Member Zone Releases

Providing craft drink enthusiasts with a whole new summer experience, Marked Events has announced Craft Drink Festival 2018 – a lively two-day event for all things craft, from beers, spirits and soft drinks to tasting masterclasses at the NEC.

The NEC is preparing to host yet another global first as Merlin Entertainments announced the next chapter in its growing portfolio of exciting attractions – THE BEAR GRYLLS ADVENTURE – which will open at the Birmingham based venue in 2018.

Wasps and npower are launching a partnership to further enhance the Ricoh Arena’s sustainable approach to energy, helping power sport, business and entertainment at the Arena.

npower will be installing a Combined Heat and Power plant at the Ricoh Arena, which will mean that Wasps will be generating their own electricity on site, as well as creating heat for the stadium and the under pitch heating system.

As one of Britain’s largest energy companies, and part of the Innogy SE group, npower serves around five million residential and business accounts with electricity and gas.

The new partnership will see npower launch an exclusive tariff for Wasps rugby and netball fans, as well as visitors to the Ricoh Arena in 2018. Fans will also benefit from a series of exclusive customer offers, competitions and energy saving tips for their home and family.

Stuart Cain, Commercial Director of Wasps and the Ricoh Arena, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with npower. This is a powerful partnership for both the club and Arena. npower’s technical expertise and infrastructure is a game changer in the way our Arena can power our three business drivers of sport, business and entertainment.

“npower shares Wasps’ values in the commitment to our local community and the new tariff offering will be an exciting addition for our fans. We are excited to be working with such a well-known brand and one that further enhances our growing family of blue chip partners."

Andy Wiggans, Commercial & Marketing Director for npower, added: “We’re delighted to be joining the Wasps family in a partnership which will see us supply power and gas to the Ricoh Arena and partner on a number of ground-breaking energy saving measures. We’ll also be working alongside Wasps RFC and Netball to support the local community and give fans the chance to get even closer to their team. We can’t wait to get stuck in.”

npower join Scutum, Gett Taxi, Arthur J Gallagher, TM Lewin and Robert Welch in partnering with the club this season.

A Coventry hotel has introduced new innovative technology that will allow guests to turn their smartphone into a digital room key.

The DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, based at the Ricoh Arena, will be the first Hilton to utilise the digital key feature in Coventry and Warwickshire.

Guests will need to download the Hilton Honors app to use the feature in the hotels and then download the key to their phone.

Once hotel guests check-in on the app, they will be notified that their room is ready and they can download their room key and  go straight to their room, bypassing the front desk, and press a virtual “unlock” button on their phone to open their bedroom door.

The new feature will make checking-in a simpler and more streamlined process.

Paul Michael, General Manager at DoubleTree by Hilton Ricoh Arena, said: “This is a very exciting new development at our hotel and will be a huge benefit to our guests.

“This is part of Hilton’s worldwide digital strategy and we are delighted to have been selected as the first in the region to implement this innovative new technology. 

“We have already seen how similar technology works in airports, with mobile boarding passes, and can make the process smoother for customers.

“Of course, we will still have our fantastic front of house team to assist with any needs and you can still check-in face-to-face. This new feature is just a different option for guests.

“We are always working to improve our service here at the Doubletree and we are certain this new feature will make every guest’s experience easier and contribute to an enjoyable stay.”

The Ricoh Arena has smashed its own record for the number of events and visitors it has hosted.

In the 12 months to June 2017, a total of 857 events were staged at the Ricoh Arena – an increase of over 10 per cent on the 777 events held for the previous 12 months. The latest yearly visitor numbers have also topped the 1.6 million mark, up from 1.2 million in 2015.

The Coventry venue has experienced the majority of this growth within the conference and meetings sector, taking 666 bookings in the last financial year compared to 583 bookings in the previous year.

It hosted an extra 11 exhibitions during the same period after attracting business from established media company the Mark Allen Group, as well as other trade shows such as Mechanex and Surfex.

The venue also encountered sporting success last year, hosting an additional 17 events in addition to 59 the year before. This was driven by a successful year for Wasps Rugby Club - who welcomed more than 300,000 fans through the turnstiles as they reached the Aviva Premiership play-off final.

The Ericsson Indoor Arena also hosted Wasps Netball for the first time, on top of memorable spectacles such as the Rugby League Four Nations tournament and Champion of Champions Snooker.

Over the past year, the Ricoh Arena also welcomed chart-topping music artists such as Robbie Williams, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Craig David.

Stuart Cain, Group Commercial Director for Wasps and Ricoh Arena, said: “These figures reflect the great deal of hard work and investment that has gone into making the Ricoh Arena one of the leading events venues in the UK.

“Conferences, meetings and exhibitions are performing well for us, driven by our location next to the M6 and on-site DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel. We’ve also worked hard to increase the flexibility of space within the Ericsson Exhibition Hall and wider Ricoh Arena, supported by strong Event Management and Technical Support teams that make thigs happen in spectacular fashion.

 “Having a record year, the challenge is maintaining such a strong performance in the future so we’re investing in our facilities to keep them fresh and enhancing our digital capability.

“This includes the launch of CityFibre’s ultra-fast Wi-Fi throughout the venue and the partnership with taxi app Gett, making it easier for people to order a taxi from their phone.

“We’ve also opened the new Ricoh Business Lounge which showcases the latest in office technology creating one of the most advanced meeting spaces in Coventry.”

ENDS

The UK’s largest agricultural machinery show, LAMMA, will move to the NEC from January 2019.

The NEC is delighted to announce the appointment of Andrew Cole as Revenue Development Director.  

The NEC has strengthened its sales team with the appointment of Amy King as Senior Account Manager.