De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms appoints new Director of Sales

De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, located in Covent Garden and part of the De Vere collection of historic mansion house estates and distinctive contemporary hotels and event destinations, has appointed Divya Chavan (pictured) as Director of Sales.

Chavan joins the iconic venue with over 25 years’ experience in the hospitality industry having led high performing teams both in the UK and India.

She joins from her most recent role as Sales Manager at etc. venues London and has previously worked at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel, Colwick Hall Hotel, Nottingham, and Taj Coromandel Hotel in Chennai, India.

Hayley Chilver, Operations Director at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Divya to the De Vere family. With her breadth of experience and extensive knowledge in both the hospitality and meetings and events industries, Divya is exceptionally well-placed to drive our business forward and we look forward to the incredible expertise that she will bring to the role.”

Chavan said: “I am thrilled to be taking the next step in my career with De Vere. I am looking forward to working with the fantastic team at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms and to ensure our delegates have the best possible experience with us.”

The Grade II listed De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms offers 37 grand spaces for a wide range of conferences, exhibitions, meetings, training, and weddings.

Spaces include the Grand Hall, an impressive event space for up to 750 guests theatre style and 1,500 guests for a drinks reception. For smaller events, there are a number of executive rooms available featuring original features and oak-panelling, and the 5^th floor offers an exclusive roof terrace with views of the city, available for summer parties and receptions.

The property features De Vere’s innovative meetings concept, Smart Space, which comprises nine service features designed to offer a highly responsive, personalised meetings and events service. The service includes truly tech-savvy support, up to 1GB super-fast Wi-Fi, interactive displays, and an on-site team of friendly experts to help overcome any tech issues a client may face.

This service is available in all event spaces throughout De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, including the Grand Hall.

De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms also offers Smart Booker, De Vere’s new integrated meetings and events booking engine on its website, powered by MeetingPackage. Smart Booker enables a more efficient online bookings whilst providing live availability and dynamic pricing of event spaces. It allows event planners to; see real-time room availability across a number of properties; search, filter, and book event spaces in one simple process; and book meetings on the go as the system is fully mobile optimised.