Venues of Excellence focusses on quality at annual conference

More than 100 delegates headed to the annual Venues of Excellence Conference in Leicester last week, where guests were given the opportunity to network, share best practice and plan for the New Year.

Dubbed A Brave New World, the conference challenged attendees to focus on quality above all, while guest speakers delivered content on the setting of brave objectives, stretching targets and the need to work together as a team to achieve excellence.

Speakers included Dr Suzie Imber from the University of Leicester, Alan Chambers MBE and former Royal Marine, Rob Davidson event industry academic and former Royal Air Force fast jet pilot Mandy Hickson.

“The conference was an incredible success. Venues of Excellence has been on a very successful journey since our rebrand in 2016, with increased membership and significant financial benefits for our members,” said David Vaughton, chairman of Venues of Excellence.

“This conference was the culmination of a great year and an opportunity to focus on the future and deliver even more value to the consortium. The speakers challenged us while creating robust debate and discussion, which is vital to effective learning. Thank you to all our partners for the event, particularly our hosts, Leicester Conferences and their supporting venues Stamford Court and College Court.”

In line with current trends, Stamford Court served a vegan menu for lunch during the conference, while College Court hosted the gala dinner including entertainment from X-Factor winner, Andy Abrahams.

On the night, two members were also recognised with awards form their colleagues. The Venues of Excellence Referral Award was given to Matthew Hancock, while Charlotte Sanders secured the Venues of Excellence Ambassador Award.