First Agency Fam Trip Goes Down a Storm - by Natalie Ruecroft

November 26^th saw Richard and I host Leeds University’s first ever agency fam trip. The purpose of this trip was for us to show off everything that the University has to offer when it comes to conference and events.

Outside Leeds Town Hall

Five agents joined us on our weekend of wine tasting, sight seeing and fine dining. Needless to say, the guests were extremely impressed with our facilities and even more impressed with our prices!

As hard as I tried to make a good impression it was Storm Jameson Court that stole the show.  I think our guests found it hard to believe that such high standard of accommodation was:

a) Student accommodation and 

b) Available to conference delegates at such a competitive price. 

With its 24hr reception, stylish rooms and larger beds, I think we can safely say that Storm Jameson Court will be an important part of our future!

A big thank you to all that helped put the trip together, it was a huge success and we will now hopefully see the enquiries start rolling in! 

Meet in Leeds Christmas Message - by Natasha Lockwood

MEETinLEEDS' Christmas Message

(to the theme of Jingle Bells! – I’ve put first verse of jingle bells in case people don’t know it!)

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way

Oh what fun, it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

Christmas parties everywhere, four or five a day

Turkey gone in seconds flat

Then Christmas pudding -Yay!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Mulled Wine & Mince Pies

Tinsel in the office here

And a tree with Sparkling Lights – oh!

Santa’s sleigh is on its way, SatNav glowing bright

Heading down to MEETinLEEDS

On a crisp and snowy night

Season’s Greetings everyone, wherever you may be

Thanks for reading all our blogs

But there’s much more to see

Click the links, click the links, our website sends good cheer

A Merry Christmas everyone

And the happiest New Year!

Angel for a Day - by Natasha Lockwood

Have you ever found a £20 note on the pavement? At first it feels really good and exiting, but then after a while you start to feel guilty that you have received something you don’t deserve.

Richard (aka Charlie) and me, being an Angel

This, I've learnt, is similar to the feeling when you accept praise from friends and family, because they’ve seen a picture of you in a nice dress collecting an award for something that wasn’t really your work!  Here’s the picture, and the story to accompany it, of how I became an angel for a day.

Let me first set the scene. In our Conferencing department we have a Sales & Marketing office and an Operations office. The difference between the two is quite clear (I usually work on the operational side); you would be able to distinguish us as we have been known to have chipped nail varnish, often get covered in random substances such as paint or pollen, and have occasionally stepped in to become cloakroom attendants or even waiters. I like to think of us as the engine of a car, everything needs to work well and efficiently in order to run, but you wouldn’t necessarily want to see it!

If  we are the engine, then the Sales & Marketing office is the sleek bodywork of the Audi TT!  When I walk into the office I often think I can hear music, but that could just be me.  The brains of the operation is Richard (aka Charlie) also pictured, but as the saying goes, behind every good man is a good woman – or in his case three.

Harriet, Lisa & Natalie are definitely the Angels to his Charlie, each one more glamorous than the one before; these ladies have never been seen with lipstick on their teeth or ladders in their tights.  Even in the snow they still manage to glide into work in 4 inch heels. Apart from making men want them and women want to be them, they also happen to be very good at what they do. With honey toned voices they accept and deal with all range of enquiries in a polite and prompt manner, hence how I got into my little predicament.

 

These ladies are so capable they managed to bag themselves second prize in the Venuemasters Mystery Shopping Award – for those who don’t know, this is when someone rings up claiming to be a potential client with a fabricated enquiry in order to score us on how well we deal with this, from the initial call to the follow up.

One maternity leave and one holiday later, Charlie was down to just one angel on site, meaning he needed a stand in accomplice for the Venuemasters Annual Conference.  This is where I come in.  Knowing I had to look the part, I packed my most glamorous evening gown and glittery heels and spent the day networking, trying my best to do what I have seen the Angels do so many times before. Then we come to the evening, where winners were announced, and the prizes were doled out, and this, my friends, is how I ended up getting pictured in a nice dress,  receiving a prize which I had not really earned, and how I got to be an Angel for a day.

Live at Leeds – by Matt Hamnett

I was recently reminded just how lucky I am to work in such a diverse and interesting location.

Legendary rock band The Who have released a new version of their classic 1970 live album; Live at Leeds 40 years after it was first recorded and hailed, by the New York Times no less, as “the best live rock album ever made”.

