Incentive & Motivation

Liverpool, officially the most delegate-friendly conference destination, is set to become even more affable with its Delegate Goodnight campaign.

The Goodnight campaign will complete the experience of delegates in the city, providing them with recommendations for event spaces with panoramic views, restaurants and bars in which to wind down after a conference or host gala dinners, the best accommodation, as well as attractions from which to view the city’s skyline and sunsets as part of a social itinerary.

To be launched by Liverpool Convention Bureau at this year’s International Confex, the initiative is the first of its kind offered by a destination and will act as an extension of the renowned welcome provided by the city.

Together the innovative Delegate Welcome and Goodnight schemes will provide all delegates with exclusive discounts for Virgin Trains’ high-speed service from London to Liverpool with onboard welcome announcements, signage and flags at entry points into the city, and a free dedicated accommodation booking service.

Liverpool has long been regarded as the friendliest destination for delegates and buyers, a fact which is backed by numerous accolades including the city winning Condé Nast Traveller UK’s Friendliest Destination in 2010 and 2011, Group Leisure magazine’s Best UK City 2011, and Britain’s Best Nightlife Destination 2011 awarded by TripAdvisor.

Carol O’Reilly, Liverpool Convention Bureau manager, comments: “Delegates’ experiences outside of the main conference activity are just as important to our destination, so we are pleased to be launching a campaign that looks towards evening events and entertainment in our great city. The Delegate Goodnight concept not only reflects the warmth and friendliness of the people of Liverpool but also the combined quality of our venues, hotels, restaurants and attractions which can make an event or conference complete.”

The Delegate Goodnight will launch on stand at International Confex with a series of giveaways and tips on selecting venues in the city. A number of other special offers will also be available on stand during the show. All confirmed bookings made with Liverpool Convention Bureau will receive a complimentary four-star overnight stay in one of Liverpool’s leading city centre hotels. Bookings confirmed with ACC Liverpool directly will receive a free overnight stay in Liverpool along with tickets to the buyer’s chosen show at Echo Arena Liverpool.

Liverpool Convention Bureau and ACC Liverpool will be exhibiting at International Confex between 6 and 8 March on stand B920.

Liverpool Convention Bureau is backing an initiative for all hotels in the city to offer free Wi-Fi for delegates in hotel bedrooms.

The scheme, initiated by leading hoteliers in Liverpool, aims to make the destination even more attractive to associations, conferences and residential events. It is targeting all hotels within Liverpool and the wider City Region.

Many hotels already offer complimentary Wi-Fi in public areas and nearly all have some form of paid for Wi-Fi service in guest bedrooms. But now the destination management agency for the city, along with business leaders, is supporting the drive to encourage all hotels and serviced apartments across the Liverpool City Region to make this a free service in all guest bedrooms.

The initiative, led by the Liverpool Hoteliers Association and supported by The Mersey Partnership’s Visitor Economy Committee (VEC), is the brainchild of Robert Nadler, Chief Executive of hotel group base2stay Limited and a member of the VEC.

Robert Nadler comments: “To drive business for the Visitor Economy, we need to be constantly thinking ahead, just as Liverpool has always done. Wi-Fi has gone from being an optional extra to an essential utility, especially for business travellers. The VEC is working closely with business leaders to encourage as many hotels as possible across the City Region to join the scheme, which will further illustrate that the city is one of the leading convention and tourist destinations in the UK”.

Carol O’Reilly, Liverpool Convention Bureau Manager, adds: “This is a hugely popular initiative and one which has our full support. Delegates more than ever rely on smartphones, tablet devices and laptops during conferences and meetings. We feel that the Liverpool City Region, with its diverse venues, attractions and hotel options, is well placed to become the first destination to offer fee Wi-Fi as standard in all guest bedrooms”.

The proposal aims to attract more mid-week corporate and conference clients as well as large scale conference and congress delegates. A total of 25 hotels across Liverpool City Region have already signed up to the initiative, including independent hotels and international hotel brands.

One of Liverpool’s ambassadors, consultant liver surgeon Mr Graeme Poston from University Hospital Aintree, alongside Liverpool Convention Bureau and ACC Liverpool, has helped to secure the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO) conference, to be held 14-16 September 2014.

ESSO represents more than 2,000 cancer surgeons from across Europe and the Middle East and with the conference estimated to bring in between 600-800 delegates to the ACC Liverpool, it is also expected to generate around £1.4 million in economic benefit for the city. The ESSO conference is the largest gathering of cancer surgeons in the world. A special Lord Mayor’s reception will be held for delegates travelling to Liverpool.

Carol O’Reilly, Liverpool Convention Bureau Manager said: “This win is a great coup for the city and a reward for our collaborative efforts in securing the event. We faced competition from capital cities including Athens, Geneva and Berlin, so quite rightly we are extremely proud to have secured such a high-profile conference, which underlines our international reach and expert knowledge.”

Mr Poston, who has also been appointed as President-elect of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO), continued: “A lot of hard work goes into these bids. Clinicians work very closely with venue management teams and Liverpool Convention Bureau to present the best possible bids for bringing major conferences to the city. It is very competitive, but Liverpool’s worldwide recognition through music and football gives us an advantage. We are building on that by demonstrating we can successfully host major events.”

Jacquie Rogers, General Manager of BT Convention Centre, part of ACC Liverpool added: “It is great to see the city being backed by members of the medical profession and with this kind of support and endorsement, ACC Liverpool is being recognised as a skilled and adaptable venue to host major association events of this nature. We look forward to welcoming ESSO in 2014.”

Securing the ESSO conference is the latest in a series of major clinical events to be secured by bids from clinicians across the city, with the support of the convention bureau and venues. These include the Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons Great Britain and Ireland (AUGIS) in 2008, the Association of Surgeons Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI) and the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) in 2010, while 2012 will see the city play host to the UK Digestive Disorders Federation (DDF), which includes AUGIS and BSG.

Mr Poston, who recently won a lifetime achievement award for excellence in cancer surgery, added: “Success breeds success and the more times the city hosts clinical conferences, the more we can convince leading clinicians from across the world that they are coming to the right place to share best practice and help to improve the quality of care for all of our patients.”