Top accolade for Church House Conference Centre AV team

Church House Conference Centre’s in-house AV team has won a prestigious industry award for its high quality service.

At the annual AV Awards, held on October 12 2012 at the London Hilton on Park Lane, the Westminster venue was chosen as the winner of the In-House AV Team of the Year category. The award was collected by AV manager Ian Locke and AV technician Jonathan Hills. It is the second time in three years that the venue has won the award, previously winning in 2010. It was also a finalist in 2011.

Church House Conference Centre offers state-of-the-art AV facilities which are managed by its highly professional team. The venue hosts a wide range of events, including gala dinners, product launches, cocktail receptions, award ceremonies, AGMs, conferences and board meetings, for which the AV team offer a seamless and flexible service.

By closely monitoring customer feedback and keeping up to date with the latest trends, the AV team is able to continuously improve its service offering and client experience. To keep ahead of client requirements, the venue has made significant investment in technology, equipment and people in the last 12 months. Its most recent upgrade was the installation of a 100MB per second broadband line which will mean Church House Conference Centre can accommodate even the most challenging audio visual requirements.

“We’re delighted that our in-house AV team has been recognised for its first class service,” says Robin Parker, Church House Conference Centre’s general manager. “With a wide range of technology and skills at their disposal, the AV team can offer clients a package suitable for events of any type or size. The team are the perfect example of how good practice, staff retention and investment in technology and infrastructure, as well as employee training and development, can provide clients with an exceptional AV experience and create a culture of AV excellence.”

New head of venues for the RIBA

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has appointed Stephanie Ellrott as its new head of venues.

With over 10 years working in the hospitality industry, Stephanie will be responsible for the smooth running of the busy venues and events team at 66 Portland Place – the home of British Architecture.

Prior to joining the RIBA, Stephanie headed the meetings, events and accommodation team at the Royal College of Physicians. In that role she managed the opening of the William Harvey House and helped the venue win two major business awards.

Andy Munro, Chief Financial Officer at the RIBA says: “We have seen a healthy level of enquiries over the summer and we are delighted to have secured the expert attention of Stephanie to give the team an extra boost.  We know she will help them achieve even greater results in this very busy year for the events industry.”

Stephanie joins the team with an impressive career in conference, banqueting and events management having worked at some of London’s most prestigious hotels including The Savoy, London and Hilton on Park Lane.

Free Google Analytics and AdWords masterclass available on demand now via One Wimpole Street

A video delivering the inside scoop on Google Analytics and Adwords and their impacts on website performance over time is now available to view online for free, thanks to the team at One Wimpole Street.

Featuring the last session in the venue’s popular 2012 technology masterclass series, speakers David Miles, director of online marketing training consultancy Divadani, and Jeremy Nelson-Smith, director and internet marketing consultant at The Internet Specialist, come together in the video masterclass to provide free and valuable tips for maximising the use of Google AdWords as an advertising tool and for optimising website performance by accurately analysing data available via Google Analytics.

The masterclass video is available on demand now, free of charge to event planners, event buyers and event marketing professionals. Viewers are able to choose between watching the whole masterclass sequence, or viewing the two speaker sessions individually.

Miles champions the idea that Google AdWords is an extremely powerful advertising tool, delivering rapid results and a great return on marketing investment. He also explains how Google AdWords works and what benefits it has over other methods of driving traffic to your website. Crucially, he highlights the things you need to be aware of in order to avoid wasting money on AdWords.

Nelson-Smith unravels web analytics to demonstrate the need to use Google Analytics to increase website performance and make better business decisions. He explains how to measure and understand which marketing channels are most effectively delivering quality visitors to your web pages, whether your content is doing its job in engaging your visitors and how to use this vital knowledge to increase your sales.

One Wimpole Street will be launching a new masterclass series in 2013. To be the first to find out more, register your interest by clicking here. To watch the free video of the Google Analytics and AdWords masterclass on demand, click here.

Welcome to our 3 new venue members Westminster Abbey, Prince Philip House and RCOG

The Westminster Collection (TWC) is delighted to announce the addition of three prestigious and unique venues to its venue membership: Westminster Abbey, Prince Philip House and RCOG. The new addition of these Westminster locations adds to the huge diversity of venues available to event planners and buyers when entrusting TWC as their free venue finding service.

Westminster Abbey is a venue steeped in heritage where the walls echo the history of London. A celebrated national treasure, The Abbey has witnessed many royal occasions, including weddings and state funerals and it is now available to hire via The Westminster Collection for small receptions in intimate surroundings to large gatherings of up to 500 people in magnificent settings.

Whether a prestigious or a charitable event, The Abbey’s five unique indoor and outdoor spaces include the vaulted Undercroft Museum, which provides a very special and atmospheric location for a reception. Here guests can marvel at priceless medieval relics dating back to the time of King Henry V.

Prince Philip House is an impressive and commanding building situated in the elegant surroundings of Carlton Square, Westminster, overlooking St James’s Park and The Mall. Home of the Royal Academy of Engineering, its sophisticated facilities and interiors are punctuated by the art of Paolozzi and Cuneo to give this Grade I listed building a contemporary edge, whilst losing none of its character.

Newly relaunched earlier this month following a £6.5m refurbishment, Prince Philip House is the perfect location for all manner of events including private dinners, award ceremonies, exhibitions, board meetings, lectures and conferences for up to 300 people.

Overlooking Regent’s Park, RCOG – Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists – is a Royal Medical College with a wealth of conference and events facilities.

From small boardroom meetings to large corporate conferences for 320 delegates and from special celebration drinks receptions to fine dining for up to 218 guests, RCOG can offer both traditional and contemporary spaces with experienced service a prerequisite. By hiring the facilities at the college you are helping to fund charitable clinical research into women’s health and wellbeing through childbirth.

“We are always pleased to welcome new venues to the collection,” said Jonathan Morris, membership director of The Westminster Collection, “and especially those with such unique character as Westminster Abbey, Prince Philip House and RCOG. Their membership reinforces the diversity of choice that TWC has always striven to deliver to the event organiser and an announcement about new venues with the collection acts as a fitting precursor to the launch of our new website for events buyers and planners, which will take place towards the end of this year.”

Speaking of their new alliance with TWC, Becci Thomson, Sales and Marketing Manager at Prince Philip House, says: “Membership of The Westminster Collection was a key part of our marketing plan for Prince Philip House from the outset. With such a large selection of different marketing avenues available, we decided that joining a marketing consortium that would deliver us outstanding leads from high quality event bookers would undoubtedly be the most appropriate. During 2013 the whole team at Prince Philip House is focussed on putting this brand new venue firmly on the London Event map, including weddings and evening events, and cementing our reputation for excellence.”

Lorraine Rossdale, head of event management at Westminster Abbey, says: “Westminster Abbey, which is primarily a place of worship, is delighted to have joined the Westminster Collection to raise awareness of the Abbey as an exclusive events space in central London.  2012 has been very successful year in terms of events, and joining the Collection will enable us to continue this trend into 2013.”

As a consortium, The Westminster Collection brings together and supports a community of prestigious and unique venues exclusively located within London’s City of Westminster. The Westminster Collection’s member venues range from fashionable townhouses and private members clubs, to luxury hotels, celebrated attractions, historic institutes and societies.