EEF Venues uses drone technology to showcase venue

EEF Venues has taken to the skies to showcase the group’s flagship venue, Woodland Grange in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.

Thanks to drone technology, potential bookers can now get a bird’s eye view of the award winning conference centre which is set in 16 acres of grounds. 

Ian Chaplin, general manager of Woodland Grange, said: ”Location is everything when booking a venue, and our drone footage not only adds to our marketing collateral but it gives potential bookers a rare insight into our unspoilt location which is just ten minutes from the Midlands’ motorway network yet a million miles away from the daily grind  of office life.

“It really highlights how taking a meeting or conference out of a normal office environment can be a refreshing experience, particularly if a venue has the benefit of outdoor spaces.”

The AIM gold accredited venue attracts up to 35,000 delegates each year, and EEF Venues is now planning to capture similar footage inside Woodland Grange to showcase its stylish interiors which feature 28 versatile conference and meeting rooms, 114 en-suite bedrooms, a leisure suite, two bars, a restaurant and a café/bar.

“Our vision is to bring our venue alive for potential clients and to make it as easy as possible for them to get a sense of our facilities,” said Ian Chaplin.

“This is all about streamlining the customer journey and ensuring that their Woodland Grange experience starts before they even have to commit to a booking.” 

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imago makes new marketing appointment

imago has appointed a new marketing manager as it looks to raise awareness of its portfolio of venues. 

Rob Chamberlain took up his position having previously held marketing and event management roles at Warwick University, Body Power Expo, and Keele University. His experience has seen him manage a wide variety of live events with responsibility for the marketing and promotion of venues and brand portfolios. 

He joins imago at a crucial time – one of his first tasks will be to oversee the rebranding of the conference and events arm of Loughborough University, which is due in 2017, as it seeks to consolidate its position as one of the UK’s leading academic venues. 

Speaking of his appointment, Rob said: “I’m delighted to have joined imago team. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to work for such a fantastic portfolio of venues and its great time to be coming on board. There are lots of exciting initiatives in the pipeline, including the launch of imago’s new branding, to raise awareness of everything imago has to offer and I am looking forward to being involved in its continued success.”

Emma Boynton, Head of Sales and Marketing Manager at imago, comments: “Rob is a welcome addition to our team and joins at a crucial time as we look to enhance our marketing strategy. His experience of academic venues and the events industry as well as his creativity is a huge asset as we look to promote imago to a wider audience.”

2016 marks the 25th anniversary of imago, which unifies Loughborough University’s conference and events venues under one brand offering high quality meeting spaces, venues and accommodation along with excellent sports and leisure facilities. imago manages the AIM Gold accredited Burleigh Court and Holywell Park as well as Loughborough University’s conference and events facilities and The Link Hotel. 

Cumberland Lodge joins Venues of Excellence

Cumberland Lodge, a distinctive residential conference centre and educational foundation in Windsor Great Park, has joined Venues of Excellence as its latest member.

The former royal residence, a beautiful Grade II listed building nestled in the heart of the Crown Estate, provides delegates with a distinctive setting for creative thinking and inspiring discussion. Situated 20 minutes from Heathrow, close to Gatwick, and just 25 miles from Central London, the venue combines historic rooms, the friendly atmosphere of an English country house, and all the facilities expected of a modern conference centre. It is a self-contained venue, noted for its excellent food, indoor and outside dining options, and exceptional quality of service.

Cumberland Lodge is popular as a venue for meetings, retreats, away days, professional development courses, weddings and other special events. It offers a range of flexible meeting spaces, spread across three historic buildings, including large conference rooms with linked breakout rooms, elegant reception rooms, private meeting and dining spaces and an open-air woodland seminar space. The venue features 60 individually styled bedrooms for residential events and extensive grounds to explore. It is equipped with a library, gym, chapel, table tennis room, snooker and pool room, tennis court and bicycles, with free wifi throughout.

Commercial bookings at Cumberland Lodge support its core work as a charitable foundation, which brings together students and academics, community groups, policy makers and leading figures in public life to discuss the social and ethical issues that affect us all, through subsidised student study retreats, cross-disciplinary conferences and seminars, and mentoring schemes and scholarships for early career researchers.

Mandy Jennings, Director of Sales for Venues of Excellence comments: “We are really pleased to be working with Cumberland Lodge, and providing our clients with the opportunity to book such a remarkable historic venue. It has the excellent facilities and service which are a given in all our member venues, plus a real wow factor from the moment you arrive.” 

As a member of Venues of Excellence, Cumberland Lodge is now able to benefit from the consortium’s marketing and membership activities, sharing best practices and benchmarking to ensure customers enjoy the benefits of consistently high quality standards.

Matthew Hancock, Sales & Marketing Manager at Cumberland Lodge, added: “We’re very pleased to have joined the Venues of Excellence network and we look forward to making the most of all the membership benefits.

 “We’ve already participated in a study tour of member venues, which was beneficial in terms of assessing what we offer in relation to others and looking at where we can make further improvements for our guests in the future.

“We’ve been somewhat of an undiscovered gem to many in the conference and events industry, over the years, so one of our main reasons for joining Venues of Excellence was to invite new organisations to come and experience the special character and ambience of Cumberland Lodge.”

Come and Get inspired at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel

Clients, colleagues and stakeholders were recently invited to a special first look at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel’s new Inspiration Space.

The Inspiration Space is a brand new versatile and flexible meeting space, which will allow the Hotel to continue to grow as a Venue of Excellence as they receive an ever increasing number of delegates from around the UK and beyond. 

Director of the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel, Bronagh Bell, commented on the new facility, saying: “We wanted to create an open and bright space that could be used by meeting planners, to encourage innovation, collaboration and creativity: basically to provide a blank canvas that would allow organisers to roll out their ideal event."

