Author: Suzi Johnson

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Meet Bristol launches new incentive travel campaign

Meet Bristol has launched a new incentive travel digital campaign aiming to bring new business to the city.

Ranging from lemur feeding and cemetery tours to chocolate workshops and futuristic farming, the city’s convention bureau has added more than 100 incentive experiences to its website.

The campaign comes after the bureau observed an increased demand for second tier destinations to present bookable experiences with a creative flair for the incentive travel market, reflecting the destination’s passion and style.

Kathryn Davis, head of tourism at Destination Bristol, said: “Bristol is open for business and the region continues to develop its offer to the corporate and association markets. This campaign focusses on the more unusual opportunities for incentive travel, including many unique to Bristol. By providing a wide range of experiences, event organisers can select those of interest and combine them with meetings to develop exciting and innovating programmes.”

The Bristol incentives website invites visitors to discover a range of Bristol-bred activities, with experiences divided into eight categories.

Uniquely Bristol includes hard-hat tours of the hidden vaults at the Clifton Suspension Bridge, behind-the-scenes theatre tours at Bristol Old Vic and a peek at the University of Bristol’s ornate 18th century gardens at Goldney Hall.

The other seven categories are Food and Drink, Creative Experiences, Luxury Experiences, Culture, Outdoors, Accommodation Experiences and Beyond Bristol.

These offer the chance to explore a host of venues across the city and wider region, including The New Room, the oldest Methodist building in the world; Brunel’s SS Great Britain, the world’s first luxury cruise liner dating back to 1843; and sailing on The Matthew, a replica of the 15th century ship that John Cabot sailed from Bristol to discover North America.

Other incentive experiences available include the opportunity to spend the night in an ‘industrial designer apartment’ or in a rooftop retro caravan; stay in a floating hostel, sleep in the UK’s largest four-poster bed or ‘get close to the animals’ at Wild Place Project’s Camp Baboon.

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Trinity secures the triple

Trinity Event Solutions successfully secures ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001

Trinity Event Solutions, the Stamford-based venue-find and event management agency, has been awarded three ISO certifications, demonstrating compliance with proven international business practices and appropriate standards.

Awarded by Alcumus, Trinity Event Solutions has completed the complex auditing process for each of its three ISO certifications as they strive to provide a service that continues to be reliable, secure and of high quality.

Jenny Harding, Operations Director of Trinity Event Solutions, who managed the end-to-end process of the ISO auditing, said: “Our customers value and praise our services and we wanted to go a step further and give them the assurances that our quality and standards are on the same level as bigger agencies giving reassurance to our clients. At the same time, ISO standards help us compete with those bigger agencies for new business, at a time when professional procurement departments play a big role in tender processes. Each ISO process is demanding on its own, but we decided to go for all three at once. It meant we could speed up the certifications by aligning and combining aspects of the management review for all standards. And importantly, we used it as an opportunity educate and inform our teams on the importance of ISOs and associated standards.

“We’ve seen an increase in employee engagement as we’ve streamlined our teams’ processes and defined key roles and responsibilities. It’s allowed individuals to take ownership of key projects that support our business objectives, our clients, and their own personal development.”

The ISO 14001 centres on improvement to environmental management efforts, and ISO 9001 on quality. Trinity Event Solutions demonstrated these by continuing to work with IIP standards where the team are fully trained and engaged with the ethos. Trinity has a comprehensive Social Responsibility policy that has been in place for many years and the assessors were impressed by the level of initiatives already in place on the environmental impact from a small company, such things as the Triple Challenge and other charitable activities.

Additionally, by undertaking the ISO 27001, Information Security Management certification, Trinity has invested in risk management by creating a framework of policies and procedures that includes all legal, physical and technical controls.

Jacqui Kavanagh, Managing Director of Trinity Event Solutions said: “As we plan for continued growth, it is important that we are able to show ongoing process improvements while meeting the ever-changing needs of our clients. The meetings and events industry has become highly competitive and we must prove best practice, risk mitigation, and why we are the agency of choice for our clients.

“I’m delighted by all the hard work that has gone into achieving these accreditations. They are a credit to the team who have embraced improvement and change so that we can continue providing the high level of service that our clients should expect.”

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Bookings spike suggests London as Europe’s most connected business hub

The UK now serves more European and international destinations than any other European city, according to new research commissioned by the London Convention Bureau.

