2013 Meeting offers for Birmingham City Centre

Conference Aston have two fantastic offers for your 2013 conferences, meetings and events when booking either Aston Business School Conference Centre & Hotel or the Lakeside Centre in the New Year...

32 Hour Meeting Package: £150 including VAT

New for 2013, we've listened to your feedback and created a brand new meeting package which combines a residential and day delegate package to give you even better value for money!

32 Hour Package includes:

Overnight accommodation

Full English breakfast

Sandwich lunch on both days

Dinner in the Courtyard Restaurant

Unlimited tea, coffee and biscuits

Main meeting room

Meeting room stationery including flipchart, pens and paper

LCD projector and screen, and mic/PA if required

Free WiFi and includes car parking

Free Syndicate Room with your Day Meeting Packages

Book your day meetings with Conference Aston and we'll give you a syndicate room, absolutely free.

If your meeting is for 10-30 delegates, you'll get one free syndicate

Meetings of 31-70 benefit from two free syndicate rooms

Meetings of 71+ will benefit from three free syndicate rooms

Day Meeting Package includes:

Main meeting room,

Three course buffet lunch in our restaurant

Unlimited tea, coffee and biscuits

Meeting room stationery including flipchart, pens and paper

LCD projector and screen, and mic/PA if required

Free WiFi internet access

Special offers are available for brand new bookings received from 19/12/12 only,

for events taking place from 2nd January 2013 to 31st March 2013

The small print:

32 Hour Rate is inclusive of 20% VAT

32 Hour Rate subject to minimum numbers of 15

All offers are subject to availability

Cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion or offer

Only valid for new bookings made from 19th December 2012

Events must take place between 02/01/13 - 31/03/13 to benefit from offers

Free Syndicate offer is subject to minimum numbers of 10.

An exclusive insight into how specialist venues are embracing opportunities, and tackling challenges ready for 2013

 

Conference Centres of Excellence is the only sales and marketing consortium in the UK with a wide range of dedicated meeting, training and conference centres.

Our 33 members include many of the country’s most respected providers, enabling us to reveal a comprehensive and up to the minute insight into industry trends as we look towards 2013.

Investment

Recognising the importance of an outstanding quality of facilities, our venues are continuing to invest with plans in 2013 for major refurbishment programmes, adding bedrooms and increasing capacity and flexibility of meeting space, ensuring that their facilities remain at the very forefront of meeting and event requirements.  

Our venues are consistently improving their venues, with major capital investment for substantial projects, and amongst this they never overlook the smaller details. For example, with trials of furniture to ensure all-day comfort of delegates currently taking place at Conference Aston.

See more details of some of the venues undergoing continued improvement projects in 2013:

• Wyboston Lakes, Bedfordshire
• Cotswold Conference Centre, Midlands
• Maple House, Birmingham
• Ashorne Hill, Warwickshire
• Conference Aston, Birmingham

Technology

Heavy investment in technology and continued improvement to Wi-Fi/ AV capacity opens up opportunities for internet based events where connectivity is vital to success.  With the rise of streaming, twitter feed boards and twitterfalls, contribution from ‘virtual attendees’ or ‘virtual speakers’ can bring added benefit to those on-site event delegates, and widening the audience.

All Conference Centres of Excellence venues offer free Wi-Fi to delegates but many go much further, with greatly increased capacity allowing reliable, consistent, fast broadband with a dedicated secure connection for individual events.

This has been demonstrated at several of our venues, including the award winning Wyboston Lakes. Please click for further details:

• Wyboston Lakes, Bedfordshire
• The Beardmore, Glasgow 
• Stirling Management Centre, Stirling

Quality Standards

Despite continuing pressure on rates -  the majority of event organisers are facing the challenge of ‘doing more for less’ – our venues remain focused on offering the best possible service and driving standards up.

The majority of Conference Centres of Excellence members have embraced BDRC Continental’s VenueVerdict, demonstrating their commitment to quality by having their service standards independently audited.  At the end of Q3 2012, 7 of the CCE portfolio had achieved VenueVerdict’s Gold Standard Accreditation, given only to those venues delivering consistently excellent meeting experiences over a twelve month period.

