THE VENUE BLOG

In light of the recent Government announcement, the Victory Services Club – the Marble Arch events venue –has announced an extensive list of measures to be undertaken to ensure that the venue is prepared to open again for social distanced meetings. The Club has successfully been operating as a Key Worker Hotel since 23rd March 2020, providing over the period over 2500 bedrooms, and has already implemented many of the social distancing measures needed to host guests in the venue’s many and varied event rooms.

Mark Field, Operations Director, at the Victory Services Club said: “The Government has announced that certain hospitality businesses may be able to operate from 4th July 2020 with strict social distancing measures, so we are preparing our venue, staff and procedures to be ready. The experience we have garnered over the past few weeks (whilst operating as a Key Worker Hotel) has ensured that the team and the venue will be ready to host events following strict government social distancing measures.

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Make Venues has committed to being ‘ready to go’ from early July following the statement from the government last night. The venue group, which was one of the first to close its doors early in the spring, is now committed to reopening them, alongside government guidelines, as soon as possible.

‘Although the lock down has been devastating for the industry, we’ve remained positive and productive,” commented David Vaughton, Managing Director, Make Venues. “We have a new strategy that will serve our customers, and their delegates, well in a post shut down world, and we are making investments that support upweighted technological capacity and hardware, and operational promises we’ll be making around cleanliness. They will all be ready for when we return.”

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The CHS Group is putting its support behind a number of initiatives that are raising the profile of the now £70bn UK events industry. The announcement follows a number of high-profile campaigns that have been launched in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the need for the industry to push its case in front of government and business

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The Meetings Show – due to take place on 24-25 June – is being postponed to the autumn as a result of the continuing situation with COVID-19.

The UK’s leading exhibition for event and meetings professionals will now be held on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 October at Olympia London.

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the eastside rooms will become the first venue in the UK to launch with a Plant-first approach. The ethos, which will include sourcing, preparation and even menu design, will be executed by Executive Head Chef Steve Unwin and reflect the growing trend of event organisers looking to offer more ethical menu options to an increasingly environmentally aware delegate.

The venue will have a genuine blend of plant-based dishes alongside sustainably and ethically sourced meat and fish dishes. Food service has also been designed to ensure a more inclusive eating environment for delegates.

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Central Hall Westminster confirms that it has joined the Westminster Venue Collection, a prestigious consortium of top venues, bringing its member total to 34.
The consortium brings together modern and traditional exhibition spaces, museums, auditoria, conference rooms and banqueting halls to offer all the world-class facilities that London’s iconic City of Westminster has to offer. The Westminster Venue Collection website makes searching for a venue in Westminster quick and easy.

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Celebrated on 22nd of April each year since 1970, and now known as the planet’s largest civic event, the theme of Earth Day this year is ‘Climate Action.’
With Somerset House closed to the public, the celebration which was scheduled for the whole of April, consisting of interactive installations, design work and on-site workshops, has been reconfigured to a series of free creative online workshops, sessions and live interviews for the world to enjoy, from Wednesday 22nd April – Wednesday 20th May.

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A drive-through coronavirus testing facility is open at Twickenham Stadium for key workers and NHS staff. The site sits alongside a rapidly expanding network of testing sites being set up around the UK and is operating on an appointment-only basis for NHS staff and other key workers. The facility will be piloted for its first few days of operation.

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The Victory Services Club, a private military Club and events venue in Marble Arch London, has been transformed into a hotel to accommodate key workers. The Club has 100 rooms available, of which 50 to 60 are currently being used to support military personal deployed in London to help with the Coronavirus pandemic.

Mark Field, Operations Director at Victory Services Club said: “As a private Club and events venue, we are closed to our members and our event business clients, so we approached the MoD to see how we could help support them instead. It took us a week to develop all new Standard Operating Procedures and deliver advanced staff training. We have adapted our usual working practices to ensure our staff and guests remain safe: For example, our food offering has changed to meet social distancing and safety rules. We don’t usually provide room service, but as our usually lively bar and restaurants are currently closed, we are now serving all meals in guests’ rooms – up to 180 trays per day. Guests’ can order meals to be delivered within a 30 minute time-slot. Staff and guests are leaving food trays outside the rooms to maintain social distancing rules”.

“The safety of our team is of upmost importance so we are operating with only the staff members who have volunteered to come to work; We currently have 23 staff members living in the Club each week on rotation. One of our conference rooms has been turned into an extension of our canteen to ensure staff have the space to observe the 2 meter distancing rule. The reaction from guests has been amazing with the team frequently complimented for their warm and friendly welcome.

“We are proud to be supporting our military and key workers through these troubling times and the Club will continue this support for as long as it is needed.”

More info: https://www.chooseyourvenue.com/venues/victory-services-club

the eastside rooms have begun a concerted campaign to work with the association market. The new venue has announced it will be the latest member of the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO), following on from the launch of Future Birmingham last month, a new website developed so that long lead event organisers can see the infrastructure developments taking place in the area from now until 2030.

the eastside rooms lends itself well to association meetings, set in the heart of Birmingham’s ‘Knowledge Quarter’ and on the doorstep of the new HS2 rail service, linking it to the North, the South and continental Europe. The layout of the new venue, which launches in the Autumn, is also designed so that there is the same amount of breakout space as in the main plenary room, The Affinity Suite.

On top of its partnership with ABPCO, the venue is also looking to partner with other trade bodies and events, both in the UK and internationally, as a way to give more association event organisers and PCO’s early access to the facilities.

“When the eastside rooms was being designed, it was with association events strongly in mind,” commented Leanne Bladen, Sales Director, the eastisde rooms. “The whole build has been executed in a really ethical way, allowing for inclusivity and accessibility right across our facilities. We’re also surrounded by industry expertise in the form of universities, R&D centres, and incubation hubs, covering everything from manufacturing and engineering, to medical and music. It makes The Eastside a very nice part of the city to base an association event.”

the eastside rooms is launching in October 2020 and will become one of the most connected venues in the UK. On top of the close proximity to HS2, the venue will benefit from the three airports in and around Birmingham, again linking it to mainline Europe, Scandinavia and beyond.

More info: www.chooseyourvenue.com/venues/eastside-rooms