On Thursday 4 March, Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick and Copthorne Hotel Effingham Park both received an award at the region’s most prestigious business event, the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2010. The Gatwick Diamond Awards celebrates the best of businesses and people who have shown innovation and inspiration in their work, and have demonstrated a real commitment to the sub-region.

The award in the category of “Commitment to Developing People and Skills” recognises commitment to the development of staff at the heart of the organisation, and recognises that developing people in business will drive business forward.

Judging the entry, Russell Strutt, Principle of Central Sussex College, commented that the Copthorne Hotels “manage to wholly engage its workforce to achieve its business objectives through a comprehensive review process, a commitment to personal development and incentivised recognised programmes. Peer training champions in each of its departments help to drive and deliver development and training linked to organisational objectives, with targets translated into meaningful milestones for staff at every level. In an industry renowned for transient employment, this company has a stable staff with an amazing 43% of them in a post to which they have been promoted, proving that talent identification and development really works.”

Heinz Skalnik, General Manager at both hotels, commented: “We are incredibly honoured to receive this prestigious award which demonstrates that effective staff development can have a dramatic impact on the performance of a business, and this is fundamental to supporting our success at the Copthorne Hotels.”

It’s that time again! The new Frankfurt Rhine-Main Guide has arrived, offering a wide range of pertinent information on Frankfurt and its surrounding region. Published by the Frankfurt Tourist+Congress Board (TCF) every two years, the new Frankfurt Rhine-Main Guide 2010/2011 has been distributed to travel agencies, tour operators, company travel departments, congress and incentive organisers as well as the trade press in some 86 countries. This time, some 20,000 copies have been printed.

“The Guide has been conceived as a special sales manual, targeting mainly our industry clients”, says Thomas Feda, managing director of the TCF. “It is an indispensable planning aid for travel, conference and congress experts as well as an important marketing instrument for promoting the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region as a first-class business and tourist destination.”

The Guide’s content has been categorised into specific subject areas. It is clearly structured and offers comprehensive information on hotels, conference venues, unusual event locations such as museums and scientific institutions, sightseeing attractions, cultural establishments and traffic and transport connections. The range of information is rounded off by recommendations for fringe programmes, special events, shopping, pubs, bars and restaurants.

The information provided in the 214-page sales manual is also available on the TCF’s Internet presentation (www.frankfurt-tourismus.de), where it is updated regularly. Furthermore, all of the TCF’s service offers may be booked online at any time. The online hotel navigator lists over 150 accommodation establishments of every category and price range. The Frankfurt Convention Bureau, meanwhile, offers event organisers a choice of some 220 conference venues, event locations and congress hotels, making it easy to find the right venue for every type of event.

To obtain your copy of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Guide 2010/2011, simply fax or e-mail your order to the Frankfurt Tourist+Congress Board, Kaiserstr. 56, 60329 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Fax: +49 (0) 69 / 21 23 78 80, E-mail: info@infofrankfurt.de or tourismus@infofrankfurt.de.

World Travel Market’s visitor satisfaction levels have increased dramatically cementing WTM’s position as the premier global event for the travel industry, independent research reveals.

Visitors to WTM 2009 rated the exhibition as better than other industry events, including ITB Berlin, in a range of categories with WTM being particularly strong for meeting and networking and keeping up to date with the latest trends.

The independent research of 2,058 visitors to WTM 2009, by Fusion Communications, also reveals increased levels of satisfaction compared to WTM 2008. An impressive eight out of ten visitors in 2009 came away feeling completely satisfied or very satisfied.

Overall, WTM 2009 met or exceeded the expectations of 94% of visitors.
The research also reveals WTM remains an extremely important place to do business with a massive 91% stating the event is imperative for their business and an impressive 97% of visitors likely to return in 2010.
Furthermore, 85% of visitors feel attending WTM gives them a competitive advantage over their rivals.

International media, which increased by 12% to 2,839 for WTM 2009, are in agreement with visitors with a massive 86% rating WTM as the best event or among the best events in the travel industry, including four out of ten stating WTM is the best event.

World Travel Market Exhibition Director Simon Press said: “It’s great to see that visitors are delighted with the experience of World Travel Market 2009 and view the exhibition as the best in the industry.