For a selection of other awards and achievements across the group:

• Cotswold Conference Centre, Midlands
• Wyboston Lakes, Bedfordshire
• Maple House, Birmingham
• Stirling Management Centre, Stirling
• Nottingham Conference Centre, Midlands
• EEF Venues, London, Bristol and Warwickshire

Anthony Lishman, Executive Director of Conference Centres of Excellence commented:
“2012 was a fabulous year for events and whether you believe that the various spectacles put the UK in a very positive spotlight or were just welcome distractions, it means that 2013 can only benefit from UK Plc getting back to business and ultimately that means more meetings, training and events.
Certainly enquiry levels are significantly ahead of last year at this time, so customers are already investigating and budgeting for more events in 2013 / 14. Whether that is training to support an increase in employment, up-skilling the existing workforce, or larger and more frequent company communication meetings –the forecast is looking good for occupancy levels.“

2012 sees award wins for Wyboston Lakes

HBAA Venue Award

In September, Wyboston Lakes won the HBAA Venue IT Award 2012 for its investment and development in technology over the last year. A major contributor to this success was that, in the spring of this year, the company doubled the strength of its broadband service to 200 mbps, believed to be by some way the most powerful available in any specialist conference venue in the UK. 

The improved broadband facility has brought a completely reliable Wi-Fi service in all working, residential and rest areas, which is free to all conference clients and delegates.  The system also opens up new horizons for internet based events. It is a benefit that is already producing some dramatic results for clients. 

A recent nationwide survey of event organisers by a leading conference magazine highlights that the biggest area of dissatisfaction with venues is the lack of availability of free Wi-Fi. But that’s not a concern of Wyboston Lakes customers, who are reaping the benefits of the venue’s sector leading broadband system. E2BN, the Regional Broadband Consortium for the East of England, recently held an event at the venue which specified that more than 800 devices would need to be connected to the internet concurrently.

E2BN is one of ten consortia set up by the Government to help raise standards in teaching and learning by the use of broadband technology. It used the Wyboston Lakes Executive Centre for a three-day event for more than 450 guests from across the educational sector and dozens more representatives of relevant suppliers. The event used the centre’s main lounge and two large marquees, with guests and exhibitors receiving and responding to a wide range of information on their laptops and i-phones. “Clearly, the reliability, consistency and speed of Wyboston Lakes broadband system contributed in a very useful way to our message about how effective IT can enhance education,” said E2BN’s Val Mogridge. 

Three awards at MIA List event 

Wyboston Lakes has achieved an unmatched three awards at the recent MIA List event, which recognises exceptional achievements by staff working in the meetings and events sector. Operations Director Barry Stonham and Executive Chef Fergus Martin both won places on the coveted MIA List, while Barry also received a special ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award.

The MIA (Meetings Industry Association) List is an annual event which selects ten people from across the meetings sector who have made outstanding contributions to their own organisation and to the sector in general. At the awards event, held at BMA House in London on Monday 19 March, Wyboston Lakes was the only venue to achieve more than one person on the List.

Business events can identify growth opportunities from the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement today

Business Visits & Events Partnership Chairman, Michael Hirst OBE, has highlighted some of the opportunities for the business tourism and events market in today’s Autumn Statement from Chancellor George Osborne. 

“The Chancellor’s Statement is thankfully not all about Autumn leaves falling as UK growth forecasts drop and reduction in debt remain stubbornly high. There are some practical measures which should over time benefit Britain’s businesses and consequently buoy their commercial activities in many cases leading to greater use of events to disseminate information, communicate brand messages and show-off their products and services.

And what is good for business is good for business tourism.

These measures in the Autumn Statement include a +25% increase in budget for UKTI, an organisation that the events sector is already actively building strong relationships with to add further value to the trade, inward investment and export potential our industry promotes at conferences and trade shows. There’s also to be an additional investment of £30 million in the GREAT programme, in which the Events Sector already has a stake alongside the promotion of creativity, innovation, culture, music and sport together with the iconic attractions of Britain’s tourism offerings.

