Warwick Conferences hosts the National TUCO Skills Competitions

Warwick Conferences, at the University of Warwick, last week hosted the National TUCO Skills Competitions (21-22 March), the annual showcase for the culinary talents within Higher and Further Education. This was a major change of venue as for the previous 14 years the competition had been hosted in Blackpool.

The competition saw a record number of competitors and attendees with over 350 competitors, suppliers, and guests attending from across the industry and sector.

The event made use of both the Rootes Building and Warwick Arts Centre, with the former venue hosting the Chinese themed night, Chefs Salon, Barista skills, food service and bars competition.

Warwick Arts Centre saw the introduction of eight live kitchens with Speed Cook, Street Food and Chefs team challenges. The venue was also used for the Grand Awards Dinner for 350 guests where all of this year’s winners were announced. 

The University of Warwick had its own Gold winner with Samantha Chick in the Food Service competition, while Pete Fry and Mary Fry won Bronze and Silver in the Salon competition. 

Clive Singleton, General Manager, Conference Park & Events, said: “It was fantastic to host the annual TUCO Skills Competitions here at the University of Warwick. We welcomed a record number of competitors and attendees in what was an enjoyable two days for all involved. By using both the Rootes Building and Warwick Arts Centre we had more than enough space for all of the different competitions and setups, while ensuring that attendees and competitors were able to get from challenge to challenge, meet the suppliers, network and actually be able to view all competitions live.” 

Julie Barker, chair of TUCO, described the two days as hugely successful. “Warwick has been a fantastic setting and lived up to all expectations,” she said. 

A full list of winners from the 2016 TUCO Skills Competitions can be found here http://www.tuco.org/news/item/and-the-winners-are.

Conference Centres of Excellence Announces New Learning and Training Academy

Conference Centres of Excellence are delighted to introduce the launch of the first four training courses for their new Learning and Training Academy which was announced at their Annual Conference this year.

With their preferred training supplier Paje Consultancy, Conference Centres of Excellence have entered into a partnership to offer training courses bespoke to the hospitality industry which will be delivered by Paje Consultancy and their Associate Partners Rattray Milne and the Conference Doctors all of whom offer first class expertise in the industry.

The courses: ’Revenue Management Excellence for the Conference Market’ takes place in May, followed by ‘Conference and Event Enquiry Handling Excellence’ in June are open to both member venues and the wider hospitality audience who wish to excel in their business performance. 

Following later in the year are ‘The Insider’s Guide to Agencies and Sharpened Propositions’ in June and ‘How to get Excellent Results from Research and Telesales’ in September.

Stuart Websdale, Board Chair commented:   “We are always looking to further enhance our member benefits and partnering with Paje Consultancy complements our strategic ambition of promoting excellence in our venues, people and our systems.  Launching the Learning and Development Academy provides a great opportunity for industry best practice to be shared and promoted with our members and also venues looking for fine-tuned bespoke hospitality training courses.”  

Paje Consulting Manager Director Mandy Jennings comments; “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Conference Centres of Excellence.  Our training is bespoke and specialist for the conference, training and event market. Both the Paje team and associate partners have a breadth of hospitality experience, yet are all still involved in frontline sales, revenue and marketing so can give real life experience helping to make our training come alive to the delegates.”

A hat-trick for Woodland Grange

EEF Venues’ Woodland Grange conference centre in Leamington Spa has won three awards, underlining the quality of the venue and its team. 

For the fourth consecutive year the venue has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award. The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor.

For the third year running, the venue has achieved a top rated status in the prestigious Laterooms.com ‘Simply The Guest Awards’ after receiving an average review score of over 80% across 30 or more genuine guest reviews left over the past twelve months on LateRooms.com, the UK’s leading hotel booking site.

Woodland Grange has also received an Award of Excellence from Booking.com in honour of the venue team’s  8.5 rating consistently achieved over the last three years.

Ian Chaplin, general manager of Woodland Grange, said: "At Woodland Grange we aspire to world class customer service so we feel very proud to get this positive feedback and recognition directly from our customers. I am particularly delighted for our team who work tirelessly to make every customer’s journey with us memorable and enjoyable.

“Benchmarks such as these latest awards strengthen our reputation as a quality player with consistently high standards.”

Taste Our Best at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel

As purveyors of fresh, local food and produce, the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel is delighted to receive the Taste Our Best Award from VisitScotland for the second successive year.