The room can be open plan, or divided into three separate areas, offering space for more than 100 delegates in a plenary session and 30 per-area in a break-out setting. 

Bronagh added: “It’s a fabulous space, right beside our Central Plaza hub, with the technology in place to support top level conferences.  From the outset our aim was to bring the outdoors inside, and the Inspiration Space is flooded with light from our adjoining gardens, which we hope will not only result in dynamic and energetic events, but will encourage delegates to take part in ‘walk and talk’ sessions, or get outside and enjoy the scenery in between sessions. 

“The most popular meeting style today is the ‘cabaret’ format. Our Arcoona meeting room can support cabaret conferences for up to 150 delegates, but we had to turn down other events as suitable spaces were full. This made creating the Inspiration Space an easy decision for us. Not only does it allow us to continue to support the Golden Jubilee Foundation’s aim of leading quality, research and innovation, carrying on the themes and technology available in our Innovation Centre, but it will also allow us to meet this increasing demand and offer a first-class experience to our delegates.  We are very excited about the possibilities of this space, let’s hope people get inspired!”

EEF Venues strengthens sales team

EEF Venues has expanded its sales team with the appointment of a new sales executive to support its busy sales operation across its three AIM gold-accredited venues: Broadway House in Westminster, Engineers’ House, Bristol and Woodland Grange in Leamington Spa.

Shakeela Cumberbatch joined the business at Woodland Grange in Leamington Spa on the 12th September 2016 where she is now responsible for generating new leads and developing business across the group.

Before joining EEF Venues, Shakeela, from Radford in Coventry, worked for The Ricoh Arena Coventry as a sales executive, having started there as an apprentice after leaving college in August 2014. She quickly progressed through the ranks to gain strong experience of working within a highly targeted sales conference sales environment to secure high profile corporate clients and large events. 

David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, said: "Our year-on- year order book is 21% ahead of the corresponding point last year, following on from turnover growth of 31% over the last three years, so this latest investment is an indication of the confidence we feel in the market. 

The diversity and calibre of the business gained is testament to our strong sales team, led by Anna Poole, our national sales manager, whose commercial focus and people skills continue to impact on our performance.”

Competition Heats Up For Cook and Serve Challenge

Venues of Excellence hosts its annual culinary competition ‘The Cook and Serve Challenge’ in October, and the heat is on with a record entry of 15 teams from within the venue consortium.

Now in its 18th year, the competition previously known as the Chefs’ Challenge, has been renamed to reflect the addition of the team element to include a chef and waiter or waitress. This format reflects the team ethos in member venues, where the production and delivery of the finest cuisine is one of the most fundamental and distinguishing features of the consortium’s members.

Taking place on October 29th at the Cambridge Regional College, the competition asks each team to prepare and serve to two invited diners a three course meal, suitable for an end of conference banquet, accompanied by cocktails, appropriate wines and coffee.  

Judged on the day by a panel of industry experts, the event continues into the evening with a celebratory gala awards dinner to be held at Wyboston Lakes. The event is a fitting celebration of the skills of all the team, and has traditionally proved to be a very successful networking event for the membership group.

“Our food and beverage offering is a fundamental element of our service and it is therefore no surprise that this event is one of the key dates in our year”,  Barry V Stonham OBE, Cook and Serve Chairman. “It’s an invaluable experience for young and talented F&B teams and they more than rise to the challenge, with standards being exceptionally high year after year. We rely on the extremely generous support of our sponsors, judges and host venues without whom this longstanding event could not take place. We wish every team the very best of luck and look forward to a great competition."

Follow the competition and awards announcements on social media using #VenExCookandServe

For sponsorship opportunities or to book your place at the awards dinner please contact Barry V Stonham, Cook and Serve Chairman: barrystonham@venuesofexcellence.co.uk

New Business Development Manager for the Golden Jubilee

The Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel has appointed Crystal Durok as their new Business Development Manager. 

The role will focus on the 2020 Conference Hotel strategy by developing business opportunities aligned to its vision to become an internationally renowned venue of excellence, focussing on medical and healthcare related association and research  meetings  from around the world.

First joining the Golden Jubilee as a Sales Co-ordinator in June 2015, Crystal began working in hotels as a teenager and brings a fantastic range of experience to the role. After completing her degree in Business Management with Human Resource Management at Edinburgh Napier University, she moved into Event Sales in 2012, working extensively across Dumfries and Glasgow.

Discussing her new post, Crystal said: “I am delighted to have been promoted to the post of Business Development Manager at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel and I am looking forward to continuing to work with our fantastic team, helping to grow the business, welcoming more delegates and guests than ever before. 

“In my new role, as part of our 2020 Vision, I will be working towards building our reputation as an internationally renowned facility for events, providing collaboration in health, hospitality and learning for both the private and public sector.” 

As Scotland’s dedicated, Conference Hotel with clients from all across the UK, and a key part of the Golden Jubilee Foundation alongside the Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Research Institute and Innovation Centre, the purpose built facilities are particularly suitable for clinicians, medical technology, healthcare and pharmaceutical companies.

Crystal added: “The cutting edge technology we have access to, including fibre optic audio visual links from our Auditorium to the hospital’s theatres, cath labs and diagnostic imaging suits, puts us in a unique position to enable creative and collaborative working and training opportunities.”

The Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel is an accredited member of the prestigious International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) and is Scotland’s only member of the UK’ Venues of Excellence collection. The Conference Hotel has a proven track record in outstanding customer service, and recently receiving their sixth consecutive TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence.

Double AIM Gold for EEF Venues

EEF Venues’ Broadway House in Westminster and Engineers’ House in Bristol have both achieved Gold in the stringent Accredited in Meetings (AIM) assessment – the nationwide 'kite mark' of quality. 

Assessments take place every three years, and this is the second time that each of the venues has received the highest ranking. Only 24 UK venues are currently Gold accredited, and these include EEF Venues’ third venue, Woodland Grange in Leamington Spa, which is due to be re-assessed next year.

