Tracy Winsworth, Commercial Director at Trinity said, “Last year, we set aside a weekend in March when the each member of the team visited hotels and meeting venues in a different area of the UK. In the space of two days, every one of the staff had to report on 20 different venues. We stayed overnight at some, dined at others and called in on many more in between. This year we are developing our adventure by visiting destinations in Europe too.”
This ties in with Destination Champion programme, where members of staff become a specialist in a city or region, carry out site visits and work with the hotels and venues to give first-hand advice to clients, as well as providing advice about the logistics and suitability for events. The next Triple Challenge activity will take place in July and each team member will take one weekend to visit 20 venues either in the UK or overseas. Trinity will ask the venues to donate a prize for an online charity auction, which will take place in September.
This year the charities that Trinity is supporting are: The Children’s Air Ambulance – the first and only dedicated helicopter emergency transfer service for seriously ill children and babies; Hospital at Home, offering patients a chance of hospital level care in their own homes in the Peterborough area; Thorpe Hall, a Sue Ryder hospice providing specialist palliative and respite care for people living with incurable illnesses. The charities were chosen by staff at Trinity’s annual conference.
Any hotels or venues that are interested in participating, should contact Tory Griffiths, for more information.
Hilton Hotels very kindly visited the Trinity offices on Monday and treated us to a lunch and learn session. We had presentations from Hilton London Wembley, Hilton London Heathrow Airport, Syon Park, Hilton Brighton Metropole and Doubletree Hilton Bristol City Centre.
Hilton London Wembley opened on 17 July 2012 with 361 beds and a capacity of up to 700 in The Ballroom. They informed us that by the end of April 2014 an outlet shopping village and entertainment complex will open next door giving another reason to head over to Wembley. The hotel has an outdoor bar on the top floor which can be hired exclusively for up to 150 guests. This space is available for drinks, BBQs and buffets.
Hilton Heathrow T4 is connected to the terminal by a covered walkway taking just 6 minutes. The hotel is triple glazed so there is no need to worry about noise from planes despite its proximity to the airport. The hotel has a total of 398 beds and 50% of these will have completed their refurbishment by June 2014, there will then be a break with the remainder commencing their refurb in January 2015. The USP of the hotel has to be their beach on which you can serve BBQs and cocktails for up to 200 guests.
Hilton Syon Park is a four star hotel located 5 minutes walk from Syon Lane Station. The hotel is full of quirky furniture, vibrant colours and interesting event spaces including its very own games room!
Hilton Brighton Metropole underwent a £350k refurbishment last year on its large event spaces. The spaces now look clean and fresh but still retain the original features. 50% of the bedrooms were also refurbished last year with the remainder to be signed off during 2014. An excellent feature of the hotel is its sun terrace which is available for private hire in the summer.
The Bristol Doubletree is 5 minutes walk from Temple Meads Station yet also has 150 parking spaces onsite that can be included within the day delegate package. The hotels restaurant used to be a 17th century glass kiln and provides a unique space for delegate lunches and breakfast.
After two years of planning and negotiations reconstruction work has now been approved and scheduled for the hotel with a long tradition of service in Rainerstrasse in Salzburg, near the old part of town. From 2014 the Crowne Plaza Salzburg – The Pitter will appear resplendent with its very own glass dome.
‘We are very aware of the historical significance of the ‘Pitter’ in the city of Salzburg and have approached the project with great care’, emphasised Martin Gissel, Senior Hotel Manager of the Crowne Plaza, and assured all concerned that redesigning and reconstruction work would do justice to the history and traditions of the building, and to Salzburg’s architectural heritage.
The entrance area, beer garden and outdoor restaurant facilities are also being remodelled
The Pitterkeller is Salzburg’s oldest beer cellar. It is now being extended, but will nevertheless retain its historical character. The fitness area has been moved from the basement to the 6th floor. From autumn 2014, guests will be able to marvel at the view, and to enjoy meals in the new Panorama Restaurant. A further highlight will be provided in the inner courtyard with the construction of a 450 m² ballroom with a glass dome and a glass facade looking out onto the garden.
