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International Event Organisers Update (IEOU) is published monthly and is an information source circulated FREE to 12000 selected organisers and others interested in keeping abreast of development in the international event industry. It is edited to higher standards than the inadequate ones laid down by the self-regulatory Press Complaints Commission (PCC)
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Note: As a matter of policy International Event Organisers Update (IEOU) does not carry any 0870 telephone numbers in entries for the news or Announcements section of IEOU. This is because these numbers operate as covert premium rate lines – misleadingly called “national rate” by BT and others that sell them – and are charged at five or more times the current normal cost to dial a normal geographical UK number.
Readers are advised to visit www.saynoto0870.com for more information about this customer-unfriendly scam, and to ask all suppliers and potential suppliers to provide their normal, cheaper numbers.
Incoming visitors to Britain’s airports should be warned of the rip-off prices charged by the taxi firms based there.
One example we noted recently was at Stansted, operated by BAA where two incoming visitors were charged nearly £90 for a 40 mile journey (usually around £60) by the incumbent taxi firm Checkers Cars, who also seem to employ some of the UK’s most surly staff on their counter.
The couple, when they queried the price with their driver were told: “Around 20% of your fare goes to BAA, who take a big cut on everything you buy there”. On the question of the staff they were told: “It’s an ongoing problem there that puts people off tipping us drivers”.
Question is, what sort of first impression is this stuff giving to our valuable overseas visitors? Should all those due to come over here for the Olympics be warned about Rip Off Britain? Shouldn’t visiting Americans, already getting a really poor rate for their devalued dollars, be warned to save up for the overcharging before they come?
And shouldn’t BAA, and Visit Britain tell them?
A stupid and widely condemned decision by British Airway’s management to excessively charge passengers on the number of bags they put in the hold, rather than the weight, has brought a PR disaster to the firm.
Charges, due to take effect from Tuesday 13 February, are to be £120 per extra item per return flight on domestic and European flights or £240 per extra item on a long-haul flight. These charges apply even if the combined weight of the multiple bags is less than the 32 kg maximum, set to drop to just 23 kg in September.
Some charities for the elderly and infirm have said that the charges would make it hard to follow medical advice to travel with several small bags, rather than one large one, to distribute the weight.
Those booking hotels might be interested in a survey of hotel groups originally commissioned by the Co-operative Group as part of its ethical procurement programme.
This has now been published by Ethical Consumer magazine, and looks beyond branding, air-miles schemes and star ratings into such areas as the effects on the environment, attitudes to workers, public and animals and whether anti-social finance is employed.
All these aspects are considered and an “ethi-score” out of 20 is calculated. These scores, for the record are:
Ramada Jarvis Hotels 11.5
Britannia Hotels 11.5
Ibis Hotels 11.0
MacDonald Hotels 10.0
Best Western Hotels 9.5
Holiday Inn Hotels 9.0
Thistle Hotels 9.0
W.A. Shearing Hotels 9.0
Corrs Hotels 8.0
Hilton Hotels 7.5
Malmeison Hotels 7.5
Premier Travel Inn Hotels 7.5
Travelodge (UK) Hotels 7.5
Marriott Hotels UK 2.5
The surprisingly low score for Marriott is based on its poor showing in such areas as human rights, workers rights, anti-social finance, and pollution. And Hilton get marked down for the reported negative environmental impact of developments in the Bahamas and Honduras and its alleged failure to live up to promises of jobs for local people.
An ethical travel guide has been published by Tourism Concern and features ethical choices in places to stay. (www.tourismconcern.org.uk) A book Green Places to Stay could also be of interest. (01275 395430)
Anglo-Zulu war expert David Rattray was shot dead in his home at Fugitives Drift, Natal, South Africa, reportedly by Zulus, on Friday 26 January.
He was especially known for his powerful narrations of the 1879 battle of Isandhlwana, which inflicted on the British the worse defeat a modern army has ever suffered at the hands of men without guns and which left nearly 2000 dead on both sides, and the subsequent successful defence of Rorkes Drift by 140 British soldiers against 4000 Zulu warriors, which generated 11 Victoria Crosses. He also gave regular lectures on the subject at the Royal Geographical Society in London and spoke fluent Zulu.
The wars inspired a number of films including Zulu Dawn and Zulu, the latter featuring the Rorkes Drift defence, actors Stanley Baker and Michael Caine and a narration by Richard Burton. A book The Washing of the Spears by Donald R Morris is recommended reading for those wanting to learn more about the rise and fall of the Zulu nation.
Excerpts from David Rattray’s talks to the RGS can be heard at www.telegraph.co.uk/travel
A traditional African ceremony in which bulls are strangled to death by unarmed men at harvest time has been condemned by animal rights groups. (Daily Telegraph).
