£1 million refurbishment investment for EEF Venues

EEF Venues is investing £1 million in a major refurbishment project at its Westminster venue, Broadway House, and at its Woodland Grange Conference Centre in Warwickshire. 

The company has commissioned Coventry-based McCarthy Interiors, leading specialists in corporate refurbishment and space planning, to manage the project, which is due to start on 4th March 2013. 

David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, said: "This refurbishment project is a considerable milestone for us. We view it as a huge vote of confidence in EEF Venues and also in the marketplace itself, which despite challenging economic times, is still buoyant.  Competition from other venues, particularly within the Westminster area, is strong. However, as approximately 75 per cent of all of our business comes from repeat bookings, this drives the business during difficult times. But there is no room for complacency; it’s vital to keep improving facilities and investing to meet increasingly high delegate expectations."

At Broadway House, a six-storey, Edwardian building in the heart of Westminster, EEF Venues is up-grading all of the public access spaces and conference areas within the building. This will include lighting, décor and new carpeting throughout.

The project will also involve a complete refurbishment of the 114 en-suite bedrooms at EEF Venues’ Woodland Grange in Leamington, Warwickshire. 

David Vaughton continued: “We will be completely stripping out the bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms to provide more contemporary and stylish facilities for our delegates and guests, in keeping with our four star accommodation standards. This will include everything from changing the flooring, tiling and sanitary ware to décor, bed linen and soft furnishings. We are not just looking at the aesthetics, but have focussed on the design element from a practical, housekeeping viewpoint also, such as having wall-mounted toilets and sinks for ease of access for cleaning.”

Roger Day, general manager of McCarthy Interiors, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working closely with EEF Venues on this exciting and substantial contract. For the past six months we have worked very closely with the team to help realise their vision. One key element of the design process has been a ‘demo room’ at Woodland Grange where we have refurbished one of the bedrooms as an example of how the rooms will look. We now look forward to taking our concepts to completion at both of these impressive venues.”  

Nottingham Conference Centre celebrates three successful years.

This month Nottingham Conference Centre is celebrating its 3rd birthday. 

We'd like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has helped us make the first three years a success and we look forward to many more.

As a special birthday treat, we're offering you 3 free places per 50 paying delegates for events taking place in March, subject to availability.

Our fantastic value Day Delegate Package contains:

• Conference room hire from 8.30 am - 5.30 pm
• Unlimited Fairtrade organic tea, Puro Fairtrade bean-to-cup coffee and orange Capri-Suns
• Mineral water coolers in your conference room
• Morning pastries and afternoon handmade cakes
• Fruit basket and sweet jars
• Three course hot buffet lunch served in the stunning Old Library, or working finger buffet lunch
• Fully integrated Personal Computer Pod with screen and projector, or 50" Plasma TVs
• Digital signage
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Climate control, floor to ceiling windows and disabled access to all rooms
• Notepads, stationery box, flipchart and on-site AV support
• Complimentary use of the Sillitoe Executive Lounge for breakouts and smaller meetings

Nottingham Conference Centre

Nottingham Conference Centre is a brand new modern conference facility in the heart the city. Housed in the Grade II* listed Newton building at Nottingham Trent University, the Centre offers state-of-the-art facilities in a stunning Victorian architectural setting unparalleled in the region.

Nine comfort-cooled conference rooms with fully supported audio-visual packages and Wi-Fi provide the ideal working environment, and three unique function rooms are ideal for bespoke events. Award-winning catering solutions and unique eco-solutions help to make every event memorable and environmentally friendly.

For more information or availability please contact our central sales team on 0845 230 1414 or email info@cceonline.co.uk

Springtime Meeting Offers at The Manor House

More colourful than a field of daffs, our spring meeting offers are just the thing to brighten up your meeting plans.
 

The Manor House Free One...

So popular last time, we've been asked to bring it back! For every ten delegates you book, we'll give you one free, so you only pay for nine! With a full day package from just £35 per person, excluding VAT and a residential package from £135 per deleagte, excluding VAT, meeting within your budget just got easier! Meet for half a day and the per person price is £28 plus VAT or for a morning or afternoon, it's just £18 plus VAT.

