Month: November 2019

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Bringing Agents and Venues together for EDGE Venues Marketing Summit

On Friday 1st November, EDGE Venues brought together Agents and Venues who use the global venue sourcing platform for a Marketing Summit, helping users and licensees maximise the site’s potential.

The event attracted more than 100 delegates to the De Vere East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham and is the third Marketing Masterclass that EDGE Venues has run since its December 2018 launch. This was the first time Agents who use the platform, and Venues who are licensed, came together to learn about the latest developments of the site, industry trends and how they can maximise the benefits available to them.

Aimee Richardson from Allianz Park, home of the Saracens, attended the EDGE Venues Marketing Summit commented: “It was a wonderfully insightful morning at the EDGE Venues Marketing Summit in Nottingham! With discussions covering relevant industry trends, real-time developments and a true collaborative meeting with lots of wonderful agencies and venues in one room discussing the future of the MICE industry! It’s events such as this, with the collaborative approach, that demonstrates the passion and value the team at EDGE provide.”

To enhance its service offering, and increase the exposure of the platform, EDGE Venues has recently appointed digital marketing agency, Anicca Digital. As part of the educational process, Anicca was invited to the Marketing Summit to share insight into the benefits of paid social advertising and what this would mean to EDGE Venues. Ann Stanley, Managing Director commented on the recent appointment: “We are thrilled to welcome EDGE Venues to the Anicca Digital family, and look forward to delivering their paid digital media services over the coming months as part of their exciting growth plans. EDGE Venues, with its cutting-edge technology and global vision, is a perfect addition to our existing events sector client portfolio, and we are eager to be a part of their future journey.”

Jacqui Kavanagh, CEO of EDGE Venues was delighted by the response of the Marketing Summit: “We had a fantastic turnout for our Marketing Summit with more than 100 attendees. The event keeps on growing and demonstrates how the industry wants to work together for the benefit of corporate clients. After nearly a year of continued development, we’re now able to invest further with our marketing strategy and the appointment of Anicca Digital, alongside our existing strategy partners, will support with our overall growth strategy.”

On 1st December EDGE Venues will celebrate its one-year anniversary with plans to release further developments to the platform in the coming months.

The next EDGE Venues Marketing Summit will be held on 17th January 2020 in London.

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Park Plaza sees increased revenue thanks to strong UK growth

Park Plaza hotels (PPHE) has reported a 6% increase in like-for-like revenue in the nine months to 30 September 2019, driven by strong growth in the UK.

Total revenue reached £276.3m, with occupancy of 80.6% and revenue per available room (revpar) of £102.

Boris Ivesha, president and chief executive of PPHE, said: ”We are pleased to report a solid performance during the quarter, with continued revenue growth and an increase in group revpar of 4.3%, as we benefited from the recent completion of several major repositioning projects and maturing properties across our portfolio and strong trading in the United Kingdom.

“Following several years of investment and disruption to operations, all hotels across our UK and NL portfolio are now open and contributing to the group’s performance. Strong trading at Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Holmes Hotel London demonstrate our investment programme continuing to bear fruit, and we look forward to trading continuing to mature across other recently repositioned hotels in the coming months.

“We expect to invest approximately £300 million on our development pipeline, which includes exciting projects such as art’otel London Hoxton and an art’otel at Hudson Yards in New York City.

“Based on our results to September and our outlook for the remainder of the financial year, the Board anticipates the full year results will be in line with its previous expectations.”

The group reported it is making progress at the Art’otel London Hoxton development, with the demolition of the existing structure on the site having commenced.

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Sustainability – how ‘green’ is your conference venue?

CSR is a hot topic at the moment and every day there’s something on the news about greater environmental responsibility. There’s a trend for sustainable venues to attract more business than those that haven’t incorporated new features and venues are now realising that the need to incorporate ‘green’ design in to their way of life, for example switching to LED lights, using water dispensers instead of bottles and cutting the plastic. For an event organiser, it is difficult to hold a sustainable event without the help of the venue and they are asking more questions about the venue’s recycling policy, disposal of food waste and sourcing of local products.

Check the standards

If you are looking for a venue that actively works toward sustainable practices, check whether it is LEED or ISO 20121 certified.

LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most frequently used organisation to certify the ecological sustainability of buildings.

ISO 20121 sets environmental guidelines and monitors compliance within the events industry.

