Gold triumph once again for Warwick Conferences!

Key M&IT Award win seals venue’s ‘value for money’ reputation

 Warwick Conferences once again has cause for celebration after bringing home Gold in the Best Value for Money Conference venue category at the 2014 Meetings & Incentive Travel (M&IT) Awards.

This is the sixth year in a row the Coventry and Warwickshire-based venue has scooped the top accolade in the fiercely competitive Value for Money category, and the ninth time in the last decade.

Rachael Bartlett, Warwick’s head of sales and marketing, is understandably delighted. She comments:

 “Value for money is arguably the single most influential pressure facing the meetings and conference industry today, but as our own Value of Satisfaction report revealed last year, value is defined by so much more than a low day rate. Rather, it is determined by the quality of the delegate and booker experience, combined with a cost structure that’s transparent and appropriate.

“To win this award once again is of course a thrill and an honour, but more importantly it’s an endorsement of our business, our people and of our tireless drive to delight our delegates and clients.”

The ceremony saw additional success for Warwick Conferences, with the team also collecting a silver award in each of the remaining three categories in which it was shortlisted: Best Academic Venue, Best UK Management Training Centre and Best UK Conference Centre.

The awards - which serve to reward excellence within the meetings and events industry - are voted for solely by event organisers and the readers of M&IT magazine. The ceremony was held on Tuesday 25th February at Battersea Evolution, London.

Double gold for Møller Centre

The Møller Centre struck gold again in this year’s Meetings and Incentive Travel awards – the meetings industry’s premier awards ceremony. The Centre was delighted to retain its “Best UK Management Training Centre” title for the fourth year running, and to obtain gold in the “Best Conference & Banqueting Staff” category. 

Battersea Evolution in London hosted the awards ceremony last night, with over a thousand people attending – the highest number since the awards began, with BBC newsreader and reporter, Kate Silverstone, returning as Mistress of Ceremonies. Fire throwers entertained the award hopefuls, in a thoroughly glitzy and glamorous evening. 

“The purpose of the awards event is to bring together the various sectors of the meetings industry to measure market reaction in rewarding excellence of service and product” comments Martin Lewis, Managing Editor from Meetings & Incentive Travel. “There are 19 awards in total, which recognise those that operate at the top of their industry.”  

Stefan Mitham, Key Account Manager for The Møller Centre comments: “Winning Gold for the 2014 ‘Best UK Management Training Centre’ and ‘Best Conference and Banqueting Staff’ categories is a fantastic achievement for The Møller Centre. These awards are voted for by our clients, and this truly inspires us to keep progressing as an organisation, and to be the best we can. Winning the ‘Best UK Management Training Centre’ category four years running is an achievement I am extremely proud of.”

imago scoops two M&IT Awards

imago has scooped two awards at the Meetings & Incentive Travel (M&IT) Awards for its four star hotel and conference centre Burleigh Court.

Burleigh Court won Gold in the Best Academic Venue category and Silver in the Best Conference and Banqueting Staff category. It is the fifth year running that imago has been recognised by the prestigious meeting industry awards. 

Organised by Meetings & Incentive Travel (M&IT) magazine, the awards brings the meetings industry together to measure market reaction with the winners being chosen by customer feedback and votes. This year’s awards were held on 25 February at Battersea Evolution, London. 

Burleigh Court’s awards were collected by Natasha Hughes, Burleigh Court’s Customer Relations Manager and Guy Hodge, Burleigh Court’s Operations Manager. 

Kay England, Chief Executive of imago, says: “We are delighted that we have been recognised at the M&IT Awards. Winning such prestigious industry awards demonstrates that we are providing our customers with the highest levels of customer service. Our success depends on staff consistently providing the best level of care. We achieve this by investing in our staff and helping them reach their full potential. We were nominated against some of the best venues in the country and to come out on top is a testament to the experience and knowledge of our team. The M&IT Awards are voted for by customers and we are grateful to them for their continued support.” 

Launched in 2003, imago unifies Loughborough University’s conference and events venues under one brand which offers high quality meeting spaces, venues and accommodation along with excellent sports and leisure facilities.

Conference Centres of Excellence member venues’ success at M&IT Awards

Conference Centres of Excellence member venues repeated their success winning gold and silver awards at the prestigious annual Meetings & Incentive Travel Awards held this week, and celebrated in style with their industry colleagues and peers. 

