“The Mighty Waikato is ready and already welcoming business events clients back to the region”, says Business Events Manager with Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, Amanda Graham.
“Our business events family have been busy acquainting ourselves with the guidelines and protocols, and making sure that people can meet safely, when they are ready to start meeting again,” says Graham. Whether it’s a small 12 person meeting next month or a conference in 2021 we encourage organisers to support local and meet in the Waikato. Business events contribute significantly to our local economy and create indirect disbursement and impact positively on the social, cultural and environmental aspects of the region.
The Claudlands team are prepped and ready to welcome back business events clients in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
H3 Business Development Manager Melissa Williams acknowledges that a lot has changed for the industry and she is proud of the way the Claudelands team has adapted how they think and operate.
“It is a whole new world for everyone, but it has been great to see our team tackle this with an open mind and positive attitude,” says Williams.
In preparation for a return to business, the Claudelands team has rigorously tested the delegate experience and has come up with easy, cost-effective, out-of-the-box options for clients to meet again safely, and with confidence.
Melissa Williams – H3 Business Development Manager
This includes a selection of room configurations that ensure the required spacing between attendees and unobstructed flow-through and between spaces, a new menu range designed by catering partner Montana Food and Events, and audio-visual packages developed alongside AV specialists Vidcom to provide clients with online video-conferencing capabilities.
Claudelands is also putting in place tools for easy and robust contact tracing for all people on site.
“We know event organisers will be feeling extra pressure to ensure they’ve covered all bases when it comes to health and safety requirements at their events, so these packages and options are designed to take some of that stress away,” says Williams.
“The scale of Claudelands allows us to confidently host multiple events on site at once without any crossover in key areas like carparks, entrances and bathrooms, while surrounding greenspace means we have the luxury of wide, open spaces and seamless flow from meeting spaces through to outdoor areas which is so valuable at a time like this.”
In response to COVID-19 Claudelands has also increased the frequency and intensity of venue and equipment cleaning, has added extra hand sanitiser and tissue stations throughout the venue and is displaying Ministry of Health and venue-specific messaging to remind everyone who comes on site of the importance of personal health and hygiene.
Novotel Tainui has room for more
Ammie Hardie, Sales and Marketing Manager for Novotel and Ibis Tainui in Hamilton, is excited to announce that “40 new executive rooms at the Novotel Tainui Hamilton will be blessed by Tainui on Friday 29 May, and will be open for business the following week”, says Hardie. The addition of the new executive rooms, which are inspired by the Waikato River, takes the Novotel’s number of rooms up to 217.
Following the move to Level 2, Hardie says that the Novotel has already experienced a steady increase in business levels, and says she is welcoming some small business meetings back in their conference rooms next week.
“We have revamped our conference offering and room capacity numbers to accommodate the Government and Accor guidelines”.
The restaurant on Alma has reopened and has experienced good bookings from in house guests and walk in diners. Our sister Hotel Ibis Tainui is also open for business and welcoming guests.
Hobbiton Movie Set is excited to announce they will be officially welcoming visitors back to the Shire from Saturday 30 May
The talented gardening, landscaping and maintenance teams have been hard at work to ensure the Movie Set is just as stunning and picturesque as ever and have been working on additional measures to keep staff and visitors safe during their adventure.
Shayne Forrest, General Manager Sales and Marketing says Hobbiton’s reopening is looking encouraging, “over the past 2 weeks we have seen a steady increase of bookings from kiwis. There has never been an opportunity like this before for New Zealanders to have the world-class attractions in their backyard all to themselves, it’s really heartening so see kiwis getting out there and making the most
of it.”
Tours will be running daily from 30 May with reduced departure times and group sizes. Forward bookings for meetings, conferences and events are welcome.
Fieldays 2020 goes virtual
For the first time in its history, Fieldays will be delivered as an online event in 2020. Following the Covid-19 crisis and event restrictions, the New Zealand National Fieldays Society made the decision to reimagine the traditional aspects of the physical event digitally.
The virtual experience promises to offer an entirely new spin on the event whilst retaining all its treasured parts.
The Society has partnered with Trade Me to power online sales and help with marketing and Satellite Media to deliver the online event experience.
“We understand the economic ramifications would be extensive if Fieldays was cancelled entirely hence why we’ve decided it’s a chance to be innovative in this time of global uncertainty.
We’ll still be delivering a world class event on the world stage – albeit a digital version,” Society CEO Peter Nation says. “We know the physical event and all it entails is incomparable for both visitors and exhibitors. Despite the restrictions, the Society recognises more than ever the importance of providing an alternative for the annual pilgrimage that is Fieldays, until the return to Mystery Creek.”
Fieldays is attended by approximately 130,000 people every year. The Southern Hemisphere’s largest agri-event generates approximately $180M for the local economy, while on a national level it provides over $500M.
“It’s not the end of the tangible event by a long shot. For now, we’re determined to see the situation as an opportunity to do good business and inject some much-needed cash into the economy, especially within the recovery phase of the Covid-19 response. This is our way of seeing New Zealand through.”
To find out more about hosting a Mighty Meeting in Hamilton & the Waikato region, contact Business Events Waikato.
The team are the local meeting experts and can help you make the right connections. Business Events Waikato offers a free service to discuss options to suit your event, check availability, and obtain quotes.
Business Events Waikato, Hamilton & Waikato Tourism
W. meetwaikato.com
E: businessevents@waikatonz.com
P: 07 843 0056
