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Three recent incidents make us wonder whether all those at venues, and all those organising events should get some basic first aid training, for the sake of their customers, if nothing else.
The first had tragic consequences and concerned an 88 year old woman at a care home in Ipswich, Suffolk who choked on a piece of jam sandwich and died because no one in charge knew how to perform the Heimlich Manoeuvre, a last resort action when other ways to dislodge a potentially lethal blockage have been exhausted.
The second concerned a 23 year old woman who was walking in Biggleswade, Beds when she choked on a boiled sweet. Two members of the public tried but failed to clear the obstruction and it was only when a young man came along and performed the Heimlich Manoeuvre that her life was saved.
And the third was a two year old boy from Headcorn, Kent who choked to death on a piece of apple given to him by his father, who was then unable to save his life despite administering slaps on the back and chest thrusts.
According to David Guest of Medical Indemnity Register who runs first aid courses for venue staff and event organisers the correct procedure for dealing with a choking adult is as follows:
1. If the victim shows signs of mild airway obstruction:
o Encourage them to continue coughing, but do nothing else.
2. If the victim shows signs of severe airway obstruction and is conscious:
o Give up to five back blows as follows
o Stand to the side and slightly behind the victim
o Support the chest with one hand and lean the victim well forwards so that when the obstructing object is dislodged it comes out of the mouth rather than goes further down the airway.
o Give up to five sharp blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your other hand.
o Check to see if each back blow has relieved the airway obstruction
o The aim is to relieve the obstruction with each blow rather than necessarily give all five.
If five back blows fail to relieve the airway obstruction give up to five abdominal thrusts.
o Stand behind the victim and put both arms round the upper part of their abdomen.
o Lean the victim forwards.
o Clench your fist and place it between the umbilicus (navel) and the bottom end of the sternum (breastbone).
o Grasp this hand with your other hand and pull sharply inwards and upwards.
o Repeat up to five times.
o If the obstruction is still not relieved, continue alternating five back blows with five abdominal thrusts.
3. If the victim at any time becomes unconscious:
o Support the victim carefully to the ground.
o Immediately call an ambulance.
o Begin CPR.
o Healthcare providers, trained and experienced in feeling for a carotid pulse, should initiate chest compressions if a pulse is present in the unconscious choking victim.
Following successful treatment for choking, foreign material may nevertheless remain in the upper or lower respiratory tract and cause complications later. Victims with a persistent cough, difficulty swallowing, or with the sensation of an object being still stuck in the throat should therefore be referred for a medical opinion.
Abdominal thrusts can cause serious internal injuries and all victims receiving abdominal thrusts should be examined for injury by a doctor.
Other points made by Guest are:
1. Most choking victims clear their own airway. If they don’t then up to five backslaps will usually do it.
2 In severe cases the abdominal thrust (or Heimlich Manoeuvre) can be performed by squeezing the area between the base of the breast bones and the belly button.
3. This can cause other injuries but, if the alternative is likely to be respiratory arrest, doing it will at least give the casualty a chance of life.
4 Another problem is the fear of some ‘bystanders’ to do anything in case they are sued, although personal medical malpractice in insurance at around £40 for £250,000 can cover them financially. (www.medicalindemnity.com).
The question is, of course, is it worth knowing how to save a life, even if you never have to do it?
One of the companies of which Michelin-starred chef, and celebrity favourite Tom Aikens of Chelsea is a director has gone into liquidation with a shortfall of £570,296.
TEA (F & C) Ltd, was incorporated in January last year and had not been trading long enough to file a set of accounts. Aikens co-director is chartered accountant John Hawksley of Mundesley, Norfolk and there is a sum of £1,502 worth of assets to pay preferential creditors.
A second company run by Aikens and Hawkins is T & L Ltd which was incorporated in 2000 and which was put into administration in late October. And a third is Tom Aikens Ltd which changed its name to the anonymous TAK (OLDCO) Ltd on October 25 and is now also in administration.
T & L Ltd was quickly bought out of administration, without its debts by a new company, T.A. Holdco Ltd, set up on October 13 by chartered accountant David Till who has 77 appointments, and financier Peter Dukens who has 143 .
Aikens other appointments are Tom Aikens Consultancy Ltd, Tom Aikens (Canary Wharf) Ltd and Tom Aikens (S) Ltd all incorporated in September last year, with another firm T.A.A. Ltd incorporated in September this year with Aikens as the only director and shareholder.
