Major award for Bristol Venue

Engineers’ House in Clifton Downs, Bristol has won the BDRC VenueVerdict Award for Excellence at the Conference Centres of Excellence Awards 2013, held on 18th July.

Conference Centres of Excellence  is the UK's only marketing consortium to represent specialist, quality conference and training centres in the UK.

Martyn Bowen, venue manager at Engineers’ House, said: “This award is the best endorsement we could ask for because it is based on customer service performance. To have won this independently judged category is a real vote of confidence in our quality standards and in our commitment to customer excellence.”      

Engineers’ House is part of EEF Venues, a group of three quality meetings venues. The elegant 19th century building is set in picturesque grounds overlooking the Clifton Downs and Avon Gorge. It has nine distinctive meeting rooms, quality on-site catering and capacity for up to 170 delegates per day. 78% of business at Engineer’s House is repeat business.

David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues said: "Conference Centres of Excellence is a quality-driven organisation, promoting best practice throughout the sector and allowing members to market themselves on a shared ethos of high quality standards.  For EEF Venues to be positioned so strongly within their portfolio of venues is a wonderful achievement.
"This award for Engineers’ House is a real reflection of the levels of customer service and impeccable standards achieved by Martyn and his team.” 

Awards highlight outstanding performance amongst venues and suppliers

Conference Centres of Excellence has announced the winners of its second annual awards. 

Presented at a dinner prior to the consortium’s annual conference at imago Burleigh Court, the awards recognise excellence from within the Conference Centres of Excellencemembership, and also in categories for non-members - ‘best booking agency’, and ‘non-CCE venue most admired by members’.

Submissions were invited from all members of the consortium, which is the UK’s leading group of specialist conference and training venues with over 30 members. The judging panel comprised impartial, independent industry experts selected for their expertise in relevant areas, and was chaired by Executive Director Anthony Lishman.

Awards involving member venues were as follows:

·      Business in the Community Award – Awarded to Wellcome Trust Conference Centre as the venue which demonstrated an engagement with the local community, making a difference to the environment for the benefit of local people.

·         Best In-House Training Programme – Awarded to AshorneHill who demonstrated effective use of an innovative training programme for their venue staff.

·         BDRC Continental VenueVerdict best value Conference Centre of Excellence – Awarded to Engineers House, EEF Venues which recorded excellent performance as identified by online customer feedback during 2012.

·         Best Non-residential Venue - Maple House, etcvenues. A relative new comer,  Maple House has set a standard in Birmingham for other Non-Residential venues to follow. The best facilities backed up by people who genuinely care for the needs of their customers. 

·         Best Residential Venue - imago, Burleigh Court. In the judges’ opinion Burleigh Court exemplifies what it means to be a Conference Centre of Excellence. A consistent high level of service delivered over the last 22 years by a team of highly motivated people. 

The other categories allowed members to express their opinions on third-party organisations which were themselves not part of the consortium.  In the case of ‘Best Booking Agency’, the only requirement was that nominated companies must have an ongoing relationship with one or more Conference Centres of Excellence members. In the case of the ‘non-CCE venue most admired by members’, submissions were open to interpretation, and could be for service, quality, innovation.  The winners were as follows:

·         Best Conference Booking Agency - Calder Conferences, nominated by Farncombe Conference Centre

·         Non member Venue most admired by Conference Centres of Excellence - Highgate House

Anthony Lishman, Executive Director commented "Our awards are an ideal opportunity to recognise excellence within our group of specialist, dedicated venues, and we were delighted to once again have had such a high standard of entries to present to our independent panel of judges this year.

Conference Centres of Excellence has been promoting quality standards for over 21 years, and as the opening event of our annual conference, the networking dinner was a great opportunity for some healthy competition between our members."

Special Summer Offers from Maple House

Book your event at Maple House, Birmingham between now and September to secure our special Summer Offer Rates

£35+vat midweek Day Delegate Rate (DDR).
Mondays' and Fridays' £25+vat DDR.
Offer available from 11/07/13 to 06/09/13 on new bookings only.
Offer subject to availability

Rate to include:

•  A light tasty breakfast, pastries, cereals and fruit
•  2 course restaurant lunch cooked by our chefs or a sandwich working/buffet lunch
•  Endless tea & coffee - complete with all the trimmings, syrups, herbal and even chocolate sprinkles!
•  Chilled filtered water to keep you hydrated
•  Healthy fruit and homemade snacks all day
•  Free internet stations and wireless throughout our venues
•  Room controlled air conditioning so you'll never be too hot or too cold
•  High- tech data projector and lots of other AV goodies
•  Stationery including flipcharts & pens
•  Storage of materials pre and post event

Please call 0845 230 1414 or email info@cceonline.co.uk for more information.

Conference Centres of Excellence members achieve excellence with Gold Standard Accreditations

Conference Centres of Excellence member venues have once again achieved a significant number of BDRC Continental’s VenueVerdict Gold Standard Accreditation.

