Amigos Committee Site

AMIGOS DE BENAHAVIS

BUSINESS FORUM AT GRAN HOTEL BENAHAVIS 26 MARCH 2008

1. WELCOME

Introduction and welcome by Peter Rogers who thanked the Gran Hotel for kindly providing the room ‘gratis’ for the event. Peter was pleased to see such a great turn out – around 50 people in total – for this Business Forum. He then went on to explain the reason for organising the event and what outputs were anticipated at the end.

A copy of Peter’s introduction is attached at Appendix 1.

2. MARKETING AND SWOT ANALYSIS

Neil Pettifer, Chairman of Amigos de Benahavís, then went on to explain the background to the initiative from a marketing perspective and explained how the group had to proceed with the next session on carrying out a SWOT Analysis for the Benahavís business community.

Neil’s presentation is attached at Appendix 2.

3. SWOT ANALYSIS – FEEDBACK

The attendees were split into two groups – one led by Neil Pettifer the other by Peter Rogers with Susan Hunter facilitating one of the groups. The feedback from each group is attached at Appendix 3.

4. IDEAS

After each group had conducted their individual SWOT analysis and shared their feedback with each group, the groups then considered how they could build on their strengths, eliminate the weaknesses and threats and take advantage of the opportunities by generating a list of ideas to take forward.

These ideas are included at Appendix 4.

5. WAY FORWARD

Each attendee was asked to indicate where they would like to get involved with the main ideas that will help the Benahavís Business Community. A list of the ideas and those interested are shown in Appendix 5.

It was also noted that it would be beneficial for a similar exercise to be organised with the Spanish Businesses in Benahavís and for the meeting to be conducted solely in Spanish. Sylvie and Chuck agreed to organise this and would feed back the outputs to Amigos de Benahavís.

It was also suggested that a meeting be held with the Mayor and tourist councillors to discuss the ideas. Peter Rogers, Neil Pettifer and Peter Letters to discuss. Susan Hunter also offered to help present the findings at that meeting.

6. CONCLUSION

In summary, Peter Rogers thanked everyone for attending and concurred that it had been a very successful meeting which everyone agreed with. He thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting.

26 March 2008

APPENDIX 1

PETER ROGERS’ INTRODUCTION

Good morning and welcome. Thank you for coming to this Economic Crisis Business Forum which has been organised by the Amigos de Benahavís.

My name is Peter Rogers, I am the secretary of Amigos de Benahavís, and my job right now is to set the scene for you.

First of all, I am duty bound to say that this Forum would not be taking place at all but for the exceptional generosity of our hosts, the Gran Hotel Benahavís and its commercial director Juan Vilcinskas. I would also like to acknowledge the sponsorship of the local build and repair specialists F&J.

A brief word about Amigos de Benahavís. For those of you who don’t know, we are a group of presidents of communities within the municipality and we meet monthly to discuss issues of common interest. Since we began a year ago, our numbers have grown until now we have around 20 urbanisations signed up. It is very informal and most people seem to find it useful in its links to the Town Hall and other bodies. It is strictly non-party political and free of any subscriptions.

So if you know anyone whose community is not yet a member but who might be interested in joining, please let me know.

In getting the Forum off the ground we approached every business sector we could think of in the municipality with the aim of involving all those engaged in commerce of any kind. And I must say it is very gratifying to see so many here today. The one possible sector we missed was the roadside second-hand golf ball vendors; we tried to contact their federation but the website was down for maintenance.

One important point: we took the decision that the working language for the Forum would be English. It is, for most members of Amigos, their first language and we considered a bi-lingual event would be too difficult to envisage at this stage.

But we are not so arrogant as to think English-speakers have all the answers and we seek to respect our Spanish neighbours and all Spanish institutions. Furthermore, we intend to share any findings from today with the Spanish-run businesses of Benahavís whether they are represented here or not.

I should also mention a couple of housekeeping points. You are not being charged for your attendance here this morning but you will have to pay for your own refreshments. And in view of the Gran Hotel’s generosity I urge you to eat and drink heartily.