One creditor owned around £10,000 by one of Aikens’ firms, Elwy Valley Welsh Lamb told the Daily Telegraph “I do not consider Mr Aikens’ behaviour has brought any credit on his profession”. Toms Place, a fish and chippy has closed but, with the help of the new debt-free arrangements the Toms Kitchen and Tom Aikens restaurants now continue to make money.
Guestinvest, which offered buy to let hotel rooms in London has gone into administrative receivership.
The company offered rooms on the basis that investors could use them free for 52 nights in the year and then make a profit from the letting achieved over the rest of the year. Other hotel operators run similar buy to let schemes, according to Caterer and Hotelkeeper, and these include Galliard, with two Park Plaza hotels in London, the Skelwith Group at Flaxby Country Club near Harrogate, Owner Hotels in Hull and York and the Four Pillars at Cotswold Water Park.
A major player at Guestinvest was Sir Mark Weinburg, 77, who joined as a director in December last year and who was described by The Spectator, according to Private Eye, as bringing “true commercial gravitas” to the enterprise.
According to Caterer and Hotelkeeper a group of hotels in East London have set up a group “to discuss common issued and goals” associated with the 2012 Olympics.
This is backed by the British hospitality Association (BHA) whose CEO Bob Cotton has stated “The more East London hotels work together the better it will be”.
It is not thought that price fixing will be part of the working together since this, as Mr Cotton and everyone else knows is in breach of European Competition law, and any way very naughty.
Meanwhile according to a piece in London Lite an author has been banned by Hackney Council from his local library in Stoke Newington for daring to criticise the 2012 Olympics. In an essay The Olympic Scam Iain Sinclair opined that the Olympic Park in the lower Lea Valley would be nothing more than a huge shopping mall in Stratford and that the Olympic legacy would be “lasting shame”.
News that budget hotel group Travelodge has formed a strategic partnership with budget store Aldi has been described as “a bit bizarre” by some marketing experts in the industry. (Caterer and Hotelkeeper).
Travelodge and Aldi will open two hybrid hotel supermarkets, a 74 bed unit in Newquay and a 55 bed unit in Middlesborough and both companies say that the idea is to take advantage of the current boom in value for money purchases, fuelled by the credit crunch. If successful the plan is to launch other sites, in conjunction with Aldi’s plans to open 1,500 more UK stores in the next five years.
According to the Daily Telegraph the marketing research firm Nielsen has stated that “shoppers are still trading down” an aspect noted by other budget stores such as Lidl and Netto. Aldi sales rose by 22% in the 12 weeks to October 5, pushing its total share of the UK grocery market to 3%, according to another research firm TNS Wordpanel. As the UK heads further into recession this trend is expected to continue.
Question is, bizarre or not, will we now see similar links between other hotel and store groups?
Meanwhile hoteliers should be addressing the needs of the modern consumer by having an interior concept and the facilities they now expect.
These, according to interiors forecaster Victoria Renshaw of Scarlet Opus include: “modern bathrooms, internet access and surroundings better than those they can get at home”.
So an Aldi underneath won’t be hacking it, then?
A survey of 500 “UK Superbrands” run by the Sunday Telegraph in September showed Hilton at 20th place, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts at 208 and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts at 419, the only hotel groups featured.
Other venues and attractions generally doing well as brands were the Royal Albert Hall at 26, the Tate Galleries at 46, the Eden Project at 50, Manchester United FC at 78, Madame Tussauds at 104, Disneyland Paris at 106, Alton Towers at 136, Liverpool FC at 217, Chelsea FC at 268, Champneys at 281, Arsenal FC at 286, Chessington World of Adventures at 494 and Thorpe Park at 496.
The top ten brands in descending order were Google, Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, BBC, British Airways, Royal Doulton, BMW, Bosch, Nike and Sony.
Those running telemarketing programmes may like to know about Truecall, a £99 gadget, now being offered to subscribers, that screens out all unwanted calls.
The device can only connect to individual phones and not company switchboards, yet anyway, and downloads all scam companies from the internet and puts them, along with all others supplied by the subscriber, on a "zap" list. If any of these call the phone won’t even ring.
The free-phone number for sales is 0800 0336 339. However when the editor tried calling it during business hours to get more information for publication a recorded voice advised us “Please wait while we try to connect your call” four times before disconnecting.
Meanwhile those marketers planning spending lots of money with BT might want to re-think their choices of telecoms service provider.
In a letter published by Caterer and Hotelkeeper, issue 16 October Russell Allen of the Dakota Hotel, Nottingham – bought out of administration in August – advises that BT cut the phone off after their salesman failed to submit the transfer forms on time, due to his holiday. Apparently BT have the technology to cut off subscribers in 10 seconds but claim it takes 20 working days for re-connection, even if the mistake is theirs.
