I enjoy trade shows. But, I confess, much more being on a booth than going around the show. So seeing "Hotelympia" on Tuesday and Wednesday was interesting, but I don't think I'll be going back next year - perhaps in 2010? And I found myself comforted by what I saw - that we do have most things right at
the hotel. So here are some pictures - observing people at the show and rather than the products.
A general view, with people wondering where to go - and I could add another show that I just missed of a line of stands, with staff on each standing at the front of the stand as if to defend it from borders.
"10 high quality sales leads a day is good for us" said one representative - who's product we use - said to me. And with quiet areas such as this around, that's probably good news for them.
There are stands with products of all sorts - incredible colourful ranges from dustbins to coffee makers to people selling nothing but sticky labels!
The Coffee stands at trade shows always seem twice as busy as coffee stands elsewhere, and the prices always seem high. Yet go just a little of site (as we did) and you can find quieter spots.
Here's a change from last year - hold your break as you enter the show building, through "Smoker's Acre" which is a new area from when we were at the show last year. There was also an amazing range of garden furniture offering as much shelter and as much oppulance as possible while remaining - just - legal for smoking.
And at the end of the day heading home.
For our own (Well House Consultants reference), I'll be providing a fill in on (a) a local cake company, (b) a cloche for breakfast sliced bread, (c) a better system for wrapping food (d) a hand dryer that's from a local company (e) next generation chairs for delegates on long course, and (f) longer life and greener bulbs.
(written 2008-02-21, updated 2008-02-23)
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
M400 - Well House Manor - The Hospitality Business [774] Bed and Breakfast, or Hotel? - (2006-06-22)
[884] Drive time - (2006-10-02)
[922] Staying at your own hotel - (2006-11-12)
[988] You should think you're first in a hotel room - (2006-12-15)
[1002] Meet the neighbours - (2006-12-20)
[1046] Bounce, bounce, bounce - (2007-01-20)
[1048] Getting rid of people - hotel techniques - (2007-01-21)
[1084] Writing terms and conditions for conferences and other events - (2007-02-17)
[1108] Express service - (2007-03-14)
[1122] Hotel - online feedback forms compared - (2007-03-30)
[1161] A contrast in room rates and facilities - (2007-04-25)
[1180] Conjugation - (2007-05-08)
[1248] How NOT to oversell a hotel - (2007-06-27)
[1284] An update on the West Wilts show ... - (2007-07-30)
[1421] Castle Lodge Hotel, Ely, Cambridgeshire - (2007-11-04)
[1422] Wiltshire - speaker / after dinner talker offer - (2007-11-05)
[1445] Looking after you Christmas Customer Crowds - (2007-11-26)
[1622] An extra step - victory from defeat - (2008-04-25)
[1792] All the pieces fall into place - hotel and courses - (2008-09-10)
[1877] Guests doing a bunk? - (2008-11-09)
[2007] Launch of Melksham Food and Drink Festival - (2009-01-24)
[2283] Everyone is in the customer relations business - (2009-07-12)
[2303] Turning potential customers away - (2009-07-24)
[2593] Food and drink launch - (2010-01-21)
[2724] Escapee Grandparents welcome - Henfield and Melksham - (2010-04-15)
[2879] Night Porter and reception - 24 hours a day? - (2010-07-20)
[2936] The service that customers should receive - (2010-08-27)
[3147] Hotel star ratings - towards a better system of review - (2011-01-25)
[3164] Brown - or Mrs Sally Brown, accountant from Whitstable? - (2011-02-10)
[3309] Tipping Policy - Well House Manor - (2011-05-29)
[3660] A Pivotal Incident - learning how to welcome your guests - (2012-03-18)
[3743] Sunday - no longer a day of rest - (2012-05-28)
[3832] A busy day at Well House Manor - so come in and make it even busier! - (2012-08-10)
[3838] Guest review - Well House Manor, Melksham - (2012-08-14)
[3909] Every Customer Counts - (2012-11-01)
[3988] Three cheers for the staff at Well House Manor - (2013-01-24)
[4033] Official Star ratings for hotels - still worth having? - (2013-03-07)
[4051] On reading a new hotel review - (2013-03-24)
[4202] Excellent Railfuture conference, but some setup lessons - (2013-11-03)
[4232] Not wanted here - hotel guests who will not be happy - (2013-12-30)
[4321] Are administration / review charges on hotel guests acceptable? - (2014-11-20)
[4521] Should we get an AA or Visit Wiltshire hotel assessment? - (2015-10-09)
[4543] Saturday morning at Well House Manor - (2015-10-17)
[4603] Happy New Year. Our customers are our ambassadors - (2016-01-01)
[4613] Our best hotel customers help us ... to help them ... be our best customers. - (2016-01-04)
Some other Articles
Extra public classes in deploying Apache httpd and TomcatWhich modules are loaded in my Apache httpdJava (JSP and Servlet examples) live on our serverhttp, https and ajp - comparison and choiceHotelympia - show report - the lighter sideNew bathing idea for hotels from HotelympiaThe geometry of East LondonLetting new visitors know we provide training coursesFSB, EGM, AGM.Learning Object Oriented Principles (and perhaps Java)