And so to business. Our objective this morning is not to bemoan the past or to berate Fred Goodwin or Icelandic bank managers or whoever, but to see if we cannot ameliorate the effects of the down turn which we guess has hit everyone here to a greater or lesser degree.

There is no point in stating the obvious or going over past inequalities or failures. So, let’s not waste time moaning.

Let’s instead assume that we are capable of influencing events even if only modestly, and that there are things we can do.

It may be that we will need help in this. It is entirely likely that we will feel the need to turn to the Benahavís Town Hall or the Costa del Sol Tourism Office or the Junta de Andalucía Development Board. But if we are able to go to them and say, we have analysed our particular problems in Benahavís, and we have come up with a plan, a plan in which we are committed to helping ourselves, then they are far more likely to be receptive when we go on to say, please can you help us with this or that initiative.

As you arrived you were given a questionnaire. If you have not already done so please will you fill this in and hand it into reception? As you will see, you do not have to identify yourself or your business, the data will only be used to collate some overall indicators in percentage terms of the collective well-being or otherwise of business in Benahavís, indicators that can be presented subsequently to any of the authorities we may approach.

As I have said this Forum has been put together by the Amigos de Benahavís.

I will be joined on the platform today by Neil Pettifer our chairman, who comes with a distinguished background in the tourism industry. Also on the platform will be another Benahavís resident with professional experience of management and marketing, Suzy Hunter; she has kindly agreed to act as facilitator. I also want to thank four other members of Amigos de Benahavís who have been part of today’s team – Jim Robertson, our vice-chairman, and Dot Hall, Stephanie and Steve Thomas who have been manning the registration desk.

However Amigos de Benahavís is not a business organisation and anything that emerges today will ultimately have to be taken on board by you. Do not assume that others are going to make it all happen, you individually and collectively have to be engaged, you have to be involved and committed. Otherwise we may as well give up now.

This is your chance to have your say, to air your views and to contribute. So ask questions, put forward ideas, and be involved.

We need to be positive. We need to be forward looking. In an uncertain economic climate only one thing is certain, and that is if we do nothing, nothing will happen to improve the outlook.

Now we aim to get to the meat of this Forum – the brainstorming and action planning – as soon as possible.

So with those few thoughts in mind, I am now pleased and proud to hand over to my colleague, Mr. Neil Pettifer.

APPENDIX 2

NEIL PETTIFER’S TALK ON MARKETING/SWOT ANALYSIS

We are here this morning with the aim of brainstorming some ideas and hopefully coming up with an action plan that will help Benahavís and its businesses weather the horrible financial storm that threatens individual, businesses and the way of life that we love here in Benahavís.

Before we start discussing ideas we thought it would be a good idea to look at the different markets that the businesses have or potentially have. To make any marketing activity successful and cost effective we need to understand who we are talking to.

It is also important to have a firm idea of who the competition is and to look at what they are doing. It is often a good plan to borrow successful ideas from competitors and adapt them to you own business. For example major airlines have had loyalty schemes for over 25 years – usually called some sort of miles or points. This has been very successful but it wasn’t new – before that in the 60’s and 70’s retailers had loyalty programmes with trading stamp schemes – a lot of people will remember Green Shield Stamps. Such schemes disappeared in the late 70’s but then in the 90’s supermarkets started introducing Club Card like loyalty schemes modelled on the AirMiles type schemes. Ideas keep going around. Just because something has been done in the past doesn’t mean it cannot successfully be re-invented. And just because a competitor is doing something doesn’t mean you cannot do it too and do it better.

The Market:

Who are the customers and where are they from?

