Author: Suzi Johnson

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VisitBritain flagship event MeetGB to be held at ICC Wales in 2020

VisitBritain’s flagship annual business event MeetGB is set to be held at the Celtic Manor Resort and the recently opened International Convention Centre (ICC) in Wales in April 2020.

Registration for the event is also now open for international buyers and UK business event suppliers.

MeetGB, being held from Wednesday 22 to Friday 24 April 2020, is set to host up to 90 international buyers from Europe and North America who will meet and do business with 80 industry suppliers from venues, hotels, destinations and incentive experiences across the UK.

Tourism minister Helen Whately said: “We have a thriving events industry and I’m delighted that next year’s MeetGB conference will be hosted by ICC Wales. This will be an excellent opportunity to showcase the best of the UK and help us develop new global relationships, boost trade and investment across the country.”

VisitBritain chief executive Sally Balcombe said: “MeetGB has been created with global buyers in mind to highlight the breadth and quality of the UK’s business events industry. We are delighted to be bringing our flagship event to the new ICC Wales, a shining example of the high-calibre, world-class conventions, events and meetings venues the UK has to offer.

“MeetGB also gives UK suppliers and destinations the opportunity to promote their products on an international scale, forging valuable business relationships that will drive more international MICE events right across the country, boosting local economies.”

ICC Wales and Celtic Manor Resort chief executive Officer Ian Edwards said: “We are honoured to be hosting VisitBritain’s flagship event for the business events industry. With the doors opening to ICC Wales, our £83 million venue, just last month, we have already seen thousands of visitors enjoy our industry-leading facilities and nature-friendly footprint.

“Wellbeing and sustainability are key drivers for both ICC Wales and the Celtic Manor Resort, Wales – from our “Mind, Body, Soul” food philosophy to our recent report on how nature can be used to provide an amazing event experience. We are truly thrilled to be able to present our venues, our natural setting and our warm Welsh welcome to this hugely important international audience in 2020.”

Thousands of one-to-one business meetings are set to take place during MeetGB with delegates also attending networking events and forging business relationships. Delegates will have the opportunity to learn about the future of the events industry, exploring sustainability and wellness, driving innovation and expertise.

Taking inspiration from the venue’s woodland surroundings, MeetGB 2020 incorporates wellness and nature, with a programme to encourage attendees’ wellbeing alongside networking and social events. Ahead of the business programme at MeetGB, international buyers will attend educational visits to 11 different UK destinations as they experience first-hand the country’s best conference, events and incentive products.

International buyers and UK suppliers interested in finding out more and registering to attend should visit: www.visitbritain.com/meetgb.

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Amaris Hospitality to boost five hotels with £21.7m refurbishment

Hotel investment and management group Amaris Hospitality has announced it will invest £21.7m into the transformation of properties in Edinburgh, Islington, Oxford, Bristol and Dublin.

The company will spend more than £6m on the refurbishment of 230 of the 373 bedrooms at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in London’s Islington, with the aim of bringing all accommodation up to four-star quality.

It will see Five Feet to Fitness rooms introduced to the hotel, which the company claimed to be a first for Europe. Featuring 11 different fitness and accessory options, the new concept offers guests the option of exercising in the privacy of their own room.

The Islington transformation project follows significant investment in the 2014 rebranding of the property from Jurys Inn to a DoubleTree by Hilton, when £13m was spent on the addition of 143 new bedrooms.

A further £2m will be spent on the Group’s DoubleTree by Hilton hotel at Edinburgh Airport, where all 150 bedrooms will be refurbished and a new food and beverage concept introduced. Amaris said the hotel will be the only four-star property at Edinburgh airport when works complete early next year.

Other work being undertaken includes the £500,000 renovation of 40 bedrooms at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel, and £2.5m being invested in the addition of 17 new bedrooms at the Mercure Oxford Eastgate Hotel.

Amaris Hospitality also recently completed a £10.5m extension to the Hilton Garden Inn hotel at Custom House Quay in Dublin, adding 85 new bedrooms to create a total of 324 rooms.

