Boxpark Wembley is now open with more than 20 food and beverage vendors, the North West London site is the largest to date for the Boxpark team.
Boxpark Wembley also features a 20,000 sq ft dedicated events space and a year-round schedule of entertainment. The cultural strategy for the area includes artist studios run by Second Floor Studios & Arts, a public art programme and cultural programming and events.
How to handle delegates with special dietary requirements for menu planning
We are all experiencing more special dietary requests from attendees at our events, so I’ve taken a look at some ideas of how to handle them to create that perfect menu choice.
There are increasing numbers of people who have special dietary needs such as specific food allergies or intolerances or a health condition. An allergy can be caused by the immune system reacting to an ingredient and an intolerance is a reaction to the food or certain chemicals. It’s thought that around 20% of the UK population is living with a food allergy and 600,000 (1 in 100) with coeliac disease. There isn’t a cure for a food allergy or intolerance so the only way to manage the condition is not to eat the food. The Food Standards Agency has said that more adults are having allergic reactions to food because of the peer pressure to try different cuisine, take risks with foods they are unsure about, and not admit to known allergies due to embarrassment.
Many religions and cultures follow food customs and laws. Meat is often avoided and these preferences can often be catered for with good vegetarian or vegan options.
More people a choosing a special diet for health and environmental reasons. Animal welfare has always been a concern and we are all used to vegetarian menu options. In 2018, 168,542 people signed up to Veganuary and it is estimated that there are more than 3.5 vegans in the UK. For ‘clean-eating’ reasons people are cutting food groups from their diet and this is a growing trend.
The Wellcome Collection’s conference centre has announced that it is trialling an innovative new allergen system to offer inclusive dining for all. Delegates will be able to view allergen guides on the digital screen and upload menus to their phone via a QR code. They can then browse menu items and discover more about each dish, including the all-important allergy information without having to ask. This will ensure that the food they choose meets their dietary requirements.
For meetings and event planners, special dietary requirements present significant challenges when planning a menu. So, here’s our checklist of four things to consider when discussing food choices with hotels and venues.
You may think that a varied menu for 600 guests will avoid some of the possible dietary issues, but you also need to consider what impact it could have on the kitchen. If guests see a dish being carried to a nearby table of something they’d prefer, it’s amazing how quickly they remember a forgotten meat allergy, just so they can switch to their favourite sea bass. At a hotel or venue, the catering staff have to treat everyone the same so if somebody says they’ll be ill if they eat a certain dish, that must be believed and dealt with accordingly.
The advice from Executive Chefs is to select the best possible menu for the majority of your guests and don’t worry about the CEO who doesn’t like mushrooms or is gluten free. An experienced catering team will handle individual exceptions professionally, leaving you to focus on creating the right impression with exciting food for the majority.
Ensure that you’ve done everything within your power to communicate to guests that, should they have a food allergy, they can discuss it in private with a senior member of the catering team or make staff aware with the use of a table card. Ideally, you want to focus on medical requirements rather than food preferences and be aware of the sensitivities of early-stage pregnancies. If you’re planning a buffet, all foods will need to be labelled clearly with the correct dietary information.
Most venues prepare for the unknown by catering for an additional 10% of guests who change their mind or reveal food allergies. Check this with your catering team and increase it if necessary. If someone has a serious allergy to an ingredient such as gluten or nuts, their meals will need to be prepared in a completely separate area of the venue or bought in from the outside. It is safer to assume that the kitchen is already contaminated.
It’s always exciting to hold your event somewhere new and we’re always looking for something different. So here’s a quick look at some of the hotels and venues that are due to open next year.
This is by no means a complete list of hotels and venues opening next year, but just to give an idea of what’s in the pipeline.
Marriott has confirmed that its new Moxy Edinburgh hotel will open in January, the new 230-bedroom hotel at Edinburgh Airport is the first opening in the city for Marriott’s lifestyle brand, with plans in the pipeline for a second in the Fountainbridge area to open in 2020.
Radisson Hotel Group has revealed the signing of the Radisson Blu Leninsky Prospect Hotel, Moscow, in Russia. The hotel will be an integral part of a mixed-use office and hotel complex and is set to open in 2021.
The hotel will feature 150 comfortable guest rooms, state-of-the-art meeting facilities and a fitness and wellness centre.
First Nordic opening from the design brand CitizenM is 238-room overlooking the historic city centre in Denmark’s capital. The property is located in the Dagmarhus building at H.C. Andersens Boulevard 12, and is the brands 14th hotel – the first in the Nordic region – in the centre of Copenhagen
It has four event spaces, with the largest sitting up to 12 for half-day and full-day bookings.
A Business Travel Show survey has revealed that Brexit is not only the biggest challenge facing buyers next year, it will continue to cause them problems as far ahead as 2022.
For the first time in four years, cost-cutting was knocked off the top spot of the list of forthcoming challenges to be replaced by Brexit, which shot up from fourth place –its home for the last two years. Airbus UK travel manager Geoff Allwright even admitted that Brexit is the one thing that ‘keeps him awake at night’. However, our poll of 134 European buyers showed that 65 per cent of travel managers don’t have a post-Brexit plan in place.
