Avoid Olympic Chaos in the Capital

A leading Midlands conferencing venue is advising companies to rethink their logistics when organising group bookings and events during next year’s Olympic season.

With London and further South hotels now having their space block booked during the summer, group bookings have become extremely difficult to accommodate in the capital and surrounding areas.

And with availability in 2012, Conference Aston is welcoming those pushed out of South East and London venues by the ‘Olympic displacement’ effect to its centrally based hotel.

Conference Aston’s head of sales and marketing Christine Page suggests a number of tour operators and larger group bookings are looking to escape the Olympic hype of next year.

“It’s great news for the Midlands and further north as those who would have traditionally chosen London or the South East hotels are being forced out through price hikes or date clashes with the Olympics and we have certainly reaped the benefits of the ‘Olympic Effect’,” she said.

“There’s no denying that the games are a fantastic revenue generator for the South East and the UK as a whole but some people wish to avoid the increased volume of visitors and travel chaos that comes hand in hand with a national event of this magnitude.”

“We are perfectly positioned to welcome those who wish to reroute their groups through the UK and avoid Heathrow and Gatwick airports by flying into Birmingham or further north and work their way down the country.

“Our central location means we are still accessible to the capital, with our venue being only an hour and half train journey.

“By rethinking the logistics of group tours in the UK, operators can provide a more relaxed itinerary during the more chaotic Olympic period with little disruption to those booking.”

Conference Aston welcomes more than 54,000 people a year to Birmingham for training, residential conferences, for weddings and to stay in its high quality hotel facilities and on site campus accommodation.

It sits at the heart of Aston University, which is a long established research-led university known for its world-class teaching quality and strong links to industry, government and commerce.

Kelly sprinkles Gold Medal dust at Cotswold Conference Centre

Dame Kelly Holmes, double Gold Medal winning athlete, joined the British Triathlon team at Cotswold Conference Centre near Broadway this week for two days of inspirational teambuilding.

With core values that include respecting the environment, the triathletes were challenged to arrive at Farncombe Estate using minimal carbon footprint. Five of the super-fit team chose to cycle an average of more than 60 miles round trip to Broadway, while others car pooled, picking up fellow staff en route from all over the country.

It’s the second year that the British Triathlon team has chosen Cotswold Conference Centre for its annual meeting. The addition of Kelly Holmes brought a special meaning to this year’s Olympics theme. “Kelly came to sprinkle some gold dust on our team-building event,” said Chief Executive Zara Hyde Peters, who organised the event for the 41 staff members.

Middle-distance runner Kelly Holmes won the adoration of millions at the Athens Olympics in 2004 when she won Gold in the 800m and, only a few days later, another Gold in the 1500m. She was 34 and – having battled injury for much of her sporting career – became an inspiration to many.

After retiring, Holmes set up “On Camp with Kelly”, a mentoring programme to encourage young female middle-distance runners, and the DKH Legacy Trust to inspire disadvantaged young people. She said she was very impressed with the setting and facilities of Cotswold Conference Centre.

“I haven’t been here before but wow, it’s a great place,” she said.

The team’s two-day training day included a strategy meeting, an outdoor challenge using one of Cotswold Conference Centre’s own teambuilding activities on the 370-acre site and a celebration Christmas dinner. Other sports teams to meet at Cotswold Conference Centre include England Athletics and UK Athletics.

