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01/2022
Wednesday, 26 January, 2022 - 11:56
Wednesday, 26 January, 2022 - 11:35
IACC will stage its annual UK Copper Skillet competition at Wyboston Lakes Resort on 4 February.
Funded by IACC, a global community that represents venues specialising in organising and hosting meetings, the two winners of the UK heat will travel to Las Vegas to compete for the honoured title of Global Copper Skillet Champion in the Nestle Global Copper Skillet Final at IACC Americas Connect, which will take place 23-25 May 2022, at Park MGM Las Vegas.
As part of the contest, competitors will be given a mystery set of ingredients to create two plated servings of a main course. Among the mystery ingredients, will be five specified protein items – two meat proteins and three plant based proteins.
An independent panel of expert judges will then evaluate the dishes according to stringent criteria. All dishes created must be suitable for service in a conference centre setting.
There are two categories of entry – a senior category for competitors who are years of age and older – and a junior category for those under 26 years. Both categories compete in the same cook-off, under the same competition rules. The competition is open to any chef working in any IACC member venue in the UK.
The event was created in 2004 to highlight the artistry and skills of IACC-member conference venue chefs from around the world and reward their contribution to the conference experience.
Louisa Watson, Director of Marketing at Wyboston Lakes Resort, said: “We are excited to be hosting this prestigious competition at The Woodlands Event Centre once again. It will be fascinating to see the creativity and originality of the top UK industry chefs.”
Mark Cooper, CEO, IACC added: “Wyboston Lakes Resort is gracious in its support of IACC and hosting this exciting culinary competition. The Copper Skillet is a true test of the chefs’ skills and knowledge, and I am excited to see what stunning dishes they create. I wish the competitors the best of luck and I look forward to welcoming the two winners to the Nestle Global Copper Skillet Final at IACC Americas Connect in Las Vegas in May.”
Tuesday, 25 January, 2022 - 12:43
‘£2m worth of contracts signed or booked in 3 days after Plan B restrictions lifted highlights boost of buyers’ confidence’
Adam Simpson, Director of Marketing, etc.venues
“Judging by the increase in contracts confirmed and bookings moving to contracts that we have seen in three days since the news of the lifting of the Plan B restrictions, many event planners are gaining greater confidence to run live events,” says Adam Simpson, Director of Marketing for etc.venues.
Contracts worth £1.6m were signed and in addition, business valued at £0.4m moved forward from enquiry to draft contract: £0.5m was for events taking place in Q1.
The number of enquiries was also up week-on-week, increasing by nearly 20 per cent.
“This is a great start to the year for our business and a terrific boost to the recovery of the industry. Many clients are relieved we did not have another national lockdown as it bodes well for the rest of the year and has encouraged them to plan for multiple events through to the end of 2022.” Adam Simpson continued.
“These are mostly for live only events and backs up our latest research which revealed that event planners are returning to live only events faster than expected.”
Research carried out by etc.venues at the end of last year showed that 28 per cent of respondents have already held live only events. This was 8 per cent higher than forecast in the July survey for a return to live only events in 2021. The recent research also suggested that a further 23 per cent will go back to live only events in 2022 but based on the recent increase in demand this could be closer to 60 per cent.
“This suggests 2022 will be the year of meeting up.” Adam Simpson concluded.
Tuesday, 25 January, 2022 - 12:35
Warwick Conferences awarded gold sustainability status two years running
Warwick Conferences has been awarded the prestigious ECOsmart Gold Status by Greengage Solutions for a second year running.
ECOSmart Gold Status, which is an industry standard accreditation, is awarded to meeting venues that are able to demonstrate their eco-friendly approaches in five areas. These areas include rooms and facilities, conservation of water and energy, waste management and recycling, food and beverage, and pledges made concerning corporate and social responsibility.
Over the last three years, Warwick Conferences has worked with a number of accredited bodies to limit the negative impact that the business has on the surrounding environment. All meat used in its restaurant is procured from farms satisfying UK Animal Welfare standards, while Warwick Conferences has planted over 550 sapling trees to create a biodiverse woodland in Scarman grounds.