Reportedly Allen got this down to two weeks only after complaining to BT’s chairman.
Good to note that actor and would be luxury hotelier Neil Morrissey, who gave blokes so much pleasure, and possibly a role model playing an antidote to Renaissance Man in the hit TV series Men Behaving Badly has found something more appropriate, and arguably more profitable to do with his money.
Having lost a packet with his involvement in Hurst House (See last issue No 3, Actor gets burnt) he is now brewing his own beer, as well as quaffing it, and plans to market it, with his partner and friend Richard Fox, under the name of Morrissey Fox. The enterprise is helped by being the subject of a three-part Channel 4 TV series, Neil Morrissey’s Risky Business.
Meanwhile haunt of top celebs Hurst House, was recently reviewed in the Daily Telegraph and scored five stars for its character, four for its service, rooms and value but only three for its food and drink.
Perhaps they ought to start stocking Neil’s new beer?
Hotelier Sir Rocco Forte has bid £500 not to have dinner with Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s Hotel. (London Lite).
The occasion was an auction held during the anniversary bash at the Grosvenor House of the Bruges Group where the Claridges dinner for six, worth £850, had a reserve of £1,500 on it. However lack of interest forced the price down to £500 at which point Sir Rocco made his helpful and charitable suggestion, one that was added to by other diners, to a total of £2,000.
The meal chez Gordon was eventually sold for £500 to an unknown buyer, thought not to be Ramsay.
For those who like Ramsay he is appearing and cooking live in the Taste of Christmas events at Excel, Dec 4 – 7, tickets £19.
The following piece appeared in the Oct/November issue of International Event Organisers Update.
VISITOR SCAM AT WTM?
The new visitor admission policy for the upcoming World Travel Market (WTM) exhibition is causing organisers Reed Exhibitions some image problems.
According to Reeds advertising for WTM the visitors allowed to attend on the opening day of the show (Monday November 10) are ministers, press and “exhibition invitees” this last category being individuals that WTM exhibitors have told Reed they would like to see at the show.
However what Reeds advertising doesn’t say and presumably exhibitors haven’t been told is that Reed are demanding that some exhibitor invitees pay a £295 “admission fee” if they want to attend, as they are supposedly entitled to, on the Monday, according to a letter from Reed.
A few years back Reed tried a similarly stupid stunt by demanding that all trade visitors paid an entry fee to WTM, a disaster that significantly reduced visitor numbers and one that they haven’t so far repeated.
The managing director of Reed Exhibitions Ltd is Michael Rusbridge.
Tom Aikens explains how business works - - - - Pod hotel units appear on top of hundreds of Tesco’s - - - - Gordon Ramsay offers £1,000 not to stay in a Rocco Forte hotel - - - - The search for a BBC presenter with broader popular appeal continues with the launch of Friday Night with Gary Glitter - - - - and much, much more - - - -
As from October 31 the Society of Event Organisers (SEO) has moved to individual free membership, which can now be taken up by buyers, suppliers and agencies in the events sector.
Members will receive all the SEO’s free newsletters, which can be unsubscribed at any time, as well as a 20% reduction on all qualifications, tutorials and conferences presented by the SEO. As membership grows there are plans to stage new, low-cost members-only forums where buyers and suppliers can network, to mutual advantage.
To sign up for free SEO membership simply go to www.seoevent.co.uk.
The list of events for 2009 includes:
o Certificate in Conference Venue Marketing, January and August.
o Certificate in Conference Food and Beverage, June.
o Certificate in Exhibiting, June.
o Tutorial – How to write a press release, April and October.
o Tutorial – How to be much more creative, April and October.
Full details at www.seoevent.co.uk
Prospecting for Leads is a half day briefing seminar held on your premises for all exhibition stand staff in the art and craft of getting more valuable sales leads from exhibitions. It covers such aspects as opening conversations, keeping it short and succinct, selling benefits, securing appointments and following up.
Prospecting for Leads is presented by the Society of Event Organisers (SEO) and the fee is £325 plus VAT for the session, plus £10 plus VAT per delegate attending and plus travel, accommodation if required. SEO members can book for a 20% discount on the session rate, bringing this down to £260 plus VAT.
Call 01767 316255, or visit www.seoevent.co.uk for more information
The SEO’s free e-mail newsletter, Event Organisers Update is currently sent out to over 30,000. A 150-word announcement for your venue costs from £72 plus VAT, based on three insertions.