Peter Stack, chief executive of Amaris Hospitality, said the investment investment programme was a key part of the company’s “ambitious growth strategy to build a unique portfolio of high-performing, best-in-brand hotels”.

He added: “We are very excited to be the first hotel in the UK to embrace Five Steps to Fitness rooms, just one of the examples that illustrates our commitment to leading the way in industry innovation across our estate, ensuring our guests have access to best-in-class amenities.”

The investment programme is scheduled to be fully completed in the first quarter of 2020.

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Events drive up September room rates in London hotels

A busy month for events resulted in record-breaking hotel rates during September, according to preliminary figures from data company STR.

Average room rate and revenue per available room (revpar) increased year-on-year by 7.9% to £170.63 and 7.7% to £148.33, respectively. The figures were the highest for any September in STR’s London database.

Occupancy remained flat, down by 0.1% to 86.9%. A 1.9% increase in room supply was virtually matched by the 1.8% rise in demand.

STR analysts said that the room rate figures were boosted by a number of events including the 73rd Congress of the International Fiscal Association, PLASA Show and Sibos.

STR will release the full September results for London hotels later this month.

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Trinity Event Solutions announce venue find contract win with Allianz Insurance

Trinity Event Solutions, based in Stamford, is delighted to announce their new venue find contract win with Allianz Insurance, business and personal insurance provider.

The extensive tender process for the venue finding contract took one month. After successfully making it through the initial RFP process, the team presented to Allianz Insurance and was asked to run a three-month trial to determine how well the Trinity team and systems would integrate. Following a successful trial, Trinity Event Solutions was awarded a three-year contract for delivery of venue finding and technology.

Stephen Flynn, Marketing Manager – events & production at Allianz Insurance explains why Trinity Event Solutions was awarded the contract: “It became apparent during the three-month trial that Trinity Event Solutions would be the right partner to support our future venue finding requirements. Trinity’s technology set them aside throughout the process, we could identify clear spend and transparency for each of our bookings. With this, their flexibility and ability to support our pre-existing agreements with particular venues, gave us the confidence to award them the full contract.”

Jacqui Kavanagh, CEO for Trinity Event Solutions is delighted about the new contract with Allianz Insurance and had this to say about the new partnership: “We believe that our technology capabilities continues to go from strength to strength and with our creativity in our venue options, is what sets us apart from our competitors. We take the time to understand the individual requirements of the client and will adapt our ways of working to ensure we integrate successfully within their business. Our bespoke system allows for direct bookings into the Allianz Insurance preferred venues which supports their contractual agreements with these venues but also identifies where further venue finding requirements are needed. We’re delighted with the new contract and look forward to building a successful partnership with Allianz Insurance.”

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More meetings, but smaller and shorter, finds ECM report

Meetings in Europe are increasing in number, but becoming shorter and smaller, according to a new report by European Cities Marketing.

The ninth edition of ECM Meetings Statistics Report reveals that European cities hosted more meetings in 2018, but with fewer participants and shorter duration. With statistics drawn from a sample of 41 cities, ECM’s new report is recorded more than 56,000 meetings in 2018.

Overall, there is a growth of 2.9 per cent in the number of meetings between 2017 and 2018. However, the number of participants decreases by 3 per cent and number of participant days goes down by 5 per cent. This implies that, in average, there were more meetings in 2018, but welcoming fewer participants and lasting less time.

This year’s report shows a similar division of national and international events among the two segments (corporate and non-corporate). Compared to 2017, there is a slight decrease in the number of corporate meetings and a 12 per cent decrease in terms of participants whereas the non-corporate segment demonstrates an increase in number of meetings (10 per cent) and participants (5 per cent). Trends this year also show that smaller corporate meetings are increasing and unusual venues are becoming more popular.

Petra Stusek, European Cities Marketing President, said: “In the bigger picture, international meetings and events have become instrumental for destinations – cities and nations – to manifest their business clusters, their science and research communities and their cultural scene for global audiences. Meetings do give much more to our cities and the greatest value arising from meetings is not only numbers but also the benefits beyond simply spending-based impacts: the quality of the professional, business, academic outcomes they deliver. It is no longer just about the hotel bednights that the meetings generate. It is about hosting the meetings with purpose and legacy. It is about connecting the destination to the world.”