The additional money made available for Local Enterprise Partnerships should also help our destination partners where marketing of event venues and services is so critical to their success and strengthens one of Britain for Event’s objectives to highlight the benefits of events in local communities. There is also more money pledged for sport which should manifest itself in more sporting events too.

Investment

Another £600 million investment in scientific research, on top of the £300 million already provided earlier in the year plus support for Aerospace, Advance Manufacturing and Exports should help boost events in these sectors and strengthen the knowledge economy on which Association events so heavily depend. 

Reductions in corporate taxes and increases in business investment allowances should incentivise business growth – always good news for business events and potentially encourage more international businesses to locate themselves in the UK growing the potential domestic market base.

Investments in road and rail infrastructure and the dropping of the intended three pence additional fuel duty in January will be valuable too in improving communications with key business destination where conference and exhibition venues depend upon ease of access to attract delegates and attendees. 

Of course there’s some disappointment that there are no direct responses to industry pleas on VAT reductions and Air Passenger Duty but if Britain’s businesses can feel that some of the measures will give them a more competitive playing field then ultimately the business visits and events sector will be one of the key beneficiaries as those very businesses step up their commercial activities through the use of events”.

Business Growth

These changes create the right environment for business growth, and which event related organisation’s could use to their advantage to bring growth to the industry.

We’ve no doubt that there will be many in the industry that will not be pleased by much of the content from today’s address, however It is the role of the BVEP to take a long look at announcements of these kind and work with our partner associations to provide positive recognition of the measures that may help their businesses.

To find out more about Conference Centres of  Excellence and British Visits & Events Partnership visit our website: http://www.cceonline.co.uk/about_cce/Links

Conference Aston - Achieve the mark of quality in the UK’s second city

Conference Aston, Birmingham city centre’s premier portfolio of award winning conference, hotel and event venues is celebrating after a recent double achievement for quality.

The organisation is proud to offer one of Birmingham’s greenest venues, having being re-accredited with British Standard ISO14001 in November 2012 for a sustainable, integrated environmental management system. The team are also celebrating after gaining recognition as an exceptional organisation by being awarded the Investors in People bronze level, placing it within the top 4% of accredited organisations, nationally.

Investors in People helps organisations improve by enabling transformation through valuing their people and charting the company’s progress through their effective management, training and leadership.

Marketing Manager, Paul Bunce, said: 'As a business, everything we do involves bringing people together, whether it’s for a meeting or a night in the hotel to visit friends in Birmingham, we exist to develop relationships personally and professionally and our team are instrumental in this, helping us to stand out and show that the physical facilities can be anywhere, but the team at the heart of our brand remain unique to Conference Aston.'

Conference Aston have recently announced the appointment of Sodexo Prestige, also accredited with Investors in People, to work in partnership with the venues to manage the provision of catering, cleaning and housekeeping services within the business; the focus moving forward aims to develop joint initiatives to further the existing awards.

Flexible Meeting Venues in the heart of the city

Set in and around Birmingham City Centre, the venues are ideally placed to take advantage of the city’s vibrant shopping, arts and culture, nightlife and restaurants. Conference Aston offers two purpose built conference, hotel and event venues with 30 fully-equipped conference and meeting rooms accommodating up to 235 delegates and 162 stylish ensuite bedrooms.

Both of the venues are located on the Aston University campus, minutes from three mainline rail stations and junction 6 of the M6. Conference Aston welcomes more than 54,000 people a year to Birmingham for training, residential conferences, for weddings and to stay in its high quality hotel facilities and on site campus accommodation.

The conference centres and hotel are located on the campus of Aston University, which is a long established research-led university known for its world-class teaching quality and strong links to industry, government and commerce. As a subsidiary company of the University, all surplus revenues are invested into teaching and research.

From lakeside settings to contemporary, urban chic, the venues are purpose built and offer the perfect central location for a variety of residential and non-residential events including large conferences, meetings, training courses, exhibitions, banqueting and a host of other corporate events, all with the latest technology, onsite car parking and free WiFi throughout.

Aston Business School Conference Centre and Hotel

Aston Business School Conference Centre and Hotel is the flagship year round venue within Conference Aston. The venue is Birmingham’s largest dedicated residential conference centre with 24 conference and meeting rooms accommodating up to 235 delegates, banqueting for up to 260 and 162 stylish ensuite bedrooms.

