Special conferences rates from QMH

QMH UK Limited operate 18 hotels in the UK including 12 Holiday Inn, 3 Crowne Plaza and 3 Best Western hotels, so whatever you’re looking for you can be rest assured that you will find what you need with a QMH hotel. Our hotels always offer an unique experience whether you are staying on business or leisure. You will find contemporary and comfortable bedrooms, a superb choice of dining options, first class conference meeting and event rooms and health and fitness facilities throughout our hotels.

QMH are delighted to offer Venue Plus special rates over the summer period, with DDR rates from £29 and 24hour rates from £99.

Contact David and the team at Venue Plus for more details and to make a booking – 0844 567 6405

Summer conference venues & event offers

The Belfry Hotel in Sutton Coldfield has provided us with special conference rates for meetings and events if booked before 23rd July 2010 – So hurry!

Any bookings confirmed before then will be applicable until 31st December, subject to availability and the rates are:

24 Hour Rate – £135.00 inc vat

Day Delegate Rate – £35.00 inc vat

We realise it is now the summer holiday season, but the world cup has now finished and it is time to start planning ahead and take advantage of some great offers in the conference market place.   So if you are planning any events whether a sales conference, training courses, product launch or social event, then let us know and we will do the venue research for free.

Volcanic Ash affects events

I have just read that the airspace lockdowns triggered by volcanic ash from Iceland led to the cancellation or deferment of two thirds of events planned during the affected days.

So why go abroad to talk?   This is made even worse by the strike at British Airways – So what is wrong with GB Ltd?

We will sort out any event or conference for you in this country and it is FREE and you won’t need travel insurance either.

So give us a call and we will do the venue finding – No hassle, No fee!

Christmas Parties

Now is the time to start planning and talking about your staff Christmas Party – How about getting a budget sorted out now and reward your staff and clients with a real night out and it won’t cost and arm and a leg – In fact it is a good investment – you might find your staff are willing to pitch in as well!

Team Building Events

I have found a great company that organises Team Building Events based in Chester called Your Great Escape.    They specialise in many activities one of which is abseiling down the walls of Peckforton Castle or you may prefer to do something a little different like Duck Herding or Falconry or Shooting with the magnificent view of Beeston Castle in the background.  They also do other thought prevoking activities which are excellent for team building perhaps after a conference or meeting.

Call 01948 667897 or email info@yourgreatescape.co.uk for details.

Election Fever

Whoever wins the election, lets hope that they sort out the economy, so that we can all get on with our business.

We all need to explore the best way to fully utilise our resources – The most important one being human resources and as such we need to encourage them to perform through example and training.

A company has recently come to us to organise a series of training courses, as they in expansion mode, as such we have found venues from Brighton to Chester and managed to negotiate some great delegate rates all within their budget.

So don’t be put off by the election – call us to organise your events, meetings and conferences all free of charge, to motivate and train your staff and we will take the hasle out of event planning and venue finding.

Conference Venues for Training

Another interesting article from M&T magazine – Training Budgets!

Training budgets are the first to be cut in a recession or when times get tough, but there is new legislation.  From April, employees in businesses employing 250 or more will have the right to “ask for training”.  If the employer cannot provide a sound business reason why not and refuses to provide it, staff can pursue them through the courts to seek damages.

From April 2011 the law will apply to all companies.

So don’t throw away your corporate training programme, get in touch with us and we will help you plan, organise and find the right training venue to suit your needs and budget.            Give us a call now 01829 770301.

How to complain

When you have had a bad experience at your conference or event, then don’t hesitate to tell the venue about it, preferably when you are there, not afterwards.

- Complain as soon as possible.

- Talk to the right person, the more senior the better – The Conference Manager or Event Organiser.

- Identify the problem clearly and show them what did or did not happen and what impact it had on the success of the event and the delegates.

- Explain what you want done to rectify the problem.

- Take notes of any meetings or discussions with members of staff.

- Ask the venue how they are going to resolve the problem and what compensation they are going to offer.

- Make sure what has been agreed is carried out.

- Get all the details of who is in charge – The General Manager – Where Head Office is and when you will expect a reply to all the concerns raised.