David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, said:  "We feel very proud that twelve per cent of all UK venues with the top AIM ranking come under the EEF Venues’ group. Customer service underpins everything we do so this is a great reflection of our teams. There is no doubt that going through the AIM process, with its regular audits and assessments, fuels continuous improvement prevents complacency. It drives a culture of aspiration and innovation and supports staff engagement and motivation, which in turn enhances the customer journey.  Achieving Gold again is the ultimate benchmark of quality and we view it as a vote of confidence in our facilities, our consistent standards across the group, and particularly, in our people.”

Alderley Park Conference Centre joins Venues of Excellence

Internationally renowned conference and event venue Alderley Park has joined Venues of Excellence as one of its newest members.

With its 233 seat Auditorium, eight breakout rooms and exhibition and catering space, Alderley Park has an international reputation and easily meets the stringent standards of facilities and service required to join the Venues of Excellence consortium.

Situated in 400 acres of beautiful Cheshire parkland the conference centre is ideally suited to high profile conferences as well as smaller meetings, workshops and training courses.

All event spaces are installed with excellent inclusive audio visual equipment with the in-house technical team safeguarding the smooth and efficient running of all events. Fast, free Wi-Fi is available for all delegates, with complimentary car parking and easy access from the motorway network ensuring guests a hassle-free event experience.

Award winning chefs have devised a range of menus, providing delicious catering options to suit all event and meeting requirements. 

Martin Mochan, Head of Conferencing at Alderley Park Conference Centre said: “It is a significant moment for us to join Venues of Excellence as we look to elevate our position in the industry.

“The accreditation process is very rigorous and I am delighted we have joined this prestigious group of venues which represents the very best of the conferencing sector.”

Mandy Jennings, Director of Sales for Venues of Excellence comments “Alderley Park really is first class, and the truly impressive auditorium is unrivalled as a space to offer to our clients in the North of England.  This is indeed an excellent venue, and we are delighted to be working with them”. 

University of Leicester Conference venue receives new accolade

College Court win at Niche Business Awards follows East Midlands Chamber of Commerce Award last week

The University of Leicester’s conference and training venue College Court has taken pride of place in a prestigious local awards dinner.

It is the winner of the ‘Professional Services’ category at the Niche Business Awards organised by Niche Magazine, a Leicestershire publication presenting some of the very best of what the county has to offer.

The award recognises those that provide excellent facilities, outstanding collaborations and the best staff training as well as individuals or teams who have made positive contributions to the business and local community.

The £17.5million facility has already won a clutch of awards and was last week announced as the Winner of the Business Improvement through Technology and Finalist for Excellence in Customer Service categories at the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce Awards dinner.

College Court Director Steve Crawford said: “Our success is down to a team effort so a huge thank you to all who work at College Court. As we head toward our 3rd Anniversary I am sure that we can look forward to future success and indeed the need to buy a bigger trophy cabinet!

“We are a truly passionate team who strive for excellence every day, whether it be process, procedure, setting and achieving goals, hitting budgets, hitting top line sales targets, delivering that perfect buffet lunch or reserving a car space, this award will be an opportunity to thank those staff for all that they do.”

Since opening in October 2013 College Court has generated sales of £6.5 million. With the combined offer of College Court, Stamford Court and the broader portfolio, annual sales for the next financial year will be in excess of £4.5 million. All profits feed directly into the University.

In just a short time, College Court has developed a reputation for quality and service which has put it ahead of many competitors and has attracted national and international clients to Leicester, not only benefitting College Court but the City as a whole.

Discovered in Windsor: the hidden home of Roald Dahl’s BFG

A BBC documentary about the life of Roald Dahl, airing for the first time on Tuesday 13 September, the centenary of the author’s birth, will shed light on the true home of one of his best-loved characters, the BFG. The house is revealed as none other than former royal residence and hidden gem of Windsor Great Park, Cumberland Lodge.

At the end of The BFG, fresh from helping the Queen of England by rounding up the world’s man-eating giants, the BFG and his friend Sophie are rewarded with lavish gifts from around the world, including a “special house” from the Queen.

The book reads: “The Queen herself gave orders that a special house with tremendous high ceilings and enormous doors should immediately be built in Windsor Great Park, next to her own castle, for the BFG to live in. And a pretty little cottage was put up next door for Sophie.”

The “special house” almost certainly alludes to the largest property in the Great Park, Cumberland Lodge. The beautiful Grade II listed building has been part of the Crown Estate since the second half of the 17th century and since 1947 has housed an educational foundation with a mission to facilitate open discussion and the exchange of views on some of the big ethical and social issues of the day. 

It was King George VI who granted the building to the foundation back in 1947, an arrangement continued by The Queen, who is the foundation’s Patron.

The reference to Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park appears to have been a private joke on the part of Dahl, who spent much of his childhood living in a relatively modest house in Cardiff, also called Cumberland Lodge.

In his autobiographical book, Boy: Tales of Childhood, Dahl describes how his mother moved the family to Cumberland Lodge, Cardiff, shortly after the death of his father. It is described as “a smaller and more manageable house...it was nothing more than a pleasant medium-sized suburban villa”.

The seemingly unlikely connection was highlighted by Ann Alston and Heather Worthington in the essay they contributed to Roald Dahl: Wales of the Unexpected, a collection of academic essays published by University of Wales Press this year and edited by Professor Damian Walford Davies, Head of the School of English, Communication and Philosophy at the University of Cardiff.

Dahl’s own complex relationship with his Anglo-Welsh heritage is present in subtle ways throughout his writings for children and adults and in his wider world view. The book reveals the place of Wales in Dahl’s imagination and the many different ways in which his Welsh identity was expressed.

