13.08.10
Gusto met with Rich Parks today, what an awe inspiring man. His attempt to complete the 737 challenge, 7 Summits, 3 Poles in 7 months! Good Luck Rich. If Richard is successful he will become the first person to have stood on the 3 Poles, namely The South Pole, The Geographic North Pole and the summit of Everest, in the same calendar year, and set a new benchmark in the climbing of the 7 Summits. He also aims to raise 1 million pounds for Marie Curie.
12.08.10
Meeting with a PR agency to discuss new ideas for Gusto
10.08.10
Exciting kick off meeting today with one of our clients, the event is going to be fantastic, really challenging and full of inspiring content.
09.08.10
Gusto team recieved intense training of our new registration system today, its fantastic and what we can offer now is so current and technologically advanced that we are proud to have bought such a system. It will really enhance our offer.
06.08.10
Gusto team to get the new iPhone 4 today. Speaking with an Apple consultant to discuss the iPad and how it can support us on site. Very exciting....
03.08.10
Big event this week in Cheltenham, fantastic venue, stunning food. Wine Sommeliers & Food critics everywhere. A real culinary delight!
30.07.10
Eisteddfod starts today. Gusto will attend Sunday 1st August for the day. Heads of the Valleys/Gwent, should be a fantastic event for Wales.
26.07.10
Working on a very exciting "high end" pitch these next few weeks. Creative ideas flowing, enjoying the challenge it brings.
18.07.10
Arrived in Marbella for site inspection, fantastic Hotel, confirmed venue, pulled together some exciting activity ideas, dinner at Puerto Banus and then back to the office.
14.07.10
The 737 Challenge Charity Launch at the Senedd for Pichard Parks. What a challenge and what an exciting time ahead for the team. Good Luck.
12.07.10
Meetin with Le Meredien Nice & Monaco, what a venue. Definitely a thought for next year's event. Liz off to view the hotels in September.
08.07.10
The Vineyard Stock Cross, what a fantastic night. Superb supper, delicious wine, a very informative Sommelier. We really recommend anyone wanting to do an event here.
05.07.10
Fantastic Ladies Day enjoyed by all. All for a great Charity.
02.07.10
Just applying the finishing touches, confirming the transport for a large "kitsch" event in Blackpool next week. Think 200 people, trams, candyfloss, the pier, penny sweets, bright colours, fantastic activities at the pleasure beach, branded tram tickets, branded personalised raffle. The venue is fit for a Queen, in fact she did stay here many years ago. Good Luck Liz with the big event.
01.07.10
Met with Sofitel today to hear about their Gatwick, Heathrow & Manchester properties.
30.06.10
Working with a fantastic Production Agency in London today, supporting them for a pitch for a fabulous client. Lets hope we get it! It sounds like an incredible opportunity and definitely for Gusto!
29.06.10
Meeting with our Producer today to finalise our site inspection to Marbella. Don Carlos hotel. Brain storming ideas and themes for the client.
24.06.10
England V Australia Cricket - fantastic hospitality in Cardiff, a table of 10 - started at 10am, finishes at 10pm, absolutely outstanding day for the client.
18.06.10
Big preparations today for a big event next week. Today the girls are out buying everything in readiness, props, theme ideas, etc. Our client is pretty innovative so cant wait to get rolling with the party.
17.06.10
Big pitch today for a Pharma company, so excited! We have been working hard on this one!
16.06.10
NEC Summer Good Food Show, fantastic exhibition. Gusto enjoyed taking part.
14.06.10
Marbella has been chosen for the next conference for one of our fantastic clients. We are looking forward to putting together an exciting proposal.
11.06.10
Ryder Cup Packages still available, we have some superb offers and innovative ideas
09.06.10
World Cup Mania, we are being asked to come up with innovative ideas to hold in-house parties for the world cup! Exciting brainstorming ahead.....
09.06.10
Another great incentive for our client to Barcelona. A quick visit, but managed to achieve a great supper, Gaudi inspired tour and exciting meeting with innovative ideas.