Since the consortium was founded in 1992 the focus for each venue has been on flexible, dedicated facilities and providing excellent quality standards, ensuring customers can be confident about the smooth running and success of their event.

Conference Centres of Excellence is the only marketing consortium to use the BDRC Continental VenueVerdict scheme as the benchmark for its ongoing quality assurance, ensuring standards are consistently maintained and measured to provide an excellent business meeting experience at all times.

In choosing a venue where customer feedback and in particular the ‘likelihood to recommend’ has been measured, customers can rest assured that they are in safe hands.

Conference Centres of Excellence is delighted that so many of our member venues have achieved the top level Gold Standard Accreditation, demonstrating that in the 21st anniversary year, quality remains at the very core of their businesses and our consortiums desire to promote excellence across our industry.

Nine Conference Centres of Excellence member venues have achieved the BDRC Continental VenueVerdict Gold Standard Accreditation following ongoing assessment of customer feedback during the year from July 2012 to June 2013. 

The Conference Centre of Excellence gold accredited venues are:

• Broadway House, London

• Engineers House, Bristol

• Maple House, Birmingham

• Farncombe Conference Centre

• Scarman Training and Conference Centre, Warwickshire

• The Beardmore Hotel and Conference Centre, Glasgow

• The Manor House, Surrey

• The Møller Centre, Cambridge

• Wyboston Lakes Executive Centre

Anthony Lishman, Executive Director of Conference Centres of Excellence commented: 

 “Conference Centres of Excellence has been promoting best practice and the highest level of quality standards for 21 years, which enables our customers to have a clear route to booking a successful event venue. BDRC continental helps us in promoting this message to our customers, being an independent accreditation based on genuine customer feedback, and as always, we are delighted to see so many of our venues achieving the Gold Standard Accreditation.”

imago set to support England rugby football league squad during 2013 World Cup

Leading event, conference, and meetings provider imago, has welcomed the England Rugby Football League team following the announcement that Loughborough University will be its official base in the build-up to and during the Rugby League World Cup 2013.

The imago team will be responsible for nutrition and accommodation at its four star hotel Burleigh Court. The England team will arrive in Loughborough in mid-October to commence preparations for the tournament that will bring together the top 14 rugby league teams in the world.

Kay England, imago Chief Executive, said: “Loughborough University and the imago team gained a lot of experience during its time as the official preparation camp for Team GB. We understand the importance of providing athletes with a varied and interesting diet as well as the role that a relaxing space, provided through high-quality accommodation, plays during an intense training schedule. 

“The team has frequently used the fantastic facilities at the University since its first preparation camp in October 2010. We’re looking forward to welcoming them back and supporting the whole team as it strives for a first class performance.” 

Kevin Sinfield, the England Rugby League Captain, added: “There’s a familiarly with us coming to Loughborough now. To be in this sort of environment where everybody here is trying to learn, improve or better themselves, we fit in great because that’s what we are trying to do.

“The (Burleigh Court) hotel is fantastic and they really look after us. The facilities here are as good as you can get anywhere and really suit what we need.”

Peter Keen, Director of Sport at Loughborough University, concludes: “It is hugely significant to have a team like England Rugby League here preparing for the biggest matches of their lives.

“For me, it validates everything that we are about and stand for. It confirms that we have what you need to operate at the highest level in sport, that we are able to put together the kind of environment, package and support that makes sense for them, given the choices they have, to come and prepare here.”

The Rugby League World Cup 2013 starts on 26th October with a clash against fierce rivals England and Australia at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.  The final will be played at Old Trafford, Manchester on 30th November.

Further information, including ticket details, can be found on the Rugby League World Cup 2013 website at http://www.rlwc2013.com/world_cup.

College Court becomes latest member to join Conference Centres of Excellence

College Court in Leicester, a £14m project to transform a group of Grade ll listed buildings into a leading residential conference venue has joined Conference Centres of Excellence, the UK’s only sales and marketing consortium of dedicated meeting providers. 

College Court will open in October 2013 combining exemplary service with modern, state of the art facilities - a dedicated conference centre housing 18 conference rooms with capacities from two to 160 delegates, a 200 cover restaurant, bar, separate Garden Bar with  wide screen TV and business lounge. The onsite 123 bed hotel includes a selection of executive rooms and nine suites, as well as offering free onsite car parking, free wifi throughout, free leisure club access at two nearby University gyms and state of the art AV facilities.

Joining the consortium prior to opening enables College Court to benefit from the group’s marketing efforts and activities, providing customers with a single route to booking one of our nationwide venues, with consistent quality standards.

Anthony Lishman, Executive Director of Conference Centres of Excellence said “We are excited to be welcoming College Court within membership, and having spent considerable time working together reviewing the project, level of investment, architect plans and quality commitments we are confident that they will meet and exceed our strict criteria for quality standards in membership. Following a recent hard-hat tour, our expectations have been confirmed and College Court looks set to provide an excellent addition to our group of specialist venues.”