Increasingly venues are taking the following steps to become more sustainable:

  • Using renewable energy to power buildings
  • Compensating for emissions with carbon offsetting
  • Using their roof to generate solar power
  • Installing a ‘green roof’ and install beehives
  • Harvesting rainwater and recycling grey water
  • New buildings sourcing local materials to reduce their carbon footprint

Transport

Transport accounts for a high percentage of an event’s CO2 emissions, but there are some steps you can take to reduce it.

  • See if electric or hydrogen-powered buses are available for moving delegates around
  • Use hotels and venues that are linked to public transport systems or are within walking distance of each other
  • There may be a discounted travel card which gives delegates use of the public transport system

Renewable energy

Solar power is one of the fastest growing forms of green energy and many venues have large roofs that can hold solar panels. As well as generating electricity, there are also systems for heating water by using solar systems.

A venue with ample natural daylight will use less power than one that needs lighting everywhere and is generally more pleasant for attendees.

Gardens and open spaces

Increasingly venues are using their rooftops and garden areas to grow their own produce for the kitchens. They can’t be completely self-sufficient but cultivating their own vegetables has started the process and more venues are now sourcing from local suppliers and reducing the environmental impact of food miles. Installing beehives gives the venue the option to supply local honey and encourage endangered bee populations.

Venues are also finding that planting a green roof can reduce the rooftop temperature and therefore reduce power used in air conditioning the building.

Reducing the use of water

Collecting rainwater collection and reusing waste water is frequently found in conference venues, whether that is for use on plants or to flush lavatories. Most venues now have sensors on taps to turn them off and limit the use of water.

Sustainable catering

You might have to use the venue’s caterer or may be able to use your own, but you can check the catering to avoid unnecessary waste and try to plan meals using seasonal local produce.

Fish and meat can be sourced from suppliers who use accreditation schemes, such as the Sustainable catering Marine Stewardship Council and Red Tractor Scheme in the UK. Fairtrade products, particularly drinks are also available.

Minimise individually packaged food and drink items – for example by providing milk or cream in jugs rather than individual plastic cartons, and use reusable crockery, glassware and cutlery. It is now possible to bottle water onsite and provide glasses, rather than using plastic bottles.

Many venues publish their environmental policies or are happy to make them available to event organisers. They will help clients, suppliers and partners to minimise the impact of their activities on the environment and follow sustainable practices.

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Global Destination Sustainability Index releases 2019 results

The Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) has published its 2019 rankings, which revealed Glasgow as one of the top five cities for its commitment to sustainable business tourism.

The GDS Index was launched in 2016 and promotes responsible business tourism best practice. Its data analyses 60 cities based on four key criteria:

  • Environmental strategy and infrastructure
  • Social sustainability performance
  • The strategy of the host city’s convention bureau
  • Industry supply chain support

The full list can be viewed below:

Glasgow aims to become the UK’s first carbon neutral city by 2030. The Scottish Government has set a net zero emissions target for Scotland by 2045.

It has also hosted 25 energy, sustainability and carbon reduction related conferences in the 2018 and 2019 financial year, which has increased the city’s economy by nearly £8m.

Glasgow’s ranking recognises the ‘People Make Glasgow Greener’ campaign, which launched by the Glasgow Convention Bureau in 2017.

The campaign identifies the city’s sustainable businesses and aims to simplify the process of organising a sustainable conference in Glasgow.

Aileen Crawford, head of conventions, Glasgow Convention Bureau, said: “Glasgow’s ambition is to be at the forefront on climate action and we are determined to become the UK’s first carbon neutral city by 2030 and a world-leading centre for sustainable policy and innovation.

“Glasgow is home to some of the world’s biggest energy companies and we’re internationally recognised as having one of the healthiest and most diverse energy industries globally; particularly in terms of low carbon industries, which has had a hugely positive impact on the volume of conferences that we’re attracting in these sectors.

Kathleen Warden, director of conferences sales, SEC, said: “This is fantastic news for the city, and we are proud to play a key role in helping to position Glasgow as the world’s 4th most sustainable conference destination. At the same time, being named a finalist for the GDS-Index’s Leadership in Sustainability Award is testament to our ambitious goals as a city.

Guy Bigwood, managing director, GDS-Index, said: “Glasgow as a meetings and events destination has made a significant jump in sustainability performance in 2019. We are delighted to see that a UK city has risen to number 4 in the Global rankings and has a strong strategy to develop even further. Glasgow is in the first division of pioneering cities that is defining what sustainability leadership stands for.”