3 Stimulating Speakers, 2 Entertaining & Engaging Debates and 1 Incomparable Conference

An account of the MIA's "Raising the Bar" event by Velvet Software's Chris Gibbs

I set off from Swindon to battle through the storms and bad whether on Monday 10th March and defy the public transport system (wrong kind of wind for the level crossing apparently!) to attend the MIA's "Raising The Bar" Annual Conference at The Churchill,  Hyatt Regency, London - and I was certainly rewarded for their efforts.

The conference was opened with the refreshing energy of the newly elected MIA Chair, Nick Milne and the morning’s speakers exceeded all expectations. We heard first from John Pearson, former CEO and Co Founder of Virgin Radio. He captured not just my attention but also the whole audience and gave us an insight into the "un-bottle-able" values that have made Virgin what it is today and how these may be applied to many businesses.

Liverpool, the capital of culture in 2008, was represented by Jacqueline Rogers and John Barry of the city's newest venue, the ACC. Jacqueline and John described how they built a team at the ACC and raised the bar within customer facing roles by putting in place a induction and training programme for everyone at the at the venue. Their hard work was rewarded when, prior to opening, ACC Liverpool was ranked 2nd in Meetings and Incentive Travel Magazine's survey of UK convention centres. I hope and expect that all eyes to be on ACC Liverpool this year to see if they can maintain these high standards and whether they continue to "raise the bar" once they are fully operational.

Paul Nisbett, Commercial Director, Malmaison explained how the little extras really do make the difference. By involving staff of all levels, adapting training to make clients' experiences memorable and enjoyable, whilst promoting internal team members, really does make a difference to the guest experience and helps to retain highly skilled, happy staff.

The focus of the morning’s speakers was on staff and how to develop a culture that pulls people to your organisation, making them proud of their roles and happy in their work. I thought this was particularly refreshing to hear as Velvet Software has worked hard to create the “pull factor” and have been successful in doing so, with voices heard across the company. Having worked in different organisations, I know how damaging the "push" factor can be and how easily a negative culture spreads. I sincerely hope that more organisations across the conference industry adopt the "pull" approach to their staff – people are worth the time and investment, they really can make or break a business.

Confex 2008 - Day 3 complete!

Three busy days and an array of impressive stands - this year's Confex seems to have been busier than the past two with an excellent turn out of stands and in particular what appears to be an increase in visitor numbers.

Our congratulations go to Clive Tyres and Suzy Wheeler of BICB (Bournemouth International Conference Bureau) who were awarded the coveted "Best Exhibition Stand" award for their innovative surfing theme.

Further to the extensive works to the BIC (Bournemouth International Centre), Bournemouth is set to have one of the world's first artificial reef making the destination a new Mecca for surfing fans and an attraction for visitors of all types.

The stand's innovative design incorporated surfboard shaped pillars, table tops all of which were complemented by the canvas director chairs and the iconic VW Camper Van graphics.

Confex 2008 - Buzz & business

Velvet Software attended Confex 2008 at Earl's Court meeting with new and existing client for another successive year; 2008 is Velvet's 5th year at the show and each year it gets better!

In 2008 the vast majority of UK destinations exhibiting at the show have at least one of Velvet Software's products most have two or more. The opportunity of meeting with our clients is the main attraction of the exhibition - meeting with other industry colleagues under the same room is invaluable.

Stands of note were the illuminated Yorkshire South - a modern imaginative design offering plenty of seating combining open access and seated areas, Marketing Manchester with their raised bar areas at each end of the stand and Newcastle Gateshead with their welcoming open stand in a prominent corner location.

ChUG Express - Chaser User Group Meeting, Bradford-Leeds

ChUG, Velvet Software's Chaser User Group, meets twice a year; in previous years we've held one meeting at  the British Association of Conference Destination (BACD); in 2007 we added an additional day's meeting in November.

The ChUG Express meeting in January was an additional meeting following the feedback from November's success allowing destinations from the North of England to view the forthcoming new features and  outcome of the November meeting.

"Super Bureau" Presentation of the "New Chaser BUREAU"

Velvet Software's Tim Clark presented the design of the new web-based Chaser BUREAU system to members of the new Leeds-Bradford "Super Bureau" meeting held at the Leeds-Bradford Cedar Court hotel.

The focus of the meeting was the member launch of the new combined bureau, bringing together members from destinations including Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees and Wakefield - a core part of this was the presentation of the new web-based Chaser BUREAU system that will be accessible from each of the destinations and the direct on-line interface for venues providing them with live feedback on enquiries from the bureau.

ChUG 2007 - Birmingham & BACD Play host to Chaser's 10th Birthday

2007 is a remarkable year for Velvet Software in more ways than one.

It is ten years to the month since the original Chaser BUREAU system was created - it was November 1997 that Tim Clark visited Joanna Aspin, then Conference Bureau Manager, at Conference Bristol. Today Joanna provides training on Velvet Software's products in addition to consultancy for destinations and training courses for BACD. Conference Bristol is now Destination Bristol and the new office is managed by Helen Davies.

In the past twelve months Velvet Software have launched a new "Web 2.0" version of ConferenceBOOKINGS, version 13 of Chaser BUREAU and are about to launch their new on-line delegate registration system.

Representatives from over twenty destinations travelled to Birmingham for the day meeting which was split into three sessions with lunch served at the BACD offices.