The Meetings & Incentive Travel Industry Awards was held on February 25th at Battersea Evolution in London, hosted by TV broadcaster Kate Silverton and with over 1,000 people celebrating the event industry.

Conference Centres of Excellence were once again well represented with several member venues shortlisted as finalists. More than 4,200 votes were cast by industry peers to crown the top venues, suppliers and agencies, with a number of nominees scooping awards in more than one category.

Winners included The Møller Centre, taking two gold awards, imago, Burleigh Court collecting one gold and one silver award, and Warwick Conferences collecting one gold and three silver awards, making the evening a true success for the group. Farncombe Conference Centre were also finalists in the ‘Best UK Conference Centre’ category, an award which was presented by the chairman of Conference Centres of Excellence, John Carson (pictured).

 “These awards are so important in the meetings and event calendar, as the independent customer vote shows the level of consistent quality standards in both service and facilities, and to have our member venues consistently winning is testament to the dedication to provide excellence within our membership,” 

commented Anthony Lishman, Executive Director. “Our competitors are constantly raising the bar but year after year our members win these awards, confirming that they provide the best possible service for our customers.”

The event also raised in excess of £46,430 for event charity Meetings Industry Meeting Needs, with both an online auction prior to the awards, and a table raffle on the night of the event. 

Stamford Court Consolidates Growth for Conference Centres of Excellence

Stamford Court has joined Conference Centres of Excellence, the UK’s only sales and marketing consortium of dedicated meeting providers.

Set amongst 40 acres of landscaped grounds and a stunning botanic garden, Stamford Court is the latest venue from Leicester Conferences at the University of Leicester. Stamford Court offers a modern, state-of-the-art conference experience with excellent flexibility and multi-purpose rooms. With its large central hall, surrounding seminar rooms and hospitality lounge. Stamford Court has been designed to suit any type of conference, meeting or event making it the ideal and very accessible venue centrally located at the heart of England.

This purpose built facility will not only provide delegates with an all-round high quality conference experience it will also keep them in touch with each other and the outside world with its fully integrated audio visual and IT system and free wi-fi access throughout the building.

Having met stringent criteria in terms of facilities, accommodation and customer care, joining Conference Centres of Excellence enables Stamford Court to benefit from the group’s marketing 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 “The Midlands is the second biggest area for event bookings outside of London, and we have a strong presence in the area, with Stamford Court providing the addition of large flexible space accommodating up to 270 delegates in one flat-floored space, along with a number of other dedicated meeting rooms. We adapt our membership to meet customer demand, and are delighted to have Stamford Court join our broad venue portfolio.”

Conference Centres of Excellence has been working with specialist venues in the meetings, training and events industry for 21 years, and its 34 members include many of the country’s best known specialist venues, covering a geographical area extending from the south coast of England to Scotland. 

"For Stamford Court to become a member of the CCE consortium is a huge accolade and demonstrates the quality of the service and facilities we provide," says Conference Sales Manager, Emma Rathbone. "It is a massive boost to our team to know that our high standards are recognised by an organisation that prides itself on only working with the best in the sector. Our membership should provide a boost to business, clients’ satisfaction and team morale."   

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Wyboston Lakes appoints IT Director

Having played a key role in establishing Wyboston Lakes’ award-winning technological infrastructure, Craig Warner has been appointed as the venue’s first IT Director. 

Craig, who will be a member of the Board of Management of Wyboston Lakes, was previously Chief Information Officer. He has more than 18 years’ experience in the hospitality IT sector, from business analysis to application development. 

In recent years, one of Wyboston Lakes’ key strategies has been to provide a sector leading IT infrastructure to support the full spectrum of its business and open up new horizons for its clients, capitalising on the latest developments in meetings and communications technology.  A particular priority has been to address the growing demand for ‘internet hungry’ activities, ensuring that all events taking place across Wyboston Lakes’ 365 acre site can be run with complete confidence. To achieve this, it has invested in a 200 mbps broadband facility, at least twice the strength offered by most other dedicated venues. The service not only supports events, but also provides a fully reliable wi-fi facility through which delegates can sustain contact with their offices. 

“Craig has been instrumental in establishing Wyboston Lakes at the cutting edge of conference and hospitality technology, and his new role will help us to extend our horizons still further,” commented Mark Jones, managing director of Wyboston Lakes: “His technical excellence and his commitment will help ensure that we sustain and enhance our competitive advantage in this critical area.”