“Dahl would almost certainly have known of Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park and the connection with the name of his former childhood home In Llandaff, Cardiff is no coincidence”, explains Professor Walford Davies.

“As Wales of the Unexpected shows, the figure of the Big Friendly Giant in The BFG, and his trajectory from the ‘margins’ to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Great Park, can be read as Dahl’s anxious reflection on his own cultural trajectory – from Cardiff boy to ‘English’ author. In imagining an ‘Establishment’ English home for the BFG at the end of the book, Dahl is also summoning a Welsh location. The tension is characteristic of his work.

“He was a man characterised by multiple identities (Welsh, English, Norwegian, American), moving between contrasting locations and social circles. He never stopped reimagining Wales in his work and struggled with conflicting desires to champion the underdog while craving Establishment approval.”

Canon Dr Edmund Newell, Principal of Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park, said: “As a fan of Roald Dahl myself, I was intrigued to discover that Cumberland Lodge is actually the BFG’s fictional home. In real life we’re an educational charity and while we don’t round up disruptive giants and store bottled dreams in our cellar like the BFG did, we do seek to inspire creative thinking and stimulate debate around important issues like how to respond to the challenges of extremism and divisions in society and build more cohesive communities. We’re very fortunate to have been granted the use of this former royal residence by Her Majesty the Queen.”

Professor Walford Davies continued: “Wales is present in Dahl’s work in ways that are not necessarily explicit. The unspoken, hidden ‘in’ joke at the end of The BFG is a profoundly serious one – the expression of a dual identity. His childhood Cumberland Lodge is now part of Howell’s School here in Cardiff, and Dahl’s links with the property are well-known and still celebrated.”

The BFG is also the subject of a film co-produced by Steven Spielberg, released in July 2016 to coincide with Roald Dahl’s centenary year. 

Great Welsh Writers: Roald Dahl, the new BBC television documentary, will air this Tuesday evening on BBC Wales at 10.40pm and will be available on BBC iPlayer afterwards.

All abuzz about sustainability at Wilson Vale

With the global honey bee population in decline, Wilson Vale has committed to adopting 50 bee hives from the British Beekeepers Association to support vital research into honey bee health and education into good bee husbandry.

“We are doing what we can to support Mother Nature,” said Andrew Wilson, co-founder of Wilson Vale. ‘As big users of quality honey throughout our 85 catering operations nationwide, we feel that this is a great opportunity to support the wonderful work carried out by the British Beekeepers Association.”

The company is taking a step further by actively supporting its client’s beekeeping initiative at Kellogg’s in Manchester. Kellogg’s has partnered with Plan Bee, a leading sustainability company that establishes and manages on-site honeybee hives for businesses seeking unique ways to enhance the environment. 

An initial eight honeybee hives are being managed and maintained by Plan Bee for the global food giants at their headquarters and manufacturing plant in Talbot Road, Manchester. The beehives help Kellogg’s to extend their sustainability credentials, an ethos inherited from company founder W.K. Kellogg more than a hundred years ago.

Lynda Percival, Kellogg’s European Environment Manager, said: “Our founder was passionate about health and wellbeing, and sustainability is at the heart of our company. Working with Plan Bee is important to us – we rely on bee pollination for some of our raw ingredients and we know that the bee population is declining, not just in the UK, but globally. By installing bee hives at our UK headquarters and the Manchester factory, we are helping to increase the bee population. 

“There is also a novel aspect of having bee hives as this is new to Kellogg’s. It’s already helping with employee engagement as our volunteer bee keepers are really enthusiastic.” 

Wilson Vale chef manager, James Wood, and his head chef, Jason Alexander are supporting the initiative, and are even planning to undertake a bee keeping course next year.

Andrew Wilson said: “There are approximately 660 people at the Kellogg’s site so our chefs use the honey from the on-site hives within the staff restaurant and the busy on-site hospitality service for dishes such as honey-glazed gammon ham, honey & mustard salad dressing and honey & banana sponge cake. The ‘Talbot Road’ branded jars of honey are also available to be purchased by employees. 

“Our chefs are delighted to be involved in this initiative as it is perfectly in tune with our fresh food and sustainability ethos.”

This news coincides with the launch of Wilson Vale’s latest CSR report, ‘It’s a natural choice’, outlining the company’s  wider sustainability initiatives and achievements, such as the use of  ‘ugly’ produce for cooked dishes and the company’s on-going commitment to planting trees in the National New Forest for every new client gained. 

imago retains Investors in People Gold

imago has retained its Investors in People Gold accreditation following its latest audit, maintaining its reputation for achieving high standards. 

The conference and events arm of Loughborough University first achieved Investors in People Gold accreditation two years ago. imago employs 300 people across its portfolio of venues – Burleigh Court, Holywell Park, The Link Hotel and Loughborough University campus, and believes in providing its staff with excellent working conditions and career development opportunities. 

Investors in People is the UK's leading accreditation for business improvement through people management, and provides a framework to help businesses get the best from their people. imago has used the framework improve its processes, communication and staff engagement to establish best practice. 

Emma Boynton, Head of Sales and Marketing at imago, says providing staff with training and development and excellent working conditions contributes to its success. She comments: “Investors in People is a commitment to the people that make your business a success. Measuring our performance against the standard’s objectives creates clarity around where we can improve and channel our resources more effectively. This allows us to harness the talent of staff towards achieving company goals. We are committed to the continual improvement of our employees, and by investing in our staff and working to the Investors in People framework we can help our team achieve their full potential. To retain our Gold accreditation recognises the systems we have in place and demonstrates our ability to deliver excellence to customers.”

Kay England, imago’s Chief Executive adds: “As a company in its 25th year, imago’s ambition has always been to provide customer excellence delivered by excellent staff. Integrating the Investors in People standard into our business strategy gives us the framework to challenge ourselves; to look for opportunities to develop so that we deliver service excellence through consistently high standards and team work. Having Investors in People Gold improves our company. It helps recruit high quality people and attracts and retains more customers. It is much, much more than an award.” 

