Author: Katharine Jordan

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Four Points by Sheraton Warsaw Mokotow, a new opening

This 4* hotel is Marriott’s first Four Points hotel in Poland. It has 190 bedrooms and is located in the business district, 4km from Warsaw International Airport and 7km from the city centre. The Galeria Mokotow shopping mall is just a short walk away from the hotel.

The hotel’s design is taken from famous Polish artists of the 50s and 60s the history of the region is reflected in black and white photography of the local area. However, modern technology is used in the high speed WiFi, mobile check-in, keyless locks and Chromecast screening in-room with Youtube and Netflix apps.

There are five meeting rooms, all with natural daylight. The largest has capacity for 250 in theatre style, there are three rooms for 49 people, which can be combined and two rooms for 12 people.

The restaurant serves seasonal dishes and there is craft beer from the hotel bar. The hotel also has a fitness centre.

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WiFi. What to think about when planning your event

WiFi is a difficult topic for event organisers for several reasons: technology is continually changing; the terminology isn’t easy and we don’t know how attendees will behave at our events. So, we’ve looked at some of the things to consider and ask the venue when you’re on a site visit and at the time of planning your event.

WiFi Terminology

These terms are probably the most important things to understand:

  • Average speed provided – ask the venue for this information and do a speed test to check but remember this will differ depending on the users at the venue.
  • Bandwidth – this is the amount of data that can be transmitted (uploaded) or received (downloaded) per second. Every action will remove capacity from the network, so the more users the slower it will be.
  • Bandwidth Utilization Report – a document issued by a network service provider that shows the amount of bandwidth used by a specific event. Ask for this report to cover the duration of your event, to show how many connections you had at peak period and how much is being used.
  • Latency – the time (in milliseconds) it takes for Internet traffic to travel from a device to a server. Higher latency is an indication of a poorer quality network.
  • Shared Bandwidth – a set amount of bandwidth distributed among all devices on a network. If you don’t have your own network, then the capacity will be shared by everyone in the venue.
  • Wireless Density – the theoretical number of wireless connections that can be supported at a specific bandwidth within a specific space. This is particularly important if you want everyone to be on their devices at the same time.
  • Wireless Access Point (WAP) – a device that allows a connection to a wired network from a wireless device.

Considerations

  • Think about what you need to accomplish and the delegates behaviour. Will they use the WiFi for polling, downloading an app, social media, checking emails in breaks. If everyone is doing the same thing at the same time it is going to create peaks in usage.
  • Is the venue’s WiFi a shared medium? Is there bandwidth dedicated to the conference area, which you would share with other event organisers who are running events at the same time. Or is the bandwidth shared throughout the whole venue (accommodation, restaurants, offices, venue staff etc).
  • Find out if there are other events running at the same time and what they are going to be doing, if they have heavy usage, then it will affect your service.
  • Can you bring in your own bandwidth? This will give your security of service and encrypted servers. Check whether it is directly from a mobile provider or whether it is additional hardware using the venue’s bandwidth. Who will you pay for this and what is the pricing model?
  • If you are bringing your own, find out if the venue can turn of their service in your area to make sure you don’t have competing networks in the same area, as this will reduce the performance.
  • What model Wireless Access Points does the venue have? This will tell you how recently they have been upgraded. Look for 802.11 b/g/n/a/c which are the newest. 802.11 with a b and/or g are quite old now. Find out when the WiFi was last upgraded, whether it was part of all of it, or whether there are plans to do so before your event. You definitely don’t want an upgrade going on while you are onsite.
  • As you walk through a venue, the WiFi will hand over from one Wireless Access Point to another and there shouldn’t be an interruption in the service. You can test this by connecting and walking around to see if the connection is stable.
  • Find out how the network handles mobiles that connect automatically but aren’t active. Will the network kick them off? If the network is running at capacity will someone who isn’t using their device be kicked off so someone else can connect?
  • Can the network balance the load to manage heavy use in certain areas, if extra capacity is needed in a meeting room or the moment everyone rushes out at a break? Make sure the network can sense this and send capacity where it is needed.
  • Are you buying total bandwidth or per connection and what happens when you reach your limit? Try and negotiate a 5% over capacity, just in case you exceed the planned requirements. These might just be for a short period of time, so maybe a period of 15 minutes would be enough to cover this.
  • Ask for usage reports whilst the event is running and whether you will be able to make changes to the network there and then.
  • The venue should be able to give you room coverage maps to show where the Wireless Access Points are, find out which areas are covered, particularly if you are using outside space.
  • Think about putting critical technology on a hard-line, such as registration computers, the speakers’ laptop, organisers office etc
  • Check whether there is a team on site who can support you throughout the event and what hours are they available.
  • Advise attendees of the network they should use on site as there will probably be various to choose from. Don’t just download any free connection from a mobile hotspot as there is no guarantee of security, particularly at exhibitions.

