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Find the latest Articles
on the Meetings industry.
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| Green
means ACTION
Media
headlines to date this year that were possibly unimaginable
only 12 months ago: ‘Schools to teach young about
climate change’; ‘Prepare for green taxes
in tourism’; ‘What happened to winter?’;
‘Final warning – most of life could be exterminated’;
and ‘Britain will be tropical by 2100’.
Media
greenwash? Hype? Scaremongering? Not according to peer-reviewed
research for the United Nations by hundreds of scientists
from dozens of countries.
How
long before some begin to ask the question – Stop:
is that meeting really necessary? All those delegates
travelling individually by car to far flung venues in
order to sit in air-conditioned or centrally heated
rooms. Suddenly video conferencing, for all its weaknesses,
might look more climate-correct as well as shareholder-
(and staff-) sensitive to those companies which arrange
the business get-togethers.
The
last thing the meetings industry needs is a surfeit
of pious judgementalism, but equally there is a case
to do the minimum: carbon offsetting for the travel
of each participant, and carbon-balancing for the energy
used over the duration of the event.
LateMeetings.com
is waiving its participation fees in 2007 for existing
web-site members in a bid to encourage them to make
donations to Climate Care. The widest possible additional
support for this Responsible Meetings Initiative would
be welcome … |
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| MICE
NEWS |
|
February
2007
Chester Grosvenor refurb.
Re-styling costing £3m at the Chester Grosvenor
will upgrade the hotel’s meetings and private
dining rooms. Comprehensive work on the Westminster
Suite will be completed by early September.
www.therefurb.com.
£1m Crathorne
Hall upgrade
A £1m investment underway at the 37-room
Crathorne Hall in North Yorkshire will see 20
bedrooms upgraded and a lift provided at the Hand-Picked
Hotel. Most public areas were restyled last year.
www.handpicked.co.uk/crathornehal
No-Smoking at Shire
Hotels
Shire Hotels have announced a total smoking ban
at all of the four-star hotels in the group; a
policy which affects all bedrooms, public areas
and meetings suites. Smoking will only be permitted
in designated external areas.
www.shirehotels.com
Doncaster Racecourse
facilities boost
A £32m re-development at Doncaster Racecourse,
to be completed this year, features new MICE facilities
including exhibition space totalling 4180 sq.m.
and a conference centre. Supporting hotel projects
are also underway.
www.visitdoncaster.co.uk
Aston Villa hotel restoration
Work should be completed before summer on the
restoration of the Victorian-built Holte Hotel
close to Aston Villa F.C. Function suites feature
within the £4m project.
www.avfc.co.uk
Apex to expand in Edinburgh
and London
Independently-owned Apex Hotels intend to expand
further in Edinburgh and London. Plans have been
announced for a £30m project in the Scottish
capital (180 bedrooms plus meetings space), and
a £25m initiative featuring up to 80 bedrooms
and meetings space in the heart of the City close
to the Bank of England. www.apexhotels.co.uk
Bridlington’s
new-look Spa
For completion this year a £12m re-styling
at Bridlington Spa will improve facilities that
include an Edwardian theatre and 1930s ballroom.
The work is central to the resort’s 10-year
£50m Regeneration Strategy.
www.yorkshire-forward.com.
Boutique hotel for Sheffield
The Cutlers Hotel, the first boutique venue in
Sheffield, has opened close to the City Hall.
It offers 45 bedrooms and meetings space for up
to 80.
www.cutlershotel.co.uk
Royal Armouries expands
Added exhibition and conference facilities costing
£5m will be completed at the Royal Armouries
in Leeds this spring. The new centre will offer
1550 sq.m. of display space (resulting in a new
overall total of 2500 sq.m.), and increases the
conference capacity to over 1000 delegates.
www.rai-events.co.uk
Paramount developments
continue
A dozen meetings suites for from 14 to 75 delegates
features in a new conference complex opening in
March at the Paramount Walton Hall Hotel in Warwickshire.
