abpco - april 2015 cuttings

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Home News Venues & Events &Meetings’ London venues achieve AIM accreditation

Category: Venues & Events Created on Tuesday, 14 April 2015 10:00

Recognised as one of the UK’s leading providers of flexible meeting solutions, &Meetings has attained the Accredited

In Meetings (AIM) hallmark of quality assurance in their six meeting and event rooms spread across prime spots in the

capital.

Founded in 2010, &Meeting’s business proposition stands out in the market place due to its unique flexible pricing

and high quality service. London locations include Aldgate, Barbican, Cheapside, Royal Exchange Ave, St Pauls and

Threadneedle Street .

By achieving AIM, &Meetings collection of London venues joins over 500 industry suppliers all of whom have met a rigorous set

of agreed standards and adhere to a strict code of practice which demonstrates their excellence in terms of legal compliance,

ethical business operations, capability, quality of the facilities and overall fitness for purpose.

Commenting on its achievement, Ashleigh Sharp, director of &Meetings, said: “At &Meetings we dedicate ourselves to the meetings market to ensure every single meeting,

conference, networking event or training day is a success. Having this industry hallmark shows our passion and the high level of standards we work at to provide quality

service, value for money and fair conduct.”

Gary Payne, chair of the AIM development group, commented: “To have all of their London portfolio accredited demonstrates from the outset the standard &Meetings

operates at and their commitment to customer care as they can rapidly show how their meeting spaces are better prepared for the customer journey. With risk management

and ROI high on corporates’ agenda, placing business with an AIM accredited venue means dealing with organisations that can be trusted, with a proven and effective

management of their business from event enquiry to completion.”

AIM is the UK’s only nationally recognised quality standard for meetings venues and suppliers to the industry. The accreditation is endorsed by Visit Britain, Visit Wales,

Meet England, ABPCO, MPI and HBAA.

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Fanhams Hall achieves AIM Accreditation from the Meetings Industry Association

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&Meetings’ London venues ach

AIM accreditation

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Incentive Travel & Corporate Meetings, Bay Tree, 19-20 Beanacre, Melksham, Wiltshire SN12 7PT, England

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1 of 2 15/04/2015 12:43

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Malaysia: Eight Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre)

Security team members have a ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ Dang

Wangi Police Chief, Assistant Commissioner of Police Zainol

Samah for their efforts to make the Centre and Kuala Lumpur

City Centre precinct a safer place for the public.

ABPCO Tightens Membership Accreditation Process

United Kingdom: The Association of British Professional

Conference Organisers (ABPCO) has put in place an accreditation

committee to review applications in an effort to ensure a

consistently high quality of membership.

Astellas Europe Retains Ashfield Meetings & Events

United Kingdom: Ashfield Meetings & Events has been retained

as the sole event management supplier by Astellas EMEA

Operations. Ashfield Meetings & Events have provided event

management support to Astellas Europe since 2003 – including

close to 200 events in 2014.

Steve Smith Joins Poken

Switzerland: Poken, the green event platform, today announces

the recruitment of a new Senior Business Development Manager

based at Poken’s headquarters in Lausanne. Steve Smith joins

the growing team to help develop opportunities in the sports and

youth event sectors.

Butlins Encouraging Diversity In The Workplace

United Kingdom: In a world first, Butlins Conference & Events are

inviting delegates to don their dancing shoes and join them for a

conference, meeting or event like no other with World renowned

street dance troupe, and former Britain’s Got Talent champions,

Diversity.


Home News Agency ABPCO reinforces quality marque with new membership accreditation process

Category: Agency & Association Created on Monday, 20 April 2015 15:20

The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO) has put in place an accreditation committee to review applications in an effort to

ensure a consistently high quality of membership.

Previously ABPCO had only asked potential members for references but the new system will now also pass every application onto the committee who will

assess whether the member meets the criteria for skills and experience in association conference organising. The application form has also been updated to

carry questions on areas of expertise such as financial probity.

“The ABPCO marque confirms that members are reliable, skilled professionals and this is very much what we are aiming to emphasise with these changes to the membership

process,” comments Heather Lishman, association director of ABPCO. “Providing excellence in networking, knowledge sharing and support are just a few of the key services

we provide. By maintaining a high standard of accreditation we can highlight that our members are best placed to support associations and their conferences.”

The accreditation process is already working and, since Christmas, the likes of the National Association of Pension Funds, Echo Events and the Royal College of General

Practitioners have joined ABPCO.

“Being a member of ABPCO has really opened the door in terms of accessible information and industry expertise,” comments Kate Hadley, Head of Events at the National

Association of Pension Funds. “I want to be able to network with other professionals at the forefront of their field and this is just one reason why I am very excited to be

working with the association going forward.”

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Associations to debate delegate acquisition and successful partnerships between PCOs, venues and destinations

Sponsorship development and business relationships addressed at ABPCO roundtable

Support for ABPCO as Dubai Convention and Events Bureau take up sponsorship

Wembley Stadium to host upcoming ABPCO roundtable event

ABPCO aim to build membership in 2015 with five key pillars





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1 of 2 23/04/2015 11:53


Home News Agency Associations to debate delegate acquisition and successful partnerships between PCOs, venues and destinations

Category: Agency & Association Created on Monday, 13 April 2015 11:15

The QEII Centre will play host to the next roundtable event organised by The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO)

on Wednesday 23rd April

Those attending the event will debate delegate acquisition in the morning supported by case studies from Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and MCI, with

partnership working in the afternoon led by a panel of representatives from the ACC Liverpool, QEII Centre, Dubai Business Events and TFI Meeting Point.