This iconic and timeless album was recorded in one of our very own venues, The Refectory.  The same venue that just last month welcomed 550 guests, the majority of whom sit on the boards of the largest companies in the UK, to the highly prestigious CBI Annual Dinner.

Of course, The Refectory hasn’t turned its back on its musical past.  In 2002 we played host to The Strokes in a set described by the NME as “a landmark hour of flawless rock”.  Even as recently as last month Nick Cave, talking on stage, commented that he’d “...travelled the world over, but nowhere compares to the Leeds University cafeteria."

40 years later the album Live at Leeds still receives the greatest of plaudits from the critics, as does our Refectory!

Lights, camera…action! - by Sue Pimblett

The Edge, our new state-of-the-art fitness centre, was recently selected as a location photo shoot for the latest limited edition Land Rover Freelander 2.

The images, which will feature in a new promotional brochure, showed the vehicle, with the pool in the background, exploding from the glass!

Darren Pratt, Location Scout for Land Rover said, “As soon as I saw The Edge I knew it was perfect! The glazing around the pool is spectacular and it looks magnificent when lit up. It was by far the best Health and Fitness facility I visited.”

Sue Pimblett, Sales and Marketing Manager from SPA, “The location shoot was a great way to bring in some added income with minimal effort and with the added bonus of some fantastic PR for The Edge and the University".

Watch out for the new brochure coming soon!

An Indiana Jones Boulder Rolling Towards You... by Paul Ellingham

I was speaking with a conference organiser, one of our Sociology academics, the other week whilst we were getting everything ready for their event and he told me something that a senior colleague had told him about organising an academic conference:

"So, I hear you're running your first conference; just think of it this way: there's a huge, Indiana-Jones-style boulder rolling down a hill directly towards you and one day it WILL crash home!"

He post-scripted these cheering words with:

"and when it hits, don't forget you set that boulder rolling!"

I like to think of the Conference & Events Office as the brakes to lessen the impact of the boulder, or maybe a better description is that we take a big chunk of boulder away and deal with it, so there's just a small pebble left to catch!

Find out more about our Event Management or email our team for more information.

Integrated Team Sporting Wealth of Talent - by David Lloyd, Operations Manager for Sport

Having joined the Sport and Physical Activity team at the University earlier this year, I have been continually impressed by the quality and variety of events we have been able to host here.

My previous role enabled me to work with a number of event management companies, hosting a wide range of events, and while we had comparable indoor facilities, the greater extent of the programme offered at the University has been fantastic to see, and great to be involved with this summer. 

This was summed up perfectly last week, as we hosted part of the British Ecological Society Conference throughout the first part of the week, before having less than a day to turn the facility around for a weekend training camp for the Great Britain Boccia team (Gold Medallists from the Beijing Paralympics).  

It has been great to see the flexibility and professionalism of the various teams involved putting these events together, highlighted by our Assistant Director and a manager brought in from another site crawling around the sports hall late on Friday evening ensuring the Boccia Courts were all marked out ready for our Paralympians!  

The restructuring of our services into an integrated Commercial Services team brings sport, catering, conferencing and event management together and has really provided significant opportunities to widen and strengthen an already excellent partnership.  The fantastic new development of The Edge can now add value to customers who come into the university to use our other facilities, offering the chance of an invigorating workout, or a relaxing sauna, steam and swim at the end of the day.  This is already proving extremely popular with conference delegates.

For all our staff the restructuring of the Commercial Services team presents excellent personal development opportunities to get involved in new and varied parts of our business.  Looks like exciting times ahead!

A Burning Question - by Richard Handscombe

The editor of Exhibition News recently posed the question:  “are live web-feeds from building sites really necessary?”.

As a question, I’d guess it won’t feature on Newsnight any time soon - although I can almost hear the cynical tones of Mr Paxman himself looking into the camera and asking the question.

We recently featured on our website, a series of stills showing our new conference asset, Storm Jameson Court, rising from the ground as if by magic.  It was fascinating.  There for all to see was the artistic scaffolding, the mysteriously shrouded delivery trucks, big digging thingies, and occasional glimpses of Bob in his yellow hard hat as he went around building.  

This was stirring, gripping stuff that I’m 100% positive had the whole nation glued to their PC monitors, eager to see what would happen next.  A bit like Eastenders, only much, much more interesting.  Gradually this epic building, an emerging star in the conference universe, emerged from its chrysalis.