The 20-hotel brand has also just added 43 rooms
to Redworth Hotel near Darlington, and more rooms
are being provided at Lygon Arms in the Cotswolds.
www.paramount-hotels.co.uk
Brewery adds meetings
space
Greene King, the Bury St. Edmunds-based brewery
has opened two new meetings facilities each for
up to 30. Prices start at £25 per delegate
for room hire, lunch and a tour of the brewery.
www.greeneking.co.uk
Defining moments
A 100-point five-year eco-plan costing £200m
from Marks and Spencer will include the production
of clothes made from recycled plastic bottles
… conference delegates are at risk of catching
highly contagious gastric flu when shaking hands
with infected delegates … Manchester’s
centrepiece Christmas Tree was replanted instead
of shredded … Avis has dedicated a new tree
for every car in its rental fleet, and clients
can offset their anticipated emissions …
Hertz is adding hybrid cars to its fleet in Europe
… it is now possible to hire the services
of a Carbon Coach to help reduce your carbon footprint
… fresh produce in supermarkets that has
been air-freighted to Britain will be marked with
a ‘warning’ symbol that acknowledges
the food miles travelled … Planet-aware
citizens are being encouraged to gauge their lifestyles
in terms of the tonnes of carbon dioxide they
cause to be emitted … a peak time t.v. programme
has warned that Britain ‘will be tropical’
by the end of the century.
p.s. Initiative of the
Month
Apex Hotels has appointed an environmental director,
Jo Sprinford. Her role is ‘to monitor and
reduce energy consumption levels; to convert environmental
initiatives into cost-savings and revenue-earning
opportunities; and to promote the Apex CSR mandate
in order to maximise p.r. benefits’.
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Opinion.
Online shopping for meetings begins
A
national newspaper reported that ‘shoppers deserted
the High Street this Christmas’ – and that
25m people are now purchasing online, spending £7.5b,
up 50% on 2005. The appeal is e-convenience, e-choice,
e-opportunity, and increasingly, e-habit. To these electronic
advantages can be added e-discounts and ‘e-voidance’
of ‘phone calls, voicemails, queues, defensive
sales staff, and general aggravation. E stands for efficiency,
and the British clearly are heeding the argument.
This
e-xperience will surely transfer speedily into the meetings
industry and LateMeetings.com can already report that
the process began in 2006. Our first bookings arrived
that were 100% virtual – buyers searched for a
venue, checked day-by-day availability and prices, and
booked online. Effectively seamless.
A
long overdue cultural change in the conference sector
has begun. Call it e-confidence. |
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| Launch
of ‘one-stop-shop’ partnership with CLICK4venues |
|
January 2007
Two leading internet companies that specialise
in generating meetings demand and facilitating
online reservations are co-operating to provide
a ‘one-stop-shop’ for venues and buyers
in 2007.
CLICK4venues and LateMeetings have announced
a marketing partnership that will involve shared
attendance at MICE exhibitions, special offers
for combined membership by venues, and the provision
of joint training and consultancy services for
industry staff.
CLICK4venues.com offers an RFP venue finding
service and also a search management programme
for conference agencies, and LateMeetings.com
displays day-by-day availability plus pricing,
and features online booking.
The new informal arrangement will be branded
as www.onlinemeetingssolutions.co.uk.
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| Appointment:
Senior position for Charles Blowfield with LateMeetings.com |
Charles
Blowfield has been appointed director for online opportunities
for LateMeetings.com.
He will be responsible for marketing
a new own-label version of the availability and reservations
website to groups of venues, agencies and destinations,
as well as for increasing online participation by hotels
and industry suppliers.
Blowfield
is a consultant to the meetings sector, and was formerly
commercial director for the Meetings Industry Association,
and previously an hotel general manager.
Meetings
at Chelsea Football Club
MEETINGS
IN A BOX
For
last-minute small meetings, look no further than Chelsea
Football Club, offering 41 Executive Boxes, each benefitting
from a stunning view of the Stamford Bridge pitch.
Perfect for small meetings and seating service
dining menu, beverage list,
up to 16 people, these boxes offer a onsite audio-visual
support and variety of services including; room Wi-Fi
internet access throughout. £15
per person per hour. For
further information,
call 0870 300 1212 or email events@chelseafc.com
Rates offered are for bookings made within 48 hours,
inclusive of VAT and subject to availability.