The Taste Our Best Award celebrates restaurants and dining venues in Scotland who strive to deliver sustainable, high quality, local, fresh food and ingredients on a daily basis for their customers. 

This accreditation, which is recognised by the national tourism organisation for Scotland, makes the Conference Hotel part of an elite list of dining venues across the country. 

Gary Rice, General Manager of the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel, said: “It is a huge honour to again be awarded the Taste Our Best Award from Visit Scotland.

“Here at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel we are very proud to be able to serve our delegates and guests with delightful meals that include local, fresh ingredients of the highest quality.

 “We always try to source and use suppliers that are dedicated to supporting the welfare of animals while considering waste reduction, delivery and packaging and other elements that can have a negative and harmful impact on the environment.”

The Golden Jubilee has a proven and committed track record of sustainability which has been acknowledged with the Conference Hotel receiving the Green Tourism Gold Standard for the last four years in a row.

Last year, the Clydebank venue was recognised for consistently delivering an excellent level of customer satisfaction and was inducted into the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame. The Hotel has also received five consecutive VenueVerdict Gold Accreditations.

Gary added: “I am very proud of our team who work hard every day to ensure we continually deliver the highest possible standard of service to each of our guests and delegates.

“We are always looking for new, innovative and exciting ways to give our customers those all important added extras, whether this is free Wifi access or our electric car charging points, making sure we are providing the elite standard of service we are known for.”  

Fine dining at the Golden Jubilee

The Catering Team at the Golden Jubilee are in the running for one of the most coveted accolades in the executive hospitality industry – at their first attempt.

The Golden Jubilee team have made it to the top three in the Healthcare Category of the 2016 Cost Sector Catering Awards.

Taking place at the Hilton London Metropole on Thursday 31 March, the awards will see the team judged by peers from around the UK in front of 800 of the catering world’s most influential members, with the winners announced at a glamorous awards dinner and ceremony.

Pamela Mailler, Catering Operations Manager at the Golden Jubilee, commented:  “It is an achievement just to be nominated; to be recognised as one of the top three Healthcare organisations in the UK is an honour and demonstrates the hard work that the team continue to provide.” 

The Golden Jubilee Catering Department works with the hospital’s Clinical Nutritionists to prepare a huge variety of healthy, nutritional and tasty menu for patients in the wards and for staff and visitors to the Golden Bistro restaurant, seven days a week.

The team have a proven track record of delivering high quality service, receiving a Healthy Living Award and being Highly Commended at last year’s Hospital Caterers Association Awards in the Catering Service of the Year Award. Just last month, two chefs from the Golden Jubilee received certificates of merit in the finals of the prestigious Hot Cookery Competition. 

Anne Marie Cavanagh, Nurse Director at the Golden Jubilee, commented:  “The Catering Team here at the Golden Jubilee aim to provide an impeccable food service for patients and staff and this has been confirmed by this incredible achievement.  We aim to provide person centred care in every aspect of what we do at the Golden Jubilee and we are so proud of the team and the way in which they constantly strive to excel in the work that they do every day.”

Warwick Conferences achieves VenueVerdict Gold Standard

Warwick Conferences is celebrating their venue Scarman achieving the BDRC Continental VenueVerdict Gold Standard Accreditation.

The VenueVerdict Gold Standard Accreditation is given to those venues recording a twelve-month Net Promoter Score of +70 from 40 or more business event hosts responses in 2015 and is testament to the team’s dedication to providing a first-rate meeting experience to every customer. 

Richard Harrison, Head of Conference Centres at Warwick Conferences, says: “We are delighted to receive the prestigious VenueVerdict Gold Standard from BDRC Continental. The staff at Scarman always go the extra mile to understand and implement the details valued by our customers and it is fantastic that this is being recognised. There really is no better testimony than positive customer feedback so we are thrilled to receive this accolade.” 

James Bland, Director of the Hotels and Hospitality team at BDRC Continental, says: “Warwick Conferences should be very proud of their venue Scarman. Net Promoter Scores can range from -100 to +100 so to achieve and sustain a score of +70 requires consistently excellent customer service. It’s a very discerning measure and that’s why only 39 venues have achieved it this time around.”

Wyboston Lakes confirms its place in The Sunday Times ‘Best Companies’ Awards 2016

Conference, training and leisure venue Wyboston Lakes has achieved  43rd position in this year’s The Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to work for’ List. This is the third consecutive year that Wyboston Lakes has ranked in the top 100.

