What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 25 January 2016

Welcome to another week and we're gearing up for CONFEC Red here at Cloud 9 as Paula is off to Abu Dhabi next week as pat of our educational experiences oversees.

In an exclusive and intimate results-oriented business setting, CONFEC Red 2016 will bring together the United Kingdom’s top agencies, corporate and incentive organisers to meet with international major and emerging hotel chains, individual properties, unusual venues, convention bureaus, tourist boards and DMCs to participate in a series of one-on-one meetings over two dedicated business days.

As we're keen to encourage more of our clients to expand their horizons and start exploring the Middle East, this is the perfect opportunity for us to get some real first hand knowledge on the ground.

The event takes place amidst beautifully landscaped gardens, gurgling fountains and Venetian-inspired buildings at The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal. It offers a luxury beach resort experience minutes away from the city center. The honouring of different cultures can be found throughout the Abu Dhabi resort, from the Bedouin-inspired spa to the array of dining experiences. Located across from the iconic Sheikh Zayed Grand osque, this Abu Dhabi luxury resort offers a breathtaking setting and numerous facilities. It looks pretty good to us!

Whilst we are on the subject of trade shows, April is certainly a busy month. Not only is the CHS Show set for Leeds on 26 April, but we are already getting inundated with invitations to attend IMEX in Frankfurt from 19-21 April. The current count is seven invitations and we're still in January (just)!

However, the award for getting in early really has to go to Sandals who issued an invitation to attend the Meetings Show with them  in December and that's not until July!

So why are trade shows and keeping your knowledge about venues, destinations, hotels and DMC's important? It doesn't matter how long you have spent in the industry, its an ever changing landscape with new venues, changes in ownership, new opportunities for delegates in locations, new flight and travel options all to consider.

You might not have anything relevant or concrete to discuss and direct business to place there and then, but we've often found a hidden gem for a client, and more often than not been able to share our knowledge with clients in order to provide them with a wider portfolio for their consideration. Plus, you never know which enquiries might be next - a phone call could make all the difference and if you don't know anything about a certain region,  then its unlikely your client will have much confidence in your recommendations.

However it is a balancing act. We've had some amazing invitations here in the last few months alone and whilst we quite fancy sipping Mojotos in Manila in the Philippines, or Scuba Diving in the Seychelles, we might struggle to place any business there so we've had to politely decline.

What is great is that we've done a little business in Dubai in the past and are hopeful of more, so the Middle East is certainly one for the checklist here. We just hope that Paula is not sold for any camels - she's probably not worth more than one and it would be embarrassing to find out!

Have a great week!  

 


 

  

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 18 January 2016

Welcome to another week and whilst you still might be suffering from the Winter blues, we have the perfect antidote to lift your spirits and give you something to look forward to. If you are an agent, a venue, or a facilitator to the event industry then you need to get involved in the CHS Awards which we run in conjunction with the CHS Group.

You will probably know the CHS Group for their excellent annual trade show which takes place in Leeds each year or for their great series of Independent Venue Showcases which deliver great opportunities to discover hidden gems and independent venues for agents.

As an agent if you are not on their radar then you really should be as their hosted buyer programmes are great and the one day Show which is set for April 26 at the First Direct Arena offers a great opportunity to connect with all manner of new venues in an informal setting. They also have a great educational programme running with some amazing speakers. 

 

But the show aside, the awards are also great for agents. Let us tell you why. If you are an experienced agent then being a judge will be a great opportunity to cast an eye over venues and offer your insight. As a judge you also have the chance to help shape the awards and the categories for the future and play a vital role in deciding which venues should win in each category. This helps you connect and build relationships and you also get to come along to the awards event itself in May in Manchester for a great night out!

As an venue, CHS16 will help you connect with more than 700 key buyers from across the UK.  So whether you are a small independent venue looking to raise the profile of your business outside of your local area or you're part of a large chain and wish to promote a number of venues to new buyers, CHS16 should form an essential part of your marketing plan.