The ECM Meetings Statistics Report 2018-2019 is the culmination of the collective effort of industry representatives who have pooled resources, collected data, shared information and provided case studies during conferences, meetings and through ECM research newsletters. Some cities started to collect meetings statistics as a direct result of this ECM initiative. ECM and its Research & Statistics Knowledge Group is committed to using this project as a way of continuously improving the collection and analysis of meetings statistics.

Published yearly, the report is a result of the cooperation between European Cities Marketing and its member cities. The main goal of the study is to go further than the current rankings published by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and the Union of International Associations (UIA), which focus only on international non-corporate meetings with specific criteria. The ECM Meetings Statistics Report presents figures on corporate and non-corporate meetings whether they are national or international events.

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Asia-Pacific investors boost UK hotel spend over £1b

Investment into UK hotels has reached £3.22b in the first three quarters of the year, with Asia-Pacific buyers particularly active.

According to new research from Savills, despite volumes being down around 44% on the same period last year, the numbers are up 11.3% against the 10-year average of £2.89b.

This year has seen 97 deals take place according to the firm, a decrease of 49% from the 190 that took place in the same period in 2018. Overseas investment has accounted for £1.87b of investment so far this year, exceeding the 10-year average of £1.4b by 38%. While some international buyers have reduced activity levels this year, there is still significant interest and purchasing activity by buyers from Asia Pacific.

Asia-Pacific buyers have been the most active overseas investors to date in 2019, spending a total of £1.08b, representing 56.9% of total overseas activity. This is a tenfold increase compared to the volumes recorded over the same period in 2018 (£93m). The volumes are at their highest for the first three quarters of the year since 2015 when transaction volumes reached £1.13b.

Hong Kong investors have been the most prolific, spending a total of £947m to date this year (87.7% of total Asia Pacific volumes) making it the highest year on record in terms of hotel investment from Hong Kong buyers.

In terms of where capital is being spent, London attracted the most investment into the UK with £1.98b spent in the capital. The north followed with £465m, the south east at £430m, Scotland at £225m, the south west at £110m.

There has been an even split between portfolio and single asset transactions, with portfolios attracting £1.7b (53% of the total) and individuals £1.5b (47%).

Rob Stapleton, director in the hotels team at Savills, said: “Deal volume this year has undoubtedly been affected by global political uncertainty and wider global macro issues… while the UK’s regional markets have seen lower transaction volumes so far this year, we expect the ripple-effect of historically low yields in London to encourage investors into the more stable regional markets in the search for yield.”

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EDGE Venues Autumn Business Intelligence Review

As EDGE Venues draws closer to completing its first full year, the team is in final preparations for the EDGE Autumn Business Intelligence Review which takes place on 1st November at East Midlands Conference Centre.

This is the third event of its kind organised by EDGE Venues, with the first Masterclass at the May Fair Hotel in April, and a Summer Party held at the offices in Stamford in July. The events were initially designed for properties who are EDGE Venues licensees, and for the first time, EDGE Venues is inviting Agents who use EDGE to this next event.

The Review’s agenda covers a variety of topics to help maximise the potential for both Agents and Venues who use EDGE. Topics include the launch of new feature developments including an RFP process and real-time availability, alongside future enhancements. Guest speakers have been invited to share their expert insight into trends, spend, and social media analysis.

Jacqui Kavanagh, Chief Executive Officer of EDGE Venues explains the value of these events: “We want to be a disruptor in the meetings and events industry. We listen to constraints and frustrations industry professionals face and work to overcome them. When the concept of EDGE Venues was originally conceived, it was based on the industry’s want and need for technology to ease their frustrations. It’s a bespoke meetings platform, built for the industry, by the industry. And it’s not just about the technology for us – it’s the engagement that we have a passion for. The engagement – between users of the site and our Licensees – is important to ensure we continue enhancing a platform which is fit for purpose.

“These events have proven a huge success so far, with more than 100 attendees each at our Spring and Summer events, and we’ve already seen a fantastic uptake for our Autumn Business Intelligent Review.”