London has direct air connections to 401 destinations around the world and more connections with Europe (243 routes) than any other European city, according to RDC Aviation, which analyses city flight data.

Transportation links with Europe are well served with by high-speed train links, like Eurostar, to cities across France and Belgium. There is a new service between London and Amsterdam, with a third daily direct train from London to Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The extra service, which launches on 11 June, was due to demand for routes to the Netherlands.

Eurostar claims that a London-Amsterdam Eurostar journey emits 80 per cent less carbon than the equivalent flight.

Due to the strong transport links with mainland Europe, London’s Convention Bureau recently announced a new partnership with the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau that will see the two cities forming a partnership offering a range of two- in-one incentive travel products.

“The number of high-profile associations and corporations that are now choosing London is an endorsement of the city’s position as a world-class location for meetings and events, as well as being a global centre for learning,” James Rees, executive director for Conferences and Events at ExCeL London said.

The meetings and incentives market remains a tour de force in the UK capital with brands like Adobe, Salesforce, Amazon Web Services, Oracle, Google and Microsoft hosting large scale corporate events in London this year.

Massive meetings are also on the horizon, with London Tech Week welcoming over 55,000 visitors in June 2019, at a number of venues including the Barbican and the Tower of London. Sibos, one of the world’s largest financial services, will host more than 11,000 delegates.

“We are very excited to be bringing Sibos to London for the first time, this year. London is one of the world’s great financial centres. It’s a city where business, creativity and innovation converge – and that’s why it’s the perfect place for Sibos 2019,” Chantal Vanes, head of Sibos said.

“While providing a great venue to do business, London’s ever-changing cultural offering, spanning world-class museums, theatre and the arts, will also allow delegates to enjoy their experience at the world’s premier financial services event to the fullest.”

London fact box

  • Latest figures show that business visitors to London spent £3.5 billion annually.
  • From September 2017 to October 2018, London welcomed 3.5 million international overseas business visitors.
  • According to findings from the Hotel Monitor Report, a new report monitoring hotel capacity across European cities, London is set to add 11,600 rooms to its hotel market by 2020.
  • The capital’s hotel market is set to outpace a number of major European cities by 2020, including Paris, Berlin, Lisbon and Milan.
  • Hotel operators are increasing hotel capacity across the city, with an 8 per cent uplift predicted by 2020.
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IHG® unveils new brand prototypes

IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading global hotel companies, has unveiled its latest brand updates and innovations to its mainstream hotel owners. During its 2019 Americas Investors and Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, IHG shared the next phase of design prototypes for Holiday Inn®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.

Heather Balsley, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Mainstream Brands, IHG, commented: “We are continually evolving and investing in our brands, and at the center of our latest enhancements sits extensive customer research and close collaboration with our owners. This is crucial to delivering brand experiences that fit the ever-evolving needs of mainstream travelers and drive performance for our hotel owners. As these new prototypes start rolling out across the market, we know they will take guest satisfaction and brand strength to the next level.”

As an industry icon, Holiday Inn continues to innovate the guest experience through H4 Design. Launched in 2017, this flexible solution empowers guests to adapt the space to meet their individual needs and is a brand standard for all new hotel openings, conversions and hotels undergoing renovations.

The brand introduced the H4 prototype, an evolution of H4 Design, which provides owners with a more modern and efficient building that flexes to meet the needs of individual markets, including:

  • Flexible, open public spaces that allow guests to be productive while maintaining their connection to the wider social environment.
  • Multiple restaurant and bar concepts which can be tailored to the available space, allowing for flexibility while offering guests high quality dining in an inviting environment.
  • Adaptable meeting space which can be quickly and easily adjusted to the needs of both business and leisure groups.
  • Welcoming guest room design including thoughtful touches to ensure a great night’s sleep, abundant power and connectivity points, and the signature “Welcome Nook” that provides multi-functional storage so guests can unpack in a way that works for them.

Both of IHG’s extended stay brands, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites, also unveiled prototypes and interior design solutions for new build hotels and properties going through renovations. These have been designed to help create an inviting space for guests while maintaining a cost per key for hotel owners that is in line with the previous prototype.

