IET London: Savoy Place crowned with Best Venue Customer Service accolade at the London Venue and Catering Awards 2022

IET London: Savoy Place has seen success in consecutive years at the London Venue Awards, this year winning Best Venue Customer Service.

In addition, the venue received recognition with a bronze award in the Best Venue for Hybrid Events category, competing against highly respected powerhouses in supplying seamless hybrid meeting spaces.

Hosted at the, now regular, Kia Oval in London on Friday 11 November, the awards and their respective judges acknowledged Savoy Place for its approach to developing a strong culture through its quality customer service and adapting to significant change.

Savoy Place has continued to welcome many high-profile visitors and events in London with the team securing strong relationships built through accessibility, consistent staff training as well as a genuine interest in the STEM clients.

Savoy Place is a venue promoting the constant development of a strong culture and innovative solutions to all event needs. With a 626-guest capacity across two lecture theatres, 14 further event spaces comprising of three floors and a roof terrace overlooking panoramic London views, customers are catered for, via various means.

Celebrating with the team on the day, Sean Spencer, Head of IET Venues and Facilities said: “It’s very rewarding to be recognised for a second year running for both the venue facilities and the outstanding team behind them. During a period of such significant change, it’s no easy feat to deliver so consistently with exceptional customer service across all manner of events, industries and capacities.

“We have such a tenacious and well-structured team, always going above and beyond for each client, which plays a significant role in securing our repeat business. Our best in class service is hard-earned through comprehensive staff training and the strong focus we place on wellbeing, so we’re very proud to receive this prestigious award recognising what we can achieve for our clients when we invest in our people.

“The day was an excellent chance to be amongst some illustrious talents throughout the industry and we congratulate all worthy winners and finalists.”

Explore Savoy Place’s facilities to find out more about hosting your next event at this award-winning London venue.

Regent’s celebrates success at London Venue Awards

Regent’s Conferences & Events has been recognised for its unique outdoor space and flexibility, winning the Bronze Award for Best Venue with Outside Space in the London Venue Awards 2022.

The awards, which were presented at The Kia Oval, London on Friday 11 November, aimed to recognise and reward outstanding achievement in London-based venues and catering companies.

The accolade comes after a record-breaking summer of success at Regent’s, as the team evolves its outdoor events offering year-on-year. The past 12 months has been no different. Due to the increasing demand for excess space, the lawns have proven to be incredibly sought after. The venue was virtually booked out by April 2022, but even after inevitable COVID dropouts, rail strikes and cancellations, it still saw 90% occupancy – 30% above target.

The outdoor space is unique in its versatility for events.  Perfectly positioned for balancing convenience with secluded privacy in the heart of London, the four acres of gardens are just a few steps away from the city’s hustle and bustle. The expanse of landscaped lawns, paired with a hidden, gated Secret Garden offers a fairy-tale-like setting with wildflowers, lush greenery, and excellent views of the city’s horizon. Concealed by foliage, the hidden space is accessed via a walkway covered by a beautiful pergola.  

Responding to the award success, Rafael Azzopardi, Interim Head of Catering and Events said: “To pick up another prestigious award for our summer party offering is testament to the consistency in service and facilities over the past few years. It’s brilliant to have the team’s extraordinary effort over the past 12 months recognised, as they continue to produce outstanding events in our outdoor space, despite all sorts of challenges thrown their way. We are quite fortunate to have such a large, private outdoor area in such a convenient location in London, and visitors are frequently astounded by the venue’s rural setting despite being only a short distance from the bustle of the city.

“It’s undoubtedly a fantastic motivation for the team to deliver another season of memorable outdoor events in 2023, as demand for the summer has already picked up.”

Find out more about Regent’s event space.

Broadway House earns elite AIM Gold status

Broadway House, a conference venue located directly opposite St James’s Park tube station, has achieved Gold in the stringent Accredited in Meetings (AIM) assessment – the nationwide kitemark for accredited venues and service providers in the UK meetings, conference and events industry. It is now one of only 17 UK venues to have achieved AIM Gold status.

Part of EEF Venues, this historic venue features 12 distinctive meeting rooms, with a maximum room capacity for up to 120 delegates.  Technology is state-of-the-art, including unlimited high speed internet access, complimentary WiFi, DVD and audio visual conferencing technology.

The Process

Three years ago, Broadway House gained entry-level AIM accreditation because, according to Amanda Sutton, venue manager at Broadway House, it gave the venue all of the member advantages of being part of the mia and it gave the venue a competitive edge, helping it to ‘stand out from the crowd’.  Over the course of the last three years, EEF Venues has continued to invest in and make improvements at Broadway House, such as upgrading its washrooms and adding another room to the venue’s portfolio – The Stephenson Room, which is the venue’s largest room with capacity for 120 people.

Earlier this year, the Broadway House team decided to go for AIM Gold accreditation.  The application required a substantial portfolio of evidence detailing all aspects of the operation from legal requirements, including health and safety, data protection and disability, through to commercial performance, business planning, investment, staff and contractor management, customer service and sustainability.

The venue’s AIM Entry Level verification visit three months ago highlighted areas which needed improvements, such as the security levels in four of its meeting rooms. This was immediately addressed by EEF Venues in preparation for the assessor’s return.

The all-day assessment for Gold involved an interview with Amanda Sutton, individual interviews with all staff members and an in-depth inspection of the venue.

“It was a very truthful process,” said Amanda. “When I briefed my team in advance of the visit, I just told them to be themselves and tell it as it is.”

The assessor’s report clearly outlined the venue’s impeccable standards, highlighting the efficiency of the business operation across its sales processes, its high customer levels (Broadway House holds BDRC Gold Standard with 97% score for ‘good’ and ‘above average’ customer feedback) and its strong relationships with staff and contractors.

In August of this year, EEF Venues will begin a major upgrade all of all public access spaces and conference areas within Broadway House. This will include lighting, décor and new carpeting throughout.

David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, said: “This refurbishment project is a considerable milestone for us. We view it as a huge vote of confidence in EEF Venues and also in the marketplace itself, which despite challenging economic times, is still buoyant.  Competition from other venues, particularly within the Westminster area, is strong. However, as approximately 75% of all of our business comes from repeat bookings, this drives the business during difficult times. But there is no room for complacency; it’s vital to keep improving facilities and investing to meet increasingly high delegate expectations.”