Interview with Brendan Boyle, Broad Horizons Hospitality Solutions founder
21. Sep, 2009
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Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your tourism business?
My name is Brendan Boyle and I run a hospitality specific recruitment and consulting business called Broad Horizons Hospitality Solutions. We deal mostly with the 4 & 5 star hotel and luxury game lodge market and recruit candidates on all levels.
Broad Horizons has affiliated with one of South Africa’s top Field Guide training providers which gives future guides a total solution from enrolling, training and finally being placed in a suitable establishment.
What were you doing before launching your tourism business and what inspired it?
I was actively involved in the 5 star lodge industry, I started working as a field guide in 1999 and was later promoted into management. My last position was as the General Manager for Marataba Safari Company which is a 5 star Relais and Chateaux lodge situated in the Marakele National Park.
What is your educational background?
I studies to be a game ranger/field guide and the diploma also covered the hotel management aspect of the industry. I am also a qualified photographer.
What three industry blogs do you read daily, to stay abreast of your sector?
Ehotelier & Travelwires, I try to keep current with both the local and international market and find that both sites offer a broad topic of discussion.
What does a press release mean to your business?
A press release is an excellent way of gaining exposure for your business especially as new companies do not have a dedicated list of contacts, suppliers and web traffic. It’s a great way to get your name out there and refresh and jog peoples memories about the service that you offer.
Brendan Boyle
Social media is the current buzz word, is your business active in that space?
Yes, thankfully to my brother who is a web guru, I am actively running a group on Facebook called Broad Horizons Hospitality Solutions and I am tweeting on twitter. We were the first recruitment business to accept applications via twitsume.
I think that a lot of businesses don’t realize the importance of web 2.0 and social networking.
What role does the annual Tourism Indaba play for your tourism business?
I have not conducted business at Indaba yet as we recently launched but I will definitely be buying a stand at next years event. As one of the biggest tourism related trade shows, I feel that I will get a lot of exposure for my business as well as the opportunity to meet clients face to face. Being a recruitment business , we are on a slightly different mission to the rest of the attendees of the event.
Does your tourism business belong to any professional trade organization?
Not at this stage but as cash flow increases, I would like to become a corporate member of FGASA (Field Guides Association of South Africa) as well as be endorsed by Proudly South African.
What are your short and long term goals for your business?
My short term goal is to gain market share in the lodge and hotel industry nationally. I want to expand fairly quickly and build up a dedicated staff compliment. My long term business goal is to move Broad Horizons into the international market. I am toying with the idea of creating different tourism businesses under the Broad Horizons umbrella – one arena that I am looking at would be to move into specialist guiding trips for the exclusive traveller.
What are major challenges that are a stumbling block in growing your tourism business?
Cash flow is an issue for any start-up but my biggest challenge is due to limited resources. I am filling the role of not only a specialist consultant but also a business owner, accountant, marketing manager etc. It’s difficult to manage all the departments and grow the business with limited time in the day and I find myself having to work incredibly long hours. Once we are a bit more established and staff are taken on this will change dramatically so there is light at the end of the tunnel.
What role is your website to the business and are you happy with its current format?
I think that more and more people use the web to find employment and a website is a necessary tool for this. I have kept my website simple and factual and I upload now content and rss feeds on a weekly basis. I have found though analytics that I get a lot of repeat visits to my site which is great.
I am planning on redeveloping the site over the next 12 months to incorporate a more interactive element with the website. My ideas are to be able for candidates to upload youtube interviews, create online profiles of themselves and subscribe to sms and email notifications of particular feeds from the site. I would like to offer my clients a portal for their advertising.
How do potential guests/clients reach your business?
Broad Horizons Hospitality is contactable through the following:
Facebook – Broad Horizons Hospitality
Twitter – bhhospitality
Skype – broad.horizons.hospitality
Through my own website www.broad-horizons.net
Telephone – 021 7050613
Email – admin@broad-horizons.net
My name is Muzi Mohale a full-time travel blogger, your host at Travelwires.com responsible for all editorial on this blog. I blog about the travel and tourism industry in Africa. Apart from blogging about tourism, I also run 
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