It’s important to engage with the venue as early as possible, they need to understand your requirements and what both sides need to do to fulfil them. The conference staff won’t have all the answers, so engage with the venue’s IT team and take advice from your IT team too.

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Depot, a new venue in Manchester opening this Summer

Depot is a 10,000 capacity venue for culture located at Manchester’s historic former railway station, Mayfield. The venue is located next to Manchester Piccadilly station and Manchester Piccadilly Metro is a couple of minutes’ walk away.

The venue will be available for corporate events and private hire. It will have a main performance space, Depot, with a capacity for 10,000 people. There are two smaller spaces, Concourse and Archive.

The whole site is 30 acres in size and it is awaiting planning consent for redevelopment. The work will take about five years to complete.

Depot is set to launch at Mayfield this summer with Manchester Pride Live on August 24 and 25, 2019. The new arts, music and culture space will open with a world premiere of ‘Invisible Cities’ by 59 Productions and Rambert, a contemporary ballet production combining theatre, choreography, music, architectural design and projection mapping.

Some of the potential events being lined up for the new venue include:

  • Live music and concerts featuring both international and local pop and dance performers
  • Theatre and dance performances, playing host to touring productions and festivals.
  • Community events including for children and young people
  • A market hall for the best new street food
  • Pop-up dining events for new restaurant concepts
  • Curated retail fairs such as vintage, record, craft or fashion
  • Pre-recorded music events such as dance music and DJ events
  • Exhibitions and art installations from touring and local artists
  • Corporate hire for business events and conferences
  • Pop-up cinema and football screenings

For more information, contact Depot Mayfield

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H10 Atlantic Sunset, a new 5* hotel in Tenerife

This 5* hotel opened in June 2019 in Playa Paraíso – southern Tenerife. It faces west and has sea views of the sunset all year round, hence the name. The transfer from Tenerife South airport is 26km and takes about 20 minutes.

The hotel is contemporary in style with a bright interior. It has 291 spacious bedrooms, four swimming pools, and a Despacio Spa Centre. The H10 Atlantic Sunset has 11 bars and restaurants and the hotel offers different pricing options from bed and breakfast to an all-inclusive package.

For events, there are two meeting rooms, each of which has capacity for 110 people. In addition, there is a multi-purpose space for meetings and outdoor areas for breaks and banqueting.

Tenerife is a good choice for events, with an average temperature of 22 degrees all year round. For time spent outside the conference, there are a variety of activities available for groups, using the water, volcanic mountains, local gastronomy, as well as numerous golf courses.

For companies interested in sustainability there are activities which can be organised with the Environmental Participation and Volunteer Office. Divers can help to regenerate a micro marine reserve while discovering the beauty of the seabed or it’s possible to help with the supervised release of turtles. On land, there are projects to help people with disabilities by taking part in adapted hill walking using a wheelchair designed uneven terrain, removing rubbish from nature spots and maintenance work on forest paths.

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Skytrax announces world best airline for 2019

For the fifth year in a row, Qatar Airlines has taken first place in Skytrax’s World Airline Awards. The survey was completed by more than 21 million people in 100 countries and covered 300 airlines.

The world’s best airline – Qatar Airways
Serving more than 140 destinations in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America, Qatar Airways is seen to offer excellent levels of service.

2nd – Singapore Airlines has one of the youngest aircraft fleets and flies to destinations in six continents, with constantly high standards of care and service.

3rd – ANA All Nippon Airways is the largest airline in Japan. It was founded in 1952, and flies to around 80 international routes and over 110 domestic routes. A

4th – Cathay Pacific Airways is based in Hong Kong and runs passenger and cargo services to over 200 destinations in Asia, North America, Australia, Europe and Africa, using a fleet of close to 200 aircraft.