The Investors in People standard is also valued by imago’s client base. Mike Stirzaker, Director of Prescience Business Learning, commented “As a leadership development provider, we work at many venues throughout the UK on behalf of our various clients. imago is our preferred choice and the benchmark against which we assess all others. Not only does imago have the right facilities, what makes it stand out is the capability and support of the staff in ensuring everything works, and works well.  Such levels of customer service don’t happen by chance and, as learning and development practitioners ourselves, we recognise the focus given to training and development in helping establish a culture that is personable, welcoming and at all times highly professional.” 

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. imago manages Burleigh Court, Holywell Park, Loughborough University’s conference and events facilities and The Link Hotel. 

Venues of Excellence consolidates growth

Venues of Excellence, formerly known as Conference Centres of Excellence, consolidates growth in the portfolio with further venues joining since the rebrand earlier this summer.

The new additions to the venue portfolio demonstrate the growth of the consortium both geographically into the North of England, and with a broader range of venues adding value and meeting the requirements of customers.

The most recent venues joining the consortium are Alderley Park Conference Centre in Cheshire, Manchester Conference Centre in central Manchester, and Keele Hall in Staffordshire.

By joining Venues of Excellence, each venue endorses their venue with a ‘quality kitemark’ achieved only when stringent criteria are met. Customers using venues within the group are assured of the best facilities and service delivered within the conference, training and events industry, and this continues to strengthen with the sharing of best practice and benchmarking within the network of excellent venues.

Venues of Excellence represents 31 member venues in the UK, and is aiming to grow membership further to 50 members by 2020.

Marketing Manager Amanda Stacey explains the new members add value to the portfolio:

“Alderley Park, Manchester Conference Centre and Keele Hall are three completely individual venues, each providing an exceptional service across their range of facilities.  We have been hoping to broaden our geographical footprint in the Manchester and North Midlands area for some time, and are delighted we can now offer customers these venues which meet our exacting quality standards. They allow us to offer more choice for our clients, and will also benefit from the range of marketing activities on offer to our valued partners.”

For more information about the venue portfolio, or the membership services on offer please contact info@venuesofexcellence.co.uk.

College Court wins award at Chamber of Commerce event

The University of Leicester’s conference and training venue College Court has taken pride of place in a prestigious regional awards dinner.
The £17.5million facility has already won a clutch of awards- the latest coming from the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce Awards dinner.
College Court, in Knighton, was selected as Winner of Business Improvement through Technology and Finalist for Excellence in Customer Service.

College Court Director Steve Crawford said: “It was lovely to be in the same room with so many businesses from across the region and see College Court up on the big screen. It was particularly thrilling to hear our name called out as winners.
“Our success is down to a team effort so a huge thank you to all who work at College Court. As we head toward our 3rd Anniversary I am sure that we can look forward to future success and indeed the need to buy a bigger trophy cabinet!
“There is another awards event this coming Friday where we have been shortlisted for Excellence in Professional Services.”

Since opening in October 2013 College Court has generated sales of £6.5 million. With the combined offer of College Court, Stamford Court and the broader portfolio, annual sales for the next financial year will be in excess of £4.5 million. All profits feed directly into the University.
Over 300 people attended the event at Leicester City Football Club's King Power Stadium.

Chamber President Jean Mountain said:
“The Chamber’s congratulations go to all of this year’s winners. We had some really good entries and the judging process was extremely tough, but all of the winning businesses thoroughly deserve their success.
“The standard of competition was extremely high, which clearly shows that despite the surprise of the exit vote at the EU Referendum, we have some real success stories of Leicestershire businesses doing well. All of the finalists also deserve recognition for their success.
“Over the past 12 months, businesses in Leicestershire have been busy investing, innovating, exporting and growing and these awards are testament to the quality of businesses we have in this city and county.”

Imago hosts 25th Anniversary Charity Dinner

DIG DEEP, BID HIGH AND DON’T FORGET YOUR SPLASH OF RIO!

Imago hosts 25th Anniversary Charity Dinner

Imago is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year and, to mark the occasion, is hosting a fundraising dinner in support of its partner charities - Minnie’s Friends and Twenty Twenty.  Minnie’s Friends is a drop-in centre which provides vulnerable people with hot meals, hot drinks and clothing, enabling them to move on to a better life and become more integrated into the community. Twenty Twenty gives invaluable help to hundreds of disadvantaged and disengaged young people, developing their self-belief, self-worth and motivation, whilst gaining academic qualifications and work-ready skills they need to find and keep good jobs.

Emma Boynton, Head of Sales and Marketing, comments: “As part of our commitment to the local community, we proudly support our partner charities and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate our 25 years than an evening of carnival celebration and networking, especially with the success of Loughborough athletes in the Olympic Games!”

The Rio-themed event is taking place on Friday 28th October 2016 at Burleigh Court Hotel and Conference Centre from 6.30pm until late. Tickets are £60 each or £500 for a table of ten, with bed and breakfast accommodation being offered from just £25 per person. Fifty percent of all ticket sales will go directly to the charities, in addition to all proceeds raised from prize auctions on the night. 

For more information, to buy tickets or to explore sponsorship opportunities, call on 01509 633085 or email info@welcometoimago.com

Celebrate Your Business at Warren House

The office Christmas party is the perfect time to celebrate the achievements of your business, highlight members of your team who have particularly excelled in their roles and even set in motion some bold and ambitious plans for the future. With a range of rooms available, from intimate dining spaces to versatile conference rooms, the team at Warren House are confident they can exceed all of your business requirements this Christmas season.