Kirsten Ariano, Account Director MICE from Edwardian Hotels London has attended both previous events organised by EDGE Venues and shares the value they see in the events. “There are multiple industry events that I attend throughout the year, but the Business Intelligence Review organised by EDGE Venues is one of the most valuable. It’s always so informative, understanding industry trends and what more we can be doing to engage with Agents and Corporates to increase business at Edwardian Hotels London. I’m already looking forward to the Autumn event, especially with the Agency engagement.”

The EDGE Venues Autumn Business Intelligence Review is free to all EDGE Venues licensees and agents who use the platform. If you’re interested in finding out more about the event, or how to become an EDGE Venues Licensee or user, contact the team – info@edgevenues.com.  

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Benefits for Agents using EDGE Venues

Comprehensive data, comparison tools, RFPs… just some of the benefits for agents using EDGE Venues, says Agent Anne Reidy.

EDGE Venues – an online digital portal which supports Corporates, Associations and Agency buyers to find venues for their event programmes worldwide. A platform with 19,000 venues at your fingertips, that allows you to compare venues to ensure it meets your event requirements, it’s an obvious digital choice for meeting and event planners searching for that perfect venue.

The platform, that’s been live for nine months, is used by hundreds of corporates and agents across the UK as a reliable tool to source suitable venues for meetings and events.

Anne Reidy, Event Planner at Black Tulip Events, has been using the digital platform for several months and says. “EDGE Venues is like a breath of fresh air when it comes to venue finding platforms. There are multiple platforms available that allow you to search venues for events, but none compare to the ease and simplicity of EDGE Venues.

“As event planners, we’re all extremely busy. As much as we continue to build our knowledge of venues, we all need a platform that enables us to compare features between venues to determine suitability, at ease and with speed. The side-by-side comparison tool provided by EDGE Venues allows you clearly identify which properties will work for an event. Using its comprehensive data and by sending request for proposals to multiple venues in one go, it certainly quickens the venue finding process for me.”

Regular enhancements are made to EDGE Venues to ensure it continues to meet the needs of event planners. Recent developments include the ‘distance from airports’ feature. Where available, venue virtual tours have also been added to the site allowing users to experience more of the venues outside of the standard gallery. Both are simple and effective advancements which help event planners consider venue options.

Jacqui Kavanagh, Managing Director for EDGE Venues, explains the importance of listening to the site’s users to continue its development: “EDGE Venues was built for the industry, by the industry, and we continue with this mantra as we evolve. As a business, we’re regularly engaging with the agencies to determine what wish-list features they’d like to support them on their venue quests. One advantage that agents benefit from with EDGE Venues is that it can be personalised with their company logo, making this a bespoke service for them.”

Further enhancements to EDGE Venues are in final development stages and will be released in the coming months.

For more information on EDGE Venues and to see how you can benefit from this innovative, digital platform, contact the team.

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Edinburgh’s business tourism boosted by Medical conferences

Edinburgh’s position as a world leader in medical research, life sciences innovation and entrepreneurship is being reinforced, with a significant number of health organisations choosing the city as a host destination for events and conferences this autumn.

In 2018-2019, the business tourism team at Marketing Edinburgh, supported on 37 health conferences, bringing 18,321 delegates to the city. This accounts for almost half (44 per cent) of business tourism revenue generated over that period of time.

These figures reinforce Edinburgh’s reputation as a pioneering hub for medical science, also strengthen Edinburgh’s position in the ICCA world rankings; 27th in the world, second only to London in the UK for hosting international conferences.

Some of the conferences scheduled for the remainder of 2019 include the International Conference on Law Enforcement and Public Health (Edinburgh International Conference Centre, October), Compassionate Mind Foundation’s International Conference (Royal College of Physicians, October) and World Extreme Medicine (Dynamic Earth, November).

The international research network One Health Platform views the city as leaders in the field, choosing Edinburgh over other global cities as the host destination for the 6thWorld One Health Congress in June 2020.