The discussions will be closed meetings subject to Chatham House Rules ensuring a high level of peer-to-peer interaction between members.

“Our last roundtable event was a great success and this should be no different in the newly refurbished facilities at the QEII Centre,” comments Caroline Windsor, joint-chair

of ABPCO. “Attending delegates will look at two separate topics - how the industry is responding to delegate acquisition and successful partnership working. A specific focus

in the morning session will be to look at a couple of case-studies of successful organisations, so we are delighted that Aileen Crawford from Glasgow City Marketing Bureau

and Sarah Fitzpatrick from MCI will share their experiences. I expect another beneficial and lively discussion amongst members.”

The event itself will be split into two parts with the morning session discussing best practice in delegate acquisition and it will be an open session for all ABPCO members. A

networking lunch will be served before the afternoon’s interactive workshop looking at how PCOs and venues and destinations can work more effectively together to enhance

relationships and build on future partnerships and long term business.

Numbers are limited and delegates are advised to book early. For further information visit www.abpco.org/abpco-roundtable. Non-member PCO’s are welcome to pay to

attend.

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ABPCO reinforces quality marque with new membership accreditation process

Sponsorship development and business relationships addressed at ABPCO roundtable

Support for ABPCO as Dubai Convention and Events Bureau take up sponsorship

Wembley Stadium to host upcoming ABPCO roundtable event

ABPCO aim to build membership in 2015 with five key pillars

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1 of 1 23/04/2015 11:34

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Switzerland/UK: Lausanne Tourisme and Convention Bureau has

appointed two partners from the Mexia Watterston Mills (MWM)

alliance to represent the destination for meetings and events PR

and lead generation focused on the association sector.

Luc Hendrickx joins events by tlc

Portugal: events by tlc has assigned Luc Hendrickx as Congress

Portfolio Officer to lead the strategic development and

implementation of a fourth key business unit that the company is

creating in Portugal, Spain and Brazil.

Grand Brighton Awarded Gold VenueVerdict Accreditation

United Kingdom: The Grand Brighton has been recognised with a

Gold Standard from BDRC Continental’s VenueVerdict

Accreditation, which commends venues for providing guests with

service that leads to the highest level of customer satisfaction.

ABPCO Highlights Need For Trust And Transparency

United Kingdom: The recent roundtable discussions organised by

The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers

(ABPCO) at the QEII Centre found that trust, transparency and

sharing of knowledge are key when it comes to delegate

acquisition and partnership working within the industry.

Atlanta To Host EXHIBITORFastTrak

United States: Exhibitor Media Group, an award-winning leader in

trade show and corporate event marketing education, confirmed

that its EXHIBITORFastTrak accelerated learning conferences will

kick off in Atlanta on June 9-11.

Category: Agency & Association Created on Wednesday, 29 April 2015 16:30

The recent roundtable discussions organised by The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO) at the QEII Centre found that trust,

transparency and sharing of knowledge are key when it comes to delegate acquisition and partnership working within the industry.

Roundtable events, which are held under Chatham House Rules, offer ABPCO members the opportunity to share their opinions on industry challenges whilst also providing a

platform to develop ideas for best practice.

“The latest roundtable event was a huge success and those attending are a real example to the profession,” comments Caroline Windsor, joint-chair of ABPCO. “I think we can

all agree that delegate acquisition is a science that is becoming increasingly sophisticated and our challenge is to find skilled resource to achieve our clients’ objectives. A lot

of the day was focused on maximising the effectiveness of partnership working, with sharing of knowledge, trust and transparency by all stakeholders being highlighted as

absolutely essential when creating a successful and popular event.”

Case studies from Kathleen Warden of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre and Sarah Fitzpatrick of MCI Group started the day before open discussion and debate

regarding matters such as:

• The financial challenges faced when investing heavily into an event to assure its success

• Driving interest by investing in delegate benefits, an increase in technology and the guarantee of content and education to meet the needs of segmented target audiences

• The importance, benefits and financial restrictions of marketing, advertising, PR and social media both in-house and externally

• Importance of destinations and whether cultural experiences can help boost delegate numbers.

• The benefits of strong Corporate Social Responsibility within the event’s community and the effect it can have on delegate acquisition

After a morning of discussion and debate, the event continued with an afternoon Partnership Workshop looking at challenges faced by the industry in areas such as finance,

availability, information sharing and joint marketing.

“The opportunity to share best practice and take that back to our own business has been fantastic for us,” comments Jaime Bennett, Conference and Events Manager of Visit

Belfast. “Knowing that other professionals within the industry face the same challenges and the opportunity to share knowledge at these kinds of events is phenomenal.”

The presenters and panel members included: · Caroline Windsor, Key Account Director, TFI Group and joint-chair, ABPCO · Sarah Fitzpatrick, Director, MCI UK ·

Kathleen Warden, Director of Conference Sales, SECC · Sue Etherington, Head of International Sales and Industry Relations, QEII Centre · Maris Kuklis, Senior

Manager, Dubai Business Events · Paul Szomoru, Head of Business Tourism at NewcastleGateshead Initiative · Sandra Eyre, Sales Manager – Association, ACC

Liverpool

ABPCO is the UK’s leading organisation for professional conference and event organisers, industry associates and those studying for, or seeking a career in the conference

and meetings industry.

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ABPCO roundtable highlights need for trust, transparency and sharing of knowledge

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abpco - april 2015 cuttings

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