TOURISM & HOSPITALITY
WARE PRIORY: the perfect getaway for business customers Ware Priory is one of Hertfordshire’s premier conference and wedding venues where the past and present unite. Steeped in the atmosphere with period architecture dating back to medieval times, the venue is also a modern and spacious facility kitted out with the latest hi-tech facilities.
Set in seven acres of picturesque riverside gardens, it’s the perfect getaway place for a romantic wedding or an equally inspirational conference, business dinner or staff teambuilding event. Naturally, the COVID-19 crisis has had an impact on Ware Priory, as it has onmany tourism and leisure businesses. With the country recently out of a second lockdown, however, the company is planning for a much brighter 2021. Kerry Mavris, Sales and Marketing Manager at Ware Priory, says: “We’re currently doing our forecasting for 2021 and the second half of the year looks much better, particularly if there’s a major roll-out of a COVID-19 vaccine and current restrictions are lifted. All we need is a return to some semblance of normality. “We’re well placed to prosper in a post-COVID world. Ware Priory is set in a beautiful location that’s well connected to main travel routes and we have free parking for up to 65 vehicles. We also have excellent facilities for business meetings and conferences; we can provide space for one or two hours or offer a full-scale conference and catering package. Our largest space has capacity for up to 200 people and we also have spaces to cater for smaller meetings.
“With the current restrictions, we’ve been running business events for up to 30 people and this has been really well received. At the end of the second Lockdown, we will be able to serve up to 60 people safely.” Kerry, who has been working at Ware Priory for thirteen and a half years, says the company has benefited from making significant investments in technology during this period. “We now have Clevertouch screens and we’re aiming to offer blended meetings, where people can either be physically present or dial in from another location,” she says. “We continue to move with the times and adapt, and this approach has stood us in good stead during my time here.”
www.warepriory.co.uk
Unique hotel oozes style and charm
Inspire magazine speaks to Dean Thompson, general manager of Hotel Cromwell in Stevenage, to discover the secret of its success… three-course meal in our Brasserie, Rump & Wade. Our bedroom sizes are flexible on size and cost and, most importantly, we provide a friendly, home-from-home environment with a car park that’s free to use if you’re staying with us or using our facilities.
Q How does the hotel Q What does Hotel
Cromwell offer business customers?
We offer absolute flexibility for any business in the heart of Stevenage Old Town. We aren’t shackled by corporate rules, we’re a private family-run hotel that flexes the rules to suit our clients. We have three meeting rooms that seat 2-170 people and we can produce menus to suit the occasion, whether it’s a snack for a working lunch or a
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stand out in a crowded marketplace?
Décor, quality and our team. These are the three things we have invested in since the Distinct Group took over the hotel in 2016. The hotel had a £3 million refurbishment in 2017 and is well looked after by its in-house maintenance team. We source quality ingredients for our kitchen and quality products for our bedrooms, from the bed linen to the bathroom products we purchase from Noble Isle.
Our team is something I’m most proud of. We employ people that love what they do. We train them and develop them to better themselves within the company and in life. We give them the autonomy to make decisions that will make our guests’ stay a memorable one. We also go the extra mile – offering our function room free of charge for charities to host quiz nights, for example. We also recently donated £1,000 of vouchers to NHS staff via a Facebook giveaway to thank them for their hard work during the pandemic.
Q How are you adapting
the business to cope with the current pandemic?
We’ve installed screens at reception and a contactless selfcheck-in machine. We’re cleaning rooms the day after check-out
whilst the occupancies are lower, and the room is then left with a notice on the door to explain that the room has been cleaned and not entered again until the guests have walked through the door. We’ve removed all soft furnishings and paper and moved to disposable cups for tea and coffee. Our cleaning schedules were always thorough and still are.
Q How optimistic are you
about prospects for the business post-COVID?
We are very optimistic for the second half of 2021. We realise that the tier structure will continue to be a challenge for us in January and February, but moving forward we’re sure that with the product and reputation we have, we’ll see our corporate clients return to stay with us whilst visiting their offices in the brilliant town of Stevenage.