We've moved! - by Matt Hamnett

Over the past few months we've been working hard on a new website which has now gone live.

We've really enjoyed blogging and think it's a really important way to help you learn more about the great team we have here at MEETinLEEDS.  That's why we've decided to integrate our blog into our website, rather than keep them separate.

So from now on all our blog posts will feature on  the new website.

You can visit the new website and read the latest blog about the website changes at www.meetinleeds.co.uk/responding-to-change

Growing Our Online Presence (or how to be in more than one place at the same time) - by Matt Hamnett

When I first joined the conferencing team at the University of Leeds in 2009 there were two social platforms that we knew we had to be a part of if we wanted to communicate with our customers online. 

The social space has been shaken up over the past few years creating a much broader market share and a new approach to sharing content online.  For a long time marketing via social media began and ended with Twitter and Facebook but as more and more social platforms have gained ground, and members, it’s become impossible to ignore the places where our customers are spending their time online.

Facebook and Twitter are now the veterans of the social media world as an endlessly growing number of social networks provide new spaces for people to hang out, pin photos, create videos, share experiences and make buying decisions.

Pinterest was launched just 3 years ago but already has over 70 million users and gets over 2.5 billion page views each month.  It’s also been reported that it drives more traffic to websites than Twitter and LinkedIn combined – and who doesn't want their customers to end up on their website?!  These figures alone are enough for us to realise that it’s a social space that we’d like to be part of but what really drew our attention to the network was that it seemed an ideal place to showcase the breadth of facilities that we can offer.  Our Pinterest board is still very much in its infancy but it’s a fun place to be and we see a lot of potential in it.

Google is going to incredible lengths to make sure that its social network, Google+, is a success.  Recently they've replaced YouTube’s comments with G+ comments, given G+ more impact for local businesses and a G+ presence will even mean a higher placement in Google search results. So far all of this seems to be working - a study last year showed that G+ has over 343 million monthly users and 34% of all social logins; that surpasses both LinkedIn and Twitter.

We started using Google+ a while ago and love its clean interface and easy to use experience.  The fact that it helps people find our facilities online too is, of course, a great bonus!  Add YouTube and the importance of Google Maps to online search and Google are certainly doing plenty to keep us busy.

It’s not just social media that’s changed at such a pace either.  Email marketing is still as important as ever, websites are crucial hubs that should collate all of your online activity, responsive websites are expected by anybody visiting your site on a mobile device and 2014 is apparently the year that content marketing will fully mature.

Thankfully, Meet in Leeds have always enjoyed being ahead of the game and so we’re growing our team to make the most of what’s to come.  We look forward to seeing you on the next big thing!

At your Service - by Richard Handscombe

Rumour has it that the recession is over and recovery has begun!  This may be so, but in the events market it’s still a fact that there is an over-abundance of suppliers and therefore a massive choice – a buyer’s market.

When retail shopping, we tend not to compare products with products – we compare experiences, and this in the end guides where we shop.  As venues, it’s hard to resist “bigging up” our décor and audio-visual facilities as “state-of-the-art”, but in reality, buyers now simply expect top quality facilities in any venue.

The two main deciders in the conference market have historically been location and price, and the former is often a combination of geographical, micro- and macro-location.  At first glance, if a potential customer states that the destination they want is for instance Liverpool, and we are in Leeds, the location seems hard to counter in a sales context.  And also, in this over-supplied market, price can be tough to beat.  This is where differentiation can play a major part, and there are two key differentiators – innovation and service. The experience.

To work to advantage, innovation needs to be creative and constant, because, given the speed of modern communications and mass connectivity, competitor copying can occur instantly.  Overnight change is a reality we have to live with.

Excellent service gives us the edge, and if we get it right, can overcome both location and price challenges.  I have even experienced examples myself, where good service has even overcome product quality issues!  I gave one particular Leeds restaurant - which shall be nameless - a second chance, due to fantastic service, even though the quality of the meal was dire.  Suffice it to say that they won’t be getting a third chance regardless of the service!