With a number of select packages available for businesses of all sizes to come and experience Warren House this Christmas, all of which include the use of this beautiful venue and delicious food prepared on-site by their extensively qualified team of culinary experts. For a small and intimate meal between a close group of colleagues, we’d highly recommend the Christmas lunch package, which includes the use of one of the more private dining areas, and is perfect for groups of up to 10 guests. You can even make use of the excellent Surrey location, joining Warren House for a midday meal before arriving back in the office in the late afternoon. For larger parties, there is a choice of packages designed to help businesses make the most of their events budget, with several additional services available to create a truly unique, memorable event.

Get the Festive Feeling - A Showcase Event

Warren House are delighted to be hosting a promotional event specifically dedicated to Christmas packages on September 15th 2016. To spread a little Christmas spirit, Warren House will be offering Christmas-themed refreshments throughout the day including warm m

ulled wine and festive canapés. Members of the team will also be on hand throughout the day to provide tours of this beautiful venue and offer further information on the range of packages.

BOOK NOW: To confirm your place on the showcase event, please contact the Warren House team on 020 89747109 / 7118 or email : tannaz.goss@warrenhouse.com

Green Light for Golden Jubilee at Awards

The Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel has been shortlisted in two categories at the Glasgow Business Awards, making it through to the finals in the Sustainable Development and Green Champion categories. 

Hosted by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, the Awards, which take place at The Hilton, Glasgow, on Thursday 6 October, are dedicated to celebrating outstanding contributions from large and small businesses across a range of categories.

The Sustainable Development Award is open to organisations who demonstrated they are actively improving and adding value to their business through sustainable practices. 

The Green Champion Award recognises individuals or teams who demonstrate innovations and the impact of green initiatives they have driven forward for an organisation. 

Discussing the nomination, Gary Rice, General Manager of the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel, said: “The Glasgow Business Awards is one of the most prestigious events in the Scottish business calendar. To be nominated twice for our sustainability and green practices is a huge honour and major recognition of the efforts of our Green Team to make this possible. 

“Over the past several years we have aimed for an environment of continuous improvement, aiming for new ways to make our practices more environmentally friendly, while still offering a comprehensive service for all of our guests and conference delegates.”

The Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel has consistently performed to a very high standard in the Green Tourism Business Scheme and has a strong track record of achieving environmentally friendly awards, including the Eco Hotel of the Year finalist at the AA Hospitality Awards 2013 and 2014, the Eco Award for Environmental Excellence at the Scottish Hotel Awards 2013, and recently receiving the Silver Accreditation in the TripAdvisor Green Award. 

Gary added: “We provide specialist Green Conference Packages for event and meetings organisers, state-of-the-art electronic car charging points and an award winning restaurant and hospitality service which specialises in providing top of the range, locally sourced produce. 

“Going forward we will continue to find new, innovative and exciting ways to reduce our impact on the environment and provide better value, greener services for all of our guests and delegates from around the world.” 

For more information about the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel’s Green Conference Packages, visit: http://www.goldenjubileehotel.com/conferences-and-events/green-conference-package/ 

Conference Hotel in the running for top food award

The Food and Beverage team at The Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel have been shortlisted as a finalist for Hotel Restaurant of the Year in a prestigious food awards.

After securing a huge number of votes from the public, the Hotel restaurant was announced as a finalist in the South West of Scotland heat of the Food Awards Scotland 2016.

The Awards, which are voted for by the public, celebrate the very best in Scottish food hospitality and are designed to recognise the efforts of Scotland's restaurants, takeaways, gastro pubs and cafes.

The team will find out if they have won at a glittering ceremony in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow, on Monday 15 August.  

Gary Rice, General Manager of the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel, said: “I am really excited to hear that we have been shortlisted as a finalist at the Food Awards Scotland 2016.

“Here at the Hotel we pride ourselves on serving all our delegates and guests with delicious meals that always include local and fresh ingredients of the highest quality.

“We are honoured to be in contention for such a prestigious award and I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who voted for us and of course I am delighted that the efforts of our fantastic Food and Beverage team have been recognised as they work hard every day to ensure we continually deliver the highest possible standard of service.”

The Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel is continually recognised for always delivering an excellent level of customer satisfaction and sustainable practices, recently receiving their sixth consecutive Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor as well as being regularly evaluated and accredited by the Green Tourism Board. 

Gary added: “At the Hotel we always look to go the extra mile for our delegates and guests and offering a relaxing, comfortable, fine-dining experience is a crucial part of the elite standard of service we constantly strive to provide. 

“In addition to offering a four star restaurant and hospitality service, we are in the process of rolling out our new bedroom collection which will see us continue to offer a high standard of facilities, providing the perfect environment for our guests to work, study and, just as importantly, relax at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel.”

imago welcomes new university facilities

imago, one of the UK’s leading academic venues, has welcomed the opening of Loughborough University’s latest facilities. 

imago already provides event organisers with access to one of the UK's largest and most extensive single conference sites through the facilities available on campus. The 410-acre campus features more than 75 state-of-the-art exhibition, meeting and conference rooms for up to 2,000 delegates, in addition to facilities Burleigh Court, Holywell Park and The Link Hotel. 

The opening of the new £3 million teaching space - The West Park Teaching Hub – will see Its campus offering extended even further. The West Park Teaching Hub – located in the former Ford College building - features five lecture theatres, two seminar rooms and a central learning and exhibition zone and is equipped with the latest audio visual equipment. Alongside the formal teaching space there is an informal learning area and waiting areas with seating and a café.

Emma Boynton, Head of Sales and Marketing at imago, says of the new meetings facilities: “It’s really exciting to be able to offer clients a new event space on campus – it is an outstanding facility to have in our portfolio. The West Park Teaching Hub offers everything event organisers need for successful meetings and conferences. But our campus offering is about more than the buildings. Being able to utilise the university’s reputation for academic excellence is also a great way for event organisers to enhance the content of their event so it has real value for delegates attending.”

