< Previous10 www.countyconferencing.net HISTORICAL © Shutterstock / Peter R Foster IDMA A touch of culture A touch of culture 10-12.qxp_Layout 1 09/05/2019 11:24 Page 1www.countyconferencing.net 11 HISTORICAL What makes these settings so popular for conferences, though? They are ubiquitous whether you are working on a dinner, AGM, staff party or even just a conference to ten or fifteen customers. It all comes down to perception. In the same way that one would not show up to an important meeting in casual clothing, the venue can reflect on the organiser and give off a certain feel. This atmosphere is important for setting expectation, and acts as a first impression for any attendee. By hosting your event at a historical venue, you tell your clients that you are sophisticated, serious and – as the venue itself suggests – enduring. By directly tying the age of a venue to a company, it creates the perception of experience and age. There are other benefits to historical venues of course. For one, they are very often beautiful buildings with impressive architecture from some of the most exciting periods in British history. Great arches, stately homes and gardens designed by some of the most famous minds of 12 Á There’s nothing quite like a historical setting for your business venture, and our region has plenty to offer in that regard. From stately homes to castles, museums and everything in between, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire are two regions filled with heritage. 10-12.qxp_Layout 1 09/05/2019 11:24 Page 212 www.countyconferencing.net HISTORICAL the time. Many venues in Lincolnshire were used by royalty, while Yorkshire was a popular retreat from the busy life of London. These homes away from home stand today, fit once for royalty and now for business events, weddings and the like. While all venues will have been brought into the modern world, it’s still worth remembering that they weren’t designed with this in mind – so someone looking to speak to over five hundred people at once might find the acoustics of an Edwardian room designed for two hundred to be lacking. In this regard, more specialised facilities might be a better choice. But there’s no denying that when it comes to a more traditional business conference, you can’t go wrong with a historical venue located in a grade-listed building set in picturesque countryside. As an added bonus, parking and travel are often a doddle and plenty of venues even provide catering and accommodation for anyone who might need it. © Shutterstock / Robert_Chlopas © Shutterstock / Edward Haylan 10-12.qxp_Layout 1 09/05/2019 11:24 Page 3www.countyconferencing.net 13 BUSINESS CENTRE Businesses are changing at a faster rate than ever before. These days some small businesses are probably the smallest they’ve ever been - modern technology means that a hugely successful company can work with one permanent employee and operate without any formal premises. The benefit of such an operation is its flexibility – when the companies are completing a major contract, they can bring in new people and hire office space without committing themselves to taking on assets permanently. That’s why most of the users of business centres are small business, but it’s certainly the case that even the largest companies are exhibiting increased flexibility in terms of the way they do business, aware of how quickly many sectors now move. Often these large © Shutterstock / Matej Kastelic flexible Your friend Business centres excel when it comes to flexibility, offering a modular service for excellent value and convenience. 14 Á 13-15.qxp_Layout 1 09/05/2019 11:26 Page 114 www.countyconferencing.net BUSINESS CENTRE companies are setting up new, quasi- independent departments that work more like a small business, or are looking to introduce new ways of working, so they can benefit from the new approach too. That’s why business centres are proving so popular – and they have value for businesses of all shapes and sizes. They have particular attraction for informal events as they can often be booked for very short periods – maybe even just an hour or so – and any equipment required is usually already on site. Often business centres are used as incubation centres for the smallest of small businesses, offering flexible office space for these companies in their early stages. One of their most important aspects is providing a location for them to host meetings and meet important visitors – avoiding the need to tidy up their often chaotic workspaces! Breakout spaces and rooms of all shapes and sizes emphasise the importance of flexibility and therefore make them suitable for all kinds of event. Business managers are often regularly on call at these centres with plenty of experience and a fund of helpful advice that they can impart. The huge benefit for all companies of using business centres for their conferences and events is that technology comes as standard – unsurprising as many of their regular occupants are voracious users of it. That 13-15.qxp_Layout 1 09/05/2019 11:26 