Exclusive: Beleaguered BII appoints Peter Thomas as chief exec for make or break year
According to documentation seen by the PMA, the organisation’s finances are described by BII (British Institute of Innkeeping) chairman Martin Grant as “pretty grim”. Cash and reserves have fallen from £1.5m in April 2006 to the point where the BII will “require an overdraft in June”.
Membership has dropped by a third from 17,261 to 11,643 over the same period.
A joint venture to provide training and accreditation services to Chinese interns has collapsed (see below), leading to £124,000 of debts due being written off.
Speaking to the PMA before his appointment was ratified by the BII Council on 24 April, Thomas said he was comfortable with current membership levels and insisted there was no crisis at the BII, adding: “Normal financial management is running. We own our offices and have plenty of cash.”
However, he accepted that concerns about the future of the BII were legitimate. The institute is putting a major reorganisation to a high-stakes members’ vote at its AGM on 8 May. The national council would be reduced in size from 40 to 16, comprising 10 regional chairmen and six industry experts.
“This is not necessarily about costs,” said Thomas, pictured. “It’s about trying to be a slicker, more clever organisation with the ability to focus on key issues.”
However, there is opposition to the plans from some regions, and Thomas is nervous about the vote being lost, asking: “If that vote fails, what happens to the council?”
Thomas has issued a challenge to the BII to get back to a core, compelling offer and tell people: “Here’s what we can do for you.”
He accepted the organisation has taken its eye off the ball in the face of new competition offering cheaper and easier qualifications. “We can’t complain about that,” he said. “We need to be slicker and better and our marketing must improve. Our marketing hasn’t been good enough. We should have competed on quality.
“The quality of our exams is unquestionable — it’s the best product on the market. I’m comfortable we’ll get through this.”
However, Thomas believes the BII needs “clever, sensible strategic brains that understand what’s going on”. He admitted the organisation’s leadership is getting old. “The average age is near 70. We’ve been looking at a three-year plan, but where’s the 2020 vision? Where is the next generation?”
Thomas vowed to work with a “genuine core of people who want to help”, to “flush through issues and bring new people on board”.
He added: “I’ll stay on for as long as it takes, and I will go as and when it is appropriate, and the future is clear. The BII needs to be a different organisation. It will be.”
The China deal:
Partners Beijing Compound World Education & Technology Co and the Education Section of the Chinese Embassy (UK) have walked away from the BII deal, querying the suitability of “imperfect” BII qualifications to their market. However the BII is trying to rescue the partnership.
The BII, which describes itself as “the professional body for the licensed retail sector with a remit to raise professional standards” has been criticised by its auditors Sayer Vincent for failing to: carry out sufficient due diligence; draw up a legally-binding contract; and mitigate against financial, legal and reputational risks on the Chinese deal.
However, the BII CEO Peter Thomas insists the BII has not lost money on the deal, saying an initial £60,000 payment covered the BII’s set-up costs. The Chinese delegation has been removed from the BII’s Surrey HQ to minimise further costs.
And Thomas said: “[The project] is still running. We’ve a new agreement coming through. I’m not walking away. We must redefine what we are doing with the Chinese."
"A year to transform the BII" – PMA group editor Rob Willock's opinion.