And now, that fascinating time is all over, and the building has been revealed in all it’s glory.  Soap fans will have to go back to watching their favourite TV shows, struggling to catch up on the storylines, and sadly missing the Storm Jameson Court Saga.

And just in case national opinion says that building site pics are not in fact necessary, we’ve removed them from the website.

Conference bookings are now being taken for our magnificent new building. Take a look on www.meetinleeds.co.uk/stormjamesoncourt

Catering for the In-Laws! - by Natasha Lockwood

I recently got engaged, which of course is very exciting for a couple of days, until the fear sets in! 

Fear of what you may ask? The commitment? Organising a large event?  Not being able to find the perfect dress? Well, none of the above actually.

I am talking about the fear that next weekend, my parents and my fiancés parents will all be together in one room to talk about the wedding …and I have offered to cook!

I am a resourceful person; my job involves booking many dining events (large and small, three course and buffet, corporate and personal) into our rooms here in University House.  I am SURROUNDED by award winning chefs.  I can’t help thinking there must be an answer for me in here somewhere!

I can cook, but unfortunately so much of my energy is going to be taken up having my hair done and at the same time deciding whether I look better daughter-in-law material in the blue dress or the red top and black skirt, that my imagination is frazzled.  Let’s face it, feminism has brought us ladies a long way, but I can’t help thinking my suitability will be entirely judged on the outcome of this meal.

Mid way through booking in a retirement lunch yesterday I had a (metaphorical) lightning bolt of an idea: I have access to each of the seasonal three course menu’s I have sent out to clients from the beginning of time to this very moment, and knowledge of which of those are popular choices.  Obviously they won’t be up to our chefs’ standards (unless I account for kidnapping – would that be the wrong impression?) but even if I don’t get it right they‘ll surely be more impressive than beans on toast!

So off I go to search for my perfect menu - and let's be honest, who doesn't want a daughter-in-law who serves 'Warm Chocolate & Hazelnut Brownie with Clotted Cream'!

We Know How to Throw a Fam Trip (& cook corned beef hash!) - by Natalie Ruecroft

I’ve learnt a lot whilst I’ve been working for Richard Handscombe, our Head of Sales & Marketing.  Last week he taught me two things: firstly, how to make Corned Beef Hash and secondly, that the chef in the Teppanyaki restaurant doesn’t throw the Egg Fried Rice into your mouth, just pieces of sliced potato!  I’m hoping that over the next few months I’ll learn a lot more, specifically about Event Booking Agencies.

‘Let’s tackle agencies’ Mr Handscombe said to me shortly after I started my role here in the Conference Sales Office.

‘Venue finding agencies play a huge part in the Conference and Events industry and we need to make sure that the University of Leeds is a venue that agencies are aware of. Let’s invite them to the city and show them what we can offer!’

A great idea, I thought, from my Head of Sales and Marketing. This is going to be a fun project that I can really get my teeth into (much like the Corned Beef Hash) – I’m looking forward to this!

The plan is to host a ‘weekend break’ for agency staff where Richard and I will show the guests around the city of Leeds and also give them a tour of our impressive campus meeting space. A tour of our brand new accommodation development Storm Jameson Court will also be on the cards. With overnight accommodation being offered at Weetwood Hall, a deluxe 4star property owned by the University and lunch at one of Leeds’ fine restaurants, I’m sure we’ll get a fair few people interested!

We’ll be putting the final details together pretty soon so invites will be sent out in the next month or so. Exciting!

The main aim of this project is to put our University on the ‘agency map’ and make the University of Leeds the first place agents think of when looking for a conference or event venue in Leeds. I’ll be working pretty closely with Richard on this project as he has many years of experience working with agencies – I’m hoping that he’ll pass some of this knowledge on to me!

Food Safety A Waste Of Time? - by Geoff Tooley

"Food Safety - what a waste of time!! - my granny lived off out of date food and raw sausages and lived to be 108" - So said a colleague in the non too distant past.

Possibly true, but if you continually stroll across Blackpool Prom with your eyes shut, you`ll eventually get squashed by a tram - just ask Rita Fairclough.

Food poisoning does exist and will happen - 92,000 confirmed cases in England and Wales in 2007 - and this is just the people who can be bothered or have enough strength in their buttock cheeks to actually get to the Doctors.

The good news is that good food hygiene standards are not difficult to achieve (contrary to what some called Celebrity Chefs think - thank you Antony Worrell Thompson) The other positive thing is that food hygiene standards for the majority of local authorities are now available on a national Website www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk. Leeds City Council for example give a score from 5 down to 0.