London
Barbican -
excellent offers
Discounts
of 15% are available at London's Barbican Centre. Visit:
www.latemeetings.com,
search London central to take advantage of this and
many other LateMeetings deals
Dakota
opens in Edinburgh
Style-minded hotel group Dakota is to open a 130-room
hotel in Edinburgh in March. The Dakota Forth Bridge
offers four meetings suites for 10 delegates. www.dakotahotels.co.uk.
£1m
restyling at Lythe Hill
An interior architect for royalty has taken on the restyling
of the 41-room Lythe Hill Hotel and Spa in Haslemere,
Surrey (www.lythehill.co.uk). Award-winning French designer
Georges Karam specialises in creating exclusive large-scale
residential interiors for VIPs in Europe and the Middle
East. Georges explains, ‘The £1m ‘revamp’
takes in all the public areas of the four-star hotel,
and features exclusive furniture and lighting, bespoke
soft furnishings including carpets, to a timeless ‘classic
contemporary’ theme. The bar, en-suite bedrooms,
lounge, plus principal meeting rooms (to 120 delegates)
and restaurant, will additionally be given a boutique,
yet warm look, in red, grey and black – the feel
is to be animated and arresting with a dash of urban
‘hip’.’
The
hotel remains open throughout the programme which is
due to be completed by March.
Greener
meetings in Dover
Planned to be environmentally-efficient, the newly-opened
Pines Calyx conference venue in Dover features three
circular events suites, and offers Fair Trade menus
and the option of carbon-neutral events. www.pinescalyx.co.uk
Clarion
opens Dublin luxury hotel
Carton House, a Palladian country mansion set in 1000
acres located 30 minutes from Dublin, has been redeveloped
to feature 165 rooms, with meetings facilities for up
to 480. The £54m transformation also incorporates
a spa, two golf courses, and a range of outdoor pursuits
options. www.cartonhouse.com.
Historic
Surgeons’ Hall venue in Edinburgh
Ten Hill Place is a new 78-room luxury hotel plus accompanying
meetings space for up to 300 in the Surgeons’
Hall Complex in Edinburgh’s Old Town. The venue
has been opened by the Royal College of Surgeons of
Edinburgh. www.surgeonshallcomplex.com.
New branding for major Manchester venues
Two Manchester venues, the G-MEX Centre and the Manchester
International Convention Centre, are now promoted using
the brand name, Manchester Central. Facilities include
seating to 3500, and exhibition space exceeding 10,000
sq.m. www.manchestercentral.co.uk.
New-look hotel in Skegness
At a cost of £3m, a once derelict 19th century
hotel in the east coast resort of Skegness has been
redeveloped as the 72-room Royal Renaissance Hotel,
with meetings space for up to 250. www.royalrenaissance.co.uk.
New country house venue near Bristol
A £13.5m investment to be completed in Spring
will see the opening of the 72-room Cadbury House country
house hotel near Bristol. There are meetings facilities
for up to 250. www.cadburyhouse.com.
Whitby hotel extended
Eight bedrooms are being added by March to the 18-room
Dunsley Hall Hotel near Whitby. The Victorian country
house property has meetings space to 120. www.dunsleyhall.com.
Copthorne to run Sheffield United hotel
The 149-room four-star hotel being developed at the
Bramall Lane ground of Sheffield United FC will be managed
by Millennium & Copthorne Hotels. It will open in
Autumn 2008. www.millenniumhotels.com.
500-delegate events at Kelvingrove
Re-opened last year at a cost of £28m, the new-look
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow’s
West End can host 500 delegates in the Main Hall, or
1000 for a reception. www.encorecatering.co.uk.
‘Green Rate’ @ at Radisson SAS,
Edinburgh
Executives staying at Edinburgh’s 238-room Radisson
SAS (meetings to 200) can make their visit carbon-neutral
by donating £1 to the Carbon Trust. Similarly,
conferences can be ‘carbon balanced’. www.radissonsas.com.
Redworth Hall adds 40 ‘spa rooms’
The £6m re-styling and development of the four-star
Redworth Hall Hotel near Darlington has included the
creation of 40 new ‘spa rooms’. There are
meetings facilities to 300. www.paramount-hotels.co.uk/hotels.