1. Residents of Benahavís (Casco Urbano and rest of the Municipality)

v Spanish

v Foreign full time

v Foreign part time

Ø Retired and semi retired

Ø Empty nesters

Ø Families

Ø Singles

2. Residents of surrounding areas - principally Marbella, Puerto Banús, San Pedro and Estepona

v Spanish

v Foreign full time

v Foreign part time

Ø Retired and semi retired

Ø Empty nesters

Ø Families

Ø Singles

3. Tourists staying in Benahavís (Casco Urbano and rest of the Municipality)

4. Tourists staying in Marbella, Puerto Banús, San Pedro and Estepona

The Competition

1. Other resorts and tourist areas

2. Hotels and other accommodations along the coast

3. Restaurants and bars in Marbella, San Pedro, Puerto Banús and Estepona especially for cuisines other than Spanish (Italian, French, Thai, Indian, Chinese, Moroccan)

4. Other mountain towns – Ojen, Monda, Guaro, Istan, Casares, Gaucin

APPENDIX 3

SWOT ANALYSIS OUTPUTS GROUP 1 – led by Peter Rogers

STRENGTHS	WEAKNESSES	OPPORTUNITIES	THREATS
Good reputation: not blighted by scandal	No Chamber of Commerce	Utilise old town hall as new tourist office	Inaction by businesses jointly
Lovely environment/beautiful parks	Confusion between Benavista and Benahavís (drives business away from village)	Need to sell ourselves better than we do now as a Benahavís brand	Separate (silo) approaches
Easy access to airports	Lack of good public transport	Capture people already coming here and at airports	Uncoordinated approach – no progress
‘remnant’ view as gastronomic centre	Lack of tourist office	Good offers in advertising rates now ; take advantage of this now	No Icon/Image that we work towards
Culture	Lack of shops/supermarkets	Inspite of weak £/€ don’t forget the UK market	Location of new town hall may drive people away from centre of village
Romantic	Lack of good image//Benahavís brand	Attract punters from the coast into the village (that we haven’t tapped so far)	Police on roundabouts – overwhelming numbers (not co-ordinated between Estepona and Benahavís forces)
Feels safe	Lack of marketing/advertising	Co-ordinate a plan for accommodation availability	(lack of) taxi service in busy periods – very poor and creates poor impression of village (facilities)
Sports (inc football events) + sports hall and golf courses nearby	Poor parking	Enhance lakeside beauty and walks – advertise/maps/signs etc	Lack of research into operating as a good model village (e.g. Mijas has it, why not us) + needs to be in Spanish too!
Historical significance	Poor internet visibility – not easy to find info/not accessible (centrally)	Make agreements with hotels etc for dap trips etc along the coast into Benahavís
Excellent walks	Dangerous road up to village (people find it too scary to drive up so don’t come) + no lights on mountain access road at night deters visitors	Use Benahavís website and improve internet SEO in particular
Climate	No events happening during the day	Re=introduce town hall pamphlet on Benahavís
Close to coast (unique location)	Dangerous footpaths and no signs	Seek funding
OIK – free	‘Me-First’ – silo mentality of individual/businesses	Promote more the great urbanisations and golf courses in Benahavís
Friendly atmosphere	Facilities not used effectively
Two good hotels	No current access to peaje road – need good signage (when open) to Benahavís from peaje – involve Junta de Andalucía
Exposure at international events	No central point for promoting Benahavís
Wide variety of restaurants	Lack of formal Benahavís website (unlike other areas)
	Lack of professionals to help with tourism (e.g. no office, no official body)

SWOT ANALYSIS OUTPUTS GROUP 2 – led by Neil Pettifer

STRENGTHS	WEAKNESSES	OPPORTUNITIES	THREATS
Beautiful village	Competition – Mijas	Improve internet search and communication (SEO)	Inaction
Location – mountain setting close to coast	Lack of Spanish Participation	Irish market	Lack of property buyers
Romantic village	No tourist office	English (UK) market	Exchange rate
Reputation	No public transport	List your business free of charge on many websites	Taxi service during busy periods
El Pueblo Gastronomico de La Costa Del Sol	No marketing	Assist at big ferias	Action of competitors (Mijas) – need to research more
Only white village surrounded by golf courses an	No advertising	Capture people already here
Authentic village with a wide catchment area including La Zagaleta, Los Arqueros etc	Poor road signs	Have a gastronomic week
Major possibilities of things to offer	Confusion between Benahavís and Benavista. A lot of people do not know where Benahavís is	Approach hotels along the cost – with flyers
Lots of territory for walks – beautiful nature	Facilities we have are not used to the full potential	(do) promotions
Sports, golf driving range	No presence on variety of websites and info sometimes wrong.	Get money together and approach as a whole
2 venues for concerts	Lack of chamber of commerce	Promote Benahavís as the BEST place to be for a holiday, a dinner or to buy a property.
Easy and quick access from coast	Unreliable taxis
Large and varied potential market	Poor parking
	No special offers - can be perceived as expensive
	Nothing to do in the day
	Little variety of types of food.