Conference Centres of Excellence has been working with specialist venues in the meetings, training and events industry for 21 years, and its 32 members include many of the country’s best known specialist venues, covering a geographical area extending from the South East of England, to Scotland.  Before joining, venues have to meet stringent criteria in terms of facilities, accommodation and customer care. 

Centre Director of College Court, Steve Crawford is no stranger to the group’s quality standards, being a previous Chair (during 2009 - 2011) and also Head of the Quality Group for Conference Centres of Excellence.

Steve commented: “I am delighted that College Court has been accepted into membership of CCE. As both businesses have the customer, quality and dedicated professional teams at the heart of all that we do. Joining CCE will provide a welcome boost to our pre-opening drive and will be wonderful to be working again with like- minded professionals.”

Full details will be available on our website soon, for more information please contact us on 0845 230 1414 or email info@cceonline.co.uk

Tchibo Coffee International joins CCE as preferred partner

Tchibo Coffee International is the second preferred partner to enter into a sponsorship agreement with Conference Centres of Excellence, the UK’s leading sales and marketing consortium for training, meeting and conference venues. 

Tchibo Coffee Service has a diverse brand and product portfolio, cutting edge equipment, comprehensive service, training resources and innovative marketing solutions, and currently supplies 14 member venues across the group.

 Tchibo has built a reputation based on fair prices, quality products and unbeatable service, an offering which aligns itself perfectly with the quality promise associated with Conference Centres of Excellence.

Tchibo management recently commented: “Our in depth product and equipment knowledge, combined with our extensive experience in the Conferencing and hotel sector have helped us to understand the operational challenges venues face to ensure we can offer the right solutions.”

As part of the agreement, Tchibo Coffee will be sponsoring the upcoming annual awards dinner, and demonstrating new products and services at the annual conference’s exhibition to be held at imago, Burleigh Court on 18th and 19th July.

Anthony Lishman, executive director of Conference Centres of Excellence, said:

“Unlimited Tea and coffee has been part of our conference offering for some period of time and we are delighted to be working with Tchibo Coffee in a number of our member venues to enhance the customer experience during events. The agreement is mutually beneficial and by aligning our Brand with one of the largest coffee roasters in Europe we hope to raise our profile in new markets. Our first relationship of this kind, with specialist contract caterer Wilson Vale has done just that and continues to deliver an exceptional return on investment for both parties”  

For more information visit our website or call us on 0845 230 1414.

Going for Gold

Leading events and hospitality provider imago is celebrating after receiving yet another accolade in recognition of its high-quality standards.  Having received the Investors in People Silver Award in May, imago has now set its sights on achieving Gold in November this year.

imago is the hospitality brand of Loughborough University, managing its conference, accommodation and catering through a team of over 240 employees across four different venues.  First-class conference centre and four star hotel Burleigh Court celebrated its 21st Anniversary last year and along with day conference centre Holywell Park, played host to Team GB as part of the official  London 2012 preparation camp.

Burleigh Court Operations Manager Guy Hodge, said: “The Investors in People framework is a great way to ensure that an organisation as diverse as imago continues to provide a consistent and unified service offering.

"People are the key to our business and we want to be recognised as a fantastic organisation to work for, as well as one that delivers excellence to customers.  imago is committed to continuous improvement and the great thing about Investors in People is that it evolves and develops with us as a business.

 “Our Specialist has developed a good knowledge of our organisation after working with us for a number of years. This ensures a great insight into our business and provides valuable information and feedback on our progress.

“We have a great team, everyone contributes to our success and we are confident that we will be able to achieve the Gold Award by November”    

imago is working with an Investors in People Specialist from emb-x; the organisation that delivers the Investors in People service for Central England.

Tracey Pepper from emb-x added, "The achievements of imago are credit to everyone who works there.  They are committed to delivering excellence through continuous improvement and are a good example of the benefits that working with Investors in People can bring."

New Head of Conference and Events for Edinburgh First

Edinburgh’s leading one-stop-shop for all event, accommodation and catering needs has appointed a new Head of Conference and Events to bolster its dedicated team.

Lyndsay Wilkie joins from Royal Bank of Scotland where she has 10 years’ experience in management and retail business. She has extensive experience in delivering conferences and events and ensured there were training and competences put in place so that a team of more than 100 delivered excellent customer service.

Chris Barnes, Assistant Director of Accommodation Services at Edinburgh First, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Lyndsay to Edinburgh First. She joins with a history of loyalty and success and I am sure she will fit well into the culture of Edinburgh First and our ethos of putting the client first.”

Commenting on her new role, Lyndsay said: “I enjoy working in a customer-focused and fast-paced environment so being part of the Edinburgh First team is the perfect fit. I look forward to delivering the range of unique venues to small intimate celebrations and conferences with over 100 delegates.”

“I’m looking forward to continually showcasing what Edinburgh First has on offer – from the fantastic meeting and events facilities, to the superb conference options – to both local and international audiences.”

Edinburgh First offers event delivery, catering and accommodation at the University of Edinburgh and re-invests all its profits to support future generations of students. Not only do does Edinburgh First provide year-round accommodation but it can also plan all the essentials of your event.