Defining moments
The British Dietetic Association recommends a mix of
low GI foods plus proteins and vegetables to maintain
the attention span of conference delegates … commercial
vineyards could become common in Scotland later this
century if global warming continues … motorway
service operator Roadchef are offering customers £250
to nominate members of staff who have ‘gone that
extra mile’ … young people who can’t
spell miss out on best jobs … Women’s Institute
members are set to join marches that support environmental
action against airlines, runway extensions etc. …
new SatNav developments will advise on the greenest
route (i.e.most fuel-efficient).
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Meetings & Incentive
Travel Awards - Vote now!
The Meetings & Incentive
Travel Industry Awards gala presentation dinner was
established in 1988 and is held annually in February
each year.
Organised
by Meetings & Incentive Travel magazine, and held
on Monday 19th February 2007 at the Novotel London West.
The awards event brings together the various sectors
of the business to measure market reaction in rewarding
excellence of service and product and to enjoy excellent
cuisine, fine wines, fantastic live entertainment and
raise funds for Save the Children.
VOTING
– YOUR VOTE COUNTS
Vote now and you could win a trip for two to India!
Click
the link below to visit www.meetpie.com to place your
vote
www.meetpie.com/awards/awards.asp
|
|
| Opinion:
Towards more ethical meetings? |
|
November 2006
According to the annual Ethical Consumerism Report
of The Co-operative Bank, the total UK expenditure
on ethical products had risen to £26 billion
by the end of 2004 (an increase of 15% in a year),
and now represents possibly close to 5% of overall
spending in this country.
Within this figure, growing proportions were
directed by consumers to help offset climate change
… support Fairtrade and organic food suppliers
.. display their feelings by opting for ethical
clothing … and select more environmentally-friendly
transport.
Ten responsible considerations that might discreetly
be put to the venue of your choice will help event
organisers and delegates to participate in future
in altogether more ETHICAL MEETINGS:
* what is the policy of the venue towards recycling,
waste management, and efficient use of energy?
* are coffees, teas, and chocolate drinks sourced
from Fairtrade suppliers? (Other Fairtrade products
include fruits, wines, honey, juices, biscuits,
cereals etc.)
* does the venue support sustainable farmers and
organic producers?
· does venue management direct a proportion
of profits towards good causes and charities?
* are venue-owned cars as fuel-efficient as possible;
and low in emissions?
* are venue furnishings and staff uniforms selected
from renewable sources?
* does the venue place a promotional emphasis
on environmental visitor attractions and outdoor
pursuits that adopt a conservation theme?
* is the venue involved locally with Fairtrade
Town initiatives, and/or with Fairtrade Fortnight
(February 26-March 11, 2007)?
* does the venue (where appropriate) avoid purchasing
materials that are damaging to the environment?
* is the venue sufficiently proud of its responsibility-mindedness
to be judged by and therefore promote this set
of values as being integral to its marketing activity?
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Notes to editors:
Please ask for details of the new
ethicalmeetings award from LateMeetings.com. Coming
shortly
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| October 2006 |
| £23m
New Hall adds to Leicester venues |
| The
£23m ‘New Hall’ at the University
of Leicester will be completed during October, and the
570-room complex (three meetings suites to 150) will
welcome conference guests from next April.
|
| www.le.ac.uk/conference |
Vikings-themed
conservation initiative at Armathwaite Hall |
Vikings Revisited is the theme of
a new conservation-related outdoor leadership pursuits
programme at the four-star Armathwaite Hall Hotel near
Bassenthwaite in Cumbria.
The hotel’s 400-acre estate is believed to have
Norse antecedents and the Anglo-Scandinavian legacy
in the region is reflected in farming styles, the dialect,
names, and the sport of Cumberland wrestling. Now a
team-building option in this spirit features, for example,
tree planting, wildlife surveys, path clearance, pond
creation, and more, and can lead to the achievement
of the environmentally-inspired John Muir Award.
