Live streaming of Scrabble Championship draws 10,000 web viewers

Cavendish Conference Centre put its state-of-the-art technology to the test on 3 November 2013, successfully live streaming the grand final of the National Scrabble Championship to almost 10,000 viewers via the web. The conference and meetings venue has played host to the championship every year for the last 42 years, dating back to when the venue first opened.

Finalists Allan Simmons and Paul Allan did battle to seize the title of National Scrabble Champion 2013. Allan conquered as the eventual winner, taking home the glory of the title and a £2,500 cash prize.

To explore the rooms and spaces available for hire at Cavendish Conference Centre, please click here, visit www.cavendishvenues.co.uk or call 020 7706 7700.

Central Hall targets Brits & Chinese with new mobile site

Central Hall Westminster (CHW), central London’s largest purpose built conference centre, today announced the launch of a specialist business event website built for mobile devices. The new mobile site has been created in response to a 70% rise in traffic from mobile devices to the CHW website.

The site is available in both English and Mandarin to maximise CHW’s growing customer base in the People’s Republic of China. CHW has previously recognised the importance of Chinese business tourism by producing a multi-lingual desktop site and appointing a dedicated account manager for the Chinese market. This commitment was recognised in April 2013 when CHW was awarded the Chinese Tourists Welcoming Award for ‘Best Internet/ Media Campaign by overseas business’.

Paul Southern, managing director of Central Hall, said: “The Chinese award put CHW onto the international map and with a desktop site available in Mandarin, it was crucial that the new mobile site continued to recognise this important market with a multi-lingual function. The statistics that we are seeing from industry research make it clear that mobile web access is increasingly important and cannot be ignored.”

Maria Schuett, marketing manager at Central Hall, added:  “Since the corporate visual ID re-launch in 2012, the CHW brand has gone from strength to strength. Mobile is a natural progression to drive brand integrity and meet the target audience on their terms. Findings, such as those from Distilled Marketing that concluded 57% of users won’t recommend a business if they had a bad mobile experience, show how important mobile usage has become. I am proud that Central Hall supports a progressive marketing strategy and considers a dedicated, user-friendly B2B mobile website a vital marketing platform.”

The new designs were implemented by web design and development agency Applejack, a long-standing partner of CHW. The site includes mobile-specific elements, such as image and content sliders, carousels and virtual tours, all utilising swipe and drag navigation for touch screens. Additionally the text size has been increased and the font changed in places to improve legibility. Easily accessed menus and large buttons aid navigation, providing the user with an optimal viewing experience on multiple mobile platforms.

For more information, visit the new mobile site via mobile devices here: www.c-h-w.com

Off to Work Training Academy launches ‘How to…’ video demos for events staff

Events and hospitality staff can now access six brand new, bitesize training videos, produced by hospitality staff supplier and training provider Off to Work (OTW).

Available free of charge via OTW’s online video channel OTV, the light-hearted demonstrations have been created in response to demand for interactive learning experiences, with Off to Work trainers walking viewers through simple, step-by-step instructions for making lip-smacking cocktails like the rum Daiquiri and the Gin Collins. They also talk about the history of the spirits, where they come from and what they’re best used for.

See barista Thomas “Ricco” Reid brew and pour a perfect ‘flat white’ as he explains how this popular Australian coffee style differs from the latte. Learn how to box a table too, with smart tablecloth folding tips from Terry Jones, before perfecting elegant up-do, the hair bun – an event grooming staple made easy by Annie Jones and hair model Susanna Born.

Off to Work Training Academy uses these short videos as refreshers for basic but essential events and hospitality skills and they’re free for anyone to download and watch from the OTW website. Other videos in the series include tips on how to open and pour wine and champagne, how to tie a Double Windsor knot and how to clear five plates from a table.

How to make a flat whitePresented by Thomas “Ricco” Reid
How to make a Bloody MaryPresented by Jazz Evans
How to make a DaiquiriPresented by Terry Jones
How to make a Gin CollinsPresented by Josh Smith
How to box a tablePresented by Terry Jones
How to make a hair bunPresented by Annie Jones, with hair model Susanna Born

Speaking of the launch of the new hospitality skills videos, Matthew Hubbard, OTW’s service development director, says:

“These new video instalments in the Off to Work training library are produced to support the extensive classroom and practical hospitality training we provide our team and clients. While an open resource for all in the hospitality industry, they help to deliver the exacting standards we believe in and enable amazing experiences for our clients and their guests.”

View or download OTV’s complete series of ‘How to…’ videos free of charge.