05.06.10
Wales v South Africa - another great hospitality opportunity. 5 course dinner, celebrity speaker and much singing! The client was thrilled.... he is South African!!!
02.06.10
Another great event for our telecoms client. 550 delegates, park & ride systems, catering, energising event full of excitement.
27.05.10
Site inspection to Croatia, Split. Stunning city with so much on offer. Perfect incentive option, we also took the catamaran to Hvar, where we found endless super yachts to keep the group entertained
20.05.10
Site inspection to Lisbon, we visited some fantastic hotels, Tiara, Corinthia, Four Seasons & Sheraton. All have so much to offer, such versatile space and exciting things to do in the glorious city.
13.05.10
Meeting with supplier to determine some fantastic IT solutions for event registrations
10.05.10
Another great event for our telecoms client. 250 delegates, full catering, energising event full of excitement.
09.05.10
Site inspection into Malaga this week, we found many options but the client prefers what Marbella has to offer.
04.05.10
Site inspection to Marbella, fantastic options for Gusto Events
25.04.10
Six Nations 2011. Fixtures are out, we already have secured some fantastic packages. Call us to find out more...
15.04.10
Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor - we have some fantastic packages available
13.04.10
2 new fantastic events come in for May & June. 350 people in May and 500 people in June 2 weeks later. Kick off meeting was exciting.
12.04.10
Overnight at the Park Lane Hotel. What a fantastic venue. We took our client to see the ballroom. A great art deco space, with true wo factor.
30.03.10
Venue Searching Malta - seems flight access has vastly improved and hotels are plentiful
28.03.10
Meeting with Marriott & Hilton
28.03.10
Meeting with Starwood Hotels
28.03.10
Meeting with the Principal Hayley Group
21.03.10
Another huge venue search completed in Dubai, Lisbon, Malaga and Malta
08.03.10
Competition - make sure you send your entries in asap to win a fantastic prize.
01.03.10
Congratulations to all at Gusto, after several months we have just found out we have made it onto the preferred supplier list of one of the world's largest telecommunications companies. We are really excited to be working with them.
01.03.10
Happy St Davids Day to one and all
23.02.10
Confex today, not as busy as we had expected but with a couple of juicy briefs in hand we make the most of the International stands.
18.02.10
Final preparations for the massive pitch GUsto have been working on. Nearly there.....
09.02.10
Gusto meet with some fantastic PR agencies, in readiness to launch into Wales.
06.02.10
Wales V England, Twickenham. Corporate Hospitality.
05.02.10
Gusto attends Changing Liberia Charity Dinner, Chelsea Football Ground, London. Fantastic event.
06.01.10
Incentive to Dublin, for our new fantastic client, 3 nights, Dublin Guinness Factory, Cookery Classes, wine tasting, 4x4 jeep city tour, Venue Finding and restaurant finding.
18.12.09
Merry Christmas from the Gusto Team, our office will now close for 2 weeks.
28.11.09
Wales V Australia, Corporate Hospitality
21.11.09
Wales V Argentina, Corporate Hospitality
13.11.09
Wales v Samoa, Corporate Hospitality
07.11.09
Wales V New Zealand Corporate Hospitality tickets for several clients
01.11.09
Incentive to Gleneagles, Scotland. Fantastic overnight educational
19.10.09
New client Securitas, Cardiff Half marathon event. Dinner & Entertainment & Hotel Bookings
22.10.09
Four Seasons Canary Wharf event in London tonight. Fantastic Networking opportunities.
08.10.09
Vodafone Way Sessions begin in Trowbridge
07.10.09
Vodafone Retail event for 450 people starts today at the Pavilion in HQ
06.10.09
Gusto team fly out to Barcelona for Extreme Event for 6 nights
06.10.09
Vodafone Way Sessions begin in Banbury, for 4 days
01.10.09
Vodafone Way Sessions begin in Warrington, for 4 days
25.09.09
Vodafone Way Sessions begin in Stoke, for 4 days
23.09.09
Vodafone Way Sessions begin in Newark, for 2 days
22.09.09
First Vodafone Way Session Kicks off in Newbury, only 35 to go... very exciting!