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www.armathwaite-hall.com |
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| Scarborough
Renaissance gathers pace |
| Projects valued at £22m are
being undertaken currently within the ‘Scarborough
Renaissance’ campaign in the North Yorkshire resort.
Included are the restyling and extension of the Rotunda
Museum (geology and history), technical enhancement
of the Spa Complex, and improvements to the harbour
that will offer deeper berths for yachts. The initiatives
are promoted locally using the slogan See Scarborough
Change. |
| www.scarborough.gov |
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| Signature Hotels upgrade Dunchurch
Park |
| Following the £1.8m
restyling of the 87-room Dunchurch Park Hotel near Coventry,
the Signature Hotel Group has announced investment plans
to add a further 43 rooms. |
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| www.signaturegroup.co.uk |
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| Fulham Palace re-developed as events
venue |
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| Fulham Palace, the historic residence
of the Bishops of London, is re-opening on November 10
as a corporate events venue. The grade 1 Listed architecture
comprises Tudor and Georgian styles, and will feature
a permanent marquee within its private walled garden |
| www.fulhampalace.org |
| |
| New team-building centre from Centre
Parcs |
| A state-of-the-art Outdoor Pursuits
Centre has opened at Whinfell Forest venue in Cumbria,
operated by Centre Parcs |
| www.centreparcs.co.uk |
| Cherkley Court opens |
| Cherkley Court, the former home of
the media magnate and wartime Cabinet minister Lord Beaverbrook,
is now available for conferences, events, and private
parties for from 10 to 250 guests. The property is set
in 400 acres of park and woodlands near Leatherhead in
Surrey, and has been extensively renovated by the Beaverbrook
Foundation. The late-Victorian house is built in the French
Chateau style, and a choice of six function suites is
available |
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www.cherkley.com |
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| Jnnction 1 M5 Venues is launched |
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| Seven venues close to West Bromwich
in the Black Country are working together in the newly-launched
Junction One M5 Venues consortium. Facilities for up to
2500 delegates are available in, for example, hotels,
a football stadium, and a local town hall. |
www.J1M5venues.com |
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| Eco Incentives supply recycled
promotional gifts |
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| Eco Incentives have launched a new
catalogue of environmentally-aware promotional products
that include fresh fruits featuring a laser-engraved logo,
shopping bags made from recycled plastic bottles, and
an ice-scraper made from recycled CD cases |
www.ecoincentives.com |
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| £7m events venue to open
next summer in Peterborough |
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| Costing £7m, a new
clear-span multi-purpose exhibition hall and glass atrium
covering 5500 sq.m. will extend facilities from next summer
at the East of England Showground at Peterborough. Work
started in October, and the total available covered display
area will reach 14,000 sq.m. |
www.showground.org.uk |
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| Climate Care sponsorship at Thistle
Haydock |
| The Thistle Haydock Hotel near Liverpool/Manchester
is offering conference organisers the option of complimentary
sponsorship to offset the carbon emissions generated by
up to 50 of the delegates travelling up to 100 miles to
their residential event. |
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www.thistlehotels.com |
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| www.latemeetings.com |
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| New Award |
| Special Meetings Deals |
| Congratulations to the following three
LateMeetings.com members for their good value and/or value-added
conference initiatives. Each wins a front-page display
on the LM website as our ‘Venue of the Week’.
Kindly keep your meetings deals coming … |
·
A free ipod shuffle is available free for bookings worth
£1000 or more at three
Ramada Jarvis Hotels in Yorkshire (until March 2007)
· A ‘winter price freeze’ has been
announced at the Novotel Leeds, with reductions of from
10%
· Savings of up to 25% for conferences are being
offered at Lockerbie Manor Hotel in Scotland, together
with room hire rates reduced to just 50p …. |
| Top
Tips for Conference Planning |
Tony Carey
Our resident meetings 'guru' Tony Carey supplies
regular tips and ideas for more successful meetings
management.
Read
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| Join the United Kingdom's principal trade
association for the
conference, meeting & events industry. |
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| VisitBritain markets Britain to the rest
of the world and England to the British. |
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| Meetpie.com is the meetings and events industry
portal. |
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| Search, select, save and
book your meeting online with LateMeetings.com |
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