First changes due on May 1st
From the 1st February until the 30th April 2014 the hotel will be closed due to work being carried out in and around the building. From the 1st May 2014 the entire facility will again be open to the public. In August the panorama restaurant and fitness area reopen, and from October 2014 onwards the dancehall with a glass dome will also be available for hire.
Hotel Sidorme Viladecans is a three star low cost hotel that has just opened on the outskirts of Barcelona. The hotel is located 10 minutes away from Barcelona Airport in front of Viladecans Train Station. They have a 20 minute direct connection to Barcelona city centre and 15 minutes from Estacion de Sants. The hotel offers free WiFi, free parking and free coffee! They also offer free meeting rooms for the first 2 hours!
For the second year in a row, Copenhagen takes the number one spot on Fast Company’s ’10 smart cities in Europe’ list, thanks to its sustainability targets and focus on green growth.
Which European cities are the high achievers when it comes to innovative infrastructure, technology, and entrepreneurship? Each year Fast Company, a leading progressive business media brand with an editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethonomics (ethical economics), leadership and design, names the world’s smartest cities. This year, Copenhagen is number one for the second year running. The Danish capital has been chosen for the following reasons:
Notching top spot for the second year in a row Copenhagen has established a reputation as the leading green city across the globe. Copenhagen led the Siemens Green City Index for Europe and has also been selected as the European Green Capital for 2014. And with good reason.
Copenhagen has one of the lowest carbon footprints/capita in the world (less than two tons/capita). Copenhagen also has the most ambitious carbon reduction plan of any major city in the world. They aspire to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. That may sound a ways away but that is only 12 years from now.
In order to achieve such an ambitious goal, the city has established hardcore targets including energy efficiency and renewable objectives, green building standards (all new buildings to be carbon neutral by 2020), and increased transit access to name a few.
Of course, our readers are well aware of the impressive cycling rates in the city-approximately 40% of all commutes are conducted by bike. The city also recently collaborated with MIT to develop a smart bike equipped with sensors to deliver to provide real-time info to not only the rider but also to administrators for open data aggregation on issues of air contamination and traffic congestion.
The top ten smart cities in Europe:
Copenhagen
Amsterdam
Vienna
Barcelona
Paris
Stockholm
London
Hamburg
Berlin
Helsinki
Last year Copenhagen was named the ‘World’s Most Livable City’ 2013 by Monocle Magazine and the Most Walkable City 2013 by Walk21 – both accolades underscoring the city’s profile as Capital of Sustainable Meetings.
Copenhagen is known as one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the world, so organising a sustainable event here is no great challenge. Did you know, for example, that as many as 71% of all Copenhagen’s hotel rooms hold an official eco-certification and the majority of the city’s meetings venues have a strong sustainable profile?
The city also has certified experience in hosting state-of-the-art events with a sustainable profile. In fact, Copenhagen was the ever first city to host an eco-certified international political summit when some 30,000 people attended the UN’s Climate Change Conference, COP 15, in 2009. We continue to welcome sustainable events and increase our experience.
In 2012, Denmark hosted the Presidency of the European Union. More than 100 meetings were organised in accordance with the sustainable event management system, ISO20121, making it the most sustainable European Union Presidency ever. Copenhagen’s sustainable portfolio is so comprehensive that, these days, it is easier to hold a sustainable event than a non-sustainable one.
The Netherlands Convention Dot is a unique marketing proposition which is a collaboration of 4 different brands. The World Forum Convention Centre together with Worldhotel Bel Air, Novotel World Forum and Crowne Plaza offer 700 hotel rooms, 27 breakout rooms and the world forum theatre which can accommodate between 300 and 1000 delegates. All three hotels were completely renovated last year and the World Forum is currently investing 25 million Euro in the convention centre.
The Convention Dot is located in the International zone in The Hague, situated between the historical city centre and the beach and a 30 minute drive from 2 international airports, Schiphol Airport and Rotterdam-The Hague Airport. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout The Convention Dot and airport transfers from Rotterdam-The Hague airport are also complimentary.
The one thing that really struck me was the relationships the venues on the convention dot have with each other and the way in which they work together to meet the client’s needs. All venues offer a flexible, friendly and professional approach. Venues in The Hague have to work so much harder for their business as they always have to compete against Amsterdam. The advantage for the client is that The Hague offers more competitive pricing and the willingness to go the extra mile and is therefore is a great alternative to Amsterdam.
