What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 19 October 2015

Welcome to another week and we are delighted to announce the launch of the new Character Awards which we are managing on behalf of the lovely team at the CHS Group.

Last years inaugural CHS Awards were a resounding success so the new look Character Awards will provide even more opportunities for venues to showcase aspects or facilities of their properties.

The date has now been confirmed for our very special Awards’ Gala Dinner, being held at one of Manchester’s Landmark hotels, The Manchester Mercure Piccadilly, on Wednesday 25 May 2016.  Please do save the date as we sold out last year and want to make sure everyone can join us.

Dave Lloyd, Director of Sales, at The Piccadilly, has very generously agreed to be one of the sponsors for this special Industry Night.  Big thanks to the Piccadilly for their support.

The Character Awards are open to all hotels and venues outside of the M25.  So, lots of exposure for everyone nationally!  The Character Awards 2016 is the perfect platform for buyers, venues and sponsors to celebrate in style! www.characterawards.co.uk and #character16 will be going live next week.

Here is a sneaky peek at the categories:

1:         Best Anticipated Launch/Refurbishment
2:         Best Boardroom/Small Meeting Room
3:         Best Bedroom (Classical)
4:         Best Bedroom (Funky)
5:         Best DDR / 24 hour Rate
6:         Best External Space
7:         Best Welcome Guest Experience
8:         Best Onsite Leisure Facilities
9:         Best Unusual Event Space
10:       Best Large Conference/Exhibition Space
11:       Best UK Representation of an International Venue
12:       Best UK Representation of a UK Venue
13:       Best Green/Sustainable Venue
14:       Best Outside Catering Company
15:       Best Onsite Audio Visual
16:       Best Venue Communication
17:       Best Independent Venue
18:       Best Group Brand
19:       Best Auditorium
20:       Chairman’s Award
The finalists will be announced at the Conference and Hospitality Show on Tuesday 26 April 2016 www.conferenceandhospitalityshow.co.uk.

There are several opportunities available to sponsor a category, support or enhance the Awards, including one VIP Package for a Headline Sponsor, please call Janet Cattell -  for Sponsorship, Entry forms and Awards’ Dinner tickets - janet@cloud9em.co.uk - Contact: +44 (0) 115 933 3811

In other news this week we are also pleased to be working with the team at St Mary's in the Lace Market in Nottingham. No, we have not moved to the other side of the agent/venue fence, but with such a stunning and spectacular property we feel that being given the opportunity to oversee and market their events is a really fantastic experience.

We will be letting all of the lovely agents in the UK know about the exciting possibilities for events at St Mary's and the event space itself is really fabulous.

It's early days and we are still preparing some of the marketing materials and the website but we encourage anyone who is thinking of hosting a corporate event in Nottingham to think St Mary's.

Finally this week, don't forget to come and say hello to us at the Rushcliffe Business Partnership Showcase Event on Tuesday which is being held at the British Geological Survey in Keyworth.

Have a great week all! 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 13 October 2015

Welcome to another week and whoops, we missed a day. No, it's not a Bank Holiday, we've simply been a little manic as per usual here at Cloud 9 Towers with all sorts of events and client meetings!

But normal service should be resumed now that last weeks Fresh events are both over although our schedule can hardly be called quiet in the coming weeks..but we are always on the look out for new opportunities and therefore next Tuesday we're off to show off at an exhibition.

The biggest business event of the year in Rushcliffe returns to the venue of the British Geological Survey in Keyworth in 2015 and is set to see a year-on-year growth in delegates and displays. John Collins, chair of the Rushcliffe Business Partnership, said: “We have been running this annual showcase event for several years now and it continues to become more popular and more successful. Holding the event at BGS last year proved to be a great success so we will be returning there again this year. The facilities at BGS are world-class and have benefitted from a £20 million refurbishment, providing the space to allow our event to grow as we receive more and more demand."

Now in its 5th year, this un-missable event on Tuesday 20th October is expected to be attended by over 250 delegates from Rushcliffe businesses. We encourage local business people to register early to avoid disappointment. Delegates will have plenty of time for informal networking among potential new customers and suppliers and the opportunity to visit numerous display stands hosted by local and national businesses. There will also be a high quality line-up of top speakers offering insights and helpful tips into running successful businesses and encouraging business growth.

Whilst we are in exhibition mode, on the afternoon of the 20th October, Janet is off to Manchester to join the CHS team at their Independent Venue Show at the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester with around 50 great independent venues and hotels from across the UK.

 

There is also the opportunity to take part in their educational sessions and enjoy great hospitality as the event will finish with a memorable after show party where Janet will experience the famous CHS hospitality first hand. Victoria Warehouse is an iconic industrial warehouse which is an exciting venue to relax and network with peers and hoteliers to strengthen existing relationships and build new ones. She will no doubt grab a drink and chill out to the funky hispanic vibe whilst enjoying the authentic Mexican street food which will be cooked in an open kitchen for all to see! 