There’s an old adage that people buy people, indeed in some cases people are the ONLY experience, for example many products bought from visits by trusted sales reps. Customers will also buy trusted brands without even trying them first.  But service is also a major factor in many successful top brands, eg M&S, Prêt á Manger, John Lewis.  Once this close association of service, quality and brand becomes complete you’re flying.  The idea behind the marketing of these companies is to induce “loyalty beyond reason”. The creation of loyal customers who don’t quite realise why.

It’s very similar to LOVE. 

Brands that have this have actually been called “Lovemarks” (Saatchi & Saatchi).

At the heart of a strong brand, will be a great experience, and at the heart of that are people.

Success needs people who are committed, creative, engaging, professional, pleasant, caring, competitive, enthusiastic, conscientious, and saleable (phew!).  Commitment to providing good service needs to be strong Service delivery needs to be excellent, and the product great. Exactly our goals at MeetInLeeds.  No wonder our order books are filling!

Reacquainted with Oxley - by Lisa Wood

I recently took a trip down memory lane and visited Oxley Hall with my colleague Natalie Ruecroft (AKA Ginger).  I used to be the Assistant Hall Manager at Oxley Hall some 16 years ago and I must say I felt like a queen living, and working, in such a beautiful hall.  What a way to start my University career!

Working in the central sales office we have recently had a number of new enquiries for Oxley, hence our visit to introduce Natalie to the hall, and for myself to be reacquainted with the venue that kick-started my career.

I have fond memories of Oxley and the lovely surroundings. There are new flats in the grounds now as well as the main hall bedrooms, enhancing the selling opportunities – perfect for my current role!

Since visiting I have already secured a hockey camp booking for the Hall (ideal with it being next to Weetwood playing fields that are managed by the University’s sports department) and potentially a government booking at the venue also.

Post by MEETinLEEDS.

Knowing the Hall as I do I am confident that they will all have a fantastic stay and that they’ll all enjoy a real Oxley Hall welcome!

Oxley Hall is our #venueofthemonth for February.  You can find out more about Oxley Hall at www.meetinleeds.co.uk/oxleyresidences

Sentenced to Email Servitude - by Richard Handscombe

“Thou shalt reply to every email” isn’t really the commandment most of us think it is.  How many times have you sent an email to someone only to receive a reply saying “thanks”.   If you’re a polite and well-brought-up Yorkshire lad like me, the temptation is to write “You’re welcome”.  So far, I have resisted this fearing that I’ll receive a reply saying “the pleasure was all mine”, but the temptation remains….

The email inbox is up there with action points from meetings, completing tax returns, and inviting the in-laws to dinner as one of life’s more oppressive monkeys on our back; something to nag away at us, give us indigestion and feed our guilt complex.  If you read about strategies for handling email, you’ll find these two rules expounded:

a)    If you’re working efficiently, you can read, file and/or respond to every email you read
b)    Non-response is unacceptable where an email implicitly or explicitly asks for a response.

Considering the first of the above decrees:  I first saw email in 1995, and I think it would have been around 1997 when my email inbox reached a volume at which it became largely unmanageable! My inbox is now TB41P (too big for one person), and anyway, work gets in the way.

As for the second of the above statutes, I think it’s a hangover from the pre-email era (PEE), as an acknowledgement that the person who had sent the letter (this is a piece of paper with squiggles written by a pen.  A pen is an instrument …. Oh never mind) had actually gone to some trouble and expense writing the letter and envelope, stamping it, and trudging to the post-box!  That’s almost heroic and clearly deserves a response.  But in order to accomplish this level of courtesy today, we have to give up personal time swatting emails with our smart phones on the train and at home because there’s just not enough time in the working day.  And don’t we all love the après-holiday backlog?


I don’t know the answer, so I’ll leave the question out there and you can email me if you do.  I promise to respond. But here’s an out-of-office message suggestion I read recently which, although not recommended as it’s probably professionally suicidal, made me smile.

Due to the volume of email I receive, I no longer personally review every message. If you are interested in learning more about why I have decided to set limits on my email time, you can read this [link to their blog post]. If you do not receive a further reply within 72 hours, please assume that I have had to focus on other professional or personal priorities at this time. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Rant over.  I won’t even start on why we actually type in our names at the bottom of an email reply when it already has an automatic signature and anyway should be obvious from whom it came…….