Lisa Boden, co-chair for the 6th World One Health Congress, said: “Edinburgh is a leading global hub for medical research and innovation, its universities attracting some of the world’s best talent in the field. We’re very much looking forward to working with the city’s research institutes, the Scottish Government, Marketing Edinburgh and the EICC to share knowledge, collaborate and hopefully further our cause: to ultimately make a different to society and the lives of people globally.”

This significant win, a collaboration across Marketing Edinburgh, VisitScotland Business Events, Scottish Government, University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, will deliver an estimated £3.3 million for the local economy and presents an opportunity for industry experts from across the globe to collaborate and share knowledge.

Amanda Ferguson, head of business tourism at Marketing Edinburgh said: “It’s the aim of the business events campaign, ‘Make It Edinburgh’, to showcase the Scottish capital’s centres of excellence, our life sciences sector being one of these.

“With esteemed and influential events such as World One Health Congress choosing Edinburgh as a host city, there is an opportunity to not only showcase and share our expertise, but to allow the sector to grow and flourish. Greater expertise and entrepreneurship in health and life sciences ultimately attracts more talent and investment, delivering economic growth through innovation.”

Dr Neil Anderson, University of Edinburgh, was a key member of the bid team. He said: “We are thrilled to host the Sixth World One Health Congress in Edinburgh in 2020, welcoming international health scientists and professionals, opinion leaders and policy makers from the One Health community to Scotland’s capital.

“As a global facing university, we have vibrant One Health and global health partnerships nationally and internationally, and we look forward to showcasing the world of Scotland’s world-leading collective of research institutes, and engaging with other stakeholders to improve the health of people, animals and the environment.”

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Procurement: Ask the Experts

Procurement is often seen as a dirty word focusing only on price and terms rather than fit for purpose and value for money.

Jacqui Kavanagh shares her thoughts on procurement and suggests the following approach…

Commercials

Be clear and transparent on your commercial proposition. There is a fear that someone will come in and it will immediately cost the company money whilst they lose control. Try offering a pilot with some key deliverables.

People

One of the biggest problems to companies who would like to add a control and process system to their procurement of products is that the people who have been in control of the procurement process have often been doing this outside their job role and they like doing it. I.e. booking venues, buying travel etc.

Sadly, this means that sometimes it is very hard to actually know who is responsible for what as it is such a fragmented approach. The key features and benefits need to demonstrate that whilst the procurement process is being controlled, the selection process can still remain in the domain of these people. Therefore, you are not taking away what could be perceived as a nice or good part of their job.

Selection process by experts

Experts will be invested in that market and will know what the market prices are; whether they are going up or down, what are the trends, what’s hot and what is not! The ultimate decision maker then benefits from that expert advice.

Noise

Searching for goods and services online delivers lots of noise which can be very stressful for already time poor executives that are supporting the sourcing process over and above the day job

Manage risk

It may be very easy to be swayed by slick sales and glossy websites, but without a proper assessment process on suppliers there may be a risk to the business to buying from the wrong company that does not align with your Corporate Governance – e.g. CSR, Human Rights or even current legislation. Also, when people leave then the knowledge and relationship, and sometimes deals, leave with them, reducing control by the company.

Save time

Sourcing products often without knowing a full specification of what is needed due to lack of training is very time consuming and it is hard to quantify the time being spent on this process. Having a procurement process on supplier selection will save time and increase choice as the initial and time-consuming process of selection of suitable suppliers can we done by experts the choice. Matching the strive to the specific requirement then becomes a quality led process to find the fit for purpose.

Procurement - save time on your processes

Transparent process

With the movement of people it’s important to have a strong process that that can be audited and ensure that it keeps delivering value for the company. This then allows the process to be measured which can then be managed.

Visibility of cost savings

Monthly reporting on cost saving that can be drilled down by product or region allows visibility of the where the costing saving are being made these can then allow the market share to be managed.

Audit-able process

The company needs to protect itself and ensure that all purchases can withstand the scrutiny of how the purchasing process is run. This is especially relevant and valuable in compliance led markets

Reduction of numbers of suppliers

Thus allowing for a more refined and managed purchasing system to be managed in the business again delivering cost savings due to process management which does not reduce cost or choice.