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.”

EEF Venues forecasts further growth for 2016

Following incremental revenue growth of 5% year on year for 2015, EEF Venues is forecasting a further 5% year on year growth for 2016, with a projected annual turnover target close to £6 million for this financial year.

Over the last two years the group behind three AIM Gold accredited venues; Broadway House, (Westminster), Engineers’ House (Bristol) and the group’s residential venue, Woodland Grange (Leamington Spa), has achieved 19% consolidated growth, adding £900K to its turnover over the two-year period.

David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues attributes this performance to EEF Venues’ focus on customer service excellence and quality.

He said: ”While price was a driver throughout the recession, we have seen an increased appetite from buyers to select on the basis of value rather than price. This is indicative of companies being more solvent and wanting a more quality experience for their staff.  An improved business landscape means there is a growing demand for business travel so we expect further strong growth in our business residency sales at Woodland Grange.

“2015 has also seen us penetrate new markets such the associations sector and we have seen tangible improvement in the Christmas party market – again an indication of a more confident corporate scene.”

The group’s sales and marketing strategies have also impacted on performance, as David Vaughton explained: ”We have invested in sales and we have been fortunate to attract many awards and accolades  throughout 2015, such as winning the Business Tourism category of the Visit England Awards for Woodland Grange, but that doesn’t mean we rest on our laurels.  

“New business doesn’t come on a plate; you have to go hunt for it so we will be seeking entry into new business markets to diversify our client-base. As ever, our critical focus will be on serving the customer. Achieving ‘world class customer service’ is an aspirational target across the business and we see this as being built into our DNA.  We are constantly innovating and developing to meet the changing needs of our customers.”

According to David Vaughton, staffing will continue to be an issue for the wider hospitality sector.
He said: ”2016 will continue to be a candidates’ market so our goal is to retain our staff by incentivising them to be the very best at what they do to protect our standards, consistency of service and quality - and to provide succession planning. 

“We view investing in talent as key to our on-going success and will continue to appraise, develop, mentor and reward our teams to encourage loyalty and performance. I firmly believe that we have an obligation to help people to grow. Happy staff means happy delegates. In return, we get greater stability, consistency and loyalty which impacts positively on our business performance.”

EEF, the parent company behind EEF Venues, has set a rolling capital investment budget of £500K for 2016/2017 to support the group’s aspirations ahead.

David Vaughton concluded: ”We will continue to invest in what we see as the three most important core elements for any delegate: leading edge technology, great food and people as these have most influence on our business. 

“Given our growth over the last two years, we are confident that 2016 will be another great year for EEF Venues.”

Bristol Patient Safety Conference returns to Engineers’ House

Following last year’s inaugural Bristol Patient Safety Conference, Engineers’ House hosted a very successful event again this year on 15th May.

Dr Mike Durkin, national director of Patient Safety for NHS England gave a keynote address, followed by presentations by leading national patient safety experts.

One of the aims of the conference is to provide networking opportunities for those involved in patient safety work across the region. Individuals and teams from local hospital trusts, local healthcare professionals, and businesspeople who have innovated to improve patient safety will be talking about their achievements at the conference.

Martyn Bowen, venue manager at Engineers’ House said: ”The format of the conference was a combination of plenary talks and interactive workshops so it was a lively event, with delegates making the most of our many break-out areas throughout this historic building.

”We were delighted that our client chose to return to Engineers’ House for a second consecutive year. It is always lovely when clients come back, and with repeat bookings accounting for 78% of our business, we see this as a great vote of confidence in our customer service skills. Our client has even gone as far as to book ahead for 2016 - a reflection of how successful the event was.”

EEF Venues invests in growth strategy

EEF Venues has strengthened its sales operation by appointing Anna Barton as national sales manager. 

Anna joined on 2nd March and is now responsible for developing business across EEF Venue’s three AIM gold accredited venues; Woodland Grange in Leamington Spa, Broadway House in Westminster and Engineers’ House in Bristol.

Anna brings over twelve years’ experience of working in senior sales roles within the conference and event sector. Prior to joining EEF Venues she was a director of sales for the QHotels group, responsible for account managing a portfolio of key clients and generating new business opportunities.

Commenting on her appointment, David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, said: ”This latest investment is an indication of the confidence we feel in the market. Our order book is already 20 per cent ahead of expectations, and with the economy continuing to recover, we are in a strong position to seize further opportunities. We place great emphasis on building relationships with our clients, and with Anna’s skills, experience and commercial focus, we hope to make 2015 a record year for EEF Venues.”

Anna Barton said: ”I am thrilled to have joined EEF Venues, a group that has such an exceptional reputation for delivering seamless meetings and events. My aim is to build on the foundations that already underpin the success of the individual venues by driving new business opportunities and growing incremental revenue through diversification into new markets and generating opportunity across a wider range of industry sectors.”

ISO18001 for EEF Venues

EEF Venues has attained occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) 180001 certification across the group’s three venues.

This internationally recognised hallmark of excellence promotes a safe and healthy working environment, as David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, explained:”ISO18001 provides a framework that helps organisations to identify and control health and safety risks, reduce the potential for accidents, aid legal compliance and improve overall performance.

“This achievement places EEF Venues in an elite category of businesses who strive for the very best for their staff and customers through robust health & safety standards. It highlights our culture of health & safety responsibility and that we take a proactive approach, continually seeking improvement to minimise risk and maximise the venue experience for our teams and our delegates.”

For more information about the EEF Venues please contact us on 0845 230 1414 or email info@ccceonline.co.uk

EEF Venues creates new sales post

EEF Venues has appointed Nicholas Williams as director of sales for the group’s three AIM Gold accredited conference venues: Woodland Grange in Leamington Spa, Broadway House in Westminster and Engineers’ House in Bristol. 