Making an Exhibition of Myself - by Richard Handscombe

As 2014 dawns, I have been thinking of how the conference business has changed in the last 20 years….

Back in 1993 when I came into the academic conference sector, computers were few and far between (we had just one in our department), and very basic, with dark screens and green writing, and Windows were things to watch rain drip down.  We wrote letters…real letters, with typewriters (typewriters were things with keyboards connected to sort of hammers with letters on…never mind, Google it!).  Oh yes, and we had to go to the library to research anything because the World Wide Web was a year or two away!

Back in those days, when we’d only just heard of Bill Clinton,  the final episode of Cheers was in the can, and Whitney Houston was topping the charts screeching  “I Will Always Love You” (I know these things because I Googled them), I used to exhibit at seven or eight venue shows.  These included Venuemasters, EIBTM, Confex, Chase, HRD, and the Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD).

How times have changed.  Although face-to-face discussions are still said to be important to buyers, the years are littered with failed attempts to launch new shows and attendances at exhibitions went into a steep decline.  The truth is that the speed, content and usability of the Web means that we can exchange vast amounts of information in a microsecond, and increasingly savvy buyers can comprehensively research venues without leaving their offices.  And conversely, venues are able to seek out and target potential buyers without breaking sweat.

These days at MEETinLEEDS we routinely attend only one, very focused exhibition (Venuemasters, 14th May 2014, at the Earl’s Court Ibis) and the rest, like Bill and Whitney, are history.

I actually did tot up the number of exhibitions I’ve done over these twenty years and I reckon it’s an astounding 60 at a cost probably well in excess of £150k!  Although this seems a high cost, we did see a lot of business coming from exhibitions when they were at their zenith, and in fact I can remember one single enquiry returning £150k of revenue.

What will the picture be in another 20 years?  It’s anybody’s guess, but thinking very positively, One Direction will be no more…..

Our Big Day! - by Natalie Ruecroft

As you've no doubt read already, September 1st 2013 saw the University of Leeds host its very first wedding fayre at Devonshire Hall.

This was a project that the sales and marketing team had begun working on only 3 weeks prior to the fayre taking place so needless to say, those 3 weeks were jammed packed with planning and also excitement! Who doesn't love a good wedding?!

The lead up to our very own big day saw new MEETinLEEDS web pages created, regular tweets and Facebook statuses and an advertising campaign taken out with the Yorkshire Post. One of the newspaper adverts even featured an interview from yours truly – a very proud moment for my mother I'm sure!

The day itself was a huge success. With over 40 brides in attendance, wedding cars displayed in the courtyard, the live band playing and the foyer filled with exhibitors the day had a fantastic atmosphere. It
really was a brilliant day that everyone enjoyed, including the MEETinLEEDS staff who dressed up for the occasion complete with button holes and corsages courtesy of our exhibiting florist.

As a result of the fayre so far we have 3 happily confirmed brides and more enquiries in the pipeline waiting to confirm The University of Leeds’ very own Devonshire Hall as their dream wedding venue.

Discovering Devonshire as a Wedding Venue - by Ryan Johnson

Over the past few months we've been working hard on a new project that has added an extra dimension to the event facilities we can offer: weddings!  Whilst the University has hosted these special days in the past this is the first time that MEETinLEEDS will have hosted a wedding fayre.

Devonshire Hall offers brides and grooms a beautiful and unique location to create their fairy-tale wedding and will be the scene for our first Wedding Fayre this Sunday September 1st.

The event is free to enter and takes place between 11am and 4pm and we think it’s the perfect opportunity to see the venue in all its splendour, as well as offering the opportunity for couples to find inspiration as they meet a number of our hand-picked wedding suppliers.

A champagne reception will be the start of the experience where brides and grooms-to-be can view wedding cars in the courtyard, listen to the live band playing throughout the day and speak to the exhibitors including cake designers, florists, a photographer and wedding venue dresser as well as stands with wedding gowns and a photo booth.

Should you choose to book an exhibitor for your wedding day, for your convenience all of the suppliers are located in Yorkshire.