The ceremony, once prevalent among members of the Bantu and Zulu tribes had passed into history but was revived by Zulu traditionalists in 1990 who claim it is an important part of their heritage and perfectly humane on the basis that the bull’s neck is broken. This is contested by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) who say there is no way a human can break a bulls neck and point out that last year one of the bulls suffered “45 minutes of barbaric torture” during which time its testicles were twisted, and mud was pushed down its throat and its nostrils blocked in an attempt to suffocate it.
Not much is expected to change on the basis that the police, politicians and magistrates in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, where the ceremony was revived are all Zulu.
A conference industry event due to take place in South Africa in July has had to relocate after one of the venues it was due to use burnt down. (South Africa Conference Exhibition and Events Guide).
The 2007 conference of the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI) had broken with the tradition of holding its conferences in cities and booked its 2007 event into a country resort venue, the five-star Arabella Western Cape Hotel and Spa in Kleinmond, around 60 miles south-east of Cape Town, using a nearby well-regarded hotel, the two-star Beach House to provide some of the accommodation for delegates.
Unfortunately the Beach House recently burnt down, leaving the organisers with insufficient bedrooms and no choice but to move the event back to Cape Town.
The theme of the 2007 SAACI conference is “great thinking – simple solutions” and is due to take place July 22-24.
(e-mail: info@tribalmeetings.co.za)
Around 25 acres of land is to be added to Monaco’s current 485 with the building of a new district (Quartier) on a floating platform out into the Med. (Sunday Telegraph).
The new district is expected to add £2.5 billion worth of luxury homes as well as yacht moorings and upmarket shops to the tiny principality, which already has Europe’s most expensive property at around £1000 a square foot. Work is not expected to commence before 2010 and completion is likely to take 10 years.
Although the exact location is yet to be decided, according to the plan of the proposed area published in the Sunday Telegraph it is likely to be positioned between the Grimaldi Forum Conference Centre and the 619 bedroom seafront Fairmount Hotel (formerly Loews) popular with event organisers and offering some of the best views in Monaco from its terrace restaurant.
Opening just over a year ago the five-star 311-bedroom Hotel Concorde also offers nine meetings spaces for 10-300 with another ten being opened in July this year.
The day delegate rate of 65 euros (£46) is one reason for it to be popular with organisers, especially those paying 5 star central London prices, along with its prime location – just off the eastern (city) end of one of Berlin’s most well-known shopping and bar-hopping boulevards, the 3.4 kilometre long Kurfürstendamm, or Ku’damm.
Those who enjoy architecture and design will want to note the art-deco exterior of the 17-storey building, formerly an office block and the way its strong pattern of parallel lines has been reproduced on the inside by architect Jan Kleihues, appearing in the custom designed carpets, furniture and fittings. Warm timber tones predominate in the rooms, which are the largest in Berlin with 267 running from 40 to 50 square metres and the balance from 60-100 square metres. All are individually air-conditioned with internet access, flat-screen satellite TV, safe and minibar.
Away from the aesthetics there are two executive floors, the 10th and 11th, with their own check-in and club lounge with views over Berlin, a business centre and a spa and fitness centre. Food and drink options include a very large breakfast buffet with an open cooking station for freshly cooked eggs and where 30 different types of tea can be provided. There is also a fine dining brasserie with traditional French cooking.
Tel: +49 (0) 30 800 999 1540
Fax: +49 (0) 30 800 999 1536
e-mail: info-berlin@concorde-hotels.com
Visit: www.concorde-hotels.com
Those wanting a truly large hotel suite for their customers might want to consider the top suite at the Las Vegas Hilton, which comes with its own butler.
This was recently featured on a TV programme presented by Louis Theroux about Las Vegas excesses and how the hotel looked after high rollers prepared to lose millions in its casino.
It showed one rich Canadian mattress manufacturer who had been “comped” with the 15,000 square feet or 1400 square metre suite (given it free of charge on the basis of the Hilton casino’s expected profits from his gambling).
This is apparently the largest in North America. In the UK and Europe an average “large” suite would be 70 square metres or 5% of the size. An exception is the Hotel Okura in Amsterdam which has two suites of 240 square metres each, or around 17% of the Las Vegas Hilton monster. (IEOU, Issue 9, www.eou.org.uk)
And the view of the lucky Hilton customer on his good fortune? “It’s the best there is, but it’s a lot of walking in the morning”.
Due to open in April the 5 star Aquapura Villa Spa Hotel is set in eight hectares of land in the Douro Valley, Portugal and is a conversion of a 19th century manor house.
It offers 50 bedrooms and 21 villas as well as a spa with ten treatment rooms and would be a good centre for river trips and wine/port tastings at quintas (vineyards).
Visit: www.aquapurahotels.com
The new Hall 7 at Paris Nord Villapinte offers two spaces:
o 7200 square metres (6000 of which is clear space) with a 12 metre height.
o 7800 square metres with a 9 metre height.
The hall has a greenery-clad façade and is 50 metres from the RER (Regional Express Train) station and 5 minutes from Paris CDG Airport and TGV station.