Then Paula is off to Portugal with the Sana Hotel Group team for an education visit taking in both Lisbon and the Algarve..but more of that to come later! 

Lastly this week, we'd like to encourage all of our readers to vote for Nottingham in Englands Home of Sport Campaign. 

Historic cricket ground Trent Bridge was recently the site of our glorious Ashes win, while the Aegon Open returned to the city this summer for the first time since 2008. Robin Hood fans can go back to Nottingham’s heritage, and play Archery at Sherwood Forest or take the ultimate fitness test in the Outlaw Triathlon, a gruelling Ironman-distance course. Having received more nominations than any other English destination, Nottingham is a worthy finalist in VisitEngland’s Home of Sport.

Have a great week! 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 5 October 2015

Welcome to another week and its still all go here at Cloud 9 Towers, and we're off to Manchester at the back end of the week for both the Fresh PR & Fresh Creative Awards at the Piccadilly Hotel.

Whilst we are on the subject of Manchester, it looks like there will be another 622 hotel rooms to add to the mix as there are five new hotels planned for the City. 

We've already seen Hotel Gotham, Hotel Football and the new Melia Hotel open as part of the huge First Street Development, all this year and yet there are more to come!

First up is The Trafford City Hotel which will be a 203-room hotel covering a 1.75-acre site opposite Trafford Centre's EventCity. Work on the hotel is anticipated to start early next year prior to the planned Metrolink extension to the Trafford Centre set for 2018/19.

Budget airline easyJet have announced plans to convert a Grade II listed building in the Northern Quarter into a six story 116 room budget easyHotel. They already have easyHotels in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow (plus lots of International ones) and Manchester is next. 

Work on Bradley House which is know locally as The Flatiron Building and sits on the corner of Dale Street and Newton Street is due to start next Summer.

Travelodge has plans for two additional hotels in South Manchester. One with 86 rooms in Stockport on Heaton Lane and one in Sale on Cross Street, with 67 rooms and work on both should be up and running before the end of the year, with plans to open late in 2016.

Travelodge already have 16 hotels throughout Greater Manchester and long term they have plans to look at further seven new sites to increase their portfolio. Potential sites include two in in Manchester central, plus locations in Cheadle, Oldham, Rochdale, Wigan and Worsley.

Last but by no means least, Hilton are starting work on a new 150-room, four-star hotel at Emirates Old Trafford. The existing 68 room lodge is being replaced and the new hotel will feature a bar, cafe, ticket office, glazed bridge link to the pavilion and balconies overlooking the cricket pitch. Now news yet on an opening date, but exciting times ahead in the City all round!

We are also aware that there are other plans afoot, throughout Manchester and the Thistle on Portland Street is being rebranded as a Mercure, plans have been submitted for a new

350-room hotel planned for the 24-acre Mayfield Quarter development at Manchester Piccadilly and there are also plans for a 'major five-star hotel by Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.

Additionally Allied London are looking at the potential for two or three new hotels in Manchester, Crown Plaza with a new 210 room hotel and the Staybridge Suites with 116 Rooms both on Oxford Road to be near the Manchester campus redevelopment. There are also plans in place for a new four-star hotel within Urban & Civic's £75m Gay Village development, with plans for another 200-bed hotel for a scheme at the Marriott Rennaisance hotel on Deansgate.

There might already be 11,000 hotel rooms in Manchester with around 7000 of these in the City Centre, but you can guarantee when you want a room you might struggle, such is the popularity of Manchester as a destination for both business and leisure. Good job we're around to help you make an informed choice!

Have a great week! 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 28 September 2015

Welcome to another week and its another manic one here at Cloud 9 Towers. We've two big awards events looming and launching another three whilst we also have various other events on the go, plus our free venue finding service is also a little popular at present but we'd rather be like this and busy and buzzy than wondering what to do next!

With training courses, new business meetings, websites to update, social media and the endless stream of emails (and yes we are still being invited on endless fams despite Paula's Blog on the CHS Group website last week), it can be tricky to squeeze everything in.

So we could use this week's blog to wax lyrical about time management and also to save a bit of time we could just blatantly pinch the online offering of some training company. But instead and to keep it personal, we thought we would share our tips for keeping all of those plates spinning! 

Our first rule here is about emails. There was life before emails and electronic communication which our younger team don't seem to fully appreciate, but we spoke to people, we telephoned them, we visited them and if needs be, we then wrote to them afterwards to confirm exactly what we had spoken about. This process could have taken a couple of days and factor in postage and weekends and sometimes it could be almost a week. Whilst we appreciate we live in a society where everyone, including clients, wants everything now, but the world really won't end if you leave your emails a little while. That's why we ban anyone looking at emails until 9.30am in the morning. 

That first half an hour in a morning allows you to focus on what you need to do that day and catch up on anything you may have missed. We also use this time to look at our social media and make sure everything that should be up to date, is up to date. If anything really is that urgent, then call us. Or text us, or message us. Just don't email us unless you really need to, and whatever you do, don't fax us. We're not sure how the fax even works any more!