During the wedding fayre people can picture themselves on their special day as they ascend the winding stone staircase, stand by the open fireplace and take a stroll through the picture-perfect courtyard and lawns.

Couples can also see Devonshire Hall dressed for an evening reception as well as meet our wedding team who will be on hand to help you plan your special day.

I've been working with Natalie Ruecroft, Sales Executive in our very own office, on this project and she’s really looking forward to showcasing the picturesque location. She said: “Devonshire Hall really is a hidden gem in Leeds and the fayre will showcase exactly what can be achieved here for that special day – in fact a one-stop wedding shop”.

The wedding fayre will be held at Devonshire Hall, Cumberland Road, Leeds, LS6 2EQ on Sunday September 1 between 11am and 4pm.


For more details visit the website at www.meetinleeds.co.uk/weddings, visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/meetinleeds or follow on Twitter @meetinleeds and use the hashtag #wedinleeds.

The University of Leeds is taking bookings now for 2014 onwards for June to September and the Christmas period. University term-time dates are unavailable.

You say jump, we say: how high? - by Ryan Johnson

They say that in order to succeed, any endeavour must adhere to the "5 P’s": planning and preparation prevent poor performance. In my house, this included an additional, colloquial, "P", and was often accompanied by "fail to prepare, prepare to fail" (my family is fond of appropriating slogans).

These have stuck with me throughout the years, and have never served me better than during the last month.

As regular readers will be aware, I have parachuted into the Conference Sales Office to assist during the busy conference season. As part of my development period, I decided it would be beneficial to work a conference from the enquiry stage right through to the completion of the event.

Courtesy of Youth Sport Trust

The victim of my undivided attention was to be the Youth Sports Trusts’ “Lead Your Generation” event. The Youth Sports Trust is a charity devoted to changing young people’s lives through sport, and the event is their personal London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic legacy commitment. The University of Leeds is no stranger to the 2012 Olympics, having hosted the Chinese Olympians and the Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Team in their pre-games training camps.

This, however, was a different challenge: 200 young people participating in a range of activities, from Boccia (no, me neither until I read this) to an inspirational speech by Jonathan Edwards, Olympic Gold medallist, current World Record holder and former Sports Personality of the year.

Meet in Leeds was able to meet the challenge as we have a wide range of venues on campus. The facilities at the School of Music and the Exhibition Centre were absolutely perfect for the clients’ needs, yet also within walking distance from each other. This ensured the event ran smoothly, according to schedule and without any of our young delegates straying.

I also saw first-hand the fruition of the hard work that is done by our catering team, for whom no individual dietary requirement is a chore and no delegate unimportant, regardless of age or how many records they hold.

Courtesy of Youth Sport Trust

I now appreciate the vital role of the Event Manager, from ensuring Wi-Fi access is available (of paramount importance to any self-respecting 15 year old with tweeting to be done) to securing easy access parking for VIP’s (did I mention Jonathan Edwards was in attendance?). I think that, in familial tradition, I would coin the slogan "The best event managers are rarely seen, yet always available."

Our future sports themed challenge now is preparing for the July 2014 Yorkshire Grand Depart, hotels for which can be booked via our website now!

Find out more about events for under 18’s and what venues Meet in Leeds can offer you by contacting our super sales team .

Leeds Taking the Lead - by Richard Handscombe

I was at school in Leeds and spent my very important formative teenage years living here during the 1960’s.  That’s so far back now, that it really does qualify as the “black and white days”.  I remember the city as a fairly grim place – blackened from the soot of industry, with journeys home from school through dense “pea-souper” fogs;  The high street food offer back then was limited to prawn cocktail, steak and chips and Black Forest gateau at Jacomelli’s, or the delights of the Wimpy Bar – oh yes, and there was one Chinese Restaurant!

But my, how things have changed…..
The big changes began around 17 years ago, with the completion of the Victoria Quarter retail development.  Quite quickly, Leeds became a mecca for trendy shoppers visiting the growing number of designer shops, and of course Harvey Nick’s.  Retail growth continued strongly and today Leeds leads the retail race in the north.  In the same year (1996) the Royal Armouries Museum, a spectacular extension of the Tower of London’s collections opened, bringing a truly remarkable tourist attraction into Leeds.