Page 2www.countyconferencing.net 15 BUSINESS CENTRE means you can be assured of WiFi, digital projectors, video conferencing and superfast broadband connections, which are now demanded by a huge number of conference organisers and provide numerous options to make your event worth visiting. Having this kind of technology on tap also means set-up time is considerably reduced, as they are usually created to enable reconfiguration at the drop of a hat. The flexibility on offer also ensures your event can proceed smoothly, regardless of the numerous aspects you want to include. If you want to kick off proceedings with a speech and then invite delegates to split into groups to follow it up, you don’t need to hang around while furniture is dragged across the room – just invite them to find a free space somewhere. The informal approach will also doubtless lead to some fresh and uninhibited thinking, and you can take advantage of the hotdesking options to allow delegates to work on individual projects during proceedings. Business centres also help avoid one of the biggest drawbacks of an event – what to do between the sessions. Business centres are vibrant places that usually have a shared communal space, so it’s easy for guests to network and perhaps strike up lucrative business relationships. A cross-fertilisation of ideas can certainly ensure additional value from your event. © Shutterstock / OPOLJA 13-15.qxp_Layout 1 09/05/2019 11:26 Page 316 www.countyconferencing.net SPORTING VENUES GETTING SPORTY Sporting venues make for attractive conferencing venues for many firms – and for good reason. GETTING SPORTY 16-19.qxp_Layout 1 09/05/2019 11:26 Page 1© JD Leeds / Shutterstock.com www.countyconferencing.net 17 SPORTING VENUES Often based in key locations with spectacular parking facilities, generous signage and being so visible that no guest could possibly miss them, these venues are a doddle to find and arrange an event within. In fact, it’s difficult to find a sporting venue that does not have a dedicated conference centre with attached conferencing team. Considering a sports ground can cost anywhere from ten to sixty million or more, that’s perhaps not a big surprise. What may surprise is that a company doesn’t need to have any connection to sport, nor does its staff, clients of board members need to have an interest in it, to use a sporting venue as a conference facility. It surely helps if the company does sponsor the team or is 18 Á 16-19.qxp_Layout 1 09/05/2019 11:26 Page 218 www.countyconferencing.net SPORTING VENUES connected in some way, but that’s a bonus. In themselves, sporting venues bring excellent facilities, high levels of convenience and an open atmosphere to the table. Many of these facilities even look out onto the grounds, pitch or stands themselves, and it’s worth keeping in mind that sports aren’t played in these facilities every day. No need to worry about an event clashing with fifty thousand excited fans chanting their favourite songs. Lincolnshire and Yorkshire have plenty of sporting venues – as do most counties in Britain, with football, Cricket and Rugby making up the mainstay. Most of these facilities are festooned with sporting memorabilia which will help keep guests interested in those quiet periods where the guests are arriving and before the hosts can really do anything to entertain them. Giving guests something to talk about is a good ice- breaker, especially when dealing with networking events. It’s all too often the case that event organisers set aside thirty minutes to an hour for networking as if that will sort everything out, but that can leave people feeling awkward and out of place. Offering some distractions can help alleviate that. While accommodation may not always be an option at these venues, there will always be some nearby – with hotels doing their best to place themselves near sporting venues to take advantage of visiting fans. This proves an added convenience on top of so many others, and that’s the real benefit of sporting venues. They’re modern, well-kept, well-maintained and incredibly convenient. For an organiser who is just starting out or doesn’t have anything particular in mind, it’s hard to go wrong getting in touch with the local stadium and seeing what is on offer. Just make sure an event isn’t planned for when the stadium is playing host to a match – or all that convenience goes out the window. If in doubt, ask the venue. They will know for sure, and an internet search may not bring up a friendly match or training session. 16-19.qxp_Layout 1 09/05/2019 11:26 Page 3www.countyconferencing.net 19 SPORTING VENUES Cheapside, Holton-Le-Clay, Grimsby DN36 5DZ Tel: 01472 823823 www.karting.cc Why not organise a group booking - we can tailor events to suit your requirements! Chequered Flag Karting is the ideal venue for corporate and team building events, social, stag and hen parties. We can provide buffets and pre-booked events are guaranteed exclusive use of our venue. © Rolf_52 / Shutterstock.com 16-19.qxp_Layout 1 09/05/2019 11:27 Page 4Next >