I am very pleased to say that all our University run food outlets, kitchens and Halls have achieved the top 5 star rating. Well done to all the staff concerned.

I`m now off to Blackpool - look left, look right.......................

A small team, with a BIG heart - by Harriet Boatwright

“Write a blog” Matt said………

I have always considered myself a bit of a laggard really when it comes to new fads and crazes especially in the world of technology - almost through blind stubbornness rather than fear of the new and unknown or inflexibility of self.  However, when Matt ‘encouraged me’ (take this as you will!) to get on board with our blog I was surprised by the cathartic nature of the exercise.  Although I did wonder at first ‘what do I have to say….’ As it turns out, you can say what you want – within the realms of decency and interest!

I would like to share with you a piece of writing, authored by someone I often liken to Marvin from ‘Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’, but on a good day I refer to him as my very own Dad:

“If tha’s Northern, tha talks a lot like this and tha philosophy goes summat like this, ‘If ever tha does owt for nowt , do it for thasen’.  Tha wears a flat cap and ‘as a whippet  wi’ no name. Tha smokes wafer thin rollups through nicotine stained ‘ands and tha drinks warm beer wi’ an ‘ead on it. Tha’s got our lass indoors boilin’ up t’tripe and onions and watchin’ o’er t’twelve bairns. To thee t’internet is summat  tha does wi’t fish owtat canal and t’world wide web is summat t’spider leaves ower t’door o’ t’outside lavvy o’erneet.”

Anyone familiar with this idea? Bloomin funny if you ask me but it does act as a vehicle for a more heartfelt message – the meaning of being a Northerner, and a proud one at that!

“If you’re Northern you have pride, not the sort that comes before a fall, but pride that enables you to see through the paucity of understanding and the insularity of those who would perpetuate the myth of the Neanderthal Northerner. A pride that enables and encourages you to embrace and celebrate family and friends.  A pride that shines through your life and the lives of those around you. A pride that grows and flourishes as your family grows and flourishes. A pride that gives understanding that small deeds in life can make for large changes and that we all of us make a difference somewhere, sometime.”

Arthur Sargeant (Son of a Northern Lass and an Essex Lad)

Pride is something so fundamental to the Northern way of life, and here at MeetInLeeds I like to think of our team as a mere microcosm of the northern heart. Some may still think that we ‘talk a bit funny’ but you know what – variety is the spice of life!

"Broccoli sir?" by Richard Handscombe

I just read an article about a Sydney restaurateur, who is so sensitive about his food being left unfinished on diners’ plates, that he’s started to penalise anyone who fails to eat up. He charges them an extra 30%, and asks them not to come back.

That’s quite an entertaining piece to read, and I know they say that any publicity is good publicity, but I’m not convinced about the effects of such a PR piece. I’d be terrified to eat there myself; what if he served me broccoli? I’d definitely have my bill increased. And if the devil’s vegetable was accompanied by anything smoked, I might as well just go into the restaurant, hand over my wad of cash and get out quick!

It reminds me of a story my mild-mannered doctor once told me about visiting a restaurant in Barnsley, about 20 years ago. When asked if everything was OK, he said it was lovely, but that the steak was a bit tough. Shortly afterwards, the owner of the restaurant - a very large and imposing character - came out of the kitchen with a side of beef over his shoulder. “Can you see anything wrong with this?” he asked my quiet and polite doctor. “Er, well, no”, the doctor replied. “Right”, bellowed the restaurant owner, “leave the rest of your dessert, and get out. You’re banned!”

One would hope that the world had changed a lot in the intervening years. Most areas of the world are in recession, or just recovering, and in such circumstances, service is one of the obvious areas on which to concentrate. At the University of Leeds, we focus on service delivery and are constantly trying to delight our customers to ensure that they come back again and again, and in that we are being very successful. 

I may never visit Sydney, but if ever I do, I'll definitely be checking the menus for broccoli before I enter!

I’ve seen the future! - by Richard Handscombe

You’ll be glad to know it’s not orange.

But Leeds is on the move!  Those who know about our conference facilities here at Leeds will be well aware that we are on the brink of a step change, with the impending completion of a new residence, Storm Jameson Court. 

What’s so special about this building?  Well, this contemporary hotel-style facility  has been designed throughout to appeal strongly to the conference market, as well as our student customers.  We will be blogging some more about Storm Jameson Court towards the opening, but yesterday I took a trip around it for the first time in a couple of weeks and my goodness, it looks great even without furniture!

