Industry News, February 2010

The Brighton Centre has £1m to invest in improving its public areas.

To help drive non-match day facilities for what could be the largest banquet and conference facility, Sussex CCC has £8m to develop, this will be phased over 2 years.

The Hilton Brighton Met this year will refurbish all 75 sea-facing bedrooms. The Thistle Brighton has recently been given a facelift.

Harrogate International Centre’s current expansion plan will add a further 3,400sqm of space across two additional halls, and this should be completed by Autumn of 2011.

Center Parcs has won the Green Business Awards for Biodiversity Protection. The Green Business Awards 2009 celebrate innovative, ambitious and effective initiatives by UK businesses for achieving environmental sustainability, and implementing smart business practice.

The Best Western Keavil House Hotel near Dumfermline in Fife has been recognised for its excellent standards by achieving the Best Western International Quality Award.

Property company Lend Lease has unveiled plans for a 5,200sqm events venue at retail complex Bluewater in Kent. The £60m Bluewater Events Venue is being hailed as “the next milestone in the evolution of Bluewater”. It aims to complement the existing offer with specialist consumer events housed in a purpose-built venue to provide a year-round, consumer-orientated leisure experience for the 28 million people who visit the site each year. Construction of the project will commence in Spring 2010 with the first events taking place in late 2011.

Restoration of the Northumberland, a venue that has not been used for the last 70 years, has now been completed. The stunning Grade II listed building has two event spaces perfect for conferences, dinners, awards and product launches.

Work has got underway on Tate Modern’s £215m re-development. The extension will add a further 5,000m² of gallery space to the iconic London venue, doubling the size of the existing building and boosting its available event space. The £215m project is expected to be completed in time for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Five million people a year currently visit Tate Modern. The venue’s restaurant, East Room and Members Room are all popular spaces with corporate event organisers.

In January 2010 – Brook Hotels LTD acquired the management contract for the following three hotels suited for both the business and leisure traveller.  The hotels are as follows: Queensferry Hotel – Queensferry, Edinburgh, Tewkesbury Park Golf & Country Club – Tewkesbury, Madison Hotel – Swindon. They form part of Brook Hotels which has now grown to 19 hotels throughout the United Kingdom, all of which offer great value for money and quality accommodation. With over 1000 rooms in the UK provincial market, Brook Hotels now command a strong presence in both commercial and leisure market.

Engineers’ House in Bristol has just completed works to expand their facility with the addition of the Clifton Suite. The 170 seat suite boasts the latest in video projection and audio equipment, with in-room multi-media systems to minimise on potential equipment incompatibilities. To ensure that these increased capacities don’t create bottlenecks in the restaurant, Venue Leader Martyn Bowen also increased the seating capacity of the venues restaurant by expanding into areas previously underutilised.

The Sheraton Grand in Edinburgh is refurbishing all its bedrooms and suites, increasing the number of rooms to 268 and creating an opulent Grand Suite and exclusive ‘club’ floor. The first phase of the work is to be completed by April, with all rooms to be completed by July.

The first phase of a major refurbishment at the Runneymede-on-Thames Hotel has seen the lobby, restaurant and meeting and event spaces completely transformed. Phase two will add a new pool and tennis courts during 2010.

The new Mercure Newcastle George Washington Hotel Golf and Spa brings the total number of Mercure hotels in the UK to 32, the hotel is situated on the outskirts of Newcastle Upon Tyne. The property has 2 large function rooms catering for groups of up to 180 delegates and there are seven syndicate rooms for smaller groups.

Sundial Group has been named No1 performing brand in the BDRC VenueVerdict Awards for customer service at UK hotels and meeting venues. The residential conference centre brand achieved an overall score of 80.8% across its portfolio during 2009. Park Plaza Cardiff was awarded No1 Hotel with an outstanding 90.3% and Maple House in Birmingham claimed the No1 Conference Centre Award. ETC Venues won the VenueVerdict Gold Standard Brand Award for the group with the greatest number of venues achieving the newly launched VenueVerdict Gold Award. 

The Congress Centre, London has just completed a £4.2m refurbishment.

Newly formed Akkeron Hotels has acquired eight properties from Folio Hotels which went into administration in 2008. The company hopes to build a port Folio of up to 150 regional hotels across the UK.

Portugese hotel group Pestana Hotels and Resorts will launch its first hotel in the UK in March. The 4* property in London will offer over 216 bedrooms and 1,500sqm of banqueting and meeting space over 2 levels.

The Ebury, located close to London’s Sloane Square, has just opened its first floor event’s space.  A stunning room with high ceilings, natural light and walnut wood decor.  It can seat up to 50 guests for dinner or accommodate 100 for a reception.

International

Courtyard Basel, with direct access to the most varied water park and spa in Switzerland, “aquabasilea”, welcomes guests beginning March 1, 2010. Located only 15 minutes from the city center of Basel, this is an ideal location for any business or private event. Direct access to “aquabasilea” with 13’000 sqm.  175 spacious and productive guest rooms. All six meeting rooms, with a surface area of 415 sq. m. are well equipped and provide daylight, free Internet access and pre-function areas. Gastronomy at its best is the trademark of the max-restaurant, bar & lounge. Business lounge, lobby great room, Courtyard GoBoard and The 24/7 Market Free shuttle service between hotel and train station Pratteln SBB.

Hotel Arts in Barcelona has unveiled a modern new meeting space with panoramic views of the city and the sea. Arts 41 offers six separate meeting spaces accommodating up to 200 people.

The Courtyard by Marriott Stockholm is a new upscale hotel offering 278 bedrooms and 12 state-of-the-art meeting rooms. The spacious bedrooms are amongst the largest in the city and include complimentary high speed internet and free access to the hotel’s fitness centre. The hotel is located in the Kungsholmen neighborhood of Stockholm, within walking distance of the city centre and next door to one of the city’s main metro stations. It is the smart lodging choice whether you are in town for business or visiting one of Stockholm’s many attractions. Access from both Stockholm Arlanda International Airport and Stockholm Bromma Airport is easy and uncomplicated. The hotel’s Björk Bar and Grill offers a casual dining experience centered around well-prepared quality fresh ingredients in a comfortable setting. For meetings and events, the Courtyard by Marriott Stockholm is equipped with 1,000 m2 of Conferencing space consisting of a 380 m2 divisible ballroom, multiple break-out rooms, and ample networking space.

The Tivoli Congress Centre is a new central venue in downtown Copenhagen due to open in October 2010. Tivoli Congress Center is located in the heart of Copenhagen within walking distance of Tivoli Gardens, Town Hall Square, the pedestrian shopping streets and the waterfront. Dramatic in architecture and excellently located Tivoli Congress Center is the obvious choice in Copenhagen for conferences, meetings, training courses, AGMs, exhibitions and hospitality events. Measuring over 1,500 m² in area the Congress Hall is a vast expanse with capacity to accommodate 2,500 people.

Sol Melia is pleased to announce an agreement to manage the brand new Melia Braga in Portugal, opening its doors in June 2010.

The Chedi Milan Hotel is to be re-branded as Radisson Blu Hotel, Milan. Dating from 2007, the property has 250 rooms and is located north of the city centre, close to Milan’s two trade fairs. The conference facilities measure 800sqm and there is a spa and indoor swimming pool.

The ICC Berlin has been voted the World’s Leading Conference and Convention Centre in the World Travel Awards for the 6th time.