What's Floating Around? 8 April 2019

Welcome to another week,  #eventprofs and we are still a bit miffed that our top tip for the Grand National on Saturday, fell at the first fence! How could we not pick Vintage Cloud as our horse, and it sadly fell at the first fence, and luckily with no real damage to horse of rider. 

Love it or hate it, the National is one of those events that really gets under the skin of the entire nation and although we have no idea which other event professionals backed a particular horse, we like to think that most of them opted for a name - which is our tried and tested method rather than looking at the actual odds or form. 

So Cloud 9 and Vintage Cloud was a natural choice which got us to wonder who else picked a name based on the affinity between brand and bobo! 

General Principle which fell at the 19th was probably a pick for those at Principle Hotels and Jury Duty which also fell at the same fence for Jury's Hotels?

The Hotel Minella & Leisure Centre in Clonmel in Ireland probably picked Minella Rocca - which pulled up at the 21st Fence, and Lake View Lad which pulled up at the 27th Fence, was probably a pick for the Lake View Hotel team in Snowdon. 

There are slightly random others which would work with a little imagination but its clear with the results on Saturday, that event professionals should stick to what they know - running events and booking venues rather than trying to be horse racing tipsters! 

Have a great week...!

What's Floating Around? 1 April 2019

Welcome to another week everyone and as it's April Fools Day, we thought we would take a quick look at some of the best Hotel Pranks.

A couple of years ago, at a Travelodge in Australia, they announced the launch of a  new Whiff & Wake Service. This was said to entail the smell of frying bacon being blown into guests’ rooms to help them wake up. The hotel chain said the new service was in response to an increasing number of guests reporting to struggle with snoozing through their alarm clocks in the morning. 

Back in 2009, the agency TTG Digital said it was going to open the world’s first ‘Hover Hotel’ in Dubai and that the 20-room boutique hotel, was apparently going to hover approximately a kilometre off the ground.

But perhaps our favourite story was in 2015 when the The Telegraph reported that Italian authorities were planning to turn the Leaning Tower of Pisa into a hotel called 3.99 Degrees. The newspaper claimed to have learned about the plans from a leaked document, which stated the hotel rooms would cost more than £14,000 per night. The article even stated a local carpenter had offered to make special beds with legs of differing lengths, so guests didn’t have to sleep at an angle. 

Stay sharp today and have a great week! 

What's Floating Around? 25 March 2019

Welcome to another week and it occurs to us sometimes (and we do check the stats) that some weeks we get very few hits, views or even visitors to our little blog site. 

Now, we could take this very personally here at Cloud 9 Towers, as we have been blogging since 2011 and we average about 49-50 blogs a year, which in itself is a pretty impressive number, as that equates to over 400 blogs.

But the time it takes to find suitable content and look up relevant information to include cannot be ignored and we reckon, with around 400 blogs, an each one taking around half an hour or so to write, and then put online, comes to at least 200 hours - and that is probably a pretty low estimate.

Just think what we could have done with all of that time?!

Blogging for us has never been about a vanity project or a chance to blow off steam about any particular subject, it's been basically to try and help our SEO and by bloggging externally and then changing some of the key words and content on our own website, trying to improve our rankings a little - and get some new business. 

We like to think we are fairly well informed and know our stuff, but we must be doing something wrong as we are just not getting an audience of any note. If however, you do check in with us often then thank you! 

Clearly, our blogs are not bringing in the bacon so to speak and as Albert Einstein is credited with saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” 

So, to anyone who is still reading - and again, we thank you, this will be our last hurrah! No more blogs externally - not unless we get in to triple figures! 

What's Floating Around? 18 March 2019

Welcome to another week and here at Cloud 9 Towers we do like to stay on top of new hotels and venues for our clients -this way we can offer the very best free venue finding service possible. With this in mind we thought we would share some of the hottest new hotels and venues around so here goes.. 

 Fingal, a former shabby ship, has now found a permanent home in Edinburgh’s historic Port of Leith following a £5million development project. Offering beautiful cabins, dining and entertaining space, choose from a luxury cabin with private deck, a duplex cabin with comfortable living space or the stunning Skerryvore Suite with extensive outdoor space for events.

From the Marriott group, and set in The Duke of Marlborough’s former country estate, The Langley has been undergoing a complete multi-million-pound renovation over the last five years. As an exquisite 41-room boutique hotel and spa, set within 500 acres of idyllic Buckinghamshire countryside and one of the most exciting UK hotel launches of 2019. With stunning interior design by Dennis Irvine Studio, with original features at the heart of designs and a world-class Sisley spa facility, The Langley is set to be a great venue. 

One of the most talked-about openings of 2019, Grantley Hall is a 17th century Palladian-designed property in the heart of the idyllic Yorkshire countryside, complete with a lake and English Heritage-listed Japanese Garden, and looks amazing. Check into one of 47 rooms and suites, seven diverse drinking and dining venues, a state-of-the-art conference and event spaces plus a tranquil spa and fitness centre.

Monkey Island Estate, a seven-acre island sitting in the river Thames in Bray, Berkshire, has been given a new lease of life as a 30-bedroom hotel by YTL Hotels and looks just amazing. The island, accessible only by boat or footbridge, has an 800-year history but is bang up to date for a great range of events.

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

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 11 March 2019

Welcome to another week and we're pleased to be announcing a new service exclusively for Executive and Personal Assistants which is being headed up by Daniel in our team. It does exactly what it says on the tin and is designed to be a super quick solution for busy people. 

Cloud 9 Assists offers a 24/7 service and if the idea of using it seems a little crackers then consider all of the time and effort you need to invest into running a successful event and this usually starts with selecting the ideal venue, on the date that works for you.

