What's Floating Around? 28 July 2014

Welcome to another week and although we are mad busy with a hundred and one different projects, this week is all about Maiden Voyage.

We're huge fans of the concept of Maiden Voyage and working quite closely with its founder on a number of projects so do keep checking back as there is all sorts of exciting news ahead looming, but what exactly is Maiden Voyage?

It was on a lonely business trip to LA that Maiden Voyage's founder, Carolyn Pearson came up with the idea of an internet networking site through which business women could meet up with like-minded women to make the most of their leisure time whilst travelling. Encouragement to bring the site to life came from other business women who had spent many lonely evenings in their hotel rooms, often working, usually eating room service to avoid the embarrassment of eating alone in public places and receiving unwanted male attention.

Maiden Voyage aims to connect women who are travelling so that they can meet and socialise in all manner of ways, be it over dinner, a trip to the theatre or even something more adventurous such as roller-blading. The primary aim is fun rather than business, but if business relationships are born then that's an added bonus. They also aim to bring useful travel and safety information to their readers and recommend products and services which appeal to the female business traveller.

Not just for individuals, they recognise that many organisations have a large population of female travellers, many who are unaware that colleagues from around the world are staying in the same city. With corporate or group membership, ladies can network with their extended peer groups, build friendships and foundations for a closer working relationship back at the office.

Benefits of joining maiden-voyage.com include:

• Free membership for both individual and corporate members
• Secure networking with other professional women around the world
• Access to a network of international ambassadors who can give you inside information about their home cities, recommend places to stay or even meet or assist you on your travels
• Access to our database of hotel inspection results, including all the hotels who have failed to meet our female friendly criteria
• Opportunity to become a hotel inspector
• Discounted rates (for UK residents) for pre-booked parking at particpating  Q-Park car parks
• 10% Discount on Airport Parking, Hotel and Airport Hotel and Parking Package and Executive Style Airport Lounges from APH
• 50% Discount on a years subscription to Business Traveller Magazine

Join their mailing list to keep up to date with exclusive offers, competitions, events, news and our latest recommended female friendly hotels.  Join their mailing list here.

Hotels featured on their site have been personally inspected by a female representative of maiden-voyage.com. Only those properties which pass a stringent inspection will be recommendced.  maiden-voyage.com ladies have high expectations; as a minimum properties must have 24h manned reception, a well lit entrance and secure rooms with at least two independent locks.

In addition, they like those added extra's to make our stay extra special, such as quality toiletries, maybe Elemis, Aveda or Ren, a selection of ladies magazines, proper hairdryers (no vacuum hoses or push button models please), removable coat hangers and perhaps some nice herbal teas.

If you are a female traveller, we urge you to sign up for Maiden Voyage and if you are one of our hotels, then please ask us about Maiden Voyage, it really will be worth it.

So there you have it, a female friendly blog for fabulous females...!

Have a fabulous week! 

What's Floating Around? 21 July 2014

Our blog this week is written by the lovely Helen….

Welcome to another week at Cloud 9 towers. From a promised British heatwave, which true to form for English weather only lasted a day here, to two new members joining the team, it’s been a busy busy week!

Our two new interns, Toby and Helen, have been getting stuck into life at Cloud 9 and learning the ropes. Toby who’s nervously waiting for his A Level results, is hoping to study Management at London School of Economics in September, so we’re all trying our best to keep his mind off it by keeping him busy. Helen who studies business at Loughborough University, is here for a few weeks to learn more about event management, before she goes back for her final year.

So what have we been up to this week?

We've been busy with lots of visitors coming to join us in our ‘so not bored room’ aka our meeting room, including Sharon Bannister and her team from Corinthia, Graham Saunders from Sandals, who invited Rubina to Jamaica to see their fifteen resorts, and Jade Sill from Best Western group.

Needless to say we've kept the biscuit tin topped up this week, and the kettle on constant boil. Our doors are always open, so let us know if you want to pop in and have a chat to us. We’ll provide the biscuits!  

Paula had a brilliant time at The PA Club at Alea casino, presenting Cloud 9’s newest venture ‘FUSE’ on Thursday. FUSE is our free venue finding service, and we’re all about taking the hassle out of your event, by offering advice on social media, event styling and post event evaluation techniques. Her game of ‘30 things in our event survival bag’ went down a treat over dinner, with many weird and random guesses.

We've been inundated with entries for the Fresh Awards, so we've been busy processing, unpacking and being blown away by the quality of entries so far. Don’t forget the deadline is the 31st of July, so keep those entries coming! Harriet’s been busy booking entertainment for the judging panel for Fresh, they've certainly got some treats lined up after a busy day of judging.