“WTM 2010 is expanding with a new floorplan, seminar content and networking functions offering greater opportunities.

“The findings from the independent research firmly cements World Travel Market’s position as the premier global event for the travel industry.”

South Lakeland Parks flagship park White Cross Bay has become one of the first businesses in the Lake District to re-launch after it opened its doors today.

The site was badly flooded in November leading to an early closure and a £2 million refurbishment.

Over the past few months the park has undergone an extensive refurbishment programme which has included:

• New luxurious hire fleet lodges
• State of the art new multi sports play area
• New beer garden
• Full boat and club house refurbishment
• New restaurant and caterers: The Flying Boat
• Development of new owner pitches

White Cross Bay is one of the nine parks owned and managed by South Lakeland Parks, with the others located around the Lake District, Morecambe Bay and Ribble Valley.

It occupies an enviable position in the northern tip of Windermere with a number of its lodges directly overlooking the Lake and surrounding mountains.

The park features a range of luxury lodges and caravans for both sale and holiday hire. A typical lodge at the park costs from £75,000 to purchase, while the company is currently offering a re-opening launch price of just £99 on three night caravan holidays.

For more information about purchasing a holiday home or holidays at White Cross Bay visit www.southlakelandparks.co.uk or call 015395 69835 for holidays and 015395 69834 for sales.

Airport parking and Hotels (APH), the long stay airport parking and travel extras specialist, has turned the spotlight on its own industry by highlighting the extra charges imposed by airport parking booking companies. The research compares the extra charges imposed by the top, airport parking booking agencies offering services at all major UK airports, including credit card charges, debit card charges, cancellation fees and refunds. The table is available in the ‘Know Before You Go’ section of the website at www.aph.com/charges.

Cancellation and amendment fees were found to be the highest charge added to the booking with all the companies charging cancellation fees if a booking is cancelled close to the travel date, however some charge hefty fees even if customers cancel well in advance. Airparks, BCP and Holiday Extras (all part of the same company group) charge £9.50 for each cancellation if not done within 24 hours of making the booking, whereas Airport parking and Hotels (APH) and Purple parking have no charges for cancelling at least a day in advance of the departure date.

Nick Caunter, managing director of Airport parking and Hotels (APH) says: “The good news is that compared to the no frills airlines where the extra charges often occur, the airport parking industry has many fewer “extras”. However, customers really need to be savvy about who they book with because there are significant differences between companies.”

Airport parking and Hotels Ltd is one of the UK’s leading booking agencies and this year celebrates its 30th year as a retailer and operator of pre-booked airport parking and travel extras. APH offers parking at all major UK airports, ports and Eurotunnel terminals plus airport hotels packaged with parking, airport lounges, travel insurance, car hire and holiday taxis. APH is also a carbon balanced company and has, through the World Land Trust, helped purchase more than 1,000 acres of Belize rainforest.

For further information visit www.aph.com or call 01342 859515.

Following a pioneering trial at Barceló Hinckley Island Hotel, which saw it become the first UK hotel to sign up   to Carepar™, Barceló UK has linked up all of its 21 UK hotels to Carepar™ (Carbon Emissions Per Room Available).

This new sector benchmark, launched by the Hotel Carbon Index Company, is designed to deliver a standard method of   calculating the carbon cost of hotel and venue usage for an individual stay or event.
Charles Prew, CEO of Barceló UK said: “We are seeing an increase in the number of requests for information on our  corporate social responsibility and environmental policies.

Carepar™ will help us respond to the needs of travel managers who are under pressure to measure the impact their  business travellers are having on the environment. Using Carepar™ means all the data is collated together in one   document allowing quick analysis to be done and improvements to be made where necessary. This is the start of an evolving process as the group proactively tries to reduce its Carbon Emissions.”

Peter Ducker, founder of the Hotel Carbon Index Company says: “We are delighted to have Barceló UK on board with  Carepar™ and hope that it will encourage more organisations to follow suit. The ability to measure carbon   emissions in hotels means that procurement departments and guests can make this a criterion of choice. Hotels that  embark on this scheme to reduce their emissions can expect to see a reduction of up to 20% in their energy  consumption. This process will enable Barceló UK to not only look at their emissions but also assess the long term  improvements that can be made.”
All Barceló UK’s 21 hotels, with more than 2800 bedrooms and 217 conference and meeting rooms will go through the  Carepar™ process to assist them in reducing their carbon emissions.