Since it was formed 30 years ago, Wyboston Lakes has progressively developed to become the UK’s largest privately owned single site conference and training venue. Over the last three years, it has also successfully extended its presence into the hotel and leisure sectors: the company recently completed a £4 million investment programme in new and enhanced facilities.

For more information please call us on 0845 230 1414 or email info@cceonline.co.uk

WYBOSTON LAKES RATED ‘OUTSTANDING’ IN SUNDAY TIMES ‘BEST COMPANIES’ SURVEY

Conference, training and leisure venue Wyboston Lakes has achieved a two out of a possible three-star rating in the prestigious Sunday Times ‘Best Companies’ accreditation standard. The two-star status, awarded on the basis of employee feedback, means that the venue is considered an ‘outstanding’ employer in terms of the way it engages with its staff.

The independent ‘Best Companies’ accreditation is regarded as among the UK’s most reliable and thorough processes for assessing the merits of organisations from all sectors in terms of the way they encourage, motivate and generally engage with their employees. The surveys are carried out by means of questionnaires and interviews seeking responses from staff on a range of issues: at Wyboston Lakes, the survey took place in September last year, and gave the opportunity to comment to the venue’s 290-strong workforce.

“Our team is our business - the rest is bricks and mortar. We live or die by the positive experiences we give to our customers - be they with us for training, a conference, a hotel stay, golf or to use our fabulous Y Spa. This is a real highlight for us in so many ways,” said Mark Jones, managing director of Wyboston Lakes: “To achieve such a high rating in these world-renowned awards is a source of enormous pride throughout the organisation.”

Feedback is rated according to a Best Companies Index (BCI) score on a scale of 1 to 1000. Michelin-style star ratings are then determined from that score, with one star acknowledged as ‘very good’, two stars as ‘outstanding’ and three stars as ‘extraordinary’.

Wyboston Lakes is now waiting to hear whether it will be chosen as one of the Sunday Times ‘100 Best Companies to work for’. The successful companies will be announced at an awards dinner, which takes place at Battersea Evolution in London on Thursday 27 February.

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Let Me Play returns to Loughborough University

imago, Loughborough University’s hospitality brand, will once again be playing host to sporting stars of the future when Let Me Play brings four of its intensive sports camps to Loughborough University in August 2014.

Loughborough University has been chosen to host week long training camps for football, tennis, basketball and athletics enabling participants to experience its first class sporting facilities. During their stay, participants will be hosted by imago on campus and take advantage on the additional support its staff can offer sportsmen and women.

Imago has a proven track record in the sporting arena. It was the official preparation camp for the 2012 GB Olympic team and hosted the Team GB experience at Holywell Park. More recently, Burleigh Court hosted the England Rugby Football League team during the recent World Cup.

Established in 2004, Let Me Play is a sports and education organisation that delivers programmes across the UK, providing young people with opportunities to play their chosen sport in a safe and secure environment.  
Ben Aherne, Business Development Manager, Sports Development Centre, Loughborough University, comments: “As a world leading University for sport, Loughborough University provides a performance environment to inspire all levels of participants to fulfil their potential.  We are delighted to partner with Let Me Play for a second successive year and create a unique opportunity for children to raise their aspirations and follow in the footsteps of sporting alumni including Lord Sebastian Coe and Sir Clive Woodward.”

Matthew Lord, Director of Let Me Play, says:  “Let Me Play is excited to be returning to Loughborough for four of our summer camps in 2014. The world class sporting facilities offered by the university and the additional support from the staff at imago will really benefit camp participants in their development during the week-long courses. We aim to use the facilities at Loughborough for the foreseeable future to further establish the UK’s best set of residential sports camps.”

Emma Boynton, Head of Sales and Marketing at imago, comments: “It is great news that Let Me Play is returning to Loughborough with their training camps. They provide young people with the opportunity to hone their skills using the university’s world class facilities. They also have the chance to experience the facilities imago offers to top sporting stars. With a wealth of experience hosting the world’s best athletes, our staff are highly knowledgeable and can offer support in key areas during their stay and we look forward to passing this on to sporting stars of the future.” 

For more information please call us on 0845 230 1414 or email info@cceonline.co.uk