The new design solution for Staybridge Suites, Generation 7.0, will roll out in October 2019 and includes:

  • A new exterior design with a front porch to create a more vibrant sense of arrival.
  • A reimagined public space designed to create a wide-open sense of arrival with shared workspaces, areas to socialize, more seating, a breakfast space that seamlessly transitions to a comfortable lounge area, and stronger connection to the outdoor space.
  • Updated suites with distinct zones for working, relaxing and sleeping, ample storage options, contemporary kitchens and furniture that is easy to move so that guests can easily make the space their own.

Candlewood Suites revealed a new brand logo alongside its new design program, Beacon 4.0. Starting this summer, the logo will appear on all new hotel openings, refurbished hotels and across marketing platforms. This is ahead of the full Beacon 4.0 roll out, which will commence in December 2019.

While updating the public spaces and hotel exterior, the brand is introducing significant changes to the guest suites to better meet the changing needs of extended stay travelers, including:

  • A distinctive building exterior that delivers storefront windows that let in more natural light and an updated Gazebo Grill with bar-like seating.
  • An open and modern lobby with spacious communal areas offering a variety of seating; and a refreshed Candlewood Cupboard – the 24-hour market – which is now integrated into the lobby itself.
  • Enhanced comfort in the guest suites featuring the brand’s signature recliner, larger TVs, twice as much storage, contemporary kitchens and easy-to-move end tables with integrated cupholders.
  • A signature “welcome perch” in the one-bedroom suites where guests can immediately begin the process of settling in by dropping their bags or taking off their shoes.
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Scottish cities account for 24% of all major association meetings in the UK

Scotland is bucking the trend with the number of major association events held in 2018 up 5% from 2017, despite the UK dropping two places in the latest ICCA Country and City Statistics report for total number of international association meetings.

The report, released early this week, revealed that the number of major association meetings that took place in the UK dropped by 3% in 2018. However, Scotland celebrated an increase in the number of meetings during the same period.

In 2018, the country hosted 137 events, up from 114 in 2017, and contributed 24% towards the UK’s total for the year. Scottish cities moved up the rankings in 2018 with Edinburgh taking position 27 and Glasgow taking position 47 in the world rankings, with only London coming above them in the entire UK.

Last June, the Edinburgh International Conference Centre hosted the European Orthodontics Society Congress, which welcomed more than 2,500 delegates from across mainland Europe. The congress, the society’s largest annual gathering, also utilised the entire Surgeons Quarter campus for its President’s Reception.

Amanda Ferguson, head of business tourism, Convention Edinburgh said: “I’m delighted to see Edinburgh position in the top 30 of the ICCA World Rankings again. The ability to continuously attract international association meetings in a very competitive marketplace is underpinned by our vibrant knowledge economy and sectoral strengths.”

Climbing 25 positions in the ICCA rankings, Glasgow was the host city for a number of major association congresses in 2018 including the World Haemophilia Congress and the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy (ESSKA) Congress.

Both held at the SEC, The World Haemophilia Congress attracted more than 5,000 delegates from 137 countries to its four-day event and the ESSKA Congress welcomed more than 4,000 delegates across its three day programme.

Last year, VisitScotland Business Events won the ICCA Best Marketing Award for its first-ever digital campaign “Scotland. Where ideas become legend”. The campaign, which launched in November 2017, highlights the reasons why event organisers should view Scotland as the perfect partner for international conferences – its globally renowned academic credentials, historic pioneering spirit and world changing innovation.

Rory Archibald, association & sectors, VisitScotland said: “We’re thrilled that Glasgow and Edinburgh have made huge leaps in the 2018 ICCA rankings. Over the past two years we have been showcasing Scotland to the world through our award-winning Legends campaign, INNOVATETHENATION ambassador network and most recently our inaugural Association Reception Series in Brussels. Business Events are a crucial tool for economic and social change in Scotland, so we will continue to work tirelessly with our partners, our knowledge centres and the Scottish Government to attract more ground-breaking events across the country.”

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EDGE Venues reports more than 187,000 venues returned in searches in the site’s first four months

At the inaugural EDGE Venues Marketing Masterclass, held at the May Fair Hotel London on 12th April, EDGE Venues shared its first set of marketing analytics with over 160 licensees and non-licensees to demonstrate its early success. 

EDGE Venues was launched on 1 December 2018, providing agencies, corporates and event planners with a platform dedicated to the meetings and events industry. With more than 19,000 venues in 45 countries in 125 international destinations, EDGE Venues has exceeded expectations, and the results were shared at the Marketing Masterclass earlier this month.