Sleeping 6 in 4 bedrooms, Kubu is a contemporary, spacious Cornish bungalow newly available near the heart of St   Merryn, Padstow where Rick Stein has just taken over the local village pub, the Cornish Arms. The village also  boasts a homemade pasty shop, village store and surf shop, with seven glorious sandy beaches all within five  minute’s drive – one for every day of your Easter holiday week! Cornish Horizons (01841 533 331 ) are offering seven nights for up to 6 people at Kubu from £358 commencing 28 March and  £470 commencing 04 and 11 April

Property details and graphics: http://www.cornishhorizons.co.uk/kubu_st_merryn_padstow_self_catering.htm
Caxton FX Helps Overseas Property Owners Demolish Their Fees

Banks and online currency companies overcharge for making simple overseas payments. One provider is bucking the  trend by offering free transfers and bank-busting rates.

Overseas property owners spend a bundle for the upkeep of their property. Local taxes, ground rent, service  charges and utilities bump up monthly transfers and online payment systems (as well as your high street bank),  want a piece of the action.

Not only do banks and some online payment services often charge around £25 pounds or more just to transfer your  money, they can also charge commission, normally adding around 1.5% to the already uncompetitive exchange rate  given. This means you’ll find your hard earned money being whittled away for no good reason. For example, using your high street bank account/online payments service to transfer multiple monthly bill payments could cost you an  extra £1062 per year*. That’s the cost of eight return flights to Valencia or paying the mortgage off earlier on  your home abroad**.

FastPay allows you to make payments around the world with no fees or commissions and offers bank-beating exchange  rates. Use it day or night, 7 days a week; it’s an easy and cost effective way to transfer money overseas.

Caxton FX FastPay offers competitive exchange rates and no fees or commission for transfers of £100 to £10,000.
FastPay enables currency payments to be made at any time and live rates offer an opportunity to take advantage of  currency volatility. FastPay customers are also able to track progress of their payments online, meaning you can  see when the beneficiary receives their payment. As 96% of all FastPay customers would recommend the system,  you’ll be safe in the knowledge that your money is travelling better.

*
High Street Bank/Other online payments service
Transfer fee (£25 per transaction, based on 3 separate payments per month) = £75
Commission at 1.5% (based on 3 separate transactions of £300 per month) = £13.50
Total bank charges for a year = £1062

Caxton FX
Transfer fee = No charge
Total bank charges for a year = 0

**flight price based on two people flying from Gatwick to Valencia return with Easy Jet. Departing 6th June 2010  and returning 15th June 2010 (£123.70 = 1 rtn flight).

With more and more businesses researching and booking their venues online, VisitScotland’s Business Tourism Unit has today (23 February 2010) unveiled a new website, conventionscotland.com to complement the recently launched brochure, MeetScotland. Together, these two provide conference and event planners with comprehensive information and easier access to Scotland’s superb and diverse conferencing portfolio.

Announced at this year’s Confex, the website and brochure are being showcased to 10,000 potential buyers alongside some of Scotland’s top conferencing and meetings businesses who are exhibiting on the stand.

Speaking about the website, VisitScotland’s head of business tourism, Caroline Packman comments: ‘The new website is totally user friendly and gives buyers the chance to find what they need both quickly and easily. With everything from ideas on how to extend a business trip to Scotland, to an interactive venue search, we are making it even easier for delegates to find Scotland at their fingertips. The use of stunning photography in both our new brochure and on the website paints a vision of what it is like to hold an event in Scotland, as well as demonstrating our sheer quality of offering – event planners will be spoilt for choice. “

City Cruises Plc, the award winning passenger boat and restaurant operator on the River Thames, has been named `Best UK Family Business, London and Greater London Region’, in the £5 to £25 million category of the Coutts Prize for Family Business 2009/2010. The company will now go on to compete at the national finals, with the winners announced on the 8th June 2010.

The Coutts Prize recognises companies that demonstrate a combination of high standards of family and corporate governance, a competitive market position with consistent financial growth and a track record of charitable giving or involvement in the local community.