It may not seem like the hardest job, and if you have set a brief for an event, or have been asked by your employers to to find a venue for a specific event, then you know what you’re looking for, how many people will be attending and what your requirements and budget might be. 

You start your search, you find some potential venues online,  and then you call or email for quotes -  in amongst everything else you have to do that day - and the next thing you know you are inundated with length proposals all in different formats, some with vat, some without, and what's worse, they haven't answered all of your questions about the specifics.

Then you have to face the barrage of calls from venues following up to see if you have made a decision, as if you weren't busy enough! 

This is where Cloud 9 Assists is ideal. With over 25 years of combined, experience in sourcing venues, and delivering amazing events, we can take the arduous research away from you all for free - and we'll come back to you with a formatted document with a range of suggestions, enabling you to make an informed and educated choice. 

We'll ask the questions you might not think of, even down to ensuring that the day of your event, you will not arrive to be faced with scaffolding or building work! 

You'll have one point of contact, who can negotiate on your behalf to get you the best deal and rates, and arrange any site visits should you need them. And even if you don't like any of the venues we suggest, you can always ask for more or change your mind about location - we understand about being flexible and our service if fast, friendly and effective. 

It's also 100% free all of the time, so give it a try. There is no obligation to book any of the venues we suggest, so there really is nothing to lose, and everything to save when it comes to your time and your sanity!

Have a great week.

What's Floating Around? 4 March 2019

Welcome to another week and we're all about the invitations this time - as agents we are lucky to receive all manner of invitations to fam trips, trade shows and wonderful incentive trips across the world. 

We know every travel destination, hotel and venue wants publicity and to be on the radar of agents, and every DMC wants their services recommended but as agents you have to be realistic. The first class service and red carpet welcome you get as agents, might not be the same experience enjoyed by clients - and yet its clients that pay the bills.

Fam trips are of an educational nature to give planners ideas, inspiration and networking opportunities with local suppliers and some are really well planned to maximise time, whilst some seem to miss the point - but we wont dwell on the negative experiences we have had with fams or at trade forums. 

However, we would like to make some suggestions  for suppliers when it comes to fams and educationals, for instance, on the first day attendees are coming from different destinations, some have short, others long journeys and rather than rush right in to a manic schedule, give people a little time to adjust to their new surroundings. Keep it light, with a relaxed evening event, and allow delegates to have a good nights sleep and save the energy for second day. 

Try to facilitate introductions, make a simple ice breaker game or add name badges including name, company and maybe a flag of the country of origin, and if you are splitting people between hotels, try and think in advance about any language barriers.

Also, whilst  we all  appreciate the fantastic hospitality, sometimes there is simply too much food. Less is more and although we don't want delegates to go hungry, waste is far worse. Stick to a theme and budget - most event professionals would rather have a glass of something anyway! 

If you want to attract decision makers, you must think creatively to prove it’s worth their time and the initial invitation is the first impression you give them and because they get many invitation, yours needs to stand out.

Fam trip organisers show us the best venues and when it comes to business, planners want to know how much it costs. It’s surprising how often suppliers send junior staff members to welcome the group and are not always informed or confident enough to talk about prices and share a couple of examples with the attendees - it will give them a much better chance to being able to sell to clients. 

Finally, try and avoid arranging an amazing trip at the same time as someone else, or when they is already a major industry event taking place - and what better way to check this than by using Famtastic. It lists all of the key industry events and fam trip invitations.

Have a great week, and enjoy! 

What's Floating Around? 25 February 2019

Welcome to another week and as we had a conversation with a potential new client last week, we thought we would raise the subject of venue finding and why using an agency is essential for many clients. 

Here at Cloud 9 Towers, we offer free venue finding for clients and we know from personal experience that our services are invaluable in terms of both cost and time saving efforts.

If you’ve ever needed to book a venue for a meeting or event, then you’ll know it can be a time-consuming and, sometimes, daunting experience and the range of options is vast. 

With so many different types of venues to choose from, it can be hard to know where to start and to ask the questions that really matter. Venue-finding agencies have the experience and knowledge of hundreds of venues and are skilled at placing the right type of event at the most suitable venue, and keeping up to date with new venues or refurbishments is part of our job

Additionally, using an agency will save you masses of time as the agency will take your brief and do all venue searching and negotiating for you - and most will be able to come back to you with a range of options within 24 hours.  As most agencies have great relationships with venues, it enables them to negotiate and due to the sheer buying power, they can normally get you much better rates, or complimentary upgrades.

When it comes to site visits, agents can do all of the ground work on your behalf, or if you are considering a couple of options, schedule meetings that work for you so you can make an informed choice - and even do simple things that might escape you, like a chair check! It might sound daft, but if you have delegates sat down for an eight hour conference, the last thing anyone needs a numb bum!

Whilst you are making a decision about the right venue for you to use, the last thing you want is continual stream of calls chasing you to see if you have made a decision, and using an agency takes all of that stress away - they will chase us instead!

We'll also consider everything you need is included or can be arranged, from additional syndicate rooms to AV and we'll check that contract to make sure there are no hidden charges or lurking extras that can come as a surprise, and this is especially useful if you need to cancel an event. 

More often that not, an agency like Cloud 9 can negotiate better cancellation charges or find another event to fill the space so its also a reassuring service in the unlikely event you have to pull an event, and in the case of a really short lead time, agencies can source somewhere quickly and efficiently 

And we are free. 100% of the time, so there really is no down side to using an agency, and the more we work with clients, the more we understand your business and your needs so it makes our job easier as times goes on, and means we can propose more suitable venues each and every time. 

So why not give us a go with your next event enquiry no matter the event. Email paula@cloud9em.co.uk or call +44(0) 203 858 7809 - we can source venues, locally, nationally or internationally and we are fast, friendly and effective.

Have a great week and we look forward to hearing from you!