The city now has a vibrant, continental feel, with dozens of quality restaurants, and alfresco dining wherever you look – something that would have led to ridicule had you suggested it in the ‘60’s!  Nightlife is also superb, with top quality theatres, dining and clubs.

But recent times have seen a step-change in the city’s fortunes and ambitions, and the future is much more than just rosy….

The huge Trinity shopping mall opened its doors in March this year, boosting the already strong retail offer of this great city.  The spectacular 12,000-seat First Direct Arena, a long-overdue major entertainment venue for Leeds, opens in September, a development which is already catalysing hotel and restaurant developments around it.  The NGT (New Generation Transport) system is at an advanced stage of planning with construction beginning in the next couple of years, bringing space-age electric-powered buses running in exclusive bus lanes in several directions across the city.  In July 2014, the world’s biggest annual sporting event, the Tour de France starts right here in Leeds, with a potential 3 billion TV viewers enjoying the sights and sounds of Leeds and Yorkshire, apart from the excitement of the race itself!

The Leeds of today is almost unrecognisable from the town I grew up in – thank goodness.  Leeds is ambitious and confident, and it shows!  I’m not normally known for banging on about my old home town but looking around, I really am proud to be from Leeds, and to be promoting the benefits of Leeds as a venue for major conferences and events.

And if you’ve not been to Leeds, don’t take my word for it – come and see for yourself!

Top Conference Sales Team - by Richard Handscombe

Teamwork is defined as “the combined action of a group of people, especially when effective and efficient” (Oxford Dictionary).

In my earlier years in business I worked in several teams that would struggle hard to justify that definition.  In fact, I’d go so far as suggesting that effective and efficient are words that struggled to exist until at least the 1990's!  But today's world demands levels of effectiveness and efficiency far ahead of where we were in the last century.

Thankfully since then I have worked in, and led, some fantastic sales teams, none more so than my current sales and marketing team here at MEETinLEEDS, to whom I’d like to introduce you.

In the picture (l to r) are:

• Lisa (Woody) Wood, Conferences Sales Exec extraordinaire, dressed today in black but with an incredibly colourful personality that fills the office with fun.
• Matt (Dot Com) Hamnett, who speaks fluent cyberspeak and operates silently and black magically to bring us to prominence in the online world
• Natalie (Ginger) Ruecroft, Conference Sales Executive, whose natural flair for comedy keep us enthralled as she determinedly closes business.

Missing from the picture is our Sales Manager, Harriet (“H”) Boatwright, currently on maternity leave, and whose vast knowledge and skill we look forward to regaining toward the end of the year.

Finally, also missing from the picture is Ryan (Ry-Ry) Johnson, a practitioner of the Barnsley accent, and promoter of good coffee, who parachuted into our team to assist in Harriet’s absence.

The skills and personalities embodied in the above team come together in a really great way.  In sales, first impressions are everything and we're totally confident on this score.  So, when looking for your next venue, why not give us a call and experience the “Leeds Hug”?

Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Team visit for second training camp

The Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Team have just completed the second of their three pre-London 2012 training camps at the University of Leeds before travelling to London to take part in the Wheelchair Rugby Paralympic Test events held at the Olympic Park.

The team held their first training camp in August where they were able to get a feel for the facilities available to them and get used to the campus, in particular Storm Jameson Court – the hotel-style accommodation that has been made available to them.

Andy Van Neutegem, performance director for Canadian Wheelchair Rugby, has been particularly pleased with what he’s seen so far “Our preparation for the Paralympic Games and the Test Match could not be any better as a result of the services and support from the University of Leeds. Our accommodation was exceptional and the catering and food were superb! Above all, the catering and accommodation staff could not do enough to make Leeds our home away from home. Their attention to detail and level of service is beyond comparison!”

The Events, Sports, Catering and Accommodation teams are all looking forward to welcoming them back again later this year as they make their final preparations for the Paralympic Games in August.

Find out more about Storm Jameson Court.

Year of the Dragon - by Richard Handscombe

This year, the Year of the Dragon, is considered the luckiest Chinese year, which bodes well for the Chinese athletes who are training in Leeds ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games.  Not that they seem to need much luck, as they topped the medal tables at the last Games in Beijing.

