Welcome to another week and its a week of travel, trips and events all round this week. Monday sees the Accor Paris Workshops so we're popping over on Monday to meet some 40 different hoteliers from France.
From M Gallery Hotels to Sofitels and Pullmans, there is a vast range of properties for us to meet and discover and given the awful events in Paris at the back end of last year, we are aiming to encourage our groups to visit the City of Light. Although its only a short trip (back Tuesday) it will be a great opportunity to reconnect with some of the hotels we know, and connect with some that we don't.
Wednesday is already full as not only do we have a German Group to meet in Nottingham, we are also off to the launch of the Nottingham Food & Drink Awards for 2016 at the Malt Cross in the City.
From Thursday its the HBAA All About People Conference in Alicante. The Forum will be held at the five-star Barcelo Asia Gardens & Thai Spa in
Alicante, and will bring together UK based agents who make overseas M&E
bookings on behalf of their corporate clients, and the supplier venues who can
accommodate their events.
The event will promote building relationships and developing industry best
practice in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.
So as you can see, it's pretty much a week of packing, unpacking and repacking again so we thought it timely to share with you our suggestions on successful packing, Cloud 9 style!
First up is making sure your suitcase stands out for the crowd!
The last thing anyone wants is to be faced with an airport baggage carousel crisis where you can't identify your luggage from other almost identical cases. Make sure you have a luggae label and ribbons and stickers can also help - it used to be that a brightly coloured case made life easier, but there are so many around now its hard to spot your case!
You can avoid shoes marking your clothes by popping disposable shower caps over them (pinched from hotels we know!) and you can also use the shower caps for keeping chargers and cables neatly packed and not all jumbled up. If you hate ironing, the last thing you want is to iron to pack, only to find your clothes creased when you unpack so roll items where you can.
This saves space as well, and don't forget to fill the inside of your shoes with any bits and bobs such as jewellery or smaller items like underwear. A great way to keep your clothes nice and fresh whilst you are
travelling is to either pop in a drawer liner, scented fabric sheet or
even a tissue sprayed with your favourite scent
Also, if you are like the majority of us, you always end up taking far too many clothes, so pick a colour scheme and some complimentary and matching items which you can mix and match for the perfect wardrobe - this will also save you taking too many pairs of shoes!
We suggest a weigh in too! There is nothing worse than being charged for excess baggage at airports so check before your travel that your case meets the weight or size requirements. If its overweight then reconsider what you have packed - do you really need to take everything you have packed?
Avoid leaky cosmetics and toiletries ruining your clothes with good old fashioned cling film or the trusty shower caps and make sure you pack a roll for the return journey too - or buy small versions of what you need so you can donate and leave them without the need for bringing them back.
A great way to keep your clothes nice and fresh whilst you are travelling is to either pop in a drawer liner, scented fabric sheet or even a tissue sprayed with your favourite scent
Finally, and just in case, make sure you keep your essentials handy just in case your suitcase is lost. Valuables, medication and anything else that yo would be lost without needs to stay with you!
So there you have it, the Cloud 9 packing guide!
Have a great week and happy travels wherever you might be going!
