Press Release: Tables turned on venues

The tables were turned on over 40 venues at the Heart of England Conference and Events Centre near Coventry.
Sixty-five hotel booking agencies attended the sixth Midlands Consortium of Conference Organisers (MCOCO) exhibition to meet over 40 sales representatives from UK hotel and conference venues all under one roof at Heart of England’s multi-purpose venue in Meriden Road, Fillongley.
MCOCO is a group of independent venue finding agents and conference organisers from the West Midlands, Warwickshire and Worcestershire who collectively place millions of pounds worth of conference and meeting business in the UK.
The evening was also a chance to raise money for MCOCO’s nominated charity, the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, with around £1,500 being collected on the night.  To date the group has raised over £7,000 for this worthy cause.
Rita Mansfield from MCOCO said the event was a fantastic way for agencies to find out about the latest facilities at hotel chains, independent hotels and conference centres.
“This gives agencies the chance to bring their entire team and talk to all the venues within a couple of hours instead of hotels visiting agencies and seeing just one person during office hours,” she said.
“It is a great opportunity for hotels to promote their latest developments and offers to the leading venue finders in the industry, and for agents to build on relationships with hotels, enabling them to lead their clients to the best available rates, vital in today’s economic climate.
“The Heart of England Conference and Events Centre has been a fabulous venue. The facilities here are terrific and all the staff have been really helpful.”
Sally Everton from Bovey Castle at Dartmoor National Park in Devon said: “I can’t see this many agencies in one go anywhere else. I meet so many people and get so many good leads.”
Sian Smith from The Arden Hotel in Stratford added: “It is a really good opportunity to touch base with as many local agencies as possible, saving time and meeting like-minded people.”
Melanie Kerkeni, sales and business development manager at the Heart of England Conference and Events Centre, said the feed-back from the event had been extremely positive.
“It was a privilege to be the chosen venue to host this prestigious event which meant we were able to showcase our venue to hotels and agents,” she said.
“It was also a superb chance to show that Heart of England is more than just a conference venue since we can offer team-building activities, on-site accommodation and a beach for delegates to enjoy post-conference drinks as well as provide a full audio-visual service.”  
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