Not only has the business itself made sustainable changes, but visitors and customers are encouraged through a variety of means. Companies hosting meetings and conferences can request meeting rooms with no paper, housekeeping service or individual coffee trays, to limit waste. Their delegates can also take advantage of free charging points for energy efficient electric vehicles.
Warwick Conferences’ Director Paul Bartlett commented: “Achieving EcoSmart Gold Status once again is testament to our dedication to achieving top-of-the-class sustainable practices. Sustainability remains one of Warwick Conferences’ primary objectives, pushing to make the necessary green changes to support the planet. We are absolutely thrilled to be awarded Gold status for our sustainability work and look forward to continuing it into 2022.”
For more information about Warwick Conferences’ sustainability efforts, please visit https://warwick.ac.uk/services/conferences/aboutus/sustainability
Tuesday, 25 January, 2022 - 12:32
HBAA has become beam
beam is now the new name of the trade association for the business events, accommodation and meetings sector formerly known as the HBAA.
More than 90 members and partners attended the online meeting to mark and celebrate the transition and to hear news from beam board members of several major developments and initiatives.
Julie Shorrock, beam Membership Director announced that beam would now welcome creative agencies, convention bureaux, tourist boards, destination management companies, production companies and representation companies as members, in addition to the agencies and venues who were able to be members of HBAA. She also added that since the new identity was announced in October, it had generated a positive reaction and that seven new agencies and venues members has joined since then.
Sian Sayward, beam Governance Director said that all members will be equal and that the board structure, previous agency-lead would, for a transitional period, become 60 per cent agency members and 40 per cent from venues and the new member categories. She added that, as a reflection of the association’s priority challenges, new volunteer board director roles had been created including a Talent & Development Director and a Sustainability Director. The association is already looking to add an Industry Relations Director and applications would be welcomed from across the membership for all roles.
Julie Shorrock also announced, that, to give members opportunities to be actively involved in driving forward beam initiatives and to collaborate more with other members as they did on HBAA committees, new beam Action Groups (BAGs) will be created and members encouraged to join them.
The directors confirmed that the association will continue to spearhead representation to government and policymakers and elevate the sector’s voice and identity through thought leadership and positive engaging content. Its four pillars: Resilience, Innovation, Ethics, and Quality would continue to underpin its activities and content. The Code of Practice which will continue to be the cornerstone of its ethos, will be reviewed by a beam Action Group during the coming year.
Beckie Towle, beam Marketing Director revealed that a members’ meeting at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on 3 March would be the first of many in-person and virtual meetings, events and communications in 2022 that will provide opportunities for education, inspiration and business support as well as giving members the opportunity to network. The Annual Forum, Annual Dinner, Members Meetings, Industry Leaders Lunches, Agency and Venue Engagement meetings and a reignited series of training events will provide a full programme. A new website, a new monthly members’ bulletin - the beam Spotlight; Shining a Light – member features - and Lighting the Way – new members support services - will keep members informed.
“beam champions ethical practice within the membership and our code of ethics and code of practice reflect our values around a wide range of topics including sustainability, mental health, the living wage, diversity, and disability. This is a USP of the association.” Beckie Towle stated.
Jan Denning of The Hospitality Partnership and Destination Wolverhampton & The Black Country summed up the views of many on social media saying: “What a wonderful meeting. Congratulations to all at beam. Exciting times ahead.”
The association revealed new urls for its social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beam-org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beam.uk/
Twitter https://twitter.com/WearebeamUK
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wearebeamUK
Thursday, 20 January, 2022 - 14:20
Event set to showcase future L&D challenges
Leaders across the learning and development field will come together in February to discuss the challenges facing the industry, in an event hosted by Warwick Conferences.
L&D in 2022: Understanding Future Challenges and Evaluating Success is open to L&D professionals, and takes place on Wednesday 2 February at 1pm. Among the guest speakers will be Scot Newing of the Learning and Performance Institute. Scot will be using the organisation’s latest data to provide insight into the future of learning, which will then lead to an interactive panel discussion.
Esteemed industry professionals, including representatives from Warwick Business School will be among the panel discussing the challenges they’re facing, as well as work they’re doing to enhance their L&D programmes.