04.09.09
Copthorne Millennium Hotel Group Meeting, GHO, Hilton Group
01.09.09
Extreme Networks conference calls & 4 week count down to event in Barcelona
26.08.09
Site Inspection for Extreme Networks in Barcelona, menu tasting, wine selection, floor plan, walk around and full show walk through
20.08.09
Meeting at the Angel Hotel Cardiff
12.08.09
Vodafone Way Session Presentation at VF HQ, The Pavilion. 2 hours of really informative helpful insight for the meetings going forward.
04.08.09
Meeting with Hilton Group, Marriott Group, Copthorne Tara, Bespoke Hotels
01.08.09
Bristol Harbour Festival, we hope to work with them in 2010 to produce a great event.
30.07.09
Vodafone kick off meeting. Vodafone Way Sessions, 7 locations, 36 sessions, 4500 delegates for Phase 1. Very exciting challenge ahead.
29.07.09
Extreme Networks kick off meeting, event is only 8 weeks to go
03.06.09
Meeting with Searcey’s Catering & Hotel Group
16.07.09
Cath from Perception marketing calls in for an update, fantastic to hear the new properties and update
10.07.09
Paris Incentive, 3 nights, Orient Express, Four Seasons Hotel, Cookery Classes, Perfumery Classes, and much shopping. 12 staff plus partners, what a fantastic weekend incentive. Great ROI.
09.07.09
Corporate Hospitality at SWALEC Ground for Cricket. England v Australia, Gusto acquire a new client, Securitas. Hope to do an incentive for them to Cardiff, Cardiff Half marathon.
08.07.09
Gusto run the Race for Life in Cardiff, fantastic atmosphere. Thousands of women racing for cancer charities and all dressed in pink!
07.07.09
Meeting with Copthorne Hotel
02.07.09
Meeting with Celtic Manor, ICG Group, Wyndham Hotels
19.06.09
The Legal Co-operative Group head to Prague, fantastic incentive in Prague with paintballing, hotel accommodation, restaurants, transfers all organised by Gusto Events Ltd
17.06.09
Met with Handpicked Hotels, & a great DMC
11.06.09
Event at the Pump Rooms Bath, fantastic dinner organised by Searcy’s. Great guest speaker and informative tour
10.06.09
Conference call today with Extreme to update, we have answers to the challenge and hope we have truly managed the expectation. Restaurant finding to go, Sailing trip to plan, Activities to organise.
03.06.09
Our Director had her beautiful baby girl today, Congratulations
28.05.09
Conference call today to kick off the Extreme event in October, challenges ahead. Venue confirmed yet numbers have now increased from 170 to 245. Exciting times.
23.05.09
Dublin Incentive for Rookwood Club, 3 nights, Dublin Guinness Factory, Cookery Classes,Venue Finding and restaurant finding.
22.05.09
Extreme Networks have confirmed a fantastic new hotel in Barcelona for their Event in October 2009. We are delighted to be working with them again and are working hard to get regsitration open by next week. Event Bookings are on board with us again, their technology is superb. Good luck to the team
Gemma Hutton - Director
21.05.09
Nimans have approached us to look at some fantastic incentives for them, 2009/10. Also some Corporate Hospitality for 2009. We very much look forward to working with this client again. The last incentive we did for them was an awe inspiring trip to Norway! Another one of those please!! Good Luck
20.05.09
One of our Directors Liz, has gone on Maternity Leave. She will be sorely missed but we wish her every luck and happiness. We cant wait to meet the new addition to Gusto Events!
18.05.09
Allergan has approached us to support them with their Sales Incentive to Paris. We love working in Paris and cant wait to write up the proposal for them. Paris is a great destination for Incentives, however, with the Euro as it is, we have to be mindful of budget and value for money. We are seeing a huge change in how our clients are spending their money during these tough times.
Gemma Hutton - Director
11.05.09
The Bristol Harbour Festival is not far away now, 31st July to 2nd August 09. We have been asked to support a great local telemarketing agency to organise an exclusive Gala Dinner for Saturday 1st August 2009. It promises to be a fantastic event, with much to offer from fine dining, ice sculptures, champagne, canapes, and of course prime view of the grand finale, fireworks on the Bristol Harbour. We hope to raise huge awareness for the event and sell plenty of tickets. Good Luck to the Ethical Telemarketing Company on the Sponsorship and Ticket Sales!