“We are truly delighted to be recognised for the third consecutive year, it brings an enormous sense of pride, throughout the organisation, to be ranked within the top 100” said Mark Jones, managing director of Wyboston Lakes: “Our employees are the best and most valuable asset we have, so it is vitally important to us to know that we have a happy and engaged team.”

As part of the process, employee 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’.  In the results of this survey it was also revealed that 85% of employees believe the organisation is run on strong values and principles, with 79% being excited about where the organisation is going and 84% stating they feel proud to work for Wyboston Lakes.

On the basis of this employee feedback Wyboston Lakes were also awarded the two-star accreditation status, this means that the venue is considered an ‘Outstanding’ employer in terms of the way it engages with its staff.   

Chelsey Hutchinson, People and Culture Director said, “We are delighted about the score this year, we scored exactly as we did last year and just 2.2 points away from being in the top category of ‘Extraordinary’, which is incredibly encouraging for a small privately owned business.   The feedback has also been very rewarding, telling us that 82% of our employees love working for us – it makes me feel much fulfilled to work with such a great team.”

This year marks the 16th year for the Best Companies ranking.  Best Companies have been producing the Accreditation standard since 2006 to acknowledge excellence in the workplace. Accreditation is a focus on Workplace Engagement as an integral component of an organisation's success and growth. This 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.

Wyboston Lakes are looking for continual improvement and they will continue to offer a fantastic place to work for all of their employees.  

‘Best UK Management Training Centre’ – M&IT Gold award for Møller Centre

The Møller Centre won the prestigious Gold award for ‘Best UK Management Training Centre’ at the Meetings & Incentive Travel (M&IT) Industry Awards 2016.

The awards recognise excellent customer service and are the meetings and events industry’s only independently verified and audited awards. It’s the fifth occasion in the last six years that the Møller Centre has won the ‘Best UK Management Training Centre’ top award at the ceremony attended by over 1200 professionals from the global hospitality industry.

Accepting the award from BBC journalist Kate Silverton, Stefan Mitham, Head of Sales at the Møller Centre, explained:

“We are thrilled with this award. The customer is at the heart of our business and so for customers to vote for us in such numbers makes us very proud. Thank you to all the clients who voted for us, we are delighted that you believe in us and the world-class quality we offer as ‘Best UK Management Training Centre’.

To win Gold in five out of the last six years is no mean feat and one we are very proud of. The hard part now is ensuring we maintain Gold for next year. On behalf of everyone at the Møller Centre thank you very much.”

Stefan Mitham, Head of Sales, Stuart Websdale, General Manager and Anne Zenz, Reception Manager from the Møller Centre attended the awards with key clients: Carol Primett, Events Manager at Anglian Water, Jaspar Robertson, Senior Business Development Director at Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education, and Pete Marsh, Director of Pete Marsh Consulting.

Organised by Meetings & Incentive Travel magazine, the awards event was held on Tuesday 3 March at Battersea Evolution, London.

Warwick Conferences discovers five ways event bookers can create better experiences

Warwick Conferences has released a new set of guidelines to help event bookers meet and surpass both their managers’ and delegates’ expectations.

According to the Value of Expertise report, 99% of managers expect bookers to be experts on booking events. But 70% of bookers claim this is only a small part of their job.

Busy schedules, spinning too many plates and working in silos all increase the chance of communications breaking down. This means thi

ngs can be overlooked when booking an event. In fact, 93% of the bookers surveyed in the report admit to neglecting to investigate at least one key issue before choosing a venue.

Using data from the Value of Expertise report – an independent study into the relationship between expertise and success in meetings – Warwick Conferences has highlighted the crucial questions event bookers need to ask to create a successful event.

Read the five essential questions to ask before booking an event: (http://www.warwickconferences.com/about-us/news-and-blogs/five-essential-questions-ask-booking-event)

The top questions that all event bookers need to ask are:

1. How often do non-business guests frequent the venue?
2. Is the technology at the event reliable, easy-to-use and compatible with the managers’ laptops?
3. How much parking availability is there at the venue?
4. Is the Wi-Fi at the venue fast and free?
5. Will the venue provide catering for people with special dietary requirements?

These questions act as a basis for forming active partnerships with venues, to make event booking a collaborative experience. Miscommunication and mismatched expectations can be the root causes of a bad experience – not just for the delegates, but everyone involved in organising the event.