Available for all new bookings for April and May.


Meeting Price Match...

If you've found just the right meeting package, but would rather be at the Manor House, let us know and we'll match it like for like *. We'll even honour our no charge cancellation policy, making this the best deal ever.

Flexible, No Charge Cancellations...

Book a full day package or residential package so your meeting takes place before 31st March 2013 and you'll be able to cancel up to two delegates free of charge, any time up to two weeks before the day your meeting starts. On a typical two day residential course, that flexibility could save you up to £350!

* For us to price match, you must provide us with a valid written quotation for an identical offering at a similar quality venue in the Surrey area. The Manor House reserves the right not to match the price based on location and package details. If you're unsure whether your quote qualifies, talk to us - you've nothing to lose!

To check availability or discuss your requirements call us on 0845 230 1414 or email info@cceonline.co.uk

Electric options for conference delegates

Conference Centres of Excellence venues are leading the way with electric car charging points for delegates.

The government has announced plans for thousands of new charging points for electric vehicles (EVs) to be installed across the country, as part of their strategy to boost the market for zero emission cars and tackle climate change.

For some Conference Centres of Excellence venues, this forward thinking approach has already been put into place with electric charging points currently being used by conference delegates at Wyboston Lakes, Conference Aston and Warwick Conferences.

“Our member venues are always looking at ways they can improve customer experience, and for all delegates at business events or conferences, transport is a big factor in choosing the right venue. By offering attendees this option, our venues are providing their customers with the broadest choice, and remaining committed to their clear environmental policies.” said Anthony Lishman, Executive Director of Conference Centres of Excellence.

With sales of electric cars predicted to double in 2013, and reports that the majority or cars already owned are part of company fleets, it looks likely that business venues staying ahead of the electric evolution and offering customers the widest choice, will be in greater demand.

Further details about our venues can be found online at www.cceonline.co.uk

An introduction to 'Lean Thinking' for CCE Members

Operations improvement consultants OEE present 'Lean Thinking' to Conference Centres of Excellence members.

At the first members event of 2013, held on Friday 1st February at Ashorne Hill, Warwickshire,  OEE presented an introduction to ‘Lean Thinking’ and customer driven service excellence.

Mark Palmer, Managing Director of OEE presented on how 'Lean Thinking' works in a customer focused industry such as hospitality, and engaged General Managers from several venues in lively discussion about how this can be put into practice.

“Mark’s presentation on ‘lean thinking’ fits very well with our goals of achieving service excellence, and opened up interesting discussions about how looking at our day to day business operations can ensure the customer experience is exceptional from start to finish” commented Kay England, Chief Executive of imago.

About OEE:

OEE are operations improvement consultants at the forefront of Lean service. We are constantly improving and adapting our approach and applying our unique experience in designing and implementing Lean in high complexity service environments where a “Lean manufacturing” approach is inappropriate. We operate in a wide range of global organisations including Financial Services, Contract Services, Utilities, Manufacturing and Public Sector.

Behind the scenes at new website photo shoot

In the run up to our new website launch on 1^st March, the Conference Centres of Excellence team embarked on a whistle stop tour of member venues, which provided the backdrops for our new website images.

Having worked over the last few months on the customer journey, functionality, search features, layout and graphics of the new website, last week found us ready for an exciting photo shoot for our new images.

Working with highly recommended photographer Andrew Hatfield we visited three member venues to capture the essence of Conference Centres of Excellence – quality standards, dedicated venues and service excellence.

Working with Andrew offered an insight into venue photography with preparation, lighting, and attention to detail proving vital in making our day successful. Having spent considerable time in preparing a detailed brief, outlining the style and context of the images along with technical requirements for the new site, Andrew totally understood our goals and helped us achieve fantastic results.

snapshots from the shoot

Having the support of the dedicated staff at each venue ensured we kept to a tight schedule, although will-power was required when presented with such amazing food to photograph!

Thanks again to our member venues Ashorne Hill, Warwick Conferences and Conference Aston and to all those who supported us.

Don't forget to visit the new site on 1st March to see the final results.

Customers come first with Conference Centres of Excellence new website

Conference Centres of Excellence is counting down the days before the launch of their new website, which will go live on 1^st March 2013.

