Green Venues

Green Venues – congrats to The Bush Hotel in Carrick on Shannon!

On 30 September, 2009 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Green Venues

Meeting Facilities, Bush Hotel, Carrick on Shannon

Joe Dolan and his team at the Bush Hotel,Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim, Ireland is to be congratulated for their achievements in creating a green venue for conferences, meetings and events. The below is an extract from a press release that will be in the papers tomorrow. The hotel is a great place to drop in for a meal and has a variety of space for meetings and events…. will post more on that when I stay there and do a review. But I would know the hotel and the great reputation it has locally as I grew up 10 miles away.

“Communication Award. The award recognises exceptional promotional activities to

increase public awareness of the EU Ecolabel – the EU’s label for environmentally friendly goods and services. The three winners, selected by a jury of environmental

and communication experts, were announced at a ceremony in Brussels last night.

The Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, which became the first hotel in Ireland to be awarded the EU Ecolabel in Marchthis year, won the service provider category. The hotel was praised by judges for raising awareness of the EU Ecolabel through a variety of promotional tools, including an in-house awareness campaign, a suppliers’ charter and organised site visits.

The European Commission has announced the winners of the first EU Ecolabel

Communication Award. The award recognises exceptional promotional activities to

increase public awareness of the EU Ecolabel – the EU’s label for environmentally friendly goods and services. The three winners, selected by a jury of environmental

and communication experts, were announced at a ceremony in Brussels last night.

The Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, which became the first hotel in

Irelandto be awarded the EU Ecolabel in March this year, won the service provider

category. The hotel was praised by judges for raising awareness of the EU Ecolabel

through a variety of promotional tools, including an in-house awareness campaign, a suppliers’ charter and organised site visits.

Venue Review – The Fabulous Radisson Royal Hotel Dublin

On 5 February, 2009 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Conference Venue Tips, Green Venues, Venue Reviews

A Fantastic Dublin City Centre Hotel -

Sky Suite Party Venue

You know not all brand hotels get it right in terms of service levels, atmosphere and level of luxury, but the Radisson Royal Dublin City Centre have ticked off most of the boxes for me. I consistently get great feedback from clients who have held an event there and I very much enjoy attending events there myself! The most recent one I attended was the blog awards held Oct 11th – arranged by — Damien Mulley – creator of the Irish Web Awards…

Feedback -

While a free bar for the first hour or so is always a fantastic start to an event, I was there from set up time to ensure everything was going according to plan. I was pleased to see that the hotel staff were on hand to assist with the organisation and supervise set up and of course make sure the client is happy which he was. They also had a consistent presence through-out the event. The Organiser Damien was delighted with service and how the event went. The cocktails in particular kept everyone smiling!

Outside shot Radisson Royal Hotel, GoldenLane

First Impressions and Location -

Very Central – In general my review of a hotel starts from the first time I see it, approach to the hotel and the sense of arrival. The location of the Radisson Royal is very central and is indeed great, it is built in an area that is changing fast and will undergo more regeneration over the next few years, there are some nosey neighbours across the street but I have not heard of them bothering guests. South Great George St is less than a 2 minute walk where you are right into the hustle and bustle of Dublin City Centre; Grafton Street is about a 5 minute walk and location wise for corporate travellers they love the buzz of the city centre. The IFSC would be a nice 15 minute walk in the morning or indeed a short taxi drive, but the south city business district around Stephens Green is about a 5-10 minute walk. A perfect Dublin City Centre Hotel.

On walking into the lobby, decor is modern, funky but not over done. You immediately get a great vibe from the hotel and know you are in a popular Dublin Venue. Reception staff have always been very accommodating and responsive to my needs.

Sky bar private corporate party venue

Hang out areas -

The lobby has some great space to hang out in- either to catch up on email or have a bite to eat or wander casually into the bar. The SURE Bar serves some serious cocktails…..

Dublin City Centre Meeting Space - Comfortably accommodates up to 300.

Conference room off main lobby area

The meeting space – - is functional, well equipped and well laid out. The main conference or event room is located right off the lobby area, featuring a great reception area with bar and counter space. Ideal for a casual lunch or tea/coffee area. It also has access out to a great patio area so it is very easy to get some fresh air while at an all day Conference in Dublin. The room divides in 3 and comfortably fits up to 300. The remainder of the hotel conference facilities is on the first level – it is a great mix of light filled rooms accommodating from 10 – 60 again, well laid out, equipped with modern AV and overall has a feeling of a successful meeting.

Dublin City Centre BBQ and outdoor space -

ourdoor corporate party event space

Summer BBQs, Corporate Parties and Team building events…. For corporate BBQs or team building events there is a fantastic urban oasis… a large patio area, that is sheltered and a great spot of a summer party. It would be very unique to the city as very few hotels have such outdoor space.