These new guidelines from Warwick Conferences show the power of partnerships and how bookers, managers and venues can work together to break down silos and create events their delegates remember for all the right reasons.

“Asking these five crucial questions at the early stages will alleviate pressure on bookers and help remove miscommunication from the booking processes,” says Rachael Bartlett, head of sales and marketing at Warwick Conferences.

“Collaboration is essential for event booking. If delegates’ and managers’ expectations are going to be met and surpassed, bookers need to think in terms of partnerships and not transactions when working with venues.

“If booking an event is only a small part of your day-to-day job, which indeed 70% of bookers stated, partnering with the right venue means you get help creating a great delegate experience every step of the way.”

Meeting Expectations is the first of four key themes covered in the Value of Expertise report. In the coming months, Warwick Conferences will be delving more into the other three themes:

• Respect: are businesses respecting their delegates and their training needs?
• Connectivity: what’s all the fuss about Wi-Fi?
• Money talks: are venues and bookers missing the mark when it comes to measuring success?

Woodland Grange takes silver at the National Apprenticeships4England Awards

EEF Venues’ Woodland Grange conference centre in Leamington Grange, Warwickshire has been awarded silver under the ‘25-100 Employer Awards’ category at the Apprenticeship4England Awards 2016 for the team’s outstanding work with apprentices and for the provision of training to staff.

Matthew Parsons, executive chef, (Mentor of the Year in the National Apprenticeship Awards 2015 and Apprenticeship Ambassador with The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network) and Ailish Griffin, originally an apprentice but now a commis chef at Woodland Grange, attended the award ceremony at the Emirates Stadium in London on Thursday 25th February. They were presented with their award by Sharon Walpole, CEO of Walpole Publications Ltd.

This national awards programme showcases and rewards outstanding examples of quality, best practice, innovation and excellence in apprenticeship delivery.

Working closely with Stratford-upon-Avon College, eleven apprentices have been trained at Woodland Grange over the last nine years, all of whom have gone on to take up positions within the hospitality sector, with five taking up permanent positions at Woodland Grange.

Ian Chaplin, general manager at Woodland Grange, said: “We are grateful to Stratford-upon-Avon College for putting us forward for this award and we are delighted to receive this national recognition because we genuinely celebrate young talent and value what they bring to the business.  

“Investing in training and development at all levels of the business plays a key role in our strategic objectives. It continues to impact positively on our performance and on our reputation for customer service excellence.” 

The news comes in advance of National Apprenticeship Week starting on 14th March. #NAW2016

Bryan Anderson, Apprenticeship Team Leader at Stratford-upon-Avon College, said, “I’m very proud of our relationship with Woodland Grange. They are an exceptional apprenticeship provider and offer outstanding training. During their apprenticeship reviews with the College, learners have often commented on the support they receive from Woodland Grange, the high expectations that are set and the time devoted to them by the staff to help them not only meet but exceed their own personal expectations.”

Offsite meetings valued by employees, imago research reveals

Research into the value of face to face communication showed that employees value offsite meetings compared to those held in-house.

The research - Does the future have room for face-to-face communication - was conducted amongst a sample of more than 750 event organisers, delegates, graduate and undergraduate students.

The research revealed that delegates felt getting to know colleagues outside the office was the most valuable element of an offsite meeting, followed by increasing learning ability away from office distractions and meeting new people that encouraged new thinking.

Respondents who took part in the focus group sessions agreed that a neutral environment encouraged a fresh approach to thinking, with interactive sessions and good food showed investment in employees to make them feel rewarded.

Emma Boynton, Head of Sales and Marketing at imago, commented: “All too often meetings are arranged in-house. Whilst this is convenient it often doesn’t lead to productive outcomes for those attending or the organisers. Holding a meeting offsite should not just be seen as a day away from the office. As our research revealed that employees get more out of going to meetings that are not held in familiar surroundings – it encourages them to get to know their colleagues, increases their learning ability and by meeting new people i9t encourages a different way of thinking. All of these elements are beneficial to those attending and the businesses they work for as it provides a greater return on investment.”

The research was undertaken by Loughborough University and imago.  The Right Solution provided methodology, analysis and validation of the research which was conducted amongst 779 respondents using a mixture of focus groups, online and face to face questionnaires.  The final research paper is available from http://go.welcometoimago.com/meet-the-future. Follow the debate and share thoughts about the research on Twitter via #futureF2F.