Visit: www.expoparisnord.com
The largest congress centre in the Nordic countries, the 117, 120 square metre Bella Centre in Copenhagen now offers 63 soundproofed meetings rooms for up to 450, following additional construction completed last November.
The configuration of the rooms allows the running of two concurrent conferences, each with up to 2500 delegates.
www.bellacenter.dk
Airline Jet2.com has had complaints about its misleading advertising upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Like Ryanair Jet2.com advertised flights as “free” when passengers had to pay non-optional taxes and duties, a device that the ASA said brought advertising into disrepute, especially as they had given assurances they would not advertise “free” flights in such a way again.
The complaints were brought by a member of the public, competing airline Flybe and, the firm well-known for its high ethical principles, Ryanair.
Criticism of budget airline Ryanair continues with a report in Private Eye on the failure of the company to silence a disgruntled passenger who set up a website to feature the negative experiences of other disgruntled Ryanair flyers.
Michael Coulson, a charity worker set up www.ryanair.org.uk after his 2004 Italian holiday was ruined when Ryanair mis-routed all his luggage and then charged him £160 to return to the UK, a figure that caring Ryanair only refunded after Coulson took his complaint to the Guardian. In the meantime Ryanair put pressure on Coulson’s internet service provider, ClaraNet, who took the website down, only to see it go back up again when Coulson found another service provider in Canada.
Ryanair then went to Nominet, which resolves domain name disputes, on the grounds of trademark infringement and won, only to see Coulson put a website up again under a new name www.ryanaircampaign.org. This time Ryanair’s lawyers took the case to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, a panel of the UN which ruled, in December, that Coulson was acting in good faith and could keep his new website, which, once again in case you didn’t get it is www.ryanaircampaign.org.
Hall 2, a £5 million exhibition hall, the largest in Leeds, is now being built alongside the Royal Armouries Museum.
Hall 2 is due for completion April 2007 and increases available exhibition space at the Royal Armouries to over 27,000 square feet (2500 square metres) as well as complementing the existing range of five galleries and meetings space. There is a secure 1,650 space car park, an on-site 130 bed Express by Holiday Inn hotel, another 700 hotel bedrooms within a five minute walk and another 5,500+ in the rest of Leeds.
Show-rounds are being arranged for organisers of conferences, corporate hospitality, parties and exhibitions in early 2007.
Tel: 0113 220 1990
Fax: 0113 220 1997
e-mail: enquiries@rai-events.co.uk
Visit: www.rai-events.co.uk
Mocha is an award-winning creative team working with clients in the corporate, association, charity and government sectors. We use film, video, dvd and cd-Rom to create cost-effective solutions for internal and external communications, marketing, sales, public relations, promotions, tenders and bids, and from conception through filming, editing and production.
Recent projects have included filming large conferences and events, promotion of venues, video installations and corporate documentaries and films.
Contact us for an initial no obligation discussion.
Tel: 0151 706 0761 Fax: 0151 706 0762
e-mail: info@mocha.tv
Visit: www.mocha.tv
A new 12 day Diploma in Conference Organisation (DCO) qualification has been launched by the Society of Event Organisers (SEO) for 2007.
This comprises the four current days of the SEO Certificate in Conference Organisation (CCO) and eight additional and mainly practical days held as a summer school at a variety of London venues in August 2007. Delegates already holding the CCO qualification can just take the eight day summer session to sit for the DCO exam. The CCO is being held in Manchester on a residential and non-residential basis this August and in London (non-residential) starting September.
Fees for DCO run from £1,460 to £2,940 plus VAT.
Tel: 01767 316255 Fax: 01767 316430
e-mail: info@eou.org
Visit: www.seoevent.co.uk
o Event Organisers Update (EOU) for those running UK based conferences and seminars. www.eou.org.uk
o Corporate Hospitality and Party Update (CHPU) for those organising client hospitality and parties. www.eou.org.uk
o Association Update (AU) for association organisers. www.eou.org.uk
o Exhibition Update (EU) for organisations that exhibit themselves. www.eou.org.uko Live Marketing News (LMN) for live marketers. www.livemarketing news.com
o Association News (AN) for those who associate. www.associationnews.org.uk
A 100-word announcement costs from £95 in this section of International Event Organisers Update (IEOU) and reaches 12,000 organisers.
To download full details and a booking form visit www.eou.org.uk Alternatively call (44) 1767 316255 or fax to (44) 1767 316430.
For more information please contact the organisers directly. You are advised to check that events are appropriate to your needs and still running before finalising travel plans. IEOU only lists the main international exhibitions and events specific to the events market – there are however lots of smaller country-specific presentations and travel industry events that can deliver useful information to organisers.
27-29 ABU DHABI GIBTM exhibition
www.reedtravelexhibitions.com
17-19 FRANKFURT IMEX exhibition
www.imex-frankfurt.com
27-29 BARCELONA EIBTM exhibition
Tel: 0208 910 7929
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