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. imago manages Burleigh Court, Holywell Park, Loughborough University’s conference and events facilities and The Link Hotel. 

Major gain for Wilson Vale

Independent catering company, Wilson Vale, has gained the single largest contract in its fourteen year history to date – a full service contract with Conference Aston in Birmingham. 

Worth £1.75 million in annual turnover, the three-year contract is due to start on 1st August when Wilson Vale will take over from the incumbents, Sodexo, at the 163 bedroom AIM accredited residential conference centre, which is part of Aston University.

As well as managing catering and hospitality services under a seven-day operation, Wilson Vale will manage housekeeping and bar services.  A team of 46 Wilson Vale staff will be involved in running the contract at the venue which attracts up to 55,000 hotel guests and conference delegates each year. 

Andrew Wilson, co-founder of Wilson Vale, said: “This is a seriously special milestone for us. Over the last three years we have steadily developed our conference and venues portfolio so to have gained this flagship venue shows our understanding of the specific needs of this niche market.  

“We were up against some industry heavyweights, and it is wonderful that Conference Aston has bought into our food and our culture to drive their business forward.”

Samantha Brown, head of Conference Aston, said: “As a venue, we are always seeking new ways to drive innovation into our guests’ experience, and food plays a crucial role within this, often creating the lasting impression for our conference and hotel guests. 

“The business tourism sector in Birmingham is increasingly competitive, so it was vital that our contract partner for catering and housekeeping could provide the energy and creativity for us to stand out from the increasing number of conference hotels and continue to develop our first class service offer. Wilson Vale stood out during the tender process with their passion for fresh, local, homemade food and we are looking forward to taking our food offer across our restaurants and bar to exciting new places as we progress the partnership.”

The value of Wilson Vale’s conference portfolio has doubled over the last twelve months, representing 15% of the business, with the remainder of the portfolio within business and industry and private education.

The company now employs 600 people and projected annual turnover is £23 million for 2016.

Since it was established in 2002, Wilson Vale has seen an average 15 cent compounded growth rate year-on-year, showing consistency of standards and growth over its entire history to date.

Wilson Vale became preferred suppliers to Venues of Excellence in 2012 and are in partnership with two member venues.

CEME strikes gold

Not only has CEME Conference Centre retained its Aim Gold status for ‘Accredited In Meetings’ with the MIA, but Events Manager, Ranjith Kumar has been shortlisted in the Conference and Events People category at this year’s miaList awards.

The CEME Conference Centre continues to be the only venue in East London and Essex to achieve AIM Gold status. AIM is the industry recognised mark of distinction, with Gold showing a venue is at the peak of service excellence.

But it’s not just the venue which is celebrating, the announcement that Events Manager, Ranjith Kumar was nominated for an award at the MiaList Awards has also got the conference centre a buzz. The ‘miaList’ recognises and rewards those hardworking, enthusiastic, inspiring individuals that have such a positive effect on everything they do. As a proud sponsor of this year’s ‘miaList’, taking place on Friday 16th September 2016 at the Park Plaza Victoria, London, CEME Conference Centre was always going to be a big part of this year’s event. To have Ranjith as an award finalist is the icing on the cake of what has already been an exciting year for CEME. 

Find out more about the ‘miaList’ awards.

Wyboston Lakes Hotel completes “deluxe” bedroom refurbishment

 The final phase of the £1million bedroom refurbishment project at Wyboston Lakes hotel is now complete and guests will now be occupying the brand new Deluxe Oceania bedrooms.

“The final phase of bedroom refurbishment has been especially exciting as the Deluxe Oceania rooms offer an added level of luxury with the new amenities and mini bars. It was important to us that these rooms continued to compliment the overall leisure and spa experiences available to guests whilst delivering an indulgent and unique feel. We have continued to work with the best designers and contractors on this project and feel the results we’ve achieved will continue to improve the guest experience” - Mark Haynes, Director of Property.

Continuing the already successful partnership with Butterscotch Designs, the new Oceania rooms offer a luxurious and stylish space for guests to relax. These include super king size beds with Hungarian down-topped mattresses, a new pillow menu, 50inch smart flat screen televisions, Espresso coffee machine and Canton tea stations and in-room mini bars with fresh milk and various alcoholic and soft drinks. The en-suite shower rooms feature LED rainfall showers, luxury toiletries and illuminated make-up stations.

Guests staying in the new Deluxe Oceania rooms will also benefit from evening turn down service and complimentary hire of GHD hair straighteners, Xbox game stations and DVD players on request.

The new bedroom designs stem from 138 guest reviews on a number of sample bedrooms created in 2015. From this essential feedback, Wyboston Lakes has once again worked to ensure guests will continue to receive the best experience when staying at the hotel.

Wyboston Lakes takes pride in being an independent eco-friendly company, donating much of the existing soft furnishings and loose furniture to the Emmaus Cambridge Charity as part of the refurbishment programme. 

The exceptionally popular in-room technology and guest services platform, Crave, will continue to be available in all hotel rooms via tablets with software created exclusively for Wyboston Lakes. Guests can view menus, order room service, book spa treatments and access local information from the comfort of their own rooms. 

This has been an incredibly exciting project for Wyboston Lakes and the team looks forward to guests enjoying the new Deluxe Oceania rooms.

imago marks 25th anniversary

imago, the conference and events arm of Loughborough University, is marking its 25th anniversary. 

Since the organisation came into operation with the opening of its four star conference centre and hotel at Burleigh Court, imago has grown and has now become one of the leading academic venues for meetings and events in the UK. 

Emma Boynton, imago’s head of sales and marketing comments on the occasion: “During the last 25 years, imago has gone from strength to strength. We are delighted to be marking our 25th anniversary and everything we have achieved during the last quarter of a century.” 

