Hotels, Venues & Event news
The Point, the eye-catching red conference and events venue at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, is now officially ‘green’ after receiving an award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme, a national sustainable tourism certification scheme for the UK. A qualified assessor for the Green Tourism Business Scheme undertook an accreditation grading visit of the venue recently, which resulted in The Point achieving Gold level.
The HBAA Annual Forum will take place on the 8th and 9th of September at The Ramada Manchester Piccadilly Hotel Widely recognised as a keynote event in the HBAA calendar of events, the HBAA Forum draws figureheads from agencies, venues and hotels both within the UK and internationally. The Forum provides an opportunity for HBAA members (agents, hotels and venues) to discuss, debate and define industry trends and best practice.
The Westerwood Hotel & Golf Resort, near Glasgow, part of award-winning hotel group QHotels, is celebrating this week after being one of only two venues in Scotland to be awarded the highly acclaimed ‘VenueVerdict Gold Standard Accreditation’ by BDRC Continental, the UK’s largest independent market research agency.
Glaziers Hall is to be the House of Switzerland for the 2012 Olympics. Glaziers Hall situated on the banks of the River Thames beat a number of venues and events spaces to be awarded the coveted contract of the House of Switzerland following a competitive tender process. The House will welcome visitors over 24 days and will be a mini village created in and around the Hall, it will feature dedicated zones offering the opportunity for visitors to learn about a number of Swiss regions.
International hotel operator, Club Quarters, is developing a new hotel and restaurant scheme at Kingsway, London WC2. With an outdoor terrace to Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the 10,000 sq ft restaurant building and 160 room hotel development are currently on site and due to open early in 2012. Club Quarters already operates 14 hotels across the UK and the USA, including three in London located at Trafalgar Square, St Pauls, and the City, primarily aimed at business travellers.
Great Hotels of the World is delighted to announce the completion of a major refurbishment at Stoke Place – an English country house in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, UK. Stoke Place has opened 10 new modern Garden Bedrooms which has one wall of glass with lovely views of the surrounding grounds and private seating areas. These new rooms are also perfect for groups in need of a private area. The bedrooms overlook the new herb & vegetable gardens at the hotel, designed to make the property environmentally-friendly.
The successful completion of these bedrooms takes Stoke Place from a 30 bedroom to a 40 bedroom hotel. Located in the property’s Old Stables, two new office spaces have been created, including a boardroom for up to 10 delegates and another meeting space for up to five delegates. These new settings are perfect for more intimate meetings and provide alternative breakout options from the larger meeting spaces at the hotel. Stoke Place has also responded to guests’ requests for a gym onsite. The new fitness room is the ultimate space for both corporate and leisure guests to unwind and workout. The hotel’s spa treatment room is yet to be completed which aims to provide guests with the ultimate space for beauty therapy.
The number of business meetings and incentive programmes held in Barcelona during 2010 increased by more than 15%, according to latest figures from the city’s convention bureau. During last year, the Catalan capital hosted 2,138 business events for around 616,833 attendees. The activity represented an economic impact of €1.3m (£1.2m), based on 2.5m overnight stays.
Other statistics released by the Barcelona Convention Bureau reveal that 70.4% of these events arrived from overseas and the average number of delegates had grown from 40 in 2009 to 99 last year. “Medical and healthcare congresses remained at the forefront and business events from the pharmaceutical sector predominated, accounting for more than 27%,” said Barcelona Convention Bureau marketing manager Mercedes Garcia. “One out of every four international conventions held in Barcelona were organised by a company or business from the UK. The United States ranked second.”