The Masterclass, generously hosted by Edwardian London Hotels, saw guest speakers with experts in digital marketing and SEO (search engine optimisation) with Somebody Digital, and social media experts Capella Synergy, providing their expertise in analysis into the data behind EDGE. The event took guests through a deep dive into EDGE Venues Business Intelligence, providing insight into the user-trends behind the technology.

To date, the platform is used by over 190 agents and corporates and at the Marketing Masterclass, it was revealed that £7.7m of event revenue has been tracked in EDGE in its first four months with a further estimate of £7.5m direct bookings from agents and corporates and more than 1000 qualified and prospected enquiries.  

Jacqui Kavanagh, Managing Director for EDGE Venues had this to say on the success of the event: “We’re absolutely delighted by the turnout for our first EDGE Venues Marketing Masterclass. We opened this event up to both licensees and non-licensees of EDGE as an opportunity to showcase our success to date. The digital platform has been really well received by both bookers and the venues that are using it to maximise their exposure. We’ve seen more than 1,000 enquiries that have been directly trackable through EDGE, this doesn’t include those that have booked directly. We’ve taken all feedback on the site back to our developers and will continue to make enhancements – this includes our recent redesign of the homepage.”

Will Smith, Event Manager at the Flowerpot Hoxton and licensee of EDGE Venues said this about the Masterclass: “The EDGE Marketing Masterclass was an excellent afternoon. Being invited to such a prestigious event with industry experts made me feel incredibly valued as a customer. I came away from having learnt some excellent insights into the future of the events industry and having made some wonderful connections with industry peers. 

“I’ve been on the EDGE site for eight weeks and being able to communicate the agencies which utilise it means I’ve already confirmed my first booking. And it comfortably pays for my full year’s marketing package. As a small independent venue, I will never be able to compete with the large hotel chains for SEO or marketing budgets, but EDGE gives me every opportunity to win business when we are suitable for a clients’ needs. Our best clients are small agencies, so a platform built to give smaller agencies access to more information is a vital tool.”

Want to know how you can get involved with EDGE Venues? Contact the EDGE Team to find out more:

+44 (0) 1780 484051

enquiries@edgevenues.com

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Paris has regained its position at the top of the ICCA city rankings

Paris has reclaimed the top spot in the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) city rankings for 2018, as the number of global meetings recorded hit a record high.

However, the UK has fallen from third to fifth in the country rankings, overtaken by both Spain and France, with London falling one place to seventh in the city rankings.

The US continues to top the country rankings, as ICCA captured a total of 12,937 rotating association meetings taking place in 2018. This was an increase of 379 meetings year-on-year and represents the highest annual figure ICCA has ever recorded in its yearly statistics, signalling that industry growth is continuing on a strong trajectory.

Paris climbed to the top of the city rankings by number of international association meetings with a margin of 40 meetings above second place holder Vienna. In 2017, Paris and Vienna held joint second place, with 190 meetings each. Last year’s number one Barcelona fell to fourth place, with Madrid entering the top five for the first time since 2015 in third place. Among the top five cities for another year, Berlin falls to fifth place from fourth in 2017. London fell from sixth to seventh slot, with 150 meetings.

The top 10 is as follows:

  1. Paris – 212
  2. Vienna – 172
  3. Madrid – 165
  4. Barcelona – 163
  5. Berlin – 162
  6. Lisbon – 152
  7. London – 150
  8. Singapore – 145
  9. Prague – 136
  10. Bangkok – 135

The US remains in the top country spot, unchallenged for more than two decades. Germany remains in second place while the UK dropped from third to fifth place, overtaken by Spain, which rises to third. After exiting the top five last year, France re-entered in 2018 in fourth place. Italy replaces France in sixth place, and Japan and China remain in seventh and eighth place for another year. The Netherlands and Canada swap positions, coming in at ninth and 10th respectively.

The top 10 is as follows:

  1. US – 947
  2. Germany – 642
  3. Spain – 595
  4. France – 579
  5. United Kingdom – 574
  6. Italy – 522
  7. Japan – 492
  8. China – 449
  9. Netherlands – 355
  10. Canada – 315

ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath said: “We have recorded our largest ever annual snapshot of the immediate past year’s meetings data in 2018. These results closely follow the release of our 55-year history of the international association meetings market in October 2018.