For more information call 01767 316255 or visit www.seo.org.uk
is a unique, four-day non-residential course, with a unique qualification for those who attend and pass the 1½ hour examination.
It is staged by the Society of Event Organisers (SEO and sponsored by RGA UK Ltd, a specialist event industry direct marketing company, and the material is presented at all times from the event organisers (your customers) point of view with some eye-opening feedback from organisers on how they like, and definitely don’t like to be marketed to. In addition, and also uniquely, the material is all presented by marketing practitioners, sharing practical and proven tips for success, also incorporating what not to do.
THE CERTIFICATE IN CONFERENCE VENUE MARKETING is delivered to delegates as an instructive and enjoyable mix of presentation, interaction, discussion and exercises.
It will also feature significant time for the important delegate to delegate networking that invariably results in a mutually beneficial and invaluable exchange of tips, ideas and experiences in the specialised world of venue marketing.
The CCVM will be of most use and benefit to the following groups:
o Those already working in venue marketing, with one or two year’s experience, and wanting to share the experiences of others.
o Those working in senior general venue management needing a firm grasp of conference venue marketing.
o Those already working in venue sales looking for a move to marketing, or being moved to a marketing position.
o Sales and/or marketing staff at venue finding agencies, event management companies, and business travel agencies.
o Marketing and sales consultants working for conference venues, hotels and hotel groups.
o Marketing and sales staff at tourist boards and convention bureaux needing a firmer grasp of conference venue marketing.
The Certificate in Conference Venue Marketing for 2009 is being held at 16, Park Crescent, London W1B 1AH (nearest tube stations at Regents Park and Great Portland Street) on Tuesday 20 January 2009 to Friday 23 January 2009 and on Monday 24 August 2009 to Thursday 27 August 2009 to coincide with traditionally quiet times for most UK conference venues.
The fee, on a non-residential basis is £1,200 plus VAT per delegate with a reduction to £950 plus VAT per delegate if two or more delegates attend from the same organisation, or if delegate is SEO member (free sign up at www.seoevent.co.uk).
The Certificate in Conference Venue Marketing is a unique opportunity to acquire the valuable experiences of other practitioners. For many conference venues the profit on one extra booking in a year will more than pay for the fee.
The programme follows. To book places please complete the booking form (this can be downloaded) and fax or post a copy to the SEO.
PROGRAMME
DAY ONE
The big picture – nature of the market(s) – types of organiser – the big spenders – getting achievable marketing objectives for your particular venue – the best winning strategies – SWOT and what’s really important to organisers – what must go in the conference pack – where branding fits - pricing for maximum success – affinity marketing – networking with competitors – some zero-cost marketing – dirty tricks marketing (to avoid, not emulate) – the marketing bullseye, and the marketing plan.
Advertising – magazines and newspapers, some golden rules – directory advertising – TV advertising – internet advertising .
DAY TWO
The scope of PR – what impresses organisers and what just curls their toes – some possible partnerships – evaluating the press – selecting the press and building a press list – approaching the press – press events – conceiving press stories, to impress the press – using story hooks, real news, surveys, advice, controversy – writing a press release, ten good and bad things to do – use of quotes – use of photos – delivering to the media – other ways to work with the media – how to alienate the media – what to do if you get bad press.
DAY THREE
E-mail marketing, the lowest cost option – sourcing and evaluating lists – permission marketing – opt-in and opt-out, the law on marketing e-mails – spam filters and what trips them – an editorial option.
Direct mail, some basic truths – what the objective should always be – the offer, the creativity and the list – formulating the best offers – creativity, some good tricks and bad traps – printing for direct mail – copywriting – building a database – types of lists available and how to evaluate – testing, testing – mailing to individual or job title – use and abuse of personalisation – maximising and measuring return – law on lists – Telemarketing, now it gets personal – the phone/mail/phone strategy – getting through - the best and worst approaches – some winning ways – and yes, it can be fun.
DAY FOUR
Exhibitions, the face to face medium – working out best strategy – choosing good exhibitions, not just the obvious ones – some criteria for evaluating – picking a high-traffic site – designing a stand that pulls in the right visitors – promoting the stand – managing the stand – training stand staff to work the audience and capture leads – following up.
Special events at your venue – conceiving and organising open days, educational events and receptions – running show-rounds for interested potential customers - where all the above comes together.
Examination.
BOOKING FORM
To book delegate(s) on the SEO Certificate in Conference Venue Marketing (CCVM) course please download and complete the booking form: www.seoevent.co.uk
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