Gemma Hutton - Director
08.05.09
PAC event in Rome takes place today, for Extreme Networks. At the Baglioni Regina Hotel, Rome.
What a brilliant event, we worked with some fantastic suppliers in Rome, from the transfer company to the hotel itself. The weather was glorious, sun shining, we had an hours tour with the delegates to see some of Rome's stunning sites, the Vatican, Spanish Steps..etc. We then went to eat in one of Romes finest restaurants, with views to die for. The event has been a true success. Thanks to those involved.
Gemma & Liz - Directors
07.05.09
End User event in Rome takes place today, for Extreme Networks.
06.05.09
End User event in London takes place today, for Extreme Networks.
05.05.09
End User event in Frankfurt takes place today, for Extreme Networks.
02.04.09
We are working on 3 fantastic events, London, Frankfurt & Rome. We have secured the most beautiful hotels, especially in Rome, the Baglioni Regina. We used our strong relationship with our supplier to secure the venues and the client is very happy indeed. The events take place in May 2009.
Liz Gould - Director
15.03.09
Extreme Networks are looking for some Corporate Hospitality for 2009. We are working with a fantastic supplier for official corporate packages such as Wimbledon, Six Nations 2009, Grand Prix, Henley Regatta, Cheltenham Races, Royal Windsor Horse Races, Heineken Cup Final, Rugby World Cup 2009 South Africa, Football World Cup SA 2010 and much more. We have secured some excellent packages for Extreme this year and hope to do the same for the Sporting Calender of 2010.
Gemma Hutton - Director
23.02.09
We have been working alongside Production Agency Pi (Presentation Innovations) with MSD. Merck Sharp & Dohme on their total company meeting for the UK. The event for 600 delegates was a huge success, held in London. Gusto Events dealt with all of their registration and logistics for the event. We loved every minute working with the team from Pi and MSD. We certainly hope to work with them again soon.
Gemma Hutton - Director
25.01.09
The RHI/YDF Diabetes meeting takes place this week in Birmingham. Good Luck team.
21.01.09
Event Bookings have now become a fantastic new supplier to Gusto Events Ltd, they are supporting us, on the technology side, with our new registration tool. They are great to work with and are really enhancing our offer to our clients. Thanks to Kim and Philip
11.01.09
Our client Extreme Networks is looking for a venue for their EMEA Channel Conference in October 2009. So with flights booked to Barcelona, we embark on a gruelling 2 day site inspection of 8 of Barcelona's best hotels. The economic down turn is clearly effecting everyone and we are looking for value for money for our client. After 2 full days with our producer, we have narrowed the search down to 2 hotels. Will feedback to the client and keep you posted.
Gemma & Liz - Directors
25.12.08
Wishing all of our clients a very Happy Christmas and New Year 2009.
Gusto Events Ltd
05.12.08
The YDF 3 day course is about to start. Also one of our Directors is getting married this weekend, so a great shame not all of the team can be there. Good Luck with the event in Stansted.
Gusto Events Project Manager
01.11.08
YDF Foundation course, we are currently preparing for the annual YDF course, this year to be held in Stansted. Our Project Manager is working tirelessly to register all delegates and produce another fantastic event for YDF.
20.10.08
We have just got back from another fantastic event in London. A glamorous party for 100 people at the stylish Haymarket Hotel.
The venue was superb – a basement pool, decorated to the 5 star standard of the hotel… really stunning! The staff were incredible and a real compliment to the party.
I love walking into a venue for the first time and it putting a massive smile on my face, this definitely happened at the Haymarket.
Guests started to arrive at 6:30pm, tasty wine, beer & soft drinks were plentiful, delicious canapés were offered on arrival. At 8pm the live food bars were opened, with chefs preparing fresh sushi and authentic Spanish tapas – on opposite sides of the pool! For dessert – indulgent and delicious; freshly tossed pancakes with chocolate, cream, fruit and rich sauces.