While pricing, the value of sterling, globalisation and technology also make the 2019 top ten, duty of care and traveller risk have dropped out of the chart completely after taking the second slot for the last two years.
In line with the Business Travel Show’s Travel 2022 theme for 2019, buyers were also asked what they expect to be the biggest challenges facing them in three years’ time. Similarly, to the 12-month forecast, Brexit and cost-cutting topped the table. Visas also made an appearance at number seven, mirroring the general concern about the impact that Brexit will have on the free and easy movement of people across borders.
“Whether for or against the UK leaving the Europe Union, the last few months have been particularly frustrating and baffling for both sides leaving everyone possibly even more uncertain about any potential outcomes than they were a year or two ago. Because of that, I think our poll captures the Zeitgeist perfectly and it doesn’t surprise me that –right now –buyers are more concerned about Brexit than cost cutting.”
Business Travel Show group event director David Chapple
Additionally, when asked the follow up question, “What will the biggest change in the way you buy/manage travel in the next 12 months be?” buyers responded as follows, with ‘no change’ firmly at number one.
The Business Travel Show is the leading event in Europe for corporate travel professionals, taking place 20-21 February 2019 at Olympia London. Buyers can register for a free visitor pass here.
Voco Dubai will open its doors in the first quarter of 2019 as the first Voco hotel in the region, parent company InterContinental Hotels Group announced on Thursday. Located on Shaikh Zayed Road, which is home to most of Dubai’s signature skyscrapers, Voco Dubai will be set in what is currently the Nassima Royal Hotel. Designed for both business and leisure travellers, the rebranded property will have 471 guest rooms that overlook either Sheikh Zayed Road or the beach. Amenities will include a business centre, an outdoor swimming pool, a gymnasium, a spa, three restaurants and more than 10,000 square feet of meeting space.
IHG launched the upscale Voco brand in June, aiming to combine the informality and charm of an individual hotel with the quality and reassurance of a global and respected brand. Properties will showcase a bold, distinctive identity, informal service style and thoughtful touches, with three specific features in each Voco hotel: a “Come On In” welcome experience that includes fast check-in with a locally inspired welcome treat; “Me Time” guest rooms that encourage guests to take a moment for themselves with amenities like plush bedding, rejuvenating aerated showers and Internet-connected smart TVs; and “Voco Life” bar and lounge spaces that infuse Voco hotels with a sociable vibe
The Meetings Show is calling on event professionals to get creative when submitting papers for its 2019 education programme.
Conference producer Erica Keogan will curate a large proportion of the show’s 50 hours of free educational sessions but industry experts and those with a passion for sharing their knowledge are also invited to put forward ideas for sessions.
The 2019 education programme will be centred around the event planning journey, covering everything from conception to legacy, and is designed to provide attendees with information on the latest trends and challenges, as well as exploring what may happen in the future.
Alongside suggestions for topics, Keogan, who first encouraged industry involvement last year, is calling for the most creative ideas for session delivery.
The show wants to encourage active learning in a variety of different formats, with no constraints when it comes to how sessions are delivered, what technology is used, where the sessions take place or who they are delivered by.
Keogan said: “We’re looking to tap into the talent and insight of meetings and events professionals to help create something really inspiring for our educational programme this year.
“We are calling for those submitting papers to think outside-the-box and come up with some inventive ways to deliver their ideas. We’d love to hear all your ideas, no matter how unusual or outlandish they may seem.”
Those looking to participate in the education programme when the show returns to Olympia London on 26-27 June for its seventh edition should provide a proposed title, which part of the event planning journey it relates to, and, in no more than 250 words, a brief synopsis of what delegates will discover by attending their proposed talk.
The proposal should include details of how the talk or informative session will be delivered. To submit a proposal, complete the application form online here .
Successful applicants may also be offered the chance to speak on a panel debate.
There’s been a lot of publicity about sexual harassment and the #metoo movement in the last year, but how would you handle a complaint of this sort if it happened at your event? What about a conference attendee smoking, vaping, carrying a gun or taking marijuana? In some places, this behaviour is permitted and it is important that we all know how to deal with these situations if they arise.
Sexual harassment is not unique to the meetings industry, but meetings do offer opportunities for abusive behaviour. You could get a complaint about any activity that an individual or group considers inappropriate and at meetings people often present themselves differently, as they are away from home, family and in unusual circumstances outside the office environment. Other issues which could offend are social media postings, suitable clothing and verbal comments, such as racist, anti-lgbt etc
Marijuana is now legal in Canada, as well as in 10 states in the US: California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Michigan, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. If you are holding an event here, you need to anticipate that attendees may want to use and what can be done to make sure that it is done safely. As this is a relatively recent development the liability laws have not been developed, as has been the case with alcohol.
EDGE Venues has looked at some items that you might want to consider when planning your event. If you’re organising an internal conference, then your company standards may cover some of these items, but if it is an external event then there are additional things to consider.
Accusations may be as harmful as proved bad conduct, as the perception of a badly managed event or one with a reputation for inappropriate behaviour will deter delegates from attending and will have a long term detrimental effect.