 He officially started the role on 5th August and is now responsible for business development and marketing strategy across the group.

Before joining EEF Venues, Nicholas was director of sales and marketing for Fawsley Hall Hotel in Northamptonshire, where he achieved record sales and profit targets during a challenging economic climate. Prior to that, he was director of sales with Dunchurch Park Hotel and Conference Centre in Rugby. He brings with him more than twenty years of experience within the hotel and conference sector.

Commenting on his appointment, David Vaughton, venues director for EEF Venues, said: “We take a very pro-active approach to sales and marketing, with an emphasis on relationship building and customer care excellence. We are confident that with Nick’s experience and expertise we will continue to attract and retain a diverse and satisfied client-base across the business.

”This latest appointment reflects the renewed corporate confidence we are now seeing in the meeting & conference sector, which is impacting positively on our performance right across our three venues. Year-to-date growth figures show that EEF Venues has grown by 15 per cent year-on-year, putting us 12 per cent ahead of our budget for 2014.” 

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

EEF Venues reports robust first quarter sales

EEF Venues’ first quarter trading results show a 12 per cent increase in sales revenue over YTD figures for the same period last year. The increased sales are right across the group’s three AIM-Gold accredited venues; Broadway House (Westminster), Engineers’ House (Bristol) and Woodland Grange (Leamington Spa). The double digit growth significantly surpasses UK GDP growth for the first quarter of 2014.

David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, said: ”We usually use GDP growth rate as a bench-mark as we find that improving performance and optimism in the manufacturing and construction industries can impact positively on the conference and venues market. To have out-performed British economic growth is beyond our expectations, and we predict similar success throughout our second quarter.”

David attributes the strong trading results to a combination of several factors. He explained: ”Increased corporate confidence, coupled with sharper and more proactive negotiating skills and better levels of engagement have all impacted positively on our results this quarter.”

Named ‘No 1 Small Group’ and ‘Best Value for Money Group’ in the BDRC VenueVerdict Awards earlier this year, EEF Venues reports these significant increases across multiple income streams including residential  and non-residential conference bookings.

Engineers’ House to host first Bristol Patient Safety Conference

Engineers’ House in Clifton Down, Bristol, is to host the first annual Bristol Patient Safety Conference on 16th May 2014. Part of EEF Venues, the Grade 11 listed, AIM-Gold venue was chosen for its accessible location, close to the motorway network and rail links.

Key note speaker, Bristol North West MP, Charlotte Leslie, who has recently been appointed to the House of Commons Health Select Committee, will give a speech entitled ‘Professionalism in the NHS’. 

One of the aims of the conference is to provide networking opportunities for those involved in patient safety work across the region. Individuals and teams from local hospital trusts, local healthcare professionals, and businesspeople who have innovated to improve patient safety will be talking about their achievements at the conference. 

Delegates will hear from patient safety experts in fields such as obstetrics, clinical audit, patient safety simulation training, medicines safety and anaesthesia. There will also be talks on duty of candour and staff safety. For further information on the conference visit www.bristolpatientsafety.com

Martyn Bowen, venue manager at Engineers’ House said: ”The format of the conference is a combination of plenary talks and interactive workshops so we expect that it will be a lively event, with delegates making the most of our many break-out areas throughout this historic building.”  

Engineers’ House is set in a scenic location overlooking the Avon Gorge and Clifton Suspension Bridge and has nine distinctive meetings rooms, with maximum capacity for 170 delegates. 

Hot Sales for EEF Venues

Temperatures weren’t the only thing soaring in July as EEF Venues reports a 16 per cent increase in sales on last year’s figures for July 2012. In fact, it was the group’s strongest performing July to date, placing EEF Venues’ sales for the month ten per cent above its projected target.

David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, said: ”Historically, July is usually an average month with regards to sales, particularly the last two weeks once schools have broken up for the holidays, but we have seen a significant rise in bookings this year  across our three venues: Broadway House in Westminster, Engineers’ House in Bristol and Woodland Grange in Warwickshire. We received 800 business enquiries throughout the month, with a high conversion rate of between 60 and 70 per cent. 

“Although still a challenging market, I think this shows increased confidence in the private sector to commit to meetings and conferences. It is also a strong reflection of our reputation for great customer service and demonstrates that our sales and marketing function is thriving,” he said.

“To have achieved ten per cent above our expectations is quite an achievement.  Forward projections are also looking good for well into October.”

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

Summer Networking Event at Engineers House

Live jazz, sunshine, a free running bar….. A summer networking event at Engineer’s House in Bristol on 3rd July attracted 230 guests who gathered at our historic venue.

One of the highlights of the evening was an open-top tour bus which escorted delegates on a sight-seeing tour of the famous Clifton Downs and Avon Gorge every thirty minutes.

According to Martyn Bowen, venue manager at Engineers’ House, Bristol was buzzing for days after with talk of the event.

“ We made a huge effort to ensure that it was a highly productive and enjoyable networking event. We had 34 exhibition stands throughout our lounges and board room, including five leading venue finders; Venue Select, In Any Event, Conference Centres of Excellence, Browns, Moulton Marketing and Destination Bristol. The Referral Institute UK & Europe gave lectures on maximising business opportunities through referral partners so it was an informative yet enjoyable experience for all.

“Our executive chef created a delicious BBQ made from locally sourced, fresh ingredients and we had goodie bags for all attending. The icing on the cake was the weather – we couldn’t have asked for a better summer’s evening.”

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

Major award for Bristol Venue

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

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

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

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

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