The website has been completely redesigned to focus on the customer journey through the site, and is driven by the need to offer a simple, effective and efficient solution to meetings and event organisers who are looking for their ideal venue.

The new site features enhanced visuals for all Conference Centres of Excellence member properties, allowing customers to browse venue images and watch film tours, to match their style as well as their needs.  There is also greatly improved search functionality to allow customers to pinpoint the perfect location for their event.

“Everything that we do at Conference Centres of Excellence is based on customer experience and quality standards. We understand that our customer’s time is precious and therefore our ultimate goal with the new site is to make their venue-finding experience seamless, informative and effective” said Amanda Stacey, Marketing Executive of Conference Centres of Excellence. “We’re incredibly proud of our fantastic member venues and our new site showcases them brilliantly.”

Working with an award winning design company Serendipity2 Ltd, the new site has been created with one clear aim – to ensure customers enjoy the experience of using  the website to find a venue as much as they enjoy their event experience itself.

“We have thoroughly enjoyed working with Conference Centres of Excellence as they are a company with strong credentials and a long history of success” commented Sonia Lotta, Account Director at Serendipity2 Ltd. “The clean, progressive and contemporary design of the new website which we have developed for them helps reinforce their aim to be the leading provider of outstanding venues for meetings and events.”

With clear, efficient navigation, the new website will demonstrate with bright and stimulating visuals the inspirational environments provided by Conference Centres of Excellence members for its customers.

The new website launches on 1^st March 2013. The web address is www.cceonline.co.uk

Bristol Venue Takes Gold

Engineers’ House, a Grade 11 listed conference venue in Clifton Downs, Bristol, has achieved gold standard accreditation in the VenueVerdict Awards run by BDRC Continental, the leading hospitality research specialists. The results are based entirely on independent customer feedback taken throughout 2012.

Part of EEF Venues, Engineers’ House is now placed in the top 6% of all of the 400 venues assessed under the Awards scheme.  The elegant 19th century building is set in picturesque grounds overlooking Westbury Park yet has all of the conference facilities one would expect from a contemporary venue such as free Wi-Fi, nine distinctive meeting rooms, quality on-site catering and capacity for up to 170 delegates per day. Its two sister venues within EEF Venues’ portfolio – Broadway House in Westminster and Woodland Grange in Warwickshire – received high commended accreditations in the same Awards.

Commenting on Engineers’ House success, Martyn Bowen, venue manager at Engineers’ House said: “The gold accreditation was based on clients’ feedback – for which we are incredibly grateful.  We are absolutely thrilled that Engineers’ House has achieved gold and   our aim is to continue to strive for excellence.” 

David Vaughton, venues director of EEF Venues said: "Great credit must go to Martyn and his team for their consistent passion and commitment. We have always been very proud to have Engineers’ House in our portfolio and it is truly great to get this endorsement from our clients. The feedback covered all aspects of our service including our in-house catering operation. "   

Engineers' House

Engineers’ House is a Grade II listed conference centre in Clifton Down, a prestigious suburb of Bristol.

It was built in 1831 by Charles Dyer, a leading Bristol architect. The most famous owner of the house was Charles Pinney, who was the Mayor of Bristol during the Bristol City Riots, and although it is sometimes referred to as ‘The Mayor’s House’, it was actually the private home of the Pinney family between 1835 and 1867.

Wi-Flying High with Conference Aston!

Conference Aston are making sure meetings and events within their conference centres are off to a flying start with the installation of a brand new, high speed WiFi and internet service. 

Stage one of the venue’s investment programme for 2013 has been the successful partnership with global IT specialist, iBahn, to completely overhaul and upgrade the Wi-Fi and internet technologies across the conference centres and hotel, from the rooftop to the restaurant.

Not only has the free WiFi service been upgraded for all hotel and conference centre guests, but the partnership places Conference Aston as one of the UK’s leading conference centres, with capabilities now in place to meet the specific needs of national and international IT and communication organisations. 

“Having welcomed a number of new and existing IT and software organisations during 2012, and coupled with growing requirements, in general, for organisations to connect securely to their own servers and intranet systems whilst hosting meeting and events, the investment plans for 2013 naturally included a commitment to ensuring we are responding to and exceeding the expectations of our customers in these sectors.” Comments Paul Bunce, Marketing Manager. 