Happy 25th Birthday to Radcliffe Training and Conference Centre

25 fantastic facts about Warwick Conferences to mark the 25th birthday of its most established training and conference centre – Radcliffe



1. Warwick Conferences comprises three dedicated, all year-round training and conference centres (Scarman, Radcliffe and Arden) and utilises the very best of the University facilities during student vacation periods – the Conference Park

2. Warwick Conferences’ Radcliffe and Scarman now offer bed and breakfast for business travellers

3. Warwick Conferences’ Scarman is one of few venues in the UK to achieve the IACC (International Association of Conference Centers) gold standard

4. This year, Warwick Conferences played host to Teach First’s three week residential Summer Institute for the second time in a row. The event, which takes place at the Conference Park, attracts over 1,300 top graduates to the venue
5. Warwick Conferences’ venues are located at the hub of the national motorway network and are served by excellent air and rail travel links making it the ideal, central location for companies to bring their staff together

6. Warwick Conferences’ Scarman training and conference centre underwent a £2 million refurbishment this summer

7. The venues are located on 700 acres of rural parkland in the heart of England. The location benefits from banks, bars, shops, a pharmacy, supermarket and hairdressers, so all amenities are close at hand. Warwick Conferences also offers access to extensive sports facilities

8. Warwick Conferences offers free Wi-Fi for delegates across all of its venues and is supporting the Conference Cloud campaign

9. Warwick Conferences regularly welcomes famous faces. Over the years these have included President Clinton, Princess Anne, Howard Webb, Gordon Brown and Alistair Campbell

10. Warwick Conferences plays an active role in the conference and meetings industry. It is a member of the Meetings Industry Association (MIA), Conference Centres of Excellence (CCE), International Association of Conference Centers (IACC), Venuemasters, Hotel Booking Agents Association (HBAA) and Marketing Birmingham

11. Richard Harrison, General Manager of Scarman is the current chair of CCE while Alan Robinson sits on the board of the MIA and our business development manager Gail Tomlinson-Short is on the board of Venuemasters

12. Radcliffe is just one of a handful of conference venues in the UK to offer state-of-the-art Cisco TelePresence video conferencing technology. It is even available at no extra charge as part of a day or 24 hour delegate rate
13. Warwick Conferences is the largest of the University of Warwick’s commercial operations. All surplus from its £20 million turnover is reinvested into the University’s world-class teaching and research

14. In March 2011, Warwick Conferences won three gold awards and one silver at the M&IT Awards. This was the 16th time in the awards history the venue has taken home the gold award for Best Academic Venue

15. On 24th June 2011, Scarman celebrated its 20th birthday. Since opening, Scarman has hosted an amazing 77,060 events and its loyal staff have served up 721,000 sausages, 2,164,00 rashers of bacon and over 3.8 million cups of tea and coffee

16. Warwick Conferences was awarded gold in the TUCO Chefs and Food Service Challenge in 2011

17. This summer, our development chef Graham Crump helped raise £800,000 for underprivileged children in South Africa when he took part in the ten day Bidvest World Chefs Tour Against Hunger 2011

18. Warwick Conferences has a reputation for sporting excellence. Events hosted in conjunction with Warwick Sport in recent years include the British Transplant Games, the Nike Premier Cup and the Under-23 Women’s International Football Tournament

19. The University of Warwick is home to 22,000 students, 1,000 academic staff and 700 researchers and is recognised as one of the UK’s leading universities, with a reputation for excellence in research and teaching, innovation and links with business and industry

20. Clients to have hosted events at Warwick Conferences include Coca Cola, E.on, RSPCA, Siemens, Costain, The Environment Agency and Jaguar Land Rover

21. Having worked at Warwick Conferences for 25 years, Dannie Cahill is one of its longest serving employees. He started as head chef at the Radcliffe training and conference centre and is now general manager at the same venue

22. This December, Warwick Conferences will play host to the annual Jewish Limmud festival for the fifth consecutive year. The event welcomes up to 2,500 participants from more than 30 countries worldwide and involves more than 800 sessions over a six day period

23. Warwick Conferences offers a huge choice in accommodation. It has 479 hotel standard en suite bedrooms at its three training and conference centres and student accommodation in excess of 1,200 rooms

24. Warwick Conferences is on Twitter. Follow us at @WarwickConf

25. Warwick Conferences has achieved triple gold in the BDRC Continental’s VenueVerdict assessment this year. The accreditation is awarded in recognition of their outstanding level of customer satisfaction