The addition of the Awards’ element offers another dimension to the show and a relatively inexpensive addition to the investment you have already made. CHS16 offers you a stress and hassle free exhibition and the awards themselves are no different, just another great excuse to network whilst maximising exposure of your venue to relevant buyers.

 

Sponsorship starts at just £500 but we are happy to tailor make packages to suit all budgets and we're always keen to hear any ideas that can enhance the event and our guests experience on the night.

So, you want something to look forward to? Look forward to a great show in April when we'll be announcing the nominations, and look forward to a great night in May in Manchester when on 25 at the Piccadilly Hotel, we'll be celebrating the awards with a gala dinner and glittering ceremony. The perfect cure for those January blues!

Have a great week!

 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 11 January 2016

Welcome to another week and whilst we have all been ‘locked down’ escaping the incessant rain - our sympathies go out to the people in the North of England, Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire etc. who were affected by the floods we witnessed over Christmas.  

As we waved goodbye to 2015, it was a time to reflect on all the lovely venues we visited last year.  At Cloud 9, we love our hidden gems and here are a few we unearthed:-

CharingworthManor:  Near the delightful area of Chipping Camden in the Cotswolds.

Charingworth were showcasing their beautiful new extension with amazing views over the stunning Cotswolds countryside.  We can thoroughly recommend the Pimms, which would rival anything served at Wimbledon. A great venue, with lots of potential for MICE business.

StanbrookAbbey: 

A former monastery, in beautiful grounds, with its own chapel, exclusive-use function rooms and hotel suites.  Stanbrook has added more hotel rooms to their venue and it is truly ‘Amazing’.  Located in the Malvern’s, an area of outstanding beauty – Stanbrook is a unique and beautifully renovated building, the bedrooms are luxurious and meeting space is unique.

Ashhorne Conference Centre:

Ashorne Hill is a dedicated conference centre set in 35 acres of Warwickshire countryside. The Grade II listed building offers a venue for conferencing and events, a bespoke training provider with residential accommodation.  Very near to Stratford upon Avon and M40.

TheMere: 

The Mere Golf Resort & Spa’s philosophy is centred on delivering a fantastic guest experience, whether you are staying with us for business or pleasure.  A short distance from Manchester and airport.  A multi-functional venue, offering seclusion and beauty in the Cheshire countryside.  Hosted CHS Independent Venue Show, providing excellent accommodation and meeting facilities.

Paula visited London and the rather incredible ME hotel, more to follow from the ME group in our February round-up.  www.melia.com/me-london

We look forward to welcoming our venue representatives to Cloud 9 Towers in the forthcoming months and will have the customary tea and biscuits ready to greet you.

A special thanks to:- Moulden Marketing for bringing the lovely ladies from Toulouse and gentlemen from the Accor Group, Madrid, Paris and Zurich.  We enjoyed meeting them all.  

The special familiarisation trip to Seville - following a successful visit to IBTM.

Paula’s rather fabulous visit to Portugal with Sana Hotels. The Cloud 9 Team start the year with lots of eventing, awards, incentives and projects. 

We are expanding our Free Venue Finding Service, Worldwide, and look forward to receiving your enquiries for MICE anywhere in the world.  Whether it’s a small meeting in Moscow, to a vast bash in Vegas, we are here to make it happen! 

Have a great week and don’t forget the CHS Awards deadline is looming!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 4 January 2016

Happy New Year to all and welcome to 2016. Here at Cloud 9 Towers we're back and raring to go after the festive break - and straight back into a busy time with client events and forward planning our year ahead.

The start of a new year traditionally brings the onset of resolutions, be it to lose weight, stop smoking or start training for some sporting challenge or goal and here at Cloud 9 most of the team have some sort of plan or other for change this coming year. Despite the fact that we think we are a pretty creative lot here, it seems that we could all do with an injection of imagination as some of our aims this year seem a little dull so instead, we've had a rethink and here are our resolutions for the year ahead...