This will be followed by a session from Warwick Conferences’ Gail Tomlinson-Short, who will explain the eight key steps to evaluating an L&D programme and show how the industry can demonstrate the impact of their programmes.
Gail Tomlinson-Short said: “From tightening budgets to pressures to proving the ROI of a programme, the L&D industry is facing a plethora of challenges in 2022. As such, we wanted to organise an event that helped the industry come together and navigate the challenges they are going to face. The calibre of speakers is fantastic, and we hope that the industry finds the event useful as they start planning their events.”
The hybrid event takes place on Wednesday 2 February at Warwick Conferences. Available to attend in-person or online, those interested can register their interest here.
Thursday, 20 January, 2022 - 09:47
Prestige Events magazine’s published this articvle. Click here to read it.
Thursday, 20 January, 2022 - 09:44
M&IT has now published responses to lifting Plan B restrictions. To read the report click here
Tuesday, 18 January, 2022 - 10:57
Event First Steps Launch Research on Racial Diversity in Events Industry For Second Year Running
Today Event First Steps have launched a second survey as part of their ongoing, sector wide research into Racial Diversity in the Events Industry. This is a follow up to their successful first survey and is supported by Dr. Caroline Jackson of BVEP, and data analyst Nigel Williams.
Event First Steps was founded by Elena Clowes, Caitlin Kobrak and Priya Narain - and aims to help industry newcomers navigate and find their place within the events world. The trio initiated this diversity research project at the end of 2020, as they saw that no attempt had been made to do so beforehand within industry - they wanted to push their colleagues to walk the walk, instead of paying lip service to such an important matter.
Clowes says: ‘The first survey was a great start, but we knew going into it that it wouldn’t be a one time thing. Diversity is something that has always been an important focus for us at Event First Steps - we are passionate about having open conversations on the topic, and being part of the change. We are determined to help to create a better, more inclusive industry for the next generation of event professionals.’
‘Last year we saw a big focus on racial diversity for a few months across the industry’, adds Narain. ‘A lot of corporate statements and think pieces around the topic, which was great... but we are all painfully aware that making a difference in this area takes much longer and much more than an Instagram post or two, it requires deeper change. We are hoping the results of this year's survey show some marked improvement in our sector’.
Previously the survey drew in results from hundreds of event professionals - largely from the UK but with some insights from across the globe too. The team are hoping to double the respondent rate this year to help give an even bigger picture on the current state of the industry, and show the next focus areas for improvement.
One such area, as Kobrak notes, is around policy: ‘The previous survey results showed that 50% of respondents did not know of any policies or statements in place from their employers on diversity and inclusion - and we are really keen to see if there is a change here or not. Speaking to our industry partners around the UK, we knew that the intention was there to make a difference, so we would love to see some big changes to reflect that. It’s not only important for our current industry, but especially for the next wave of event professionals that we know are waiting in the wings.’
The survey is available HERE, and the Event First Steps team are asking anyone involved in the events industry to take part, no matter their role or seniority. Once the results are in, key takeaways and action points will be made widely available.
For any more information about the survey, or to talk to Event First Steps more about how they can help to make change in your workplace, contact them at eventfirststeps@gmail.com.
Monday, 17 January, 2022 - 11:38
17th January 2022, UK: RedBull Racing has appointed a new Senior Events Manager to join its Milton Keynes-based events and hospitality team. Emily Falconer previously served as General Manager at office provider Clockwise Offices and brings with her many years of events and marketing experience. She has also worked for established M&E brands such as No. 4 Hamilton Place and Lord’s Cricket Ground.
Emily joins the team during a bumper period, which has seen a buoyant return of the events market and a record-breaking number of visitor/delegate bookings to the site between July and December 2021.
The Team’s Director of Events and Hospitality, Nick Kenton, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Emily to our team, particularly during such a period of such intense growth for our business. She brings with her a wealth of events experience to the role from some great venues and we look forward to welcoming her into the exciting and fast-paced world of Formula One,” he added.
Emily’s role will involve overseeing a range of events at RedBull Racing’s 450-capacity Milton Keynes venue MK-7, including brand activations, receptions, dinners, conferences and intimate meetings. She will also support the delivery of the Team’s extensive hospitality programme.