Such has been the success of imago’s research, the organisation is planning a follow-up research project, which will be launched later this year. Emma adds: “The feedback from the research and its findings have been extremely positive. As an organisation it is helping us shape successful meetings for our clients and improve the services we offer. The purpose of the next research project is to look into individual areas in more detail and we look forward to seeing the results.”

imago 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.

Wyboston Lakes Announced as South East Regional Finalist in National Red Ribbon Awards 2016

Conference, training and leisure venue Wyboston Lakes is proud to announce it is the South East Regional finalist in the National Red Ribbon Awards 2016.

The Red Ribbon Awards are the most prestigious accolade awarded to British family-owned companies.  They seek to recognise the incredible contribution that enterprising families make to our economy.

Chelsey Hutchinson, People and Culture Director says, “The Red Ribbon awards are the only UK awards that purely acknowledge the achievements and entrepreneurial spirit of Family Businesses.  I feel especially proud of this achievement as it not only recognises Wyboston Lakes as a great place to work, but also recognises the effort, commitment and individuality that comes with being a family business.”

The National Award Ceremony takes place on Friday 15^th July at Wembley stadium where the National winners will be announced.

Chelsey concludes, “We are truly delighted to be recognised as South East regional finalist,  to achieve such an accolade is source of enormous pride throughout the organisation.”


Wyboston Lakes has also achieved success in the Sunday Times Best Companies to work for 3 years running.

Warwick Conferences takes Gold at the M&IT Awards

Warwick Conferences is celebrating its 10th consecutive year of Meetings & Incentive Travel (M&IT) award success, after winning Gold for Best Academic Venue for the 20^th time in the awards 29 year history.

The collection of meeting venues – based at the University of Warwick – also picked up Bronze for Best UK Management Training Centre and were recognised as finalists in the Best UK Conference Centre and Best Conference and Banqueting Staff categories.

Warwick Conferences has enjoyed significant success at the M&IT Awards, which are voted for solely by event organisers and readers of M&IT magazine.

This year’s ceremony took place at Battersea Evolution and was attended by more than 1,000 meetings and events professionals to reward excellence in service.

Rachael Bartlett, head of sales and marketing at WarwickConferences, says: “We are delighted with our achievements at this year’s M&IT Awards, especially as these awards are voted for by our customers who have first-hand experience of our facilities. It is a huge honour for us to receive these awards, and we are exceptionally proud to have been recognised amongst the best in the industry by our customers.

“Our success is testament to the team’s fantastic attitude and ethos of always going above and beyond what is expected of them to ensure every customer has the best possible experience when holding an event with us. It is particularly rewarding to know that our customers recognise and appreciate this service.”

Later this year Warwick Conferences will open its new £5.3m dedicated meeting venue on the University of Warwick campus. The venue will offer 650 square metres of contemporary and highly flexible event space. 

Warwick Conferences new £5.3m venue on target for autumn opening

Warwick Conferences new £5.3m dedicated meeting venue on the University of Warwick campus in Coventry and Warwickshire is progressing on schedule with the first concrete pour of around 270 cubic metres (almost two double decker buses) taking place earlier this month.

Demand is looking strong for the new standalone facility, which sits adjacent to two of Warwick Conferences’ existing training and conference venues, with business leads reported as far ahead as December 2017.

Along with the new opening, Warwick Conferences has reviewed its strategy and the experience it delivers to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the industry. Conference, training and meeting needs are constantly evolving and it is not just about delivering four walls, a flip chart and some food, it is about delivering an experience. This involves providing the space to debate, engage, resolve, share, challenge and learn in a way which is individually tailored to the customer and their objectives.

Rachael Bartlett, head of sales and marketing at WarwickConferences, says: “We recently reviewed our strategy and how we deliver it to ensure that we continue to respond to the needs of the changing world. As part of this process, we are updating the way we look and our communications to better reflect who we are and what we can deliver to our customers.  Ultimately, it is business as usual, but better. The improvements across our brand and communications reinforce the ethos that at Warwick Conferences we take the time to understand our customer’s needs and objectives and respond by giving them a completely unique experience that is tailored to them.

“This year is set to be an extremely exciting one for Warwick Conferences with our new venue opening in the autumn. Work is progressing on schedule and we are already in a strong position in terms of enquiries for the new space. We look forward to continuing to break new ground with our training and conference solutions by delivering an experience where anything is possible.”