First up, we are all going to try a new food each week. Forget the diets and quick fix weight loss programmes, but instead we are going to attempt to introduce or try a new food each week - something green and healthy is a bonus and instead of sticking with the same old lunches and trips to the biscuit tin when the munchies strike, we are going to try to eat better. With this in mind, if you are visiting us, please ditch the biscuits, cakes and chocolates for fruit or something exotic for us to try. Not only will it make your visit more special but also be more memorable!

Next on our list is a really big clear up and clear out. As we set the theme for many events we end up with an overflowing stock room full of everything from scientific vials to giant martini glasses to lava lamps to feathers galore. We did send a work experience student in once to try and take a stock check and we don't remember seeing them again...... But we really should sort this out as no doubt, all of the items can come in handy at some point, and we don't know just how much stuff we have.

Resolution three is simply to be a bit nicer. We think we are a pretty nice team already but we want to pay that forward a little. Each and every day we want to undertake an act of random kindness. Some of them might be grand gestures and some of them much more simple such as smiling at a stranger or paying a compliment to someone -but each and every day we are all going to remember how fortunate we all are in comparison to others and try and spread a little cheer wherever we can.

Whilst we are on the subject of being fortunate, the invitations we get to fam trips and experiences is amazing and we do consider ourselves to be incredibly lucky to be invited. We can't always spare the time or the bodies to go to everything but we are going to make sure that wherever we go, we are going to take a lot more photos to share as part of an online album. So that's our number four objective for 2016.

Five is also fairly easy. We are going to ditch the same old same old. It’s easy to get into a rut where we do the same things day in, day out, so in 2016 we plan to shake up our routines. Every week we are going to try and do one thing differently. Use a different route to the office, have a new lunch (see resolution one), wear something special, read a book we wouldn't normally consider or try a new genre of films. Instead of saving things for best or special occasions, we are going to treat every day like a special occasion - because in a way it is!

Number six is for all of us to learn a new skill of some sort. Whether is mastering another language from French to German to Klingon, whatever it is, we are all going to try and learn something new. It might be a party or magic trick, how to ice a cake like a professional, how to get 180 when playing darts (not that any of us play darts at present) or something weird and wonderful. It doesn't have to be a practical skill but something that we can say, we did that.

The next one requires some participation from the event industry as a whole and is inspired by a conversation with a fellow agent. We are going to try and encourage visitors from venues, DMC's or hotels to stop bringing us lots of expensive and unnecessary

promotional items and brochures which sit on a shelf gathering dust. Instead, we'd like to educate visitors to bring us practical items that will make better here at Cloud 9 and will make a difference to the office. No, we are not talking about large expensive items but branded loo paper, or tea bags or something that we use daily will be much better received. One of the best things we had all year in 2015 was from DeVere who bought us boxes of tissues - they sit on all of our desks and have been really appreciated! Pens are useful but we really do have enough now to open our own stationery shop and our kitchen cupboards are overflowing with mugs so please think practical rather than promotional please! We promise you, it will make you much more memorable...

Eight is about education. We all have strengths and weaknesses and some of our skills are good in certain areas but not all. So whether its finding out how to code, how to tweet, how to use excel, how to programme our internal phone system or some other work related function, we are all going to identify once a month something we don't know how to do, or how to improve and work on it. It's not going to change the world but it should improve our skill set and our collective output. 

Our final resolution is simply this. To wish everyone for the entire month of January a Happy and Healthy 2016. 

We recognise that this normally stops a week or so in, but January can be a long and flat month and therefore we are going to keep the momentum going as long as we can and try and spread a bit of New Year cheer. If that means saying it as с новым годом (Russian) or gelukkig nieuwjaar (Dutch) to keep it interesting so be it!So there you have it, nine resolutions from Cloud 9, enjoy!