Ryanair has just announced the opening of its third hub, located in Lisbon, which will introduce four new routes, in a 90 million dollar investment. From April, Lisbon will be connected to four new cities – Dole, Manchester, Marseilles and Pisa – that join the other five existing European routes, representing a total of 124 weekly flights, 900,000 passengers / year.
To celebrate this event, Ryanair will offer 100,000 seats priced from €19.99 for those wanting to travel in February and March.
Nilesh Patel, Regional Fundraiser for Sue Ryder – Thorpe Hall Hospice visited the Trinity offices on 6th February to present to the team. Sue Ryder offers specialist palliative and respite care for people living with incurable illnesses and is one of Trinity’s chosen charities for 2014. As part of the Trinity Triple Challenge we are aiming to raise approximately £7,000 to donate towards the appeal which hopes to raise £6 million pounds by March 2015 for the new hospice at Thorpe Hall in Peterborough.
The new hospice will give patients and their families increased privacy, easy patient access as all of the rooms will be on the ground floor, and in summary, a building that is energy efficient and fit for purpose. The old building which is Grade 1 listed will eventually be used to hold events including conferences, training and weddings which will help towards the running costs of the new hospice.
Regent Hotels and Resorts were formed in the 1970’s and cover 7 destinations at the moment. Each of their hotels are unique, luxury and reflect the location they are set within. Among others they have hotels in Bali, Beijing, Singapore and Berlin. Berlin has 195 rooms and is set in a discreet but central location, they have a beautiful boardroom and gorgeous chandeliers. They advised that some of the old bank buildings can also be used for offsite dinners and are located very close to the hotel but saying that even their room service has 2 Michelin stars.
The property in Taipai completed its refurbishment at the end of 2013 and the new opening in Montenegro is due to open in the summer of 2014. Montenegro will have 35 rooms, 45 suites and small meeting rooms, the hotel will have a nautical feel to reflect its location on the Bay of Kotor.
A long-standing advocate of the HBAA and an active agent member of the association, Jacqui previously held the position of Chair of the association’s Marketing Committee. Jacqui re-joins the Executive Committee and becomes a Board Director with the primary objective of supporting current Chairman Chris Parnham’s plans for the association throughout 2014.
Jacqui Kavanagh is a specialist in the hotel booking and event sector running her own agency for ten years. In 2006 Jacqui founded Trinity, which specialises in venue finding, event management and booking accommodation for multiple industry sectors worldwide. Since its conception, Trinity has expanded significantly, and having been an HBAA member since 2006, was honoured for ‘Promoting Excellence within the Industry’ at the association’s 2011 awards.
Jacqui’s commitment to driving standards in the sector has seen her influence span across several committees, sitting on hotel groups’ advisory boards and panels for GIBTM in Abu Dhabi and the German Convention Bureau as well as acting as an Executive Council member for the Meetings Industry Association (MIA). In 2006, she won the Shine Awards, Business Owner of the Year.
In September 2013 Jacqui picked up the HBAA’s John Rees Community Award on behalf of Trinity. The award recognised the agency for its impressive fundraising efforts, which saw the company raise more than £20,000 for three local charities.
Jacqui Kavanagh said, “After being away from the Executive Committee for the last three years, I have been very impressed by the achievements of the HBAA Executive team. I am delighted to be working to support Chris, Juliet and the Committee to achieve next year’s objectives and ensure that the HBAA is the voice of all industry matters in our sector.”
Chris Parnham, HBAA Chairman said, “We are thrilled that Jacqui will once again be bringing her unrivalled experience and influence to the HBAA’s Executive Committee. 2014 is set to be an exciting year, as we are working hard to continue the implementation of positive changes for our members, in line with our new strategy.
No-one understands the importance of the HBAA’s work more than Jacqui, and her personal commitment to maintaining and promoting the HBAA’s code of conduct will ensure that the association continues to move from strength to strength. I am extremely dedicated to the HBAA and can think of no-one better to take on the role of Vice Chair.”