Next week looks to be as bustling as this one, with Harriet, Rubina and Toby off to visit Yew Lodge Hotel, which Jade Sill kindly invited us to visit before the £0.25 million makeover starts in January 2015.

Paula, Shannon and Toby are off to London on Thursday for the PR judging for the Fresh Awards, our award programme to recognise and reward the best in Creative, Digital, Media and Public Relations in the UK.

Harriet & Rubina are off to the Village Hotel for the reopening of the Verge Bar and Grill, to sample their new dishes, and yes we are jealous! Finally on Friday afternoon, we’re off on a staff outing to the Hinckley Island Hotel, I think a treat is in order after our hard work over the last couple of weeks!

So that's it for this week folks, have a good one! 

What's Floating Around? 14 July 2014

Our blog this week has been written by Harriet Taylor who is back with us for a third summer as an intern, as she completes her Event Management degree at Leeds

Metropolitan University.

Welcome to another week and did you know that today is  “Orangemen’s Day” a public holiday in Northern Ireland to commemorate the anniversary of The Battle of the Boyne on Ireland’s East Coast in 1690. If you’re in Northern Ireland you may come across various marching bands or large group walks of men wearing black bowler hats and white gloves holding orange flags.

What a jam-packed week we’ve had. Whilst we held the fort here in Nottingham, last week half of our team had the fabulous opportunity to attend The Meetings Show in London as hosted buyers.

After a well deserved coffee and a catch up in the board room we’ve heard tales of David Beckham lookalikes, Jamaican Parties with Sandals and even on-the-go afternoon teas’s on red London bus’s… Although I doubt the scones had a chance to roll of the plates before our hungry bunch had scoffed them! Carol is, of course, extremely jealous.

If you feel like you’d enjoy a BB Afternoon Tea Bus Tour experience as much as we did then why not have a go for yourself?
 

Here are the piping hot facts:
 

• The tour costs £45 per adult and £35 per child.
• Babies and very young kids aren't permitted on the tour.
• The bus currently departs from Belvedere Road, opposite the London Eye
• The BB bus is available for private hire and bespoke afternoon tea tours. Prices start at around £990 to hire the whole bus.
• The bus fits 22 people on the top deck, and 12 downstairs.
•  Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free afternoon teas are available on request.
• Alcohol isn't served, but you can bring your own bottle for a corkage fee. 
•  The tour is 1 hour 30 minutes long.

To book on, follow the link below:

http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/uk/london/south-bank/bb-bakery-bus/

Finally, re-united, the phones are non-stop and we’re all raring for another week of whatever we can sink our teeth into (and whatever you can throw at us.) So lets have a look at what's going on for Cloud 9 this week.

The Brand You Awards deadline is tomorrow, so as you can imagine it’s all speed ahead as we gather together those final entries that are flooding in. With one day left get your entries in, else you’ll be kicking yourself afterwards.

We’re looking forward to having a catch up over a cuppa with Jade Sill from Best Western Hotel group tomorrow. We pride ourselves here at Cloud 9 on our brilliant relationships we hold with reliable and trustworthy hotel chains. We better dig the posh biscuits out of the cupboard then!

Paula is pondering over which nail varnish will match her outfit ready to be up on stage presenting Cloud 9’s latest asset “FUSE” to The PA Club at Alea casino this Thursday. FUSE is a completely free service that we provide here at Cloud 9. Designed to make your next event go with a bang, but without blowing a fuse. We offer free venue finding, experienced advise for suitable means of social media, event styling and post-event evaluation techniques to help make your life easier.

(Please note that Paula has allowed this paragraph to remain the blog!)

So that's it for another week, enjoy! 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 7 July 2014

Welcome to another week and although we are incredibly busy with a variety of projects for clients, it would only be fitting to class this week as party central!

As part of The Meetings Show, which the majority of the team are attending, we have been inundated with invitations to attend some rather lovely events and although it's not physically possibly to attend everything, we are doing our best to hold up the Cloud 9 banner this next week.

As hosted buyers, we're jumping on an early train down on the Tuesday and by the time we get to London we are sure that some of our industry colleagues will be nursing sore heads from the rather fabulous Lime Venue Portfolio Party which is tonight. 

Held at the fantastic Science Museum without the daytime crowds, guests will enjoy a wonderful cocktail reception, win great prizes, and meet great people, suppliers and the UK's largest portfolio of unusual venues. With the award winning catering of Payne and Gunter and entertainment by Steampunk entertainers, it looks like a great do.