The development is just days from being handed over to us so that we can complete the fitting out with furniture and soft furnishings.  The builders are currently busy cleaning and taking care of all the little finishing touches to the décor, as well as landscaping the grounds, and although there is a little way to go, it is looking stunning!  It’s remarkable how much it looks like the computer-design fly-through we commissioned all those months ago – viewable above or at: www.meetinleeds.com/stormjamesoncourt.  The change from building site to building has been remarkable in the last few weeks, and has all of us at meetinleeds confident that here we have a superb product, which combines with our other superb facilities to make Leeds and the University a must for organisers.

Watch this space for updates on the final stages of the project, towards its opening in September.

It's ALIVE! - by Matt Hamnett

So, the website went live at the end of last week with very few problems.  Take a look at it (www.meetinleeds.co.uk) and let us know your comments, we'd appreciate any feedback!

Our Vision of the New Site - by Matt Hamnett

In the next few days we’ll be updating the MeetInLeeds website which will reveal the new design and layout we’ve been working on for the past few months.

As previously mentioned on this blog, a new website has been an important part of our plan ever since we launched the new MeetInLeeds brand.  As proud as we are of the current iteration of the site its foundations lay in an old design that doesn’t befit the size of the conference and events operation at the University of Leeds today.

Over the past year we’ve updated and added a number of elements to the website that we feel will be of great benefit to our users, whether they are event organisers or conference delegates, such as maps, image and video galleries or our most recent update: online booking for our city centre apartments.  What we really wanted to do though was to create a website that is simple to navigate through whatever it is that you are looking for.  This is the main focus of the new site.

Whilst we’ve concentrated primarily on the layout of the website we’ve also had fun with the look and feel too.  The new site suits the bold and confident style of the MeetInLeeds brand and features new content that we hope will help our visitors make more informed choices when looking at the University as a conference venue.

Our website is the hub of all our online activities (including this blog!) and so naturally plays an important role in showing our customers who we are and what we do.  We hope that, once it launches, you’ll enjoy visiting it as much as we do.

Summer Show-Rounds (& show offs!) - by Lisa Wood

This week I have a large corporate dinner booked into our fabulous Refectory for a grand night!  These are the type of events I know our award-winning catering team are eager to get hold of so that they can really show off their fine dining and service skills.

Following a very helpful tasting event (always a pleasure!), the event organisers were really pleased with the options the Refectory covers and agreed that it’s the perfect venue for these types of large events.

After all, since the late 1960s the Refectory has hosted some of the most important acts around, including the Rolling Stones, Elton John and more recently Muse (recorded live for MTV). Perhaps one of the most famous live recordings ever made, The Who Live at Leeds, was recorded in this very room!

Thankfully, as we’ve been setting up for the dinner this week, we were able to take some other clients on a show-round who were looking to host a very similar event.  So hopefully we’ll be doing it all again soon!

Here’s hoping for an enjoyable evening for all: especially as we have this incredible weather to boost the Pimms reception and fine wines that will be flowing in copious amounts!

Find out more about the Refectory, and our other facilities, at http://www.meetinleeds.co.uk/

Top Sales Team!

I can't say that Mystery Buyer calls are "eagerly awaited" by our sales team - they are anticipated more with trepidation than eagerness.  But I've always said that confidence often carries complancy with it, and whether it's a driving test, an exam, or the dreaded mystery buyer, it's a sign of conscienciousness to care about your performance so much that you get a wee bit nervous.

Each year, we are mystery-shopped by Venuemasters, to test our sales systems.  The aim is to ensure that the standard of response at academic conference venues is up there with the corporate sector.  I've just had the result today, of this year's mystery shop, and we achieved 2nd place out of 78 academic venues -  our previous highest being 4th!  Of course, it's a joint effort ultimately, with everyone on the team being involved in refining our enquiry response system, but I have to mention the newest member of our team, Natalie, who dealt with the lion's share of this enquiry.  Well done Nat!

We must be doing something right, because each quarter, we're also independantly tested by a mystery shopper, and the last quarter's result was a 100% pass - something the agency involved had not previously experienced.

It's great to know that everyone enquiring at MEETINLEEDS is getting top quality service from a top team! As for mystery buyers - bring 'em on!