Run by the first and second generation of the Beckwith family, City Cruises Plc has grown from a one boat operation into a company with a fleet of 14 boats, carrying over two million passengers a year and employing 150 people. Gary and Rita Beckwith, Chairman and Managing Director respectively, have steered the development of the company to its present status as one of the leading operators of passenger services on the River Thames, generating sales of £10 million and a significant contributor to the capital’s economy.

The independent evaluation committee, comprised of family business owners, academics and advisers, which judged the nominees, were particularly impressed by the following aspects:

· Their well managed and innovative business, underpinned by strong financial performance and commercial success.

· The strong sense of family that permeates the business in everything they do.

· Their well organised governance and willingness to embrace outside input through the active use of an independent non-executive director and non-family managers.

· The emphasis placed on training and development coupled with the commitment and enthusiasm shown by the next generation.

· The company’s strong and imaginative approach to philanthropy and community involvement and their contribution towards tourism in London.

Juliette Johnson, Head of UK Family Business, Coutts & Co commented “We’re delighted to provide recognition to this special family business and showcase their achievements for the benefit of other family businesses. What really shines through is the strength of the family’s values and culture that runs right through this business which influence how and why things get done and acts as a real competitive advantage”.

The family who live and work in the Docklands, play an active role in London’s tourism industry and in their local community. Gary Beckwith is currently on the board of Visit London, Young Enterprise and a Waterways Commissioner for the Mayor of London, as well as being a member of the European Tour Operators Association Steering Committee. He is also actively involved in helping raise money for disadvantaged children through his role as Vice- President of the Variety Club of Great Britain. Rita Beckwith is currently Chairman of UKinbound and the Docklands Business Club, a Board Member of Greenwich Theatre and Chairman of the London Docklands Singers, a community choir.

Commenting on winning the prize Gary Beckwith, chairman, City Cruises Plc and second generation member of the Beckwith family said: “We are extremely pleased to receive the Coutts Prize for Family Business in recognition of our hard work and our family unity. To win an award is confirmation that what we have been doing is working well and we could not have achieved this without our great team at City Cruises”.

City Cruises Plc operates sightseeing services, lunch and dinner cruises, special event package cruises and charters, as well as the Restaurant Ship Hispaniola, which is permanently moored on Victoria Embankment, opposite the London Eye.

Budding chefs and food lovers have a packed menu to choose from over the next few months in Eastbourne as the resort’s Culinary Arts Studio introduces new evening demonstrations designed to set taste buds alive.

From combining flavours and spices with Pan Asian Cooking to Eating Humble Pie, and from learning how to use all of the meat with Butchering and Cooking Meat to a Mystery Basket, an evening finding out how to produce wow factor dishes with a versatile mix of ingredients. Eastbourne will be hosting a series of exciting evening events from March to May this year, with those attending invited to learn from the best with professional Chef Steven Cooke leading the demonstrations with lots of tasters, recipes, and questions and answers throughout.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Cllr Susan Morris said “The new cookery demonstrations from the Culinary Arts Studio are a fantastic idea for the spring months ahead and the perfect excuse for a fun evening out, while learning some great culinary skills at the same time! The Studio is a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen and anyone attending will be able to view top techniques up close, before taking recipes home to try out for themselves.”

With spring fast approaching and the evenings getting lighter the new evening demonstrations offer an alternative night out for both residents and visitors.

Located at the Eastbourne campus of the University of brighton, the Culinary Arts Studio is located in a beautiful position at the foot of the South Downs and offers a unique experience for anybody visiting the town.

Taking place on Wednesday evenings from 6.30pm – 9pm the courses make a great excuse for a mid-week break and leave visitors with the day free to explore the seaside resort.

By day, budding chefs can be inspired by a vast selection of local restaurants including the award-winning Hungry Monk at Jevington, famous for inventing the Banoffi Pie, or explore local food and drink makers including the nearby English Wine Centre or Middle Farm, home to the National Collection of Cider and Perry.

The Culinary Arts Studio evening demonstrations cost just £25+VAT and include the chance to sample dishes, take recipes home, and pick up tips from Chef Steven Cooke.

To book visit the online shop at www.visiteastbourne.com or telephone the Studio on 01273 643361.

Plus the demonstrations are also available to book online from www.cookery-holidays.com with a stay at an Eastbourne hotel.