Next up is sharing. No matter how experienced or knowledgeable you think you are, it's important to remember that you are still always continually learning and whatever you think you know, there is probably someone else who knows as much if not more. It doesn't matter if you have always done something in the same way for years and years. Getting a fresh perspective on how to work differently and more efficiently can be a really useful thing especially when you have a lot on.It may be sound obvious, but it's something that many managers often forget, especially when it comes to how they manage their time. In fact, some of our biggest time management mistakes are simply caused because you don't know any better?

Also sharing skills can be a massive help. Assign tasks to those who are pretty good at that particular aspect of a project and ensure those that need some help with certain tasks or some additional training in that area, understand why things are done in certain ways. That way everyone benefits...and even though every project at Cloud 9 has someone to lead it, every project, event and client we have are collectively discussed to make sure we are using each of our own particular skill set.

This is photograph A 1699 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.

Communication is also vital and it doesn't matter how great your external communication is with clients, if people don't understand what is happening internally, then you have no or little excuse when things go wrong.

Whilst we all might complain about the sheer number of emails we all get everyday, BCC has become our friend here at Cloud 9. Forget Blind Carbon Copy the original glossary of BCC, as here it stands for Better Clouds Connected. On a large proportion of our daily emails we BCC in at least another person or a couple of people in the team.

The couple of seconds it takes to do this, and to briefly scan an email that's been sent out, can firstly stop having to have unnecessary meetings but also means that if one of the team is suddenly kidnapped by aliens or worse still, run over by the No.47 bus, then as sad as we would be, at least one other person on the team has a fighting chance of picking up a project to ensures its successful continuation!

So knowledge is power and sharing key. We're also list maniacs here. One a week which we are collectively responsible for. It's amazing what you can do with the power of a few bodies all pitching in!

 
Just ask any of our clients! So, have a great week, see you soon!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 21 September 2015

Welcome to another week and we like a little technology here at Cloud 9 Towers so we are finding it fascinating that the simple hotel Apps that we are all fairly used to for booking hotels, have really come on leaps and bounds recently.

We’ve not found an App yet that will do everything we want but some of the bigger hotel chains are really stepping up the features and making guest experiences much more interactive.

For example, The Ritz-Carlton brand is all about helping you to create lasting memories of your stay, and with their enhanced mobile app, you can enrich your hotel experiences and share them more easily than ever.

You can check in prior to your arrival and receive a notification when your room is ready and check out without stopping at the front desk and having to queue and you can also view your bill and track and any extra charges through the app. Additionally, it doesn’t matter whether you need a shoeshine, turndown service or more fresh towels, you can request it via the app rather than ring housekeeping.

Another lovely feature via the Ritz Carlton App is that you can transform your photos into unique, vintage-inspired travel posters that you can share easily and as they use GPS technology, once the app recognises that you have arrived, you’ll be sent all sorts of special offers and tips from the Group President.

With the Hilton Hotels & Resorts app for iPhone, you can browse, book and access your information on the go really easily but in addition, there are all sorts of extra features these days such as being able to access pillow menus in advance so your room is just how you want it on arrival.

No need to check in either, you can simply access your room using the App, so if you don’t want to wait, or are simply feeling like having some alone time, you can pretty much sneak in and out without seeing anyone at all!

Starwood also have an app and their new SPG app delivers a richer, more intuitive experience that’s loaded with the features you want. Not only do you get access to the 1,200 hotels and resorts of Starwood’s award-winning loyalty program, but you can also explore all of the brands from Sheraton and Westins, through to W and Le Méridien.

It has all of the usual features you would expect including the opportunity to book and check in well in advance, and provides all of the latest offers and promotions, but it also has lots of hotel information related to your travel plans and around the clock assistance from the SPG support team.

We do also like the fact that you can store your hotel room number so you never lose it, which is handy if you like a particular room at a specific hotel and also there is a great feature which provides an In-language address for when you’re travelling abroad.

Finally the Accor App which allows you to access and book with all of their brands including ibis, Novotel, Mercure, Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Suite Novotel, Adagio, ibis Styles, ibis budget, hotelF1, and Mama Shelter.

Yes you can book and find a hotel near you if needs be, but you can also watch each of the hotels videos in advance and access the trip Advisor rankings on each in advance to help you make an informed choice.

In addition to sending you a booking reminder once you have booked, you can check in online from 2 days before your arrival at the hotel and even check the wether at your destination before your trip so you know what to pack!

The App also allows you to book your own Uber private car to get to your hotel and allows you access to your favourite press publications for free on your mobile using ACCOR PRESS powered by PressReader.

And something which is really rather clever, is that you can discover just where the in crowd are going as you can check the most popular destinations within the Accor portfolio, Berlin to Bangkok, Lyon to London, Strasbourg to Sydney.

So, app(y) booking everyone, have a great week!