Tuesday evening will see us at the Jamaican Embassy with the lovely people from Sandals and Virgin Atlantic, as they host a night of Caribean fun. With rum punch and steel bands, we only hope that the weather is as good as it is in Jamaica!

Wednesday night is Accor Party and we are really looking forward to it as we will have the opportunity to brag about our footballing skills (see last weeks blog) in the marvellous High Road House, whilst enjoying cocktails and canapes with some amazing entertainment.

Thursday as we head home, Shannon and Paula are taking a diversion to Birmingham for not one, but two Summer BBQ's. The first at a regular venue of ours, Aston Villa and the second with a client at The Studio.

By Friday we might be all partied out, but the Cloud 9 show goes on and we are a hardened bunch here so work will continue all week. 

We recognise that we are very lucky to work in such an engaging and entertaining industry, and this got us thinking, with so many party invitations (and we don't accept that many we promise) which are the biggest and best parties in the world?

After a little light digging, its amazing at just what goes on in the world and starting with Thailand, there is the Full Moon Party. Held either the night before or after the full moon, these all-night ragers draw as many as 30,000 people. Revellers drop in to bars and clubs along the beach to dance and indulge in liquor sold in buckets. There are several huge sound systems along the beach, and partiers can hear a range of music from R&B to trance and house. Although these parties have been associated with drug use, authorities on the island are reportedly cleaning up the celebrations.

Tomato juice flows through the streets of Bunol on the last Wednesday of August as revellers take part in the world’s largest tomato fight. La Tomatina in Spain see's festivities begin in the town square where there is a huge pole covered in soap and with a leg of ham at the top. Participants try to scramble up the pole to retrieve the ham as onlookers throw buckets of water on the crowd from balconies above. After a gun is fired to signal the beginning of the fight, huge trucks carrying tomatoes appear. People grab their ammunition and pelt each other in the streets until the pistol sounds again, marking the end of the event.

This annual Carnival of Ivrea celebrates the city’s liberation from a baron who starved citizens during Medieval times. As the story goes, a miller’s daughter roused the town to revolt and drive out the baron. The event, which takes place the week before Lent, is perhaps best known for its raucous Battle of the Oranges. Teams gather in the city’s main squares to re-enact the citizen’s rebellion by lobbing oranges at one another. Anyone can join a team to participate, but you might want to wear your raincoat and Wellies.

Fasnacht, in Switzerland is the country's biggest party with roughly 20,000 masked revellers taking part. Festivities kick off at four in the morning on the Monday after Ash Wednesday, when all the lights in the city go out and groups of costumed pipers and drummers parade through the town with lanterns. Celebrations continue throughout the week with lots of drinking and singing. Some groups act out notable events from the previous year in what’s known as the Schnitzelbängg.

Burning Man, Nevada: This infamous festival began in 1986 with the burning of a large-scale effigy to mark the summer solstice. It’s since grown into a week-long annual event that draws more than 48,000 people to the Black Rock Dessert. Held during the week before Labour Day, participants set up camp in the desert to celebrate art, self-expression and self-reliance. Each year has a theme which artists are encouraged to interpret through installations and performances. “Mutant vehicles,” redesigned cars and trucks, are staples of the event, as is the burning of a 40-foot “Man” structure.

For nine days in October, Cape Breton is alive with Celtic culture from all over the world. This annual festival draws more than 10,000 visitors to celebrate with music, dance and events in communities across the island. Craft workshops, lectures on Celtic history and square dances are all on offer, as are community meals where visitors and community members come together over home-cooked food. Artists get together for an informal jam session at the Festival Club, located at the Gaelic College in St. Ann’s, where the bar is open until 3 am.

Songkran in Thailand marks the Thai New Year, which is celebrated in the second week of April. This is the hottest time of the year in Thailand, so it makes sense that the biggest Songkran tradition is to throw water on people. A soaking is considered a blessing and it’s a sacred practice. Traditionally, people would bestow blessings by pouring scented water on each other’s hands. But today, Thais of all ages engage in full-blown water fights, using buckets, hoses and water guns to celebrate the event. Now we like a good water fight at Cloud 9 but then again, we would have to invest in some serious water proof mascara we feel!

With Bay to Breakers, in San Francisco This is a 12k race and party rolled into one. Held annually in late May, it’s one of the oldest foot races in the world and draws more than 50,000 participants. What makes Bay to Breakers so much fun is that many people run in wacky costumes. There’s a costume contest offering prizes for categories including Most Original, Best Group and Best Musical Theme. Several live bands provide a lively soundtrack along the route. One of the worrying things about this particular party is the amount of people who choose to run completely naked! Just Google it if you don't believe us!

So party central indeed, have a great week and enjoy!