Outdoor BBQ area, party options

A good nights sleep -

Fresh, comfortable rooms

Dublin City Centre Accommodation – while I can’t say that I have stayed there, rooms look great, are very functional and equipped for both the business and leisure traveller. Overall, the hotel gets top marks from me.

Overall Attitude -

I find the sales staff excellent to deal with, very responsive and up for a laugh. Which is always a great attitude to have in this business.

French Irish Fusion Cuisine

If found this article of interest, you should check out the following articles –

Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links

> For tips and advice on venues in Ireland, feel free to contact me – Ciara

Ciara Feely –Venue Finder –www.FindaConferenceVenue.com

Ciara at Find a conference venue dot com. 353 (0) 26 21015

Tagged: city, conference, dublin, hotels, meeting, radisson royal, room, venues

How to arrange a conference or event on a shoestring budget..

On 8 October, 2008 by Ciara Feely Comments (7), leave your own!
Categories: Green Venues, Smart organising tips, Uncategorized

Attending or creating Conferences, Meetings and Events are the easiest way to meet prospective clients, make valuable networking contacts, enhance your career and impress clients. It can be done in a very cost effective way and can cost less than a few newspaper ads. So to make it easy, I have put together a few quick suggestions. I will add more over the next few weeks…

Make a Budget — and stick to it! Keep it updated regularly once established.

Gather a Strong Team – Delegate responsibilities that would normally be contracted out such as registration, transportation coordination, marketing, decor etc

Negotiate rates — if you run a few events during the year, negotiate them with the one property or hotel group to avail of the best rates.

If flexible on Days of the week generally a Sunday night check in with a Monday meeting will be very attractive to hotels and will be able to be more flexible with rates.

Consider the Time of the Year – to a corporate hotel generally the summer time is quiet for meetings and so you will be able to negotiate better rates then. Otherwise consider shoulder months such as early January.

Ask the hotel or venue what Dates they have free that they are willing to negotiate on.

Setting up systems to save time – will transfer into savings of money – use a Venue Finder and seek their expertise on Venues in Ireland to suit your event. This is a FREE SERVICE with FindaConferenceVenue.com.

Use an online Registration System such as Eventznet.ie – Sarah Carroll. This will save thousands on posting invitations, printing and packaging.

Using an online registration system will also save hours on gathering fees, processing cheques and most importantly you get paid at time of registration and so save on “collecting money” fees or indeed not getting paid at all.

How to Find a Green Venue for your Event

On 28 May, 2008 by Ciara Feely Comments (1), leave your own!
Categories: Green Venues

Everyone is talking about the ‘Green’ concept nowadays.

Ireland is the perfect location for a “Green Event”, with its image as the “Green Emerald Isle”, responsible Meeting Planners and Venue Managers are turning their attention to this issue and making it easy to Go Green in Ireland. We at FindaConferenceVenue.com will be making this even easier by helping you to find the Green Venues in Ireland with one click.

Today, I would like to go through this important matter and give meeting planners some tips on how to choose a green venue for their events, incentives or conferences.

To start with, I would recommend choosing a conference venue or meeting place that has a green policy. But what does it mean being a Green venue? “Green” Venues are environmentally-friendly properties whose managers are eager to institute programs that save water, save energy and reduce solid waste–while saving money–to help protect the earth.

Finding a right venue for your event is the main part of the planning process. Making that selection green is simply a matter of asking the right questions before signing any agreement with the venue such as:

Is the venue locally owned and operated? If not, is it at least staffed by local employees?
What kind of recycling programs does the venue has (aluminium, plastic, paper, gray water, composting)?
If it offers accommodation, do guests have the option to reuse towels and sheets instead of having them changed every day?
What programs does it offer to reduce consumption? Examples include energy-efficient lighting, low-flow toilets and showers, and alternative energy sources like solar or wind power.
How does the venue contribute to the local community?
Do they buy locally sourced food and materials?

We are partnering with the Green Failte Awards, in order to bring you an accurate listing of approved venues in Ireland. This feature will be launched next week on the website. The Green Fáilte Award is Ireland’s first Environmental Award Scheme for the Hospitality Sector. The Award shows that each business is committed to the environment, through the implementation of an environmental management system, and that they, and their staff, strive to provide the best possible environment for their customers and the community in general. For more info log in http://www.greenfailte.ie/

Tagged: green hotels ireland

FindAConferenceVenueFind a Conference Venue

Green Venues – congrats to The Bush Hotel in Carrick on Shannon!

Venue Review – The Fabulous Radisson Royal Hotel Dublin

How to arrange a conference or event on a shoestring budget..

How to Find a Green Venue for your Event