‘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.”