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03/2018

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Barbican achieves Gold recognition at London’s Clean City Awards

Wednesday, 7 March, 2018 - 11:26

The Barbican has been recognised for its continued environmental efforts with a ‘Gold Clean City Award’.

This is not the first time the Barbican has received awards for its green credentials with past successes including a Gold award in 2008, the Chairman’s Cup in 2011 and a Platinum award in 2014.

Some of the eco-friendly practices highlighted by judges were:

  • Having consistent recycling opportunities in all public spaces, conference areas and staff back-of-house areas.
  • A comprehensive food recycling program meaning that 100% of food waste gets composted.

“We work hard to improve and preserve our green credentials. To receive this recognition is a fantastic achievement for the Barbican,” comments Lee Dobson, Head of Event Management at Barbican Business Events. “A number of high profile buildings and organisations have achieved this award and we are delighted to be amongst them. Many of our clients want to use venues with strong CSR credentials and this helps our appeal towards them.”

The award recognises exceptional responsibility in the management of waste and recycling amongst organisations in the City of London. Since 1994 the Clean City Awards Scheme has incentivised raising the standards of environmental performance by businesses across the City. Aims of the scheme include:

  • Promoting good waste management practices
  • Encouraging waste minimisation, as well as greater reuse and recycling
  • To ensure compliance with Duty of Care regulations
  • To encourage City businesses to be proud and respectful of their surroundings
  • To provide a forum for City businesses to exchange waste management initiatives
Seven New Hilton Hotels Under Kew Green Management

Tuesday, 6 March, 2018 - 09:49

Starwood Capital Group, a leading global private investment firm, announced today that a controlled affiliate of Starwood Global Opportunity Fund XI has acquired a portfolio of seven Hilton hotels throughout the United Kingdom, totalling over 1,300 rooms from Park Hotels & Resorts.

The portfolio is located in several of the UK’s top hotel markets, including London, Edinburgh, Bath and Belfast, which benefit from high occupancies, high barriers to entry and solid investment fundamentals.

Starwood Capital Group plan to refurbish a number of the assets in order to transform operating performance and enhance asset values, with the portfolio being managed by Kew Green under franchise agreements with Hilton Worldwide. This marks the second acquisition in 12 months where Starwood and Kew Green have partnered, following the successful acquisition of the 298-key Holiday Inn Manchester in April 2017.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Kew Green on yet another exciting transaction involving prime UK city centre assets” said Jon Asumendi, Vice President at Starwood Capital Group. “We are acquiring this well-located portfolio at a substantial discount to replacement cost and with significant upside potential still to be realised. We look forward to investing in these properties alongside Kew Green and leveraging Starwood Capital Group’s hospitality expertise to maximise portfolio performance and investment returns.”

“Adding seven high quality Hilton branded assets to our Management Platform is an exciting step forwards for the Kew Green Group. We are also very pleased to be partnering with Starwood Capital Group for a second time to unlock opportunities in the portfolio, where we can create value together” said Jamie Lamb, Executive Chairman, Kew Green Group Ltd.

Congratulations to our HBAA M&IT Award Winners

Tuesday, 6 March, 2018 - 09:23

A huge congratulations to our HBAA members who, not only made it through the snow on Friday night, took home an M&IT Award. Here’s a full list of our award-winning members…

Personality of the Year – Fay Sharpe

Best UK Hotel
Silver - Coombe Abbey Hotel
Bronze - Chewton Glen

Best Overseas Hotel

Bronze - Grand Hotel HUIS TER DUIN

Best UK Conference Centre

Gold - ACC Liverpool
Bronze - QEII Centre

Best UK Management Training Centre
Silver - Highgate House - A Sundial Venue
Bronze - Wyboston Lakes Resort

Best Venue Group Meeting Product

Gold - Hilton Worldwide Sales
Silver - QHotels
Bronze - Marriott Hotels

Best Intermediary Agency less than 40

Gold - First Choice Conference & Events
 

Best Intermediary Agency more than 40

Gold - Conference Care
Silver - Banks Sadler
Bronze - Inntel

Best Academic Venue

Silver - Warwick Conferences
Bronze - Nottingham Conference Centre

Best UK Unusual Venue

Gold - Coombe Abbey Hotel
Silver - Alton Towers Resort
 

Best Value for Money Conference Venue

Gold - Coombe Abbey Hotel
Silver - Highgate House - A Sundial Venue
Bronze - 30 Euston Square

Best Conference and Banqueting Staff
Silver - QEII Centre
 

 

CTI announce it is GDPR Ready

Friday, 2 March, 2018 - 12:15

CTI, the leading Travel Partnership Company (TPC), today announced it is GDPR Ready after achieving certification from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

The company has achieved both the Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) and Certification Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E). CIPM is the world’s first and only certification in privacy program management. CIPP/E encompasses pan-European and national data protection laws, key privacy terminology and practical concepts concerning the protection of personal data and trans-border data flows.

