Industry News, August 2009

The Royal Society is delighted to introduce a new venue due to open in summer 2010. Chicheley Hall is a unique and historically significant Grade I Georgian Country house set within 75 acres of glorious gardens and grounds. Located just outside Milton Keynes, it is only 30 minutes from London by train and hour and a half by car.  An extensive refurbishment project is underway to develop Chicheley Hall from a country manor house to a centre of scientific excellence which will be available for residential conferences and events. In addition to the refurbishment of the main house, the Royal Society is renovating the Grade II listed North and South Wings for bedrooms and the Grade II listed Coach House for lecture theatres.

Jurys Inn Aberdeen is situated in the heart of the city, the hotel will offer 203 bedrooms and 4 dedicated meeting rooms.

On Wednesday 9 September 2009, the 416-bedroom Royal Lancaster Hotel will change its name to the Lancaster London to reflect its location in the centre of London.

3 Albion Place is a unique venue in the centre of Leeds. Built as a private residence in 1820, it was converted in 1849 into ‘The Leeds Club’, a place where the city’s leaders could meet. Today it houses a selection of period style meeting and banqueting suites all equipped with the latest audio visual technology. They open an additional range of lower ground floor meeting and training rooms at the end of September. This comprises a main room to seat up to 50 theatre style and three small syndicate /training rooms seating 4-6 delegates in each. The main room has natural daylight and the complex is fully air-conditioned and equipped.

The Light, the 42 unit boutique ApartHotel has just opened in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. There is a selection of one and two bedroom apartments each with a fully equipped living area and kitchen. There are also two penthouse apartments, one with a private terrace and hot tub. In addition to its accommodation, The Light also offers meeting space for up to 12 delegates with a selection of three dedicated meeting areas in a live/work apartment, including a meeting suite with boardroom. By September 2009 it will also have a 24-hour reception and concierge, a bar and restaurant and a gymnasium. The Light is located within minutes of Manchester’s main rail stations and is less than 10 miles from Manchester International airport. It is within walking distance from the city’s business district and Manchester Central Convention Complex.

Four new hotels have just joined Best Western, the largest group of independently owned hotels in the UK. They include:

The Best Western Ship Hotel, Weybridge: Located a short distance from central London, it was once a coaching inn and is now an 85-bedroom modern hotel with a restaurant and bar overlooking a central courtyard. The hotel has three meetings rooms accommodating from 10 to 110 delegates.

Best Western Philipburn Country House Hotel, Selkirk: Situated on the outskirts of Selkirk in the Scottish Borders, the 12-bedroom, five-lodge hotel includes a fine dining restaurant, Charlie’s Bistro and Bar, as well as extensive gardens. There is a small amount of meeting space at the moment although the hotel is currently in the process of building a leisure centre with a pool and gym as well as a new conference room.

Best Western Marston Farm, Sutton Coldfield: An original 17th century farmhouse, this 37-bedroom hotel is situated in nine acres of countryside close to Birmingham and the M6. There is a lounge bar and a Courtyard Restaurant plus a range of meeting rooms.

Best Western Livermead Cliff Hotel, Torquay: This is a 67-bedroom hotel with direct access to the beach and sea and a short walk from the town centre. The hotel has a range of conference and meeting facilities which include the brand new Riviera Suite.

The Lensbury at Teddington Lock is currently undergoing refurbishment of their largest conference facilities, due to be completed by 5th October 2009. The other half of the conference centre is due to be completed next year.
TLSee – Tea, London & Sightseeing – the new afternoon tea concept at the Swissotel The Howard, London will be launching on 10th September with a special offer of £28 per person including a glass of Alain Thienot Champagne.

The Village Hotel in Solihull is a new build 128 bedroomed hotel scheduled to open mid October 2009.

The Hilton in Liverpool is a new contemporary style 215 bedroomed 4 star deluxe hotel opening in October. The Grace Suite is the main conference room seating 250 guests for a dinner and 450 theatre style. There are 8 smaller meeting rooms and an executive boardroom. All rooms have natural daylight and air conditioning.

Radisson Blu in Bristol is a new 176 bedroomed 4 star hotel opening on the Quayside in early October. There is a dedicated meetings and conference floor with 5 rooms, the largest holds 95 theatre style. All have natural daylight, climate control and wireless access.

Blythswood Square is a new 100 bedroomed 5 star hotel opening in September 2009 in the centre of Glasgow. There are 4 event rooms which form one to hold 70 theatre style and 50 for dinner.  There is also a state of the art screening room seating up to 50 people.
Day delegate rates as quoted by hotels and conference centres have fallen by 17 per cent across the UK in the last year, according to BDRC’s Meetings Benchmark Tracker programme. The results, which coincided with the launch of the 2009 UK Meetings Market Survey 2009, show the average DDR fell from £54.41 in July 2008 to £45.70 in July 2009. When asked about business in 2010, 53 per cent of agents predicted there would be no change in the number of events they organise, while 58 per cent believed budgets would be lower.

International

Jurys Inn Prague will open in September and be centrally located in the heart of Prague just 5 minutes from the old town. Offering 214 bedrooms, 2 dedicated meeting rooms plus restaurant and bar. Special opening rates from just 69.00 per night.