Jurys Inn creates dedicated group meetings position as refurbs continue

Gemma Royle, who originally joined the UK-based hotel firm as a group sales co-ordinator seven years ago, will now be responsible for developing and training the company’s meetings and events co-ordinators.

Royle will also be tasked with looking at ways to improve best practice across the 32-strong hotel estate in order to further strengthen the group’s meetings offer.

Consistent​

Jurys Inn is one of a number of hotel groups which have dedicated themselves to improving their corporate, events and meetings business – it launched Jurys Meetings a year ago.

The re-positioning has already paid off as the company announced in February that corporate guest business had increased by eight per cent​ over the last year.

As well as the publicised CAPEX investment – money has been spent on new décor, furnishings and equipment for meeting rooms – Jurys Inn has attempted to achieve a consistent level of service across all its meetings and events teams

Part of the strategy has been to achieve AIM accreditation from the Meetings Industry Association (MIA) for all its 24 UK venues.​

Marc Webster, head of sales at Jurys Inn, has recently agreed to serve on the MIA board for the second time in five years.

“We are very proud of our new meetings product and we are committed to raising standards not only as a group but across the industry,” said Webster.

“We want to be seen as a major contender in the meetings arena and that’s why we will continue to raise the bar until we achieve our gold level accreditation.”

AIM accredited ​

Jurys Inn has rolled out the MIA training across the group – something Royle will be tasked with taking control of in her new role.

“One of the reasons we chose to become AIM accredited was to use their resources to help us develop our meetings business – a clear benchmark if you like as to what our product should be aspiring to,” added Webster.

“The accreditation helps on another level too, showing our corporate clients the value of choosing an AIM accredited venue and what that really means,” he said.

Jurys Inn currently operates 204 meeting rooms across its 31-strong estate.