INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS BOYCOTT Free Tibet and other international groups concerned with human rights are calling for a boycott of the IntreContinental Hotels …

ROBBING THE DEAD, AT RYANAIR Those booking flights with Michael O’Blarney’s Ryanair and paying months up front should make sure they don’t then die until 28 days …

I’LL HAVE THE RUMP Bespoke Hotels, which has 15 three and four-star properties in London, the Cotswolds and Scotland, has closed its Gregg’s Bar and Grill at its four …

NICE ONE, FIONA A comment in the Daily Telegraph by presenter Fiona Bruce that redundant St Peters Church, Sudbury, Suffolk was an “empty relic” has upset the local …

FEMALES WIN THE RAT-RACE Women are better at coping with stress, perhaps such as that produced by running events, than men, due to the female hormone oestrogen…

LEND A HAND Before you leave your hotel room do you make the bed, tidy up and wash tea and coffee cups? If so you’re in good company as a survey by online hotel service …

VEGAS HOTEL DEATH RAY TO LONDON A concave-shaped hotel in Las Vegas, the Vdara, which reflected and magnified the suns rays to burn guests in and around its …

CONFER IN A CARBUNCLE? The 234-bedroom Premier Inn in York Road, Waterloo, London has made a shortlist of six for the annual Carbuncle Cup, an award for …

NEW FIVE STAR FOR LONDON Admiralty Arch, Trafalgar Square is to become a 100-bedroom five-star hotel. The Grade 1 listed building was built in 1911 to commemorate …

SPANISH TRAIN TRAGEDY More than 80 passengers were killed on the evening of Wednesday July 24th and more than 150 injured, when their train, thought to be …

SCAMS AND CORRUPTION IN BALI Organisers running events in Bali need to warn their delegates flying into the airport that the porters there are giving what is generally…

ALL TOGETHER NOW The communal singing popular at events in America and Japan may look a little bizarre to many Brits but there’s now some scientific evidence to …

HOT TICKETS Those booking events at London’s Albert Hall for customer entertainment packages might think about providing them with hand-held fans and …

FUTURE SHOCK? A networking evening focussing on the future of events in 2033 is being staged by the German Convention Bureau (GCB)…

PEACE IN YORK One rather lovely, peaceful and welcoming hotel we recently sampled in York was the Mount Royale, located out near the Racecourse and around a …

PEACE NEAR NEWARK Those organisers looking for inner peace and a oneness and harmony with nature will enjoy the Pureland Meditation Centre and Japanese Garden…

BIG SPACES IN NEWARK Those organising large conferences and/or exhibitions, rallies and festivals and looking for a low-cost home will be interested in the offering …

BOUTIQUE ROOMS NEAR NEWARK Just outside Newark in the village of Kelham is the Kelham House Country Manor Hotel…

SIX IN ESSEX Around 30 organisers and others recently enjoyed a well-organised tour of Essex venues close to London, as guests of Visit Essex for Business…

MORE ESSEX An Essex Venue Showcase is being staged in Southend on Tuesday September 3rd, 10.15am to 4.00pm. This will be held in the new Cultural Centre at …

AIRLINE FORCED TO PAY COMPENSATION  Charter airline Monarch is the first to be legally forced to pay compensation, under new guidelines laid down by the European …

GO KARTING LESSONS  An incident at the Go Karting experience organised for organisers attending the recent successful Big Sleepover in Leeds run by the Leeds …

DONT GET UP The dangers of not being strapped in when turbulence hits aircraft were well illustrated when a recent Singapore Airlines flight to London suddenly dropped 65 …

STARWOOD SUED FOR PROSTITUTE ATTACK Hotel group Starwood are being sued by a female guest at their upscale W South Beach hotel in Miami who is alleging that …

EXPANSION FOR EVENTS AT HISTORIC COUNTRY HOUSE  A luxury carpeted and chandeliered marquee, accommodating up to 300 guests and incorporating a bar …

FuertEVENTura Around 20 organisers of overseas events, mostly agencies and half of them from the UK, networked with a similar number of suppliers on Fuerteventura at …

BIG NEW ONE IN LEEDS The new Arena building in Leeds, open this year and sponsored by a bank, will please organisers and promoters looking for somewhere to …

FIVE-STAR BENIDORM Given Benidorm’s reputation in some quarters for pandering exclusively to the lower end of the yob market it will be easy for some readers to see …

MORE BENIDORM  Whilst in Benidorm we were shown around some other hotels which could host conferences there…

RIP OFF BENIDORM? It is sad but true that a bad experience with a taxi-driver can taint an otherwise good experience at a destination…

MORE HOTEL GRIPES Two more readers responded to our Hotel Gripes Survey as follows…

LOSSES AND DEPARTURES AT MEETINGS SHOW UK FIRM Two senior executives at publishers Centaur Media have left following a slump in ad and recruitment…

HOTEL GRIPES Two readers responded to our Hotel Gripes Survey as follows…

NO PHONE RIP-OFFS AT HEADINGLEY LODGE One pleasant surprise we found at the Headingley Lodge hotel at Carnegie Stadium, Leeds, was that telephone calls …

LONDON BUZZ One central London hotel that has spaces for events from 10 to 1200 delegates, and a honey farm, is the four-star Lancaster London, at Lancaster Gate…

RELAX AND REFLECT IN YORK One country house hotel we feel is made for relaxing and reflecting is Middlethorpe Hall and Spa, located next to the racecourse in York…

A SUMMER SPIN AROUND ESSEX A free familiarisation visit for organisers to some Essex venues and attractions is being organised by Visit Essex for Wednesday July…

MEET ON OXFORD STREET An open day for organisers is being held by MSE Meeting Rooms, Oxford Street, London on Thursday June 13th…

MEET AND EAT A free all you can eat buffet breakfast for delegates is included in an offer of meeting rooms in London from budget chain Travelodge…

ALICANTE UPDATE A recent trip to Alicante, stylish coastal capital of the Spanish Costa Blanca, yielded some more impressive venues for conferences, meetings…

CONVICTIONS FOR RUSSIAN CLUB FIRE Eight people have been convicted of negligence following the December 2009 fire at the Lame Horse nightclub…

MYSTERY DEATHS AT DOWN HALL A couple celebrating a 22nd birthday at Down Hall Country House Hotel, Hatfield Heath were found drowned in the hotel’s…

N***** TALK UPSETS MORAL PFA Black American comedian Reginald D Hunter, known for his self-effacing use of the N-word to disarm it and poke fun at racists…

FRET NOW – FINE IN A FORTNIGHT Those organisers wishing to have their brains performing at top capacity for their event should worry about it two weeks before…

SO WHAT GETS TO YOU? A recent survey of 2,000 adult hotel guests by the Direct Line insurance company found that the most common complaint was dirty towels…

FIND A PROFESSIONAL Organisers and their guests are invited to attend the 2013 Professional Entertainers Showcase and view a range of acts offered for corporate…

PARTY ON IN CHELSEA One London venue that those staging big parties should know about is the Under The Bridge at Chelsea Football Club…

YEEEEEEEEEE – HAA!!! Organisers looking for that elusive something different for a teambuilding and/or corporate fun event could take a mosey up to Pinewood Holiday…

PEACE IN YORKSHIRE The three-star Tulip Inn York Burn Hall hotel enjoys a quiet location in peaceful countryside near Huby, around 12 miles north-west of York…