Healthcare-Venues.com is pleased to confirm the completion of the first phase of an exciting project to train a Venue Healthcare Champion, in each of the 45 Carlson Rezidor properties and key client facing team members in the UK and Ireland. Joining the Carlson Rezidor initiative the sister brand Radisson Blu Edwardian has trained key members of their central meetings and events reservations office. This training programme has been timed to support a marketing campaign to continue to position the collection for healthcare sector meetings and events, the scope is for corporate events to those for medical societies and health providers. On-line content was followed by a face to face session to perfect the day to day skills needed to deliver high quality healthcare sector events. A monthly programme of hints and tips and WebEx calls will further monitor skills and update on relevant code changes. Corporate clients and bookers will be able to contact their dedicated sector champion at each venue.

Sean Philby, Area Sales Director UK and Ireland at Carlson Rezidor said “Healthcare is a key sector for our meetings and events business. Although we successfully manage a number of key client accounts in the healthcare industry prior to this initiative, we recognised that for existing customers and for those new to the brand we could do more by making sure that our entire team understand their challenges in adhering to sector codes for meeting and events. That is why, to ensure the same level of high expertise and to guarantee consistency across all our proprieties, we have trained a Venue Healthcare Champion in all of our hotels across the UK and Ireland including our area sales team. This training programme has altered our existing SOPs, ensuring that we can be consistent in delivering, for example on the needs of transfers of value reporting as well as key operational requirements such as security. I am proud to say that we are currently the only hotel group with a portfolio of fully trained hotels in compliance with healthcare meetings across the UK and Ireland. ”

Mark Handforth of HCV.com confirmed “we have been working with the Radisson Blu brand for some years now, it was natural to extend that to a group level, especially around their upcoming sector initiative. We are already seeing the results of the training being translated into day to day sales, marketing and operational activity, with feedback that it is having a positive impact on winning opportunities and working in partnership with bookers needs”.

“Very good course and I learnt a lot although I knew the code was there I had no idea how important and changing it is in the sector. I have already used my knowledge twice this week in meetings with HCP agents and they were suprised at how much I knew about it and led to some stimulationg conversations about the industry and potential future business.”

Jack Griffiths – National Sales Manager, Carlson Rezidor Group