Member Article

Leeds venues celebrate success at Conference and Hospitality Show following investment

ConferenceLeeds is celebrating a string of wins amongst its venue portfolio at the Conference and Hospitality Show, following significant investment in a number of Leeds locations. Across the city a total of £100 million has been invested to make improvements to some of the city’s most prestigious venues, alongside a range of new openings.

The investments in Leeds venues include the refurbishments of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, the rebrand of Bewleys Hotel to the Clayton and the openings of Cloth Hall Court and Weetwood Hall, as well as investment in each of the award-winning venues. This is alongside welcoming the new ibis Styles hotel, as well as the exciting launch of the Dakota Deluxe Leeds hotel, a boutique, luxury chain that has seen huge success internationally, and is the first of its kind in England.

Amongst the award-winners were Horizon Leeds, which won Best Day Delegate – 24 hour rate and Best Onsite Audio Visual, as well as Oulton Hall, which won the award for Best Welcome Guest Experience.

The award wins and investment come ahead of Leeds’ bid to become European Capital of Culture for 2023, which will see the city scrutinised on its accommodation stock and ability to cater for increased business and leisure tourism.

Some of the most significant investment includes a total refurbishment at The Crowne Plaza at a cost of £4 million. Work began early this year and launched in early June, with the renovation including brand new bedrooms and suites, the creation of a club lounge, a new restaurant and bar, and meeting and events facilities. A further refurbishment development in the city has been the rebrand of the Bewleys Hotel to the Clayton Hotel, with the rebrand costing £3 million to date. The total refurbishment began in late 2015, and is set to continue into early next year.

Leeds also boasts a range of exciting new openings that will further enhance the city’s conference offer. This includes the opening of Cloth Hall Court, set to launch in July, which is is a brand new refurbishment of a classic historic building, housing a standalone conference centre purpose built for corporate events worth £4.5 million. Cloth Hall Court has already taken bookings for key national conferences.

Weetwood Hall has also extended its offering, having recently opened a new £2 million restaurant. The new 120 seat Mediterranean restaurant and bar is now open to customers looking for a high quality dining experience outside of the city centre as well as to guests staying at the popular hotel complex.

Jennifer Young, Head of ConferenceLeeds, added: “With Leeds being named as the fifth most popular conferencing city according to the 2016 BMEIS report, this investment in our venue portfolio is vital in ensuring the spaces we have are of the highest quality. The investment also makes a valuable contribution to the city’s bid to become European Capital of Culture for 2023 so comes at a very exciting time, extending the brilliant facilities that we have on offer.

“These are only a few examples of the exciting venue developments Leeds has seen over the past few months, with the recent opening of the Dakota Deluxe Hotel also adding to our growing portfolio. It is important for Leeds to continue to innovate in line with customer expectations and these investments reflect our dedication to being a world class conferencing destination.”

The Conference and Hospitality Show Awards showcase the very best of the hospitality industry in the UK, with awards ranging from ‘Best Bedroom’ to ‘Best Welcome Guest Experience’. Leeds saw great success in the 2017 ceremony, competing against core cities including London.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Richard Savage .