VENUEMASTERS Expands into Ireland
January 2011
VENUEMASTERS, the consortium representing over 85 academic venues, is pleased to announce that another two new venues have signed up to membership, including the first venue in the Republic of Ireland. The University of Limerick joined the consortium in October followed by the University of Bath in November.
A total of 16 members have now signed up since April, a record for the consortium. A change to the membership structure has made it possible for more venues to get involved as they can now choose which elements of the membership package are most relevant to them.
The increase in the number of venues offers more choice to the event organiser in terms of locations and types of facilities available. The expansion to the Republic of Ireland is an exciting prospect as facilities for meeting and group accommodation can now be offered outside the UK. The VENUEMASTERS team hopes to build on this with more venues listed from overseas.
Lisa Gibbons, Event Manager at the University of Limerick, commented;
‘We joined VENUEMASTERS as part of our marketing campaign in an effort to move forward as a unique Irish conference and events destination. As a member, we can network with other academic venues providing similar services and we aim to partake in the Academic Venue Show next year. A key objective is to focus on conferences, summer schools and language groups using academic venues and accommodation for their events. VENUEMASTERS should allow us to connect with customers who specifically require the use of university facilities.'
The University of Limerick Conference and Sports Campus is located in Limerick City Centre, 15 miles from Shannon International Airport. The venue is located in a unique parkland setting bordering the Shannon River. There is a choice of flexible spaces from an intimate room for a roundtable discussion to a magnificent 1,000 seat concert hall. Accommodation for conferences and groups is available in five residential villages offering a total of 2,500 rooms.
The University of Bath is set in 200 acres of land at Claverton Down and is surrounded by trees and greenery. It is located just over a mile from the city centre and can offer accommodation for groups and individuals, with a variety of room types to suit all budgets. Guests can choose from accommodation with shared bathroom facilities to premium single and double en suite rooms. There are 34 premium en suite rooms year round and over 2,000 rooms during the summer.
VENUEMASTERS Chief Executive, Terry Billingham, commented on the new additions; ‘We're really pleased to welcome two new venues in popular locations. We have received a lot of interest in the Republic of Ireland and it's great to be able to offer a venue to meet this demand. We're also pleased to welcome back the University of Bath. With a host of new facilities available, it's an exciting time for the venue, and the appeal of Bath as a destination is without question. 16 new members signing up since April is a real achievement and there is a lot of potential for attracting more venues in overseas markets.'
Images - (top) University of Limerick and (bottom) University of Bath