At the same time give praise when praise is due………..

Have a good one.

 

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Event planning for Christmas now!

I read a great article/letter of the month in M&IT magazine recently talking about Christmas events – it read:

The Chartered Management Institute’s survey, revealed that UK employers were too afraid to have a Christmas party because public perception, demonstrates the weaselly attitude of most managers.   Rather than praise and reward staff on a regular basis, they prefer to take the ‘easy’ option of saying ‘because of public opinion, we dare not’.  Whilst this might hold water for banks & MPs, it should not apply to the rest of the UK workforce – YES to that.

Conferences planners, free venue finders, conference organisers, event management and teambuilding activities is what we do – Can we help you?

Special conference offer from Q Hotels

Q Hotels, which was the AA Hotel Group of the Year in 2008/2009, are offering some special deals at their 21 hotels:

- Book 20 delegates and one goes free.

- Get 10% off your next event.

We have used Q Hotels on many occasions and have been delighted with the way they handle enquiries and look after clients and what I like about the group is that every property is different – So call us for availability on

0844 567 6405 

Venue Plus – It’s all in the name!

It’s easy really – We find any “Venue” in the uk, whether in London, Brighton, Birmingham, The Cotswolds, The North West, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and all the counties of England and the great thing about it, is that it is Free to you.      The “Plus” bit is all about the complete event package of providing Event Management to look after your conference plus also providing Teambuilding and entertainment programmes.     So there you have it – Give us a call.

Just completed 2,050 Conferences and Events

Phew!! Having just reached the 2,050 threshold mark for the number of conferences and events Venue Plus has organised over the years – It is time for a little celebration – Right that’s enough, back to work!!

I have no idea how many delegates that represents – a bit daunting really and indeed how much our clients have spent with venues over that period – it must have helped the economy somewhere and indeed the taxman.

Anyway, everybody lets get going, keep your head down and lets get this country moving again, before depression sets in.  All we need is some sunshine and soon.

So, if you need any free help on conference planning and organising your event, however large or small, then don’t call 118 118, but our number – 0844 567 6405.

A unique Training & Teambuilding venue in beautiful Chester countryside

Venue Plus work closely with a fantastic training and conference venue set in the countryside overlooking the Cheshire Plains – An ideal choice to get the best from your delegates:-

Successfactory ™ is based in a most beautiful part of Cheshire in the village of Burwardsley with stunning views across the Cheshire plain to the Welsh Hills beyond and only 15 minutes from the historic city of Chester.  

 It is a truly unique venue offering the indoors and the outdoors for teambuilding such as archery, high and low ropes courses , formula one challenge, segways, meetings and training. 

 Working with Successfactory™ is an inspiring process; we work in partnership with you to research, design, deliver and measure powerful development programmes that increase the performance of your organisation. 

 Successfactory ™ work with businesses from small and local to large and global, offering local accommodation close to the venue.

 It’s not just the location, ambience and workspaces that exceed the promise but also the flexibility , quality of service and our delicious freshly cooked food that’s quite exceptional. 

 We can offer meetings from 4 people up to team building programmes for 150 people.

If you need more information or would like special delegate rates, then contact Venue Plus and we will arrange a showround and introduce you to the team.

Check if your venue has BS 8901

BS 8901 is the British Standard for Sustainable Event Management and is now becoming very relevant to the  many important environmental issues that venues should be addressing.

It covers the following:

- Event Organisers or individuals involved in overall co-ordination of the event.

- Event venues including hotels, convention centres and sports venues.

- Suppliers and contractors of key activities relating to the events industry.

- Industry associations and councils.

BS 8901 also offers the following commercial benefits:

- Provides assurance to stakeholders, customers and anyone else involved that the event has been planned and implemented in a sustainable manner.

- Helps differentiate an organisation from its compeitors, helping to win new business, improving reputation and brand image.

- Helps reduce carbon emissions and waste and improve resource efficiency of the entire event supply chain.

So when booking a venue, ask what their environmental policy is and lets help educate others. 

 

Event Management – No hasle!