The party was hosted by the Sunset Marquis Hotel & Villas – a hotel in West Hollywood USA. They wanted their London launch of the villas to be appealing and really welcoming – which was definitely achieved! The guests all hailed from the music, advertising or entertainment industry – people who receive hundreds of invitations to functions every month! We had to ensure that the Sunset Marquis got a good turn-out.
The theme was subtle, candle lit with rose petals strewn. A colossal plasma screen lit the swimming pool in an aqua green and the twinkly star light ceiling create a wonderful ambience. The party remained in full swing and upon departure fabulous goody bags were offered to each guest.
This was the first time that Gusto and Sunset Marquis had collaborated on an event. Working only on email in the preparation was unusual and meant that both Gusto and Sunset Marquis had to trust one another to ensure that the party would work. And it did! With great success…
Gusto Events Project Manager
26.09.08
The Concept Centre at Millbrook was the perfect venue for Vodafone’s Consumer Sales event last week. The day had a Formula One theme which the delegates really loved!
A morning of conference and an exclusive product launch left the delegates raring to go when we showed them the challenges the afternoon held for them. The main activity was building a Formula One racing car…out of cardboard…and racing it! The racing part was brilliant fun, wearing helmets and overalls the delegates climbed into their carefully built cars and revved up on the grid ready for the green flag!
Delegates also enjoyed high speed pro-drives and were put behind the wheel of a car blindfolded, all in the name of team building! The atmosphere on site was very energetic and the whole day went really well.
In the evening an elegant Monaco theme gave everyone an excuse to get glammed up and let their hair down. A champagne reception and gala dinner was followed by fun and games in the casino, a scalextric track and a Formula One simulator kept everyone entertained. Old black and white movies were projected onto the walls and DJ Jo Lively played party tunes all night long.
The crescendo of the evening came just as everyone thought the night was ending. A band called Big Beat positioned themselves outside the venue near the entrance and started making the most amazing sound using bits of old scrap metal. Their sound was incredible and really ended the event on a high with people dancing their way onto the waiting coaches!
The day was action packed and the party was amazing, a
resounding success.
Watch this space - pictures coming soon!
Gusto Events Project Manager
26.09.08
I started at Gusto just over 3 months ago, with only a small amount of event knowledge. Since then, I have been on a roller-coaster of experience, and one with a steep learning curve! My first week at Gusto involved attending my very first event- a conference held at Telford for Vodafone with 1,400 attending delegates. Whilst I was only really there to get an idea of how an event runs and feels, I found it a real eye-opener. I had no idea about the amount of work and level of organisation needed to run an event. Hours of work and preparation cannot prepare you for the inevitable problems that crop up on the event day; problem- solving and thinking on your feet are such core aspects of this job.
I really only experienced the end result of a long process by attending the event in Telford. I was given my chance to be involved in an event from the very beginning when I was made Project Assistant for the Vodafone Consumer Sales event in Millbrook. This allowed me to be involved in the preparatory side of things, with client meetings, contracting suppliers, registration of delegates, and constant communication! Every detail of the event day needs to be thought of, planned, and made as efficient as possible.
When the event day came, I was a mix of nerves and excitement. I finally moved away from my desk, was handed a radio and had 550 delegates winging their way to registration! The day went really smoothly, and the feedback from the delegates showed that the day was a real hit! The highlight of the event for me was watching 550 delegates racing their hand-made cardboard F1 cars across a huge race- track filled with banners and flags, and feeling that I had contributed to making the whole day come together.
The team here at Gusto have been so good to me. Assigning me enough responsibility to keep me on my toes and continuously learning, but also giving me constant support and advice so I never feel out of my depth. I have worked so closely with Jackie, the Project Manager, that it feels strange to carry-out anything (in work and outside of work!) without her beside me!
I feel these past 3 months have equipped me well for working on future events- although I still have so much to learn and perfect! Bring on the next event........!
Gusto Events Project Assistant
28.07.08
Last month we worked with Vodafone to deliver an event for 1400 people at Telford International centre. It was a one day event with delegates arriving from all over the country.