Here He Comes Again by Richard Handscombe

This piece is an observation, and absolutely nothing to do with conferences, but I thought it might make light relief.

I’m not usually one to give any credence at all to conspiracy theories, but I definitely think that there’s no such thing as an impulse purchase. I think that products somehow conspire to be bought by certain people, through a mechanism as yet unknown to mankind.

Occasionally I nip to the supermarket to get one or two unforeseen essentials, like barbeque coals when the rain stops on a Sunday. As I have a reputation for coming home with other weird stuff, I find my wife eagerly waiting to criticise what I bring home.

A couple of weekends ago, my errand was for some baking foil, and razorblades. I came back with both (score a perfect 10!) - plus two duck breasts, a particularly elegantly shaped bottle of olive oil, three Mars bars (3?) and a jar of olives stuffed with garlic. All of the additional items were received with the usual derision by Mrs H, and when asked to explain why I had bought them, I once again explained my theory as she stored them away with all my other strange purchases.

As I said above, I think that somehow, these products conspire to be bought. By me. They sit there waiting for me to walk down the aisle. They usually look pretty good, with nice labels and special packaging, or else they are placed by the till covered in chocolate and just begging to be bought (Mars Bars). They watch for me coming, and somehow shine and shimmer, or maybe even twitch a bit or make a noise to attract attention (I know this is a long shot). They insist on being picked up and popped into the trolley. I know what you’re thinking – I’ve gone off my own trolley, and that's the usual reply I get at home.

I’m really trying to curb my impulsive buying tendencies. One of my strategies is to stay out of supermarkets altogether. It seems to be working. Mind you, this week I went to an antiques fair to buy a bookcase and came back with a clock, so it could be a long haul.

Explosive Exhibitions - by Richard Handscombe

Who would have guessed a few months ago, that a volcano, unknown to most of us and unpronounceable anyway, would be affecting businesses in the UK and Europe?

Volcanoes aside, reading through the pages of industry journals, you could be excused for feeling a little down-hearted by some of the headlines giving news of exhibitions being 'cancelled', 'closed', 'in liquidation', and even, in the case of a fetishist exhibition 'zipped up'!
But my own view is that black clouds, whether formed by ash or bad news, should be put in perspective. The airline industry is steadily figuring out ways of living with the ash cloud, thank goodness, as the exhibition industry must surely do when facing the dynamically changing habits of the so-called Google generation.

Exhibitions have been described by an industry guru recently as “the only place where people can touch, the product, sniff it, and give it a kick”. Well, maybe not quite in my own case, marketing the conference facilities at the University of Leeds; I worry about the sniffing and kicking bit, but I know what he means!    

It’s a great face-to-face opportunity and as such is invaluable. But we do have to be more choosy than ever about where we exhibit, due to costs and the current economic climate, exhibition space charges are, in my view too high, and too inflexible, and regardless of sales folk reeling off visitor registrations, some venue exhibitions are very much quieter than they used to be. 

I’d also like to see venue exhibition organisers embracing new technology such as RFID technology, creating visually stimulating exhibitions, and fully utilising social networking techniques. 

Bring about a revolution in the way the stands look, the journey through the hall, the methods of networking and information-swapping, and exhibiting will truly compete with the many other methods of marketing and information-gathering available today.

It’s all about impact, as Eyjafjallajokull would say, if it could talk.

Feeling Croqued by Richard Handscombe

Until last night, I never thought you could make a ham and cheese toastie and sell it for eight pounds. Had I realised that when I was, say, 22, it could have changed my life. I could've been "the toastie millionaire", famous for that one thing.   I'd probably get a knighthood.

The hotel I was at has definitely realised the attraction of a toastie. They've also realised that in order to jack up the price they need to call it something French. So it's a Croque Monsieur.

And it's eight quid.

If you had one for lunch every day, it would cost £2,555.00. That would be £155,855.00 I'd have spent on them in my lifetime. Mind you, I'm not sure what effect eating all that cheese, ham and toast would have had on my health, let alone my bank account. I 've a hunch it would make me fat. And it had too much bread anyway according to my wife.

I had burger and chips and it was stunning. So was the hotel by the way. That's what you get when you sell toasties at eight quid - a great big stylish fabulous hotel. All from selling toasties.

I took the wrong course in life.