Kay England, imago’s CEO, has been with the company during the last 25 years and says the business has come a long way since 1991. She comments: “I couldn’t be more proud of what imago has achieved over the past 25 years. Burleigh Court was established on a green field site on Loughborough University campus in 1991. Since then with the help of some fantastic staff we have gone from strength to strength adding Holywell Park, Campus Conferences, The Link Hotel and Event Management to our award winning portfolio. We now have a successful, progressive and vibrant conference, hospitality and meeting group that puts our customers and staff at the heart of everything we do.”

To mark the occasion, imago will be holding a celebratory event on 28th October in support of imago’s partner charities Minnie’s Friends and Twenty Twenty. The event is an opportunity for imago to thank clients for their support over the years and to establish new connections for the future, as well as building on its support of vital local community projects. 

For those unable to attend, visitors to The Meetings Show are also invited to celebrate imago’s 25 years of conferencing excellence at a drinks reception being held on Wednesday June 15 (4-5pm, Stand L600) to raise a glass and capture the moment in their photo booth. 

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. imago manages Burleigh Court, Holywell Park, Loughborough University’s conference and events facilities and The Link Hotel. 

Venues of Excellence announces four new members

As Venues of Excellence, formerly known as Conference Centres of Excellence, launched at The Meetings Show at Olympia yesterday (14th June 2016) on Stand No H700, the consortium announces that it has gained four new members in recent weeks.

Venues of Excellence Board Members at The Meetings Show 2016

The four new venues are The Lensbury four star hotel in Middlesex; Manchester Conference Centre in Manchester; Yarnfield Park in Staffordshire and Jurys Inn Hinckley Island in Leicestershire.

Before joining the consortium, venues have to meet stringent criteria in terms of quality, facilities, accommodation and customer care.

A previous member of the consortium, The Lensbury four star hotel and awarding winning conference centre at Teddington Lock, has made the strategic decision to re-join Venues of Excellence in recent weeks.

Ivor Turner, general manager of The Lensbury, explained: “Following a £14.5million investment in upgrading our facilities and training our staff to the highest standards, we feel the timing is right to re-join the consortium.We are delighted to be back in the Venues of Excellence family and look forward to participating in educational exchange, networking and sharing of good practice with other quality-driven venues to deliver exceptional conference services to our clients.”

Stuart Websdale, chairman of Venues of Excellence, said: “The rebranding to Venues of Excellence has been a strategic step to broaden our footprint within the wider hospitality and events sector.

“The quality and calibre of our new members is testament to our reputation and to the work we have done over the past 24 years in providing marketing support, networking and impressive lead generation to our members.”

The consortium’s goal is to grow membership to 50 members by 2020.

With the journey towards having broader representation and increasing value to members already underway, Stuart Websdale is confident that other quality-driven venues from within the wider industry will want to endorse their venue with a badge of excellence synonymous with the Venues of Excellence brand.

He said: “Many of our members are independent players with a shared quality ethos and vision. What we offer is sharing of good practice, idea exchange and benchmarking to drive quality and to deliver excellence to our end users. The strengths of the consortium are many, not the least of which are our emphasis on transparency of relationships and understanding of buyers’ needs."

Venues of Excellence is currently exhibiting at The Meetings Show with six partners: Cranfield Management Development Centre, Bedfordshire; Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel, Glasgow; CIM | Moor Hall, Berkshire; Henley Conferences, Oxfordshire; Missenden Abbey, Buckinghamshire, and one of its newest members, Jurys Inn Hinckley Island, Leicestershire.

Ashorne Hill in the community

One of the core values at Ashorne Hill is to have a positive impact upon the local community and support worthwhile causes. 2015-16 was no exception to this and the venue team are proud to have been involved in a number of activities to benefit others:

We kicked-off the year in supporting Breast Cancer awareness with a number of staff wearing pink for a day and enjoying a range of games and quizzes, together with hosting a cake sale for delegates and staff.

In November 2015, Ashorne Hill responded to calls for volunteers from DIY SOS, one of the nation's best-loved television shows. DIY SOS were planning a BIG Build in Bidford-on-Avon, just a few miles away from us for 20 year old Chloe Print-Lambert who suffers from Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.
We saw this as a fantastic opportunity to put ourselves forward to support this project in the only way we knew possible…. delivering a fantastic range of refreshments prepared by our award winning chefs. Our selection of refreshments included sandwiches, chocolate brownies, doughnuts and hot drinks all of which really helped to rally the volunteers on a cold December afternoon.
It was a huge privilege for us to be selected to support the volunteers at the BIG build, as they created Chloe’s dream family home. The show is due to air in September 2016.

Christmas is a time for giving and with this in mind Ashorne Hill decided to support our local Salvation Army with their Christmas present appeal in 2015. The Christmas present appeal was formed to help make Christmas special for those less fortunate by taking donations of unwrapped toys and gifts. These were then distributed within the local area to children, families, the elderly and the homeless.
The support from the staff at Ashorne Hill with this initiative was huge, and donations for this important appeal came flooding in. Toys, puzzles, books, toiletries, DVDs and chocolate were some of the items that were distributed in and around Leamington Spa making a difference to a number of families and people over the festive period.

For a number of years we have supported Myton Hospice as our chosen charity. In 2015-16 we set a target to raise £2,000. Throughout the past year staff have taken part in a number of fundraising activities and in addition; a tuck shop was provided by our fantastic accounts team, staff got into the festive feeling and wore Christmas jumpers, and a Christmas raffle featured at our staff Christmas lunch with a number of prizes donated by our suppliers. We are delighted to have exceed our target and raised a total of £2,362.50.

Our Managing Director, John Carson, fully supported each of the events and stated, ‘For me, supporting local causes is ingrained in our values and I am extremely proud that each fundraiser is always met with enthusiasm from across the whole business. We make it fun, although I am not sure I will wear a pink shirt again! But seriously, the funds we raise do make a difference and we will continue to support local causes and charities throughout this and future years’.
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