This service takes away the hasle if you are organising an event and allows us to ensure things happen and happen on time, whilst working with you in the running and organisation of your event – so if you are strapped for time or would like help with ideas and conference planning, then give us a call on 0844 567 6405.

Working closely with the Public Sector.

Venue Plus have been working very closely with the public sector over the past few years, in helping them organise their conferences, meetings or other events and providing a free venue search all over the UK.         As conference organisers and venue finders, we are given by various hotel companies not only corporate rates but special government rates, which are applicable to the public sector.      So in order to make sure, during these difficult times, that you are being offered these rates – contact us on freephone 0844 567 6405 to discuss your requirements for training, networking or for any event that you might be planning.

Think early for your 2010 meeting or event.

Now is the time to start thinking about your next event or conference for 2010.       How about getting your team together and organise an “out of the office day”  to start the new year and get them fully motivated for a hard year ahead.    Perhaps combine it with some teambuilding activities – that should clear away the cobwebs!!

Anyway a Merry Christmas to all.

Top Tips from Venue Plus for Cost Effective Conferences…

1. Greater opportunity to negotiate low prices and achieve added value – we are constantly given special rates.

2. Be flexible with your conference or meeting dates, as Mondays & Fridays are usually cheaper and easier to negotiate.

3. Plan ahead as far as possible, as there will be more venue options for you and a better delegate rate.

4. Look at the possible location for an event, as travelling time for your delegates is important and the further away the higher the travel cost, also a residential conference could become a day conference.

5. Look at your audio visual requirements – Do you really need all that kit to get your message across and why not use the inhouse supplier as already there and knows the conference rooms.     I also find that if negotiations are tight, then I try and get AV equipment included – It all helps!

6. Look at all the extras – Do you need bottled water @ £5 a bottle, I think some venues are even producing their own bottle water.     Also look at the wine list in more detail, as you would in a restaurant.  What is wrong with the house wine – ask them if you can taste it before the event or dinner.

7. Do you need a three course lunch and then go through the grave yard session for your meeting – Why not try a smaller, lighter treat and ask the chef to produce something different & then talk about it, rather than the usual hot and cold buffet.  Also reduce the confirmed numbers at the contract stage, otherwise you will be charged for no shows.

8. After the shortlist of venues has been provided and you don’t have time to inspect them, then call us and we will go through all the detail and visit the conference co-ordinators and advise you on their suitablity to your particular brief, so you can make the right decision to suit your objectives.

9. Use the internet or your website to promote your event – therefore use less paper and the telephone.

10. Call us and let us do what we are good at – Free venue finding, teambuilding activities, corporate events and conferences, event management…….

£150 Annual Tax Allowance

It’s not too late to organise your Christmas Party and as I have just read in the paper, businesses have an annual tax allowance of £150, which can be put against entertainment or basically looking after your staff.

So really you can’t loose and I don’t think everybody knows about this, as a client of ours has just cancelled their Christmas party, but still had to pay 45% of the costs, so really they lost out financially, but I do understand the internal politics of a company, redundancy issues etc.

Anyway, if you need help with your corporate event or party, then let us know.

Conference Venues in London with low carbon policy?

We have been asked to research and find a conference venue in London for about 200 delegates with workshops and exhibition space, that have a low carbon usuage environmental policy.

This is a difficult one, as it seems that hotels and conference venues have yet to get to grips with this very important subject and having spoken to various venues in researching this, I find that no-one has a clue what their policy is or what is being  done to reduce their carbon footprint, which will benefit all and save on costs.

If you have been to or know of any venue in London, that is able to offer a written statement or company policy and has put this into practise then let us know, so that we can pass this information on and start supporting them and the planet!

Conference Sector – No recovery in sight!

Hotels in the UK are not expecting to see conference and meetings business recover in the coming year, according to the latest UK Hotels Forecast from Pricewaterhousecoopers.

Despite this pessimistic forecast, now is still the time to organise a conference or event – It is usually the case in these difficult economic times to cut the training and sales budget, but you have still got to communicate to and motivate your staff, so why not take advantage of some very good conference rates and organise an event. So how about planning an event soon or let us hear your views on what’s happening in your organisation.

Which venues have you been to, that you would recommend to others?