The buzz on-site was incredible and the whole team really enjoyed working on this exciting event. There was a lot happening but the highlight of the event for me was the moment when the Maori group arrived on stage and performed the Haka! It was incredible, all of the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end! Then all 1400 delegates were taught a “Vodafone Haka” and performed it on video. We had loads of fantastic feedback from the delegates on the coaches about how much they enjoyed it.
We also set a new record for getting lunch served in a matter of minutes! Given the number of people we were dealing with we wanted to make sure everyone had their food really quickly and that any queues were short and well managed. Everyone was then able to make the most of the time to speak with colleagues and discuss the content of the morning.
The Telford International Centre was a great venue to work with. Our event planner Emma Watson was brilliant, she was so incredibly knowledgeable and responsive.
We hope to have some photos in our gallery soon!
Gusto Events Project Manager
8.05.08
I’ve decided the best way to describe the Avaya Africa trip is “a luxurious adventure”. The accommodation was stunning, the service was impeccable but everyone had some fantastic tales to tell about the trip. Top of the list was from the group who went deep-sea fishing and pulled in a sail fish only to have a bull shark bite tear off the back part of the fish!. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0N3rAFj7Uk to see some footage from one of the delegates! Coming into to Jo’burg to land in a 15 seat plane during a major thunderstorm was also very exhilarating. But we took our cue from the pilots who were entirely unfazed! The group also saw a young leopard learning to hunt with its mother, danced to African drums, and enjoyed a sunset drink aboard a dhow.
The itinerary (for 12 VIP delegates) centred around two nights at Sabi-Sabi Game Reserve with plenty of game drives and fantastic food. Followed by two nights on Bazaruto Island (an archipelago off Mozambique) for some rest and relaxation in a 5 star resort. All this was made possible by a specially chartered plane which was at the groups disposal for the duration.
We’ll be uploading photos shortly and you really must look at them to get an idea of the experience. We had lots of fantastic feedback on our return with delegates saying that it was truly an experience of a lifetime. Just what we were aiming for!
Liz Gould - Director
21.04.08
ABCD hold 2 meetings a year and planning, preparing and delivering these is almost habit now. Mid-April saw the 22nd meeting, this time taking place in Harrogate.
The success and popularity of the ABCD meetings has grown & grown. This year day 1 was at the Holiday Inn and day 2 at the Harrogate International Centre. Normally working with 2 venues on 1 project can present some challenges but, from a logistics perspective this worked really well – even if the Sugababes were in town and sound-checking in the same building!
Proceedings kicked off with the AGM. After this around 70 delegates were privileged to listen to Professor Sir John Tooke, from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry in Plymouth, speak about the future of medical education. We then moved on to drinks and a tasty dinner, with a sad farewell to Professor Ken Shaw who has stepped down as Chairman of ABCD on his retirement from NHS practice. Working with Professor Shaw has been a real pleasure.
The following day we moved across to the bright and spacious Queens Suite in the Harrogate International Centre. We transformed half of the suite into a multi-purpose space, which was used for refreshment breaks, seating for lunch, a sponsors exhibition and the presentation of posters. Competition for poster space was especially tough this year as we had so many submissions and couldn’t accept them all! The other half was used for the meeting sessions, which, as usual, included the hotly contested debate! Catering and staff in the HIC were excellent and helped us to deliver a well-received event.
Now planning for the Autumn Meeting in London starts…
Gusto Events Project Manager
07.04.08
Last weekend I spent one of the most amazing weekends of my life in Norway.
It was absolutely incredible!!!
I accompanied a group of 6 who had won the trip as part of a Nimans incentive. We left London City Airport at 10am on Friday and spent 48hours enjoying the delights of Norwegian Lapland or 'Finnmark'.
Upon arrival we had a horse & sled tour around the town of Alta before enjoying dinner and drinks with the locals, then Saturday was the ‘main event’ we went Husky-racing where all of the winners got a chance to control a pack of 5 dogs running into the wilderness, which provided us all with some great entertainment.