Seven years of work came good late last year when Leeds was finally announced as the training base for this “superteam”, but that’s when the really hard work begins!

Think about it – nearly 300 Chinese people, with us for almost a month, many of whom will never have visited the UK, or eaten European food, don’t speak English and are, well, Olympians!  These boys and girls are at the highest possible level of their sport.  This will be their last training camp before the Games, so stress levels will be high.  This is set to be an interesting year full of challenges for the events department, catering services and Sport.

Bev Kenny has accepted the considerable menu challenge, and as I write this is in the midst of organising some pretty exotic offerings which will be delivered by our own chefs aided by some of the Chinese team’s chefs.  Residences are gearing up to welcome around 10 disciplines to Storm Jameson Court, all of whom come and go on different dates during July.  Sport and Physical Activity (SPA) is planning to install specialised equipment for such sports as fencing, taekwondo and table tennis.  And these are just some of the issues to be covered.  

BBC cameras broadcast the show live to China.

At the beginning of February, the BBC broadcast a variety show from the Refectory, live to China in celebration of the Leeds training camp.  The show was presented by one of our own students, Marie Tulloch, speaking in fluent Mandarin Chinese.  This was incredibly impressive but did nothing to ease my own worries about my own challenge to learn basic Mandarin so that I can at least greet our guests, and maybe even answer simple questions.  The one thing I’ve learnt so far, after just two lessons, is that there is no such thing as a simple question in Chinese.  Just one small two-letter word can have six meanings depending on how it is pronounced, and many of these will probably be offensive!

So, this is going to be a great year to be in Leeds, with the University playing a valuable part in the Olympics – Bev can be happy in the knowledge that she has helped fuel every medal won by the Chinese.  Residences and SPA will know that they have played an important part in preparing the athletes for every gold, silver and bronze they take back to China.   And I’ll probably have insulted everyone in every possible way, as I stumble thorough the Mandarin minefield.  But it will be a year we will remember forever…  

Find out more about the event at the Refectory:

• Read an article in the Yorkshire Post
• View the video
• Take a look at some pictures

Marketing? It’s a piece of cake! - by Natasha Rahanu

As those of you who know me are aware, as well as promoting the sale of delicious food all around the University care of our delivered catering, I’m no stranger to the inside of a kitchen myself.

My forte is desserts, specifically cakes (past triumphs have included an elephant lemon cake and a 3D train cake complete with carriages stuffed full of gummy bear passengers).

So the other weekend when I went to my niece’s  (Imogen, or Immy for short) fourth birthday party and my sister asked me to make the cake I was only too happy to oblige. Little did I know at this point that the design of the cake was to be a scaled down version of the gym in which the party was taking place!

Anyway, following a day spent with Immy watching films and making things out of paper and glitter, at 5pm I started on the cake, finally finishing at 2am the morning of the party!

Cake or gym - which is which?!

It was all worth it when Immy saw the cake but to top it off, shortly after we arrived at the gym, the manager approached me and asked for my permission to put a photo of the cake on their website as part of their promotional campaign for parties.

Oh okay... one square apple pie coming up!

My first conference as a delegate! - by Natalie Ruecroft

November 2nd-4th 2011 saw me attend my first Venuemasters conference (also my first ever conference!) in the beautiful, but freezing cold, city of Edinburgh. The cold didn't bother me that much as I spent most of my time indoors drinking tea or sparkling wine!

I’d just like to say:
Firstly: what a fantastic conference! Plenty of great speakers and a chance to mingle with fellow academic venue conference sales types.
Secondly: What a beautiful city Edinburgh is.  Not quite as good as Leeds (obviously!!) but full of very welcoming people who made our stay very comfortable.

The conference really was great, it provided really useful workshops throughout the day and a chance to relax and meet new friends in the evening. Also a chance to dress up as Bonnie and Clyde with my favourite Head of Sales and Marketing, Richard Handscombe.

I took away some great sales tips and advice, especially from Adrian Webster who delivered a humorous, highly energetic and, at times, emotional speech on delivering extraordinary customer service. In fact, his TNT (tiny noticeable things) idea has spurred me on to add a little personal touch to my ‘Getting Venue Finding Agencies to Book Leeds’ campaign!
 