The Lakeside Centre

The Lakeside Centre offers a non-residential conference and banqueting venue, available year round, with six air conditioned suites for conferences, exhibitions, product launches and corporate entertainment for up to 200 guests or over 400 when the venue is used exclusively.

Aston Business School Conference Centre and Hotel, and the Lakeside Centre operate as part of Aston University’s commercial services, providing dedicated, purpose built conference centres.

800 Ensuite Bedrooms Available Outside of Term Time

Alongside the two dedicated commercial conference centres, from July to September when Aston University students return home for the summer, Conference Aston offer the University’s teaching and accommodation facilities for large association conferences, international education programmes and other large scale events.

During this period, there are an additional 800 ensuite bedrooms, dining areas and over 50 syndicate rooms, conference suites and lecture theatres available, with the University’s Great Hall seating 650.

Access Routes

The venues offers great road, rail and air links.

There are three mainline rail stations within walking distance: Birmingham New Street, Snow Hill and Moor Street.

The venues are a mere 9 miles from Birmingham Airport and a taxi journey should take approximately 20-30 minutes dependent on traffic.

There are also trains from Birmingham International station to Birmingham New Street (approximately 5-10 minutes journey time).

Royal invite for Møller Centre Executive Education team

As part of the celebrations for 2012 Queen’s Award winners, Gillian Secrett (CEO, The Møller Centre) and Mark Carberry (Global Programme Director, Møller Centre Executive Education) attended a reception at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.

They both had the opportunity to talk with members of the Royal family including Her Majesty the Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, HRH The Earl of Wessex and network with other Queen’s award winners as well as Business Secretary Vince Cable.

The Møller Centre, based at Churchill College, University of Cambridge was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade for outstanding achievement over the last three years delivering Executive Education.  The Centre offers world class facilities and educational programmes delivered to a wide range of clients in the corporate, public and professional service sectors under the Royal Charter of Churchill College.  Today, over 40% of clients are from overseas markets, with earnings from Executive Education increasing by 90% last year.

The quality and proven success of the programmes, combine academic and practitioner-based learning for international business leaders particularly in the corporate, banking and healthcare sectors.

Gillian Secrett, CEO of The Møller Centre commented: “We were delighted and honored to be present at the reception and to have the opportunity to talk with members of the Royal family who were very encouraging of the impact of our work in the international arena”.

The  Møller Centre

The award-winning Møller Centre is situated in 42 acres of parkland. Within walking distance of Cambridge city centre, the stunning architecture, flooded with natural light, provides an inspiring, productive, learning/working environment. All meeting rooms are air-conditioned and equipped with state of the art AV equipment, supported by on-site technicians. Outstanding service is a customer promise and superb cuisine meets cultural or dietary needs. Free WiFi access throughout.

For more information please contact pr@cceonline.co.uk or call us on 0845 230 1416.

Planning ahead for January?

Why not cheer your colleagues up in January by taking advantage of our special January packages? 

Kents Hill Park are are adding bacon rolls on arrival and upgrading mints to chocolates in the meeting rooms on their day delegate and 24 hour packages throughout January, to make the dark winter days brighter!

Prices start from £29+ vat day delegate rate and £109 + vat 24 hour. 

Our packages have everything you need for your event including Wi-Fi and unlimited tea and coffee from our delegate refreshment bar in Swallow house.

Kents Hill Park is a dedicated training and conference centre set in a peaceful location yet within easy access to key road (M1 J13/14), rail and airport networks.

Wtih over 70 meeting rooms and 330 bedrooms combined with our onsite AV Production Team to assist in event production, conference organisers can be assured of a successful event.  Delegates have use of our extensive leisure facilities throughout their stay.

17m indoor swimming pool, steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi, fully equipped gymnasium, two squash courts, large sports hall for badminton, five a-side football, short tennis, exercise classes and a beauty treatment room.

To find out the full package inclusions and to check for availability, please contact us on 0845 230 1416 or info@cceonline.co.uk 

Terms and conditions apply.