hospitality placements, over fifty students have worked at umi so far, covering more than 15 different nationalities from as close as France and as far as Argentina.  Steve also speaks at universities several times a year on topics including hospitality marketing and business management.

Yogesh, known as Yogi, said “My roles at umi have helped me understand how the business world really works, particularly aspects of hotel management and hospitality management. Umi has helped me become a confident communicator, a leader and also provided me with the opportunity to achieve my career ambitions.”

He went on to say “one reason why I want to stay at umi is because of the company’s passion to provide the best service it can to its customers. There are a lot of opportunities and I feel that I can learn and develop myself even further”.

Patrick Trodden, Lecturer at the University of Salford said “I am delighted for Yogi.  The focus of programmes at the University of Salford is to combine the academic world with the world of enterprise.  I believe that the internship offered by umi hotels reflects this partnership and will continue to allow Yogi the opportunity to consolidate the knowledge he has gained on his degree programme in a vocational setting.  This will enable him to develop an effective management style which will be responsive to the needs and pressures of the real world.”

Umi hotels receives around thirty applications for its internship program every year and the success of the program proves that young ambitious people are more than willing to gain the experience they need to achieve great things in a competitive industry.

Pauline guessed correctly that Simon Cowell was the famous TV Judge hailing from Brighton.

Pauline is from Ireland and goes to London around 4 times a year, often with her daughter to see her son and shop, regularly staying at umi Hotel London.

Visit umi’s competition page at http://umihotels.com/competitions our June competition is for a staycation at umi Hotel Brighton for 4, as well a railcard giving the winner the opportunity to explore the local area.

The aim of the session is to take umi staff out of the workplace and get them working as a team completing physical challenges and team-building exercises.  It has been shown that a workforce who are physically active are more productive and take fewer sick-days than their inactive counterparts.  In addition, it is becoming increasingly necessary for every employer to cater for the health and wellbeing of their employees.  The session will certainly be fun but physically demanding at the same time, taking into account the different fitness levels of the group.

“It is really important for all my staff to look after themselves in regards diet and fitness.  I know myself from playing sports and cooking fresh food what a difference it makes and I really believe that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind.  With life being so hectic these days it can be hard to take that extra few minutes to walk somewhere and it’s easier to buy a microwave meal rather than make something yourself.”

He went on to say “Rob will show our staff how easy it is to stay healthy and it’s also a great way of getting people together and doing something fun with long-term benefits.  I think it is important for employers to look after their staff, and guide them in looking after themselves where possible, particularly in the demanding world of hospitality.”

“The umi grill is built from the desire to offer great value British produce cooked on a grill and served simply for everyone to enjoy.  Along with my team, I researched the restaurants that are currently on the seafront and talked to our hotel guests and felt that a grill would be the ideal type of restaurant for the location.” said owner Steve Lowy.  “We plan to work with Brighton and Hove City College, just as we have done in the hotel, to offer opportunities for young apprentices both front and back of house.  This restaurant will be simple and fun, catering for the varied crowd that is Brighton seafront.” 

The restaurant caters for both children and vegetarians and is open until 10pm daily.  Umi grill can provide special offers for large groups and also has an area available for private hire.  To book, call 01273 749651 or visit www.umigrillbrighton.co.uk

Congratulations to Holly Acamon who was selected at random from the entrants to the April iPod competition.

Holly guessed correctly that Jimi Hendrix was the famous guitar legend that lived minutes away from umi Hotel London.

Holly is a Professional Make-up Artist from Gorelston on sea in Norfolk and was selected from the thousands of correct entrants of umi’s April iPod competition.

Visit umi’s competition page at http://umihotels.com/competitions our May competition is for a free 3 course meal for 4 and a bottle of house champagne at umi Grill in Brighton.

Steve Lowy has been named as a finalist for his Bayswater-based business Umi Hotels, a venture that strives to bridge the gulf between Britain’s budget and luxury hotels. The twenty-nine year old entrepreneur will now pitch to a panel of judges at the final, due to be held at the prestigious Institute of Directors in London on 6 April 2010. In addition, the public can choose the winner of the coveted People’s Choice award in an online vote, open from Tuesday 23 March at www.enterpriseuk.org/youngbrits.

Commenting on his achievement, Mr. Lowy said: “Reaching the final of such a prestigious enterprise competition is fantastic. I know I’ll be up against some tough competition at the final, but I’ll certainly do my very best to bring an Enterprising Young Brit award back to London”

Enterprising Young Brits shines the spotlight on talented young people who are bucking the recession by seizing opportunities to turn their ideas into successful businesses, generating jobs and wealth within their communities. Run by Enterprise UK and supported by the Institute of Directors, the Daily Mail, and the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills, the competition highlights that age is no barrier to turning ideas into reality.

Scott Cain, Deputy Chief Executive of Enterprise UK, comments: “Enterprising Young Brits such as Steve have shown that age is no barrier to entrepreneurial success. I’d encourage people of any age to take inspiration from the finalists’ ideas and their can-do spirit. With so many talented young business brains competing this year, it’s sure to be an exciting final.”

This year’s 25 finalists are split over five categories:

• New startup – For enterprising individuals who have started their own business, large or small, within the past three years.
• Social, ethical or environmental – For ventures combining the principles of a successful business with an emphasis on the social, ethical or environmental benefits it can provide.
• Teen – For anybody aged 13-19 who is making their enterprising idea happen.
• Creative – Rewarding enterprising individuals in the creative industries such as fashion, music, design, or the arts.
• Open category – Entrants who business did not immediately fit into one of the four categories above were welcome to enter the Open category.

The winner of each category will take home £1,000 and a trophy.

Metro Hotels members are represented by GHO’s private label GDS code – “GW”. They also benefit from targeted sales and marketing opportunities including entry into the annual GHO corporate travel collection directory, corporate and consortia sales, meeting and incentive sales, trade show representation, public relations services and corporate sales road-shows.

“Membership of GHO is by invitation only and we have had to meet strict criteria before being accepted. We’re therefore really happy to be one of the newest additions to this exclusive group of hotels” said Steve Lowy, Founder and Managing Director of umi hotels.

Metro Hotels is GHO’s third hotel brand, adding to Great Hotels of the World, a luxury alliance bringing together the world’s finest hotels and Special Hotels of the World, an alliance for hotels with a unique offering for guests.