Conference Aston are investing £1/4Million into the Birmingham city centre venues between January and April to upgrade IT services, audio visual technology, and the addition of three new meeting rooms and brand new meeting room furniture, tried and tested by guests and delegates. 

Conference Aston

Conference Aston offers three meeting, conference and banqueting venues in the heart of Birmingham. At Conference Aston there are over 30 conference and meeting rooms available year round, accommodation up to 235 delegates and a further 650 during the summer months. Residential conferences can also be catered for, with 162 en-suite bedrooms available year round with an additional 400 in the summer. 

Farncombe Maintains Gold Standard for Fourth Year

A leading UK conference centre, near Broadway, has achieved a top nationwide customer service accreditation for the fourth year running. 

Cotswold Conference Centre secured VenueVerdict Gold for 2012 and maintains its record of gaining the accreditation every year since the industry standard was launched in 2009. It is one of just four UK venues to have achieved Gold every year.

VenueVerdict is based on feedback from customers and only 26 conference venues and hotels – around seven per cent of those who participated – achieved the standard last year.

Richard Howdle, operations manager at Cotswold Conference Centre, said: “It’s an amazing achievement and shows the dedication of all our staff to the very highest levels of customer service. 

“It’s especially satisfying to gain an accreditation based purely on customer feedback. We are dedicated to conferences, training and teambuilding and I think people really appreciate the efforts we make on their behalf.”

Market research agency BDRC Continental operates VenueVerdict, an independent customer feedback benchmarking programme for meetings and events. Its quarterly accreditation framework is based on responses from more than 20,000 customer surveys across UK venues. Conference centres and hotels are assessed over rolling 12 month periods and must record ‘consistently excellent’ results to secure Gold.

James Bland from VenueVerdict said: “Congratulations to everyone who achieved the prestigious Gold Standard and especially to those, like Cotswold Conference Centre, who have done so every year since 2009.

“Maintaining this standard requires excellent service delivery, hard work and real customer satisfaction so it’s a great stamp of approval for the venue.”

Cotswold Conference Centre is part of leading hospitality business Farncombe, which also includes the luxury Dormy House Hotel and popular residential learning centre Farncombe Courses.

Farncombe is located in 320 acres of picturesque parkland in the Cotswolds. 

New Year, New Look at Møller Centre

There is a new look in the iconic Danish designed Møller Centre. 

Located in their Study Centre, artist, Albert Irvin RA, in collaboration with his gallery Gimpel Fils, has generously loaned a selection of his paintings and prints to be viewed by clients and guests.

Albert Irvin RA is one of the UK’s most exuberant, colourful and widely-respected British artists. Now aged 90, Irvin began his artistic career at Northampton School of Art from 1940 to 1941, and taught at Goldsmiths College of Art, London for many years. He was elected a Royal Academician in 1998 and continues to live and work in London.

At first, Irvin’s work was figurative, painting subjects that he knew at first hand, such as people in domestic surroundings and portraits: the figure gradually disappeared and gave way to a new abstract language. Increasing the scale and moving away from naturalistic colour, Irvin conceived the picture space metaphorically as a terrain with affinities both to London street maps and to landscape. Thereafter he developed an interest in greater spatial complexity. His subsequent work is a collage of gestural strokes, symbols and cross-hatching in lively, chromatically intense compositions.

“This is a new way of supporting the local community by using the facilities we have as a gallery for such an internationally renowned artist” comments Christine Hartshorne, Marketing Manager at The Møller Centre. “Design is of key strategic importance to The Møller Centre as the facilities has been designed to inspire collaborative creative thinking. Irvin’s work helps to extend this aspiration, and his abstract and colourful pieces provide a new experience to our clients and guests to enhance creative thinking. All of Irvin’s artworks on display are for sale through Gimpel Fils, London.”

The Møller Centre is located at Churchill College, University of Cambridge and is one of the UK’s Conference Centres of Excellence. 

With a business strategy of high level service and quality, and getting it right first time for the client, The Møller Centre has built a successful business that clients trust.