Melanie Quinn, CTI’s Commercial Director, said:” CTI is leading the way when it comes to protecting client data. Samantha May heads up our GPDR-Readiness Programme which ensures our business processes are compliant with the core principles of EU data protection regulations; this is a massive project encompassing every department, our clients and our third-party suppliers to ensure compliance not only on 25th May, but on an ongoing basis. It’s a huge achievement and goes hand in hand with our ISO and PCI accreditations, making us truly gold standard.”

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25 May 2018 and replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. GDPR was designed to harmonise data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens’ data privacy and to reshape the way organisations across the region approach data privacy. It will impact every organisation which handles personal data of EU citizens, which means that the UK will have to remain compliant even after Brexit.

“2017 was a good year for UK meetings industry sales growth” reports Louise Goalen, Chair of HBAA, as HBAA Meetings Barometer results for 2017 are revealed

Thursday, 1 March, 2018 - 11:26

The average spend per meeting and average spend per delegate in the UK both grew significantly year on year in 2017, despite a slight decline in the average Daily Delegate Rate (DDR).

These are among the notable results revealed in the HBAA Meetings Barometer for 2017, developed in partnership with The MeetingsBenchmark Ltd.

The HBAA Meetings Barometer indicates that that average spend per meeting increased to £1,954 in 2017 from £1,613 in 2016, an increase of 21.2 per cent, while the average spend per delegate rose by 21.0 per cent to £88.35 from £73.04 in the previous year.

With the average DDR falling slightly to £32.88 from £33.06 in 2016, the key driving force behind this growth is the increase in the average meeting size. The average number of delegates increased from 50 to 53. With the average size of meetings booked to date currently at 74, prospects for 2018 are encouraging so far.

While there was no change in the average conversion time year on year, which stayed at 19 days, the average lead time for events was shorter, down from 83 days to 77, suggesting an increasing element of caution about forward planning for events.  

Looking at the regional pattern of where meetings business was placed around the UK last year, at the top the London and Birmingham areas were close. London led the way by attracting £33.0m of business but by capturing £28.3m of meetings spend, the Birmingham area challenged well in second place. £9.1m of meetings business went to the Glasgow/ Edinburgh area of central Scotland while £7.1m was placed with venues in Newcastle and the surrounding area, followed by £5.9m around Leeds.

Louise Goalen, HBAA Chair observed: “The growth revealed by these results confirms that 2017 was a good year for UK meetings industry sales - and 2018 is on course to be even better. Like the HBAA, the industry is building on success this year.”

To download the full report, please click here

Whittlebury to welcome corporate planners to open days

Thursday, 1 March, 2018 - 09:11

Whittlebury Hall in Northamptonshire is inviting corporate event planners to visit the four-star countryside hotel in March, for an exclusive chance to experience its business and leisure facilities.

The two open day events will take place on Tuesday 6 and Tuesday 13 March and are open to all local businesses and event planning professionals. 

Visitors can book a tour of the Whittlebury Estate at the time of their choice and see the event spaces which cater for up to 3,000 delegates, including the main hall, The Orangery, The Pavilion, The Atrium and the 36-hole golf course.

Following the show round, guests will have the chance to enjoy either nine holes of golf on Whittlebury’s championship course, or relax with the hotel’s signature Heat & Ice Experience at Whittlebury’s Day Spa.

Set within extensive parkland, the Whittlebury estate offers a fantastic setting for multi-activities and events. From large-scale conferences and exhibitions to product launches and small board meetings, the dedicated in-house team at Whittlebury Hall are able to create bespoke tailor-made business events with ease.

The venue offers 19 separate training and meeting rooms, two large conference and banqueting suites, a self-contained exhibition suite with a capacity of up to 500, 50m2 of outdoor teambuilding space, three restaurants, two bars and 1GB superfast free and unlimited WIFI.

Event planners and businesses interested in attending can book a place by emailing  tm.team@whittleburyhall.co.uk or calling 01993 822303 with their preferred date and time.

For more information about Whittlebury Hall, visit www.whittleburyhall.co.uk.

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