I am currently in the process of handwriting very attractive and glittery Christmas cards to each of the agents who have used us and thanking them for choosing the University of Leeds. I did contemplate sending a photograph of myself with a beard saying "Ho, Ho, Ho" but decided against this!

Merry Christmas everyone!

MEETinLEEDS goes Mobile- by Matt Hamnett

Over the past couple of months we've been working on a mobile version of our website.

It’s been something that we’ve wanted to do for quite some time – we know that we get a lot of delegates on campus who use their mobile phones to access our website to find out more information about the venue that they’re visiting.  We’ve also seen over the past year or so that more and more people are viewing websites on their mobile phones, and our web statistics are backing this up.

So with this in mind we knew we wanted to make visiting our site as easy as possible no matter what device our customers were using.

I started by doing some research into the mobile future of the web and found some interesting statistics.  There are 5.3 billion mobile users globally, that’s 77% of the world’s population, and the mobile web is predicted to overtake desktop figures by 2013/14.  Clearly we needed to be aware of how our customers saw us on-line.

Of course www.meetinleeds.co.uk was, and is, accessible via any mobile phone that had an internet browser, but were our customers getting the same sharp experience that we’d expect them to have if they were viewing the site on a desktop computer?  We’ve always been confident that the site looks good and is easy to use but we noticed that if we navigated our way through the site on our mobile then the pictures weren’t so large and impressive and the links were harder to spot, and access.

At this point we knew we wanted to make something that would look better and be easier to use, so we set about working out what content should be on there and what it should look like.

You can access the site on any mobile device by visiting www.meetinleeds.co.uk (or if you're reading this on your desktop just scan the QR code on the right with your mobile) – it will automatically recognise your device and redirect you to our mobile website.  

We hope you like it and would love to hear your feedback!

What a difference a day makes - by Natasha Rahanu

The University of Leeds is a large and prestigious institution that attracts a variety of high profile visitors; quite recently we’ve hosted the Leader of the Labour Party, Ed Milliband and the High Sheriff of West Yorkshire, A E Grant Esq OBE.

Sometimes though, when your work and focus is on the operational side of events, the content can pass you by. 

You say Morris dancing, I say risk assessment?

You say swan ice sculpture, our survey says; will it fit in the lift?

That all changed when I met a man called Paul Garner.

Professor Garner holds the Cowdry Chair in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese and has recently written a book about his positions namesake, Lord Cowdry, who in the early 1900s became one of the wealthiest men in Britain, not least because the centre of his oil and engineering empire, was focused in Mexico.

Professor Garner celebrated his book launch with a week long exhibition of rare Mexican photographs in one of our venues, Parkinson Court, and a VIP reception which attracted the likes of the Vice-Chancellor of the University, the Lord Mayor and the Mexican Ambassador (on his first ever visit to Leeds).

The Court was transformed into a Mexican wonderland with palm trees, cacti, and tequila.  And the brightest star of the night: none other than our very own University catering.  In little more than 72 hours, we had created a Mexican oasis in the middle of Leeds and received high praise in two different languages!

On top of all this I have also managed to tick off three things I didn’t even know were on my ‘to do before I’m 30 list’:

• held a meeting about cacti with the British Cactus & Succulent Society (yes, they do exist – Google it!)
• ordered 70 shot glasses for non-personal use
• said ‘Hello;’ in Spanish to the Mexican Ambassador

So what did you do today?

Tweet what you eat! - by Matt Hamnett

Catering can make all the difference for a successful and memorable event.  We've known for some time that we have top class chefs who can create inspirational menus for the delegates that use our facilities for conferences.  Still... it’s always nice to get feedback.

Recently we've had some comments from a different source than our normal feedback forms though:  the National Union of Students (NUS) gave their feedback via the social networking site Twitter as they ate each course!

It started at lunch time: 

@CunninghamToby said: “lunch yum yum best uni food I ever ate!” and @ashleyrudge added: Loving lunch time in Leeds!

By the Awards Ceremony later that night the tweets were coming in thick and fast, and all of them positive!