IDEAS

The following list of combined ideas was discussed at the meeting.

15 out of a total of 50 attendees offered to be involved in these ‘projects’; these individuals are shown against the ideas they are interested in being involved with and have been highlighted/shaded in grey.

For each major idea with interest, the ‘project leader’ has been highlighted in RED.

There still remain some ideas that have not been noted as high priority/high interest; however it is recommended that these are further considered at future meetings and possibly after the Spanish equivalent meeting has been run to ‘compare notes’.

PR:

(a) Marketing Plan

(b) Press

(c] Radio

(d) Create a Benahavís Tourist Pack (e.g. tapas, drink) ticket system

(e) Create a map – put together collectively by the businesses with advertising (organised centrally) – Sylvia Roura

(f) promotion

(g) Matthew’s “El Benahavís” newspaper and website (utilise) – Matthew, Robert Germaux, Jay Heffron, Susan Hunter

(h) professional marketers/journalists – Peter Rogers

(i) Liaison and focus marketing initiatives on close areas on the coast via flyers/maps/cards e.g. all markets, hotels, travel agents etc. – Chuck, Sylvia Roura, Charles Evans

Led by Jay Heffron

Vince Kelly, Charlotte, Jennifer Kelly, Gerard Huntridge, Robert Germaux, Stephanie Thomas, Susan Hunter, Charles Evans, Silvia Roura and Chuck

Ferias Internaccionales + other Ferias Promotions (get Benahavís businesses involved – NOT just Town Hall representatives)

Led by Charles Evans, Silvia Roura, David Navarro, Susan Hunter

More cultural activities especially at weekends and exchange events Led by Jolanta Jarczewska, Michael Cohen

Conferences: offer Benahavís as an ideal location to run events

Jennifer Kelly, Susan Hunter

Present project to Junta de Andalucia + request funding

Seek funding /financial support from Town Hall

Transport in general:

- possibly free bus service

- park and ride (to outside of village/before mountain road to attract more visitors who are deterred by mountain road)

- buses from hotels etc (excursions)

- wider bus stop route into village and to urbanisations in Benahavís

- better taxi service and pick up points

- better parking facilities in the village (or at edge)

- better signage on roads

Led by Daniel Martinez

Robert Germaux, Charles Evans, Jose Calle

Emphasis on adventure programme – e.g. walks/maps/sign posts + more sports activities (football/golf etc)

David Navarro

Create NEW Tourist Office and have this as a focal point (use old Town Hall building when new one completed)

Create Chamber of Commerce (officially registered) to take forward ideas as a central point + in liaison with Benahavís govt approval.

Led by Michael Cohen

Charlotte, Gerard Huntridge, Stephanie Thomas

Create gastronomic focus/brand to include:

- exploit use of cookery school for events/courses in addition to professional course use at present

- promote the restaurants collectively (variety)

- inclusive gastronomic promotions – say a gastronomic week (to promote via international ferias)

- exchange students

- tapas ferias

- dine around

David Navarro

More artists galleries and museum

Daniel Martinez and Jennifer Kelly

Antique Market

Jennifer Kelly and Vince Kelly

Focus on things that can happen quickly (review list for immediate/short term/longer term plans (e.g. 5 years on) Need to focus on quick wins (Easter)

Create a bilingual presentation summary (use Sylvie’s sister to translate)

Sylvie + sister, Charles Evans

Create property initiative for sales/rentals communications

Ensure all businesses are involved (not just restaurants/hotels but trades/professionals etc)

Gerard Huntridge + Cam Bank

Create neighbours program

Jennifer Kelly + CAM Bank

Ensure regular attendance at Amigos de Benahaivs: keep up to date with communication/initiatives.

Cam Bank

EMAILS

Email addresses of delegates

Helena CamBank OF11732GEN@CAM.ES