After the dogs, we went to the Alta Igloo Hotel which is built every November… the Hotel melts in mid-April, so we were lucky to get in before it did. The group then went out on skidoos for a 4 hour safari across frozen lakes and into the Alta countryside, absolutely breathtaking.
In minus 20 degree temperatures, the group welcomed a few drinks in the outdoor hot-tub. It was brilliant being surrounded by snow but being in a big warm bath!
Before dinner, we had the Igloo Hotel to ourselves and enjoyed some drinks in the ice bar, where EVERYTHING is made of ice… ice-cold drinks like never before! Dinner was traditional Reindeer or Salmon which was delicious and whilst we enjoyed some after-dinner drinks, we were lucky enough to witness the ‘icing on the cake’ as the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) came out and displayed in the night sky. This was honestly one of the most magical and amazing spectacles I have ever witnessed… like a night-time rainbow swirling in the sky… phenomenal.
When it was bedtime we all collected our sleeping bags and went to bed on ice beds covered in Reindeer hides.
This was a truly sensational weekend, and all of the group thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The feedback was brilliant and as an incentive, this ‘once in a lifetime’ style prize certainly made a very good impression. Thank you to Nimans for being one of the first clients in the UK to be brave enough to select this as an incentive, it definitely worked! Check out the gallery for some of the pictures.
Gusto Events Project Manager
19.03.08
This year’s Young Diabetologists Forum took place at the SECC in Glasgow on the 3rd March. It was a busy event that marked the start of the annual Diabetes UK conference and exhibition also at the SECC.
It snowed all day on the first day, blizzards were forecast for all week which would have been a disaster! All was well in the end and by day 2 the snow had stopped and the sun came out. The SECC is a really impressive venue with excellent staff and layout, it was perfect for this forum which consisted of sessions in the main auditorium and also several workshops going on at the same time.
After the forum we took everyone to Arta which is a really popular restaurant and bar in the city centre. Arta is designed to look like a Spanish townhouse and has a stunning interior, it was a great backdrop to an evening of good food and relaxation after a full day of discussion and debate. Once everyone was relaxed and warmed up the ceileidh started which was such a laugh! Everyone was up dancing and they all had a really good time.
The YDF committee were really great to work with and we’re already looking forward to the forum next year!
Gusto Events Project Manager
18.03.08
Last week I met up with Moulden Marketing and their Norwegian Partners – a group of DMCs and hotels representing and promoting C&I business in Norway.
I was absolutely amazed by the range of activities and ideas they had… Taking over the Lillehammer Olympic village with delegates bob-sleighing down to their dinner… transfers from the airport on husky sleds or by Viking Tall Ship… Norway is definitely an emerging market (as far as events go) and a destination which I think will be come more and more popular – at the moment, it’s relatively undiscovered and the perception is that it’s ‘too far’ but I’m definitely going to be recommending it to some of our clients.
Next week I’m taking a small incentive group to ‘chase the Northern Lights’ in Norway and to stay in the ice hotel, I can’t wait!!! - I’m sure I’ll have loads of photos which I’ll put into the gallery, so check back in a couple of weeks.
Gusto Events Project Manager
12.03.08
I have just returned from attending AIME 2008 (the 16th Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo) in Melbourne, Australia. The exhibition covered 13,500 square meters of space and my feet are still aching! However, over 60 appointments later, I think I am fully up to date on whats going on around the world in the events industry. I met venues and suppliers from Tahiti, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Dubai, Borneo, Thailand, China (Beijing/Shanghai), India, Cambodia, Hawaii, Vietnam, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and much more. We have secured fantastic hotel rates with great international chains and formed fantastic supplier relationships.
So if you're looking to white water raft in Borneo, enjoy supper on the great wall of china or indeed sip cocktails on the 71st floor of a hotel with panoramic views of Singapore, then give Gusto a call, we would be thrilled to help make your event a memorable one!
Gemma Thomas - Director
20.02.08
I visited Barcelona for the 11th time when I took the 3i Venture Advisory Board programme in February! But I still absolutely love the city and see a different side every time.
