What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 15 February 2016

Welcome to another week and it's crackers as ever here at Cloud 9 Towers. Friday was the deadline for the Midlands Media Student Awards which we run for the Birmingham Press Club and also the first official deadline for the CHS Awards which we run for the CHS Group - and for anyone panicking they have missed the deadline for CHS, fear not, the deadline has been extended for a couple of weeks more so still plenty of time to get your entries in!

In other news this week Paula is signed up for the WINiT European Conference and Drinks Reception which is hosted by the Luxury Hotels Group and being held in the Grand Ballroom at the Montcalm Hotel in London on 22 February.

Highlights include Craig Kreeger, Chief Executive, Virgin Atlantic Airways as keynote speaker, and panel discussions on negotiating skills and dealing with challenging people - always a useful tip in this business!

Hosted by Luxury Hotels Group in partnership with Women in Travel’s European conference and the Business Travel Show 2016, this is a rare opportunity to debate the industry's key issues and meet the people who could make a difference to your business in 2016 and beyond. Naturally, networking will be accompanied by drinks and delectable canapés, in the prestigious setting of the Ballroom at the Montcalm.

The event precedes the The Business Travel Show, held annually in London for more than 20 years, which is Europe’s largest specialised exhibition and conference bringing together 7,424 European travel professionals. 

This long established and reputable event provides corporate travel buyers and managers with the suppliers, knowledge and contacts to help create and develop successful travel programmes.

In other news this week we are also finally planning to get round to following up with all of the great people we met at CONFEC Red which was held in Abu Dhabi a couple of weeks ago.

Held in an exclusive and intimate results-oriented setting, CONFEC Red 2016 bought 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 bureaux, tourist boards and DMCs to participate in a series of one-on-one meetings over two dedicated business days.

It was pretty exhausting but highly enjoyable and the venue was certainly a great one - the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal which had a luxury beach, and amazing pool and whilst the schedule meant there was very little time for sunbathing, we did manage a quick dip and a little sun!

So that's it for this week, busy, busy and we wish everyone a great week! 

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!