“ICCA’s latest figures uphold the mature, robust growth pattern we identified in this report and provide more evidence of our firm belief that the association sector continues to be an unrivalled stimulator of global societal development and force for progress across the globe.”

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London hotels see room rates increase in April

STR’s preliminary April 2019 data for London hotels reported an increase in Average daily rate (ADR) of 1.4% to £143.01.

According to the report, year-over-year, supply is increased by 2.3% during the month, with demand also growing by 0.7%. However, occupancy decreased by 1.6% to 81.1% during the period, and Revenue per available room (RevPAR) also slipped 0.1% to £115.99.

A statement by the group read: “The absolute ADR level is the highest for any April in STR’s London database. STR analysts attribute the decrease in occupancy to supply growth, and to a lesser extent, the Easter calendar shift from early April last year.”

It comes as UK hoteliers saw an “encouraging start” to the year as a result of a “healthy rise” in hotel demand from international travellers.

The findings from Expedia Group, drawn from Q1 2019 data (January, February, March), show that demand for trips made by international travellers increased when compared with the same period last year, with major metropolitan cities and several regions across the country boosted by double digit year-on-year growth.

Outside of London, a number of major cities experienced notable growth, including Manchester (over +10% year on year), Edinburgh (+15% year on year), Glasgow, Leeds and Cardiff (each +10% year on year).

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Birmingham set for £32.1 million boost from Cricket World Cup

Birmingham is set to benefit from a £32.1 million economic boost by hosting five matches of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (30 May-14 July).

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup takes place in England and Wales for the fifth time this summer, with the hosts joined by nine other nations, including Australia and Pakistan.

The figure comes from analysis by global accountancy firm EY. The report – conducted on behalf of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) – considered a number of factors.

These included ticket sales; match day spending on food, drink and merchandise; wider spending from international visitors in the hospitality, retail and transport sectors; and the tourism and business legacy from the tournament’s global exposure.

The global sporting spotlight will be at Birmingham’s Edgbaston Stadium on 30 June, as it hosts the eagerly-awaited clash between cricket’s current top two One Day International sides, England and India.

The fixture will also feature a day of celebration for UNICEF’s #OneDay4Children, helping children to learn, play and be healthy.

Nicola Hewitt, Commercial Director for the West Midlands Growth Company, which operates Visit Birmingham, said: “Sport plays a hugely significant role in drawing record numbers of domestic and international visitors to the West Midlands, boosting the region’s economy.

“It also brings us firmly to the attention of worldwide investors and our global target markets, helping new and existing businesses across our patch to grow. 

Neil Snowball, Chief Executive of Edgbaston Stadium, added: “With five games in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the opening Test of the Specsavers Ashes Series both coming to Edgbaston, 2019 will be the biggest summer of cricket that we have experienced in Birmingham. 

“Edgbaston undertook a substantial stadium redevelopment project in recent years to ensure that we continue to bring the biggest matches in the global game to Birmingham.

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Inside the Dubai Exhibition Centre, host venue of Expo 2020

The team behind the in-construction Dubai Exhibition Centre has released a ‘fly-through’ video of the venue, ahead of its opening on 20 October 2020.

The venue will be home to Expo 2020, the six-month world expo taking place in Dubai next year.

DEC will comprise 45,000sqm of space spread across two campuses, a theatre, auditorium, several multi-purpose halls, four suites and 24 meeting rooms.

The DEC aims to create a legacy of business and tourism in the region, encouraging a sustainable and diversified economy in line with UAE Vision 2021 – a set of national priorities to mark the country’s Golden Jubilee.

Ahmed Al Khatib, Chief Delivery Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “By any standard, the Dubai Exhibition Centre will be a cutting-edge venue that will play a pivotal role during Expo 2020.

“But the impact of such a unique space will stretch well beyond the six months of the Expo, boosting the region’s meetings and events industry, furthering the UAE’s reputation as a destination for major conferences, and fuelling growth in Dubai’s knowledge-based economy for many years to come.”

Shaun Vorster, Vice President, Strategy and Business Integration – Programming at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “There will be no place on the planet offering more exceptional business networking opportunities than Expo 2020 Dubai, and the DEC will be right at its heart.

“Bookings are already going well and this latest 3D animated fly-through, which gives a taster of the high-tech facilities on offer, has already sparked keen interest among the 190 countries participating in Expo 2020.”