BSI Hive #2 May 2008 - The Tin

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30 the hive Sofitel, the luxury brand of Accor Hotels, opened the Novotel is to build a 239-room hotel right next to Brussels South Station. Principally aimed at the business traveller, it will open in September 2009. The Square Brussels Meeting Centre, will open at precisely 20.09 on 20/09/2009. Replacing the Palais des Congrès, which was built for the 1958 World Expo, Square Brussels Meeting Centre is the result of a two and a half year renovation project on a grand scale. five-star, 128-room Sofitel Luxembourg Le Grand Ducal in Brussels in February. Enjoying an uninterrupted view over the Old Town, the hotel includes the 75 square metre Board Meeting Room, which is flooded with natural light and fully equipped. It is connected to the hotel’s two Prestige Suites for maximum meeting privacy. Elsewhere in the city, the Sofitel Brussels Le Louise is being completely renovated, while meeting facilities at the Pullman Brussels Airport are also being refurbished. Situated in the Mont des Arts cultural area, it will be capable of handling anything from an international conference, European summit or product launch to an exhibition, fashion show or gala dinner and is set to become one of Europe’s pre-eminent meeting venues. With a special focus on flexible, hi-tech equipment, the complex has a 10,000 sqm ‘polyvalent’ surface capable of producing different effects. The centre comprises: three state of the art auditoria seating 1,200, 500 and 300; a modular, 4,000 sqm exhibition hall; two conference rooms seating up to 150; and 20 meeting rooms accommodating 10 to 100. An exclusive top floor event room will have panoramic views of Brussels. The building contains authentic ‘60s wall paintings by famous Belgian artists such as Magritte, Delvaux and Van Lint. One of the most ambitious projects in the city is the transformation of the former Marivaux cinema into a congress and seminar centre. The Marivaux Hotel Congress & Seminar Centre has already completed the first step of the conversion and currently offers 10 meetings rooms and 65 newly built rooms. The final project, due for completion in 2009, will comprise 18 meeting rooms, including an auditorium for 550 people and a theatre for 1,150. Arrayed around them will be several smaller meeting rooms and a luxury hotel. Technology will be state of the art. The Marivaux has been designed by Portuguese-Belgian Antoine Pinto and is strongly influenced by the cinema. Brussels Special Venues is an association which groups together a collection of 18 unique meeting spaces holding from 200 to 4,500. Venues range from the magnificent Bibliothèque Solvay or the Mini-Europe miniature park to Belgium’s national opera house, La Monnaie and Autoworld Brussels, one of Europe’s most complete car exhibitions. Venues range from the magnificent Bibliothèque Solvay or the Mini-Europe miniature park Summer 2008
31 Meetings feature zone by Ian Sclater Serviced offices v. hotels Hotels have traditionally benefited from the ‘meet eat sleep’ convenience which they alone can offer meeting planners. However, the relentless drive to squeeze budgets and still eke out maximum value for money has led to meetings becoming shorter and more focused as well as starting to be moved from residential to non-residential venues and from country to city. When there is no requirement for overnight stays, the competition for meetings business between hotels and serviced offices is getting keener. Once the no frills airline equivalent of venues, serviced offices, some with an increasingly sophisticated offerings in terms of environment, service and flexibility, are now a serious option for meetings - in many cases, the first choice. Says Matt Costin of the research agency BDRC: “Although we do not measure the market penetration of serviced offices as distinct from specialist conference venues per se, when it comes to analysing the performance of individual brands, it is clear that the likes of (serviced office providers) Regus and MWBEX tend to perform particularly strongly when there is a downturn.” “This year we expect the performance of these brands to be boosted by a more price-sensitive market and a growing preference for shorter, non-residential events in city centre locations.” At Regus, meetings business has been growing by 20 to 25 per cent each year, according to director of sales and marketing Kurt Moncz. Pointing to substantial contracts with financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies and the like, Moncz says: “Meeting room planners are very switched on to serviced offices.” Moncz estimates that serviced offices of comparable quality to Regus (which rates itself at four-star hotel level) are on average 10-15 per cent more cost-effective than hotels. Regus has 118 UK locations, including 30 in London – all within five minutes of a tube station. Says Kurt Moncz: “It’s about being close to where your business users are.” Meetings becoming shorter For training courses in particular, cost concerns linked with growing use of internet-based learning tools are changing how many meetings are structured. Citing a PWC report concluding that the duration of meetings and events is becoming progressively shorter, Alistair Stewart, MD of serviced office provider etc.venues explains: “The way organisations are training and developing people has changed, and that has led to quite a drop in the duration of courses.” “Five years ago there were a lot of five-day courses, three years ago they were down to three days. Now, a lot of them are being run on a one-day basis supplemented by e-learning.” With locations holding up to 300, etc.venues is renowned for the ‘green’ strategy pursued in all its locations, which feature an abundance of natural light, high ceilings to create a sense of airiness, high levels of fresh air, ergonomic furniture and individually air-conditioned rooms. More business-focused environment Serviced offices are also benefiting from planners seeking a more business-focused environment more likely to support a creative, productive meeting. Says Chris Taylor, marketing director with the Avanta serviced office centres: “What’s important is not so much the space - the four walls, the leather chairs. It’s what they take out of what happens in those four walls. What is the experience of going to a meeting in a serviced office versus a hotel?”
Page 1 and 2: the hive Official magazine of the B
Page 3 and 4: Welcome Welcome to the second issue
Page 5 and 6: BSI weaves new web 3 BSI news BSI h
Page 7 and 8: 5 The arrival experience is also a
Page 9 and 10: 7 9 meetings U N I T E D K I N G D
Page 11 and 12: green issues Hilton Hotels has reve
Page 13 and 14: usiness, conferences, meetings & ev
Page 15 and 16: 13 8,500 hotel openings by the end
Page 17 and 18: Brands vs budget hotel sector We’
Page 19 and 20: AN IDEAL ENVIRONMENT... ...FOR SUCC
Page 21 and 22: 19 client zone Olive’s in house t
Page 23 and 24: 21 client zone Buyer/sponsor 1-2-1
Page 25 and 26: ESCAPE THE CITY... Chateau Saint Ju
Page 27 and 28: 25 feature zone The broker should b
Page 29 and 30: All around the U.K. 1 Golf View Hot
Page 31: 29 feature zone Appropriately close
Page 35 and 36: 33 Avanta’s marketing director Ch
Page 37 and 38: Venues with great connections... Wi
Page 39 and 40: The Legacy Falcon Hotel in the hear
Page 41 and 42: Overnight accommodation at the Char
Page 43 and 44: Meetings for designed success with

BSI Hive #2 May 2008 - The Tin

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