5th – Emirates. This airline was founded in 1985 and started flying from Dubai with just two aircraft. The company now has a fleet of more than 230 aircraft, and currently flys to more than140 destinations in more than 80 countries around the world. The Emirates network is still expanding, with over 1,500 flights departing Dubai each week.

6th – EVA Air was established in 1989, and connects destinations in Asia and Mainland China to Europe, North America and Oceania, linking more than 60 major business and tourist destinations. EVA operates from their hub at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan.

7th – Hainan Airlines was founded in January, 1993 in Hainan Province. it operates in China and Asia with links to Europe, North America and the Pacific area. At the end of June 2018, it had more than 400 aircraft in operation and 24 bases/branch companies.

8th – Qantas Airways, the national carrier of Australia and Australia’s largest domestic and international airline.

9 – Lufthansa, the largest airline in Germany, and one of the five founding members of Star Alliance. Lufthansa’s primary hub is Frankfurt Airport, with a secondary hub at Munich Airport.

10th – Thai Airways is the national airline of Thailand, formed in 1988, flying to to 84 destinations in 37 countries, using a fleet of over 90 aircraft.

There is more information about these awards from Skytrax here

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Keeping fit while you’re travelling

We all know how difficult it is to keep fit and healthy when we are travelling and in the events’ industry we are always on the move. The small hotel gym isn’t very appealing and it’s easy to eat and drink more than you would at home. However, there are some exercises that are simple, effective and don’t require much equipment. Some hotel groups are now helping with improved facilities and fitness equipment in the bedroom. At the moment, this seems to be more in North America than Europe, but like most trends it should spread here in time. Here are a few of the hotel groups that make it easier for you to keep fit while you’re away from home.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts offers guests Adidas training gear through their Fairmont Fit progamme. Loyalty club members can have workout clothing, trainers and fitness equipment delivered to their guestrooms for use in the room, gym or outdoors, free of charge.

Yoga gear is easy to pack but the mats and other equipment is not. Kimpton Hotels have yoga mats in bedrooms and they provide extra towels, water, fruit, and on-demand fitness TV programming. Omni Hotels offer a complimentary Get Fit Kit that contains a yoga mat plus weights, a muscle therapy foam roller and push-up bars. Even Hotels, IHG’s wellness brand has four hotels and the group is growing. The bedrooms have a yoga mat and block, foam roller, core exercise ball, mounted fitness wall with resistance bands and an in-room training guide

Scandic Hotels, particularly in Scandinavia, often have bicycles to borrow free of charge and it’s a great way of getting to see the area too. Village Hotels, in the UK, usually have good leisure facilities with group exercise classes, gyms and swimming pools.

Hilton has launched a Five Feet to Fitness concept, where guest bedrooms have guided workout routines on a fitness kiosk, an indoor spin bike, suspension accessories, resistance bands, exercise balls, yoga mats and sports performance flooring. The plan is to introduce this programme to more than 560 of Hilton’s Doubletree hotels by 2020.

Many hotels now offer stationary bikes in-room and Westin has designed WestinWORKOUT rooms in over 50 hotels across the USA, where guests can work out on Peloton bikes.

Mirror, is a digital personal trainer that works though a screen on the wall and instructs on different fitness routines, from yoga and Pilates to boxing and cardio. This technology has been introduced at Mandarin Oriental Hotels’ suites in properties in America.

With a bit of motivation, we can all go back to basics and some squats, sit-ups, press-ups, planks and jacks can all be done in the comfort of a hotel room. A fitness band doesn’t take up any space of weight in your suitcase or there’s always the option of going for a run, walk, or swim. That’s if we have the time!

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The first Barcelo Hotel opens in Hungary

The 4-star Barcelo Budapest will open next month and is located right in the heart of the city. It’s in Pest, the east side of the Danube, in the Terezvaros district VI which is the historic centre of the city and surrounded by museums, art galleries and restaurants. Most of the major sights are within 15 minutes walk from the hotel. The transfer from the airport takes about half an hour.

The hotel will have 179 bedrooms and a stylish roof terrace which is perfect for drinks receptions. There are three meeting rooms with a maximum capacity for 110 people. The meeting rooms all have natural daylight and the outdoor terraces can also be used for events.

Much of Budapest is an UNESCO World Heritage and many of the historic buildings can be used for events, such as the Castle in Buda, overlooking the city or the Art Nouveau Gellert Spa baths. The main street is Andrassy Avenue, home to the State Opera House. The Museum of Fine Arts and the Hall of Art can both hold dinners and conferences, and these are located in Heroes’ Square, at the end of Andrassy Avenue, which is one of the most visited sights in Budapest.