@BenAMJackson: Beautiful Rhubarb crumble

@wheelybarrow: I think the food is the first winner of the evening

@jonathaneisaacs: There is something in the ice cream that is yummy but I just can't place it. Anyone any ideas?

@SamwiseHampson: The whole team here from @LoughboroughSU has been impressed by the food and everything about the night so far.

@DanielRidsdale: the lamb is awesome #fact

@nusuk: The food served at the #NUSAwards tonight is locally sourced

@MaddyRB: lovely starter!

Royal Wedding, Take Two!

Move over Wills & Kate, because this month our very own Natasha Lockwood, self titled ‘Royalty of Conferencing’ (see what we did there?) will be getting married to her fiancé Deepak Rahanu.

In a double ceremony, which involves two dresses and (more importantly) two cakes, Natasha will have a traditional English ‘White Wedding’ on 19^th May followed by an Indian ceremony on May 21^st.

So was it difficult to organise an event and keep true to both cultures involved? 

In a way it was, there are some elements which are so different between the two cultures, the dress is a perfect example.

As a little girl growing up I had dreamed of having the ‘Princess Diana’ big white dress and, though puffed shoulders are less fashionable and my train is not quite 25 feet, I was still adamant about holding onto that!

In Indian culture however, the traditional bridal colour is red, and the outfits (known as lenghas) are very heavy with intricate decoration. To add to this the jewellery is just as big and ornate.  Wearing everything together is not only a test of my strength but it seems very over the top for me, as it’s not like anything I have worn previously.

I do feel really lucky though to have the opportunity to spread my wedding over three days and have two different bridal outfits as well!

Other issues are more easily solved however:  you can’t go far wrong mixing Indian meals with English cake for afters, and no one is going to complain about Banghra & Bacardi! 

Are you nervous or excited?

Because I’m an Event Organiser myself I’ve felt for quite a while that I’ve been planning this for somebody else!  It’s often the case, as with a lot of the larger conferences we hold, that when you've been working on an event for so long, it feels strange when it actually happens. 

I have had many well wishes from all my colleagues though, so I’m very grateful for that – I’m sure I’ll be excited very soon!

I will return to work on 6^th June as Natasha Rahanu (n.rahanu@adm.leeds.ac.uk) with more ideas on how we can bring the best out of your event!

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We’ll be posting pictures of Natasha’s dresses on this blog so check back soon and let us know which one you prefer in the comments!

No mystery to MEETinLEEDS’ latest triumph - by Matt Hamnett

Every now and then someone calls the conference sales office, asks a number of questions about our venues and, under a false name, makes an enquiry for a totally fictitious event that will never happen.  And we fall for it every time.

The conference sales team at MEETinLEEDS are constantly looking at ways in which we can improve how we work to help our customers create the event they’re looking for with as much ease as possible.

We've worked hard to put systems in place which allow our customers a seamless experience from making an enquiry to booking a venue and we pride ourselves on the level of knowledge our team has on all of our facilities.  Once the event is over then we ask the organisers, and the delegates too, if everything went as planned.  If for any reason something isn’t quite right then we make sure we know about it so that we can put it right next time.

Sometimes this isn’t quite enough though.  Whilst we’re quietly confident that we deliver a fantastic customer experience (and our feedback confirms this) it’s important that we look at our business through fresh eyes.  It’s for this reason that we allow a total stranger to conjure up these fabricated conferences as part of a mystery shopping program.  And we happen to do quite well in them!

Last year the team took part in several mystery shopping measures looking at their telephone and booking skills.  The mystery shopper assesses things such as: how quickly the call was answered; whether it was answered in a professional manner and whether the relevant person was able to take the call.  The sales team scored 91% and 100% on the last two occasions.

This year we wanted to look at how well we perform show-rounds at our venues, as well as the initial telephone enquiry, and we’re proud to say that we scored a fantastic 97.2%.

Of course all of these results don’t mean that we’ll be resting on our laurels.  We’ll continue to look for more ways that we can make ourselves even more helpful, and we’ll go on testing ourselves to make sure that we’re getting it right!

Read more about our Mystery Shopper by reading our news page.