How Busy Was I last Week? By Natalie Ruecroft, Sales Exec

Monday was a typical Monday so busy- busy right up until 5pm! Then on Tuesday morning, Richard, Harriet and I headed down to London for the Academic Venues Show, organised by Venuemasters. Richard and Harriet are old pro’s so they knew exactly what to expect but this was the first time I’d been to the show (or worked at any exhibition!) so I was a wee bit nervous!

After a 4 hour drive which mainly consisted of me sleeping in the back and listening to Richard’s sat-nav make weird speed camera warning noises every 2 minutes, we arrived at the Emirates Stadium and set up the stand for the following day. Tuesday evening was spent at Brown’s - where I enjoyed the Salmon in soy sauce – before heading back to the hotel for a cup of tea and a bit of Road Wars on the telly!

On Wednesday the show itself was great – really busy, producing loads of conference leads to chase which should keep me busy for the next couple of weeks!

Thursday was mainly a catch up day from being out of the office and therefore was super-busy again!

On Friday I headed across to Manchester for a sales training course. I arrived in Manchester at about 8am, and after about 35mins of wandering around looking lost (despite being given a hand drawn map from Richard on Thursday evening), I found the hotel at which course was being held (not quite as easy as Richard and Matt made out, but I found it in the end!). It was a really good, fun course and I took away some very helpful sales tips from it.

I arrived back in Leeds about 3.30pm on Friday and after a quite a hectic but productive week I was ready to head home to settle down with a cup of tea, bakewell tart and Eastenders!!

First Sight of Second Site - by Matt Hamnett

When our new MEETinLEEDS brand launched 8 months ago we quickly ‘re-skinned’ our website to suit the new look: the way that the website worked, and the information that was on it, stayed the same.

Since then we’ve added a number of new features that we hope have helped our visitors learn more about the University’s facilities (maps, image galleries and even twitter updates!) but we always knew that we had to create a brand new website.  We wanted to create a site that would reach out to all of our customers.

So began the research process and gradually we began to see how many different groups of people our website had to appeal to; conference delegates, event organisers, training managers, people looking for city centre accommodation, large associations and University staff are just SOME of the many visitors that use our website.  We ended up with a surprisingly large list.

Yesterday I got to see the designs for our new website for the first time and was blown away by the stunning impact that it has with its large images and brighter colours.  What I enjoyed seeing the most though was how easy it would be for someone to find what they were looking for!

It's "NO!" to Gnocchi! By Paul Ellingham, Conference & Events Coordinator

My girlfriend and I occasionally try to cook something we've never made before, ideally using ingredients we've never used before. This has led to some triumphs. This Saturday was not a triumph!

Neither of us really like gnocchi, so I don't know why we decided to make this. It was flavourless and wierdly textured. I think, next time, I'm going to ask our head chef for some advice in advance.

On the plus side, the mint and cream sauce was lovely. Also the Eton Mess (a recipe I did steal from our chef) was excellent.

I'm a bit hungry now, but the wine is helping and there's cheese and biscuits in the fridge...

Service - the recession-beater - By Richard Handscombe

If asked, I’d guess that most meetings professionals would say that the most important element to concentrate on in a recession, is customer service, and if they don’t consider it important , that they need to reassess their priorities! In a shrunken market, with every business wanting to be a conference venue, and all increasingly vigorously seeking to get hold of our customer, we need to ensure that the experience we give to him/her is top notch all round.


Sad to say I’m old enough to remember the days when cordials on the meeting table were considered exotic, mints outrageously luxurious, and the venue coordinator said “hello” in the morning and “bye” in the evening (if they were still there). Happily, we’ve come a long way in the UK in the last few decades. The meetings industry has responded to the increasing demands of a more sophisticated and well-travelled clientele. The need for better service is well recognised, and training has become ingrained in modern business culture and more available than ever before. Better service is evident throughout our industry, not least in my own university sector, which was slow to get going but which I’m glad to say is now up there with the very best.


But it’s not enough just to put fruit on the meeting table and check if the organiser is OK a couple of times during the day. We need to concentrate on every single aspect of a client’s experience with us, and seek to improve. We need to look at the competition, and find ways of differentiating our service from theirs (in a good way!), and we need to constantly monitor how our clients see us, so that we can quickly see where change is needed, and then make the changes. Hanging on to our customers, and gaining a reputation for better value, and high levels of service than our competitors has never been more important.
At a large four star hotel recently, when I asked for a drink in the bar, I was told by a scruffy youth with a dirty collar, “be with you in a minute mate” as he continued to thumb a text into his mobile phone. I’m sooooo glad he works for them and not us!