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Barcelo will open a new hotel in Mexico in 2020

The Barcelo Maya Riviera and Arena is planned to open in Q1 2020 and will be a completely new construction within the existing Barcelo Maya Beach Resort. It will be a 5* hotel and has been built on existing beach space on the west hand side of the resort’s land.

The new construction has 850 luxury suites and 269,000ft of meeting space. The largest meeting room will accommodate over 7,000 people in theatre-style with flexible space, which makes it one of the largest meeting spaces in the America’s. In addition, there will be more meeting rooms, with flexible walls that can be divided in to a maximum of 28 smaller rooms.

The Maya Riviera will have three restaurants and its own beach and swimming pools.

This new property will be in addition to the Barcelo Maya Beach’s existing properties and convention centre, adding to the choice of hotels on the same site.

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How to design an appropriate Code of Conduct for your event

We’ve all seen the rise of the #MeToo movement in the last few years, so how do you make sure your event or meeting is not the next news item?

The answer is to have a Code of Conduct. In the USA, a survey has found that 60% of respondents experienced harassment while attending a conference. Most of them did not report the problem to anyone. About one third of meeting planners have had to manage a situation where an attendee reported being sexually harassed.

This is an area that you need to get right, not only to address the behaviour and make sure it doesn’t happen again. But if you don’t, then there are legal implication, reputational harm and loss of staff morale. It’s important to have a Code of Conduct in place to set the tone of the event and behavioural expectations and make sure that everyone operates in an environment of respect. It will also help to avoid complaints.

Here are some pointers of how to write your Code of Conduct:

  • Incorporate your company’s values, principles and mission
  • Keep it simple, straightforward, and concise
  • Include a statement of values
  • The emphasis should be on respect
  • Set out expectations of appropriate behaviour
  • Explain what behaviour will not be tolerated
  • Make clear how to report inappropriate behaviour
  • Lay out the consequences or sanctions
  • Here’s an example that will help you draft your own policy

The Code is meaningless unless attendees know about it – think about putting it on your event website or app, or you could make it part of the registration process, put it in the conference materials or it could be mentioned in the introduction to the event.

If you have a meeting code of conduct, then you need to be prepared to enforce it. That means that you need to educate those tasked with receiving complaints and put sound investigation practices in place

  • Make sure someone has been nominated to receive complaints
  • Communication – ensure everyone knows who go to and how to report an issue
  • Appoint a neutral investigator – this could be someone internal or external as long as they are objective and knowledgeable, whilst being able to demonstrate that they want to find out the truth Have a full understanding of the code and the complaint process
  • Ensure that there is confidentiality and discretion. Other people within the business will need to know about it, but ensure it is as few as possible
  • Undertake any investigation immediately
  • Make the investigation thorough, from both sides and talk to any witnesses

Do you still investigate if the complainant changes their mind? Yes – if you want to make sure it doesn’t happen again, and you need to be seen to be taking this seriously.

And remember, this doesn’t just apply to attendees, but also speakers, sponsors, contractors and everyone involved in your event.

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Hilton Hotels 100th birthday

The London Hilton on Park Lane celebrates 100 Years of Hilton, today which marks a century since founder, Conrad Hilton, opened the first hotel back in Cisco Texas.

Celebrating 100 years of firsts, today is a special milestone for the London Hilton on Park Lane, as it was the first Hilton hotel to open in the UK back in 1963. A specially curated retrospective has been exhibited in the hotel’s lobby taking visitors on a journey of Hilton, both as a global empire and the London Hilton on Park Lane as a London institution, the exhibition closes this Sunday 2 June.

Part of the exhibition looks at the hotels position in Mayfair, both physically right on the doorstep of Hyde Park, but also as a hub for the local community including the economic and cultural impact the UK’s first Hilton has had. The London Hilton on Park Lane is proud to have been the height of glamour when it opened, and continues to pioneer the hospitality and travel industry as we know it.

Celebrations today culminate in the hotel where guests and team members will gather along with Hilton’s President for EMEA, Mr. Simon Vincent OBE and Mr. Jon Scott, Area Vice President London, to cut a special birthday cake, created by Executive Chef Anthony Marshall, and to toast to the next 100 years of Hilton hospitality.