This event was definitely all about trying the most amazing restaurants that Barcelona has to offer. One of the restaurants we went to as part of the Spouse Programme was Raco De Can Fabes – a three Michelin star restaurant in a beautiful village about 35 minutes from Barcelona. The 8 course menu proved to be a great success. It’s amazing what a great topic of conversation food can be – we had a number of ladies from different nationalities who chatted about the food and wine from their country and also their experiences overseas. They decided that the meal in Raco De Can Fabes was a new level of gastronomic experience.
The Venture Advisory Board took place at the Hotel Catalonia Ramblas directly after the MWC Congress. The meeting room looked fantastic thanks to the great branding and the additional furniture which was brought in. We took the Advisory Board members and their partners to a fantastic restaurant in the evening. The feedback we received was excellent and you must take a look at all the images which we have in the Gallery of the event and also of Barcelona city itself.
Liz Gould - Director
18.02.08
Mobile World Congress is an absolutely massive event for the mobile technology industry in Barcelona and for one week in February the city is completely taken over. It’s really amazing to be involved in something that gets reported in the news!!
Every year our client 3i takes over a hotel in central Barcelona (just off La Ramblas) from which we base ourselves for the week during MWC (previously know as 3GSM).
In order to give everyone a totally ‘3i’ experience we fully branded the hotel and introduced a “refuel” station which was stocked with 3i coffee, fruit and energy bars for guests to help keep them going whilst at the congress, this proved to be very popular. We also gave everyone a “survival kit” which was a box of wonderful goodies aimed at helping our guests relax and enjoy their time in the Spanish City. We included a pedometer because anyone who has been to these sorts of events knows that you feel liked you’ve walked the circumference of the Globe! 3i offered an ipod Nano as a prize to the delegate who had walked the furthest – I think the winner deserved it after managing to do 26,000 steps in one day?!
It was a week of early starts and late nights – but it was all good fun and went really, really well. Every day we ran a busy meetings schedule with a ‘drop-in’ policy. The aim was to recreate 3i’s London offices in the centre of a Barcelona hotel – and it worked brilliantly! We held a party on the roof terrace by the pool in true Catalan Style with paella, live music and Spanish wine! It was so popular that we were having to operate a policy of ‘one-in, one-out’ by about 9pm!
The hotel team was amazing and responded really well to everything and I felt we were working very cohesively and achieved a great result for the client. The week was deemed an overwhelming success for 3i which is fabulous news for all of us who had worked so hard on it.
The 3i @ MWC project is really unique, presenting unusual challenges and opportunities and that’s what I love about working in events!
We’ll be putting some fantastic images of the event in the Gallery – so do look out for them.
Gemma Thomas - Director
29.01.08
Well, we're back from Blenheim Palace and enjoying the praise and satisfaction of a job well done. There were the usual challenges working in a venue which has other commitments outside of its events business (and when everything needs to be agreed by the Duke)! But a balance was struck and the event was a huge success.
The weather was beautiful, if a little chilly, and all of our client's visions and dreams were realised. The garden tour we organised was very popular and it was such a thrill to see so many delegates wrapping up warm and going out to enjoy the stunning setting. I really liked the way we had created a warm and cosy space for them to return to with a roaring fire, comfy sofas, lot's to read and waiting staff on hand to cater for their every whim.
When we took everyone around to the palace in the evening for their sumptuous dinner the gasps were audible - but then that's what we work so hard for!! The huge flambeaux we had arranged to line the path with added to the grandeur. It was a really cold, clear evening as well and the moon was shining so brightly on the Palace - it brought out the romantic in everyone. The Great Hall was opened exclusively for the client and filled with piano music and candlelight. We had arranged for guides to be on hand to answer any questions about the art and antiques in the Hall and the delegates really embraced the history and importance of the Palace.
Gusto, the client and the Blenheim Palace team worked so well together on the day, it was such a pleasure to be part of the team and I felt so proud of what we had achieved. It was great pay back for all the hard work. To see such well-travelled clients looking so overwhelmed with the majesty of the surroundings felt like a real triumph!
Make sure you look at the photos in OUR GALLERY…
Gusto Events Project Manager