Conference Aston appoints new troubleshooter to oversee £6m transformation

BIRMINGHAM’S biggest residential conference venue, Conference Aston, has made a new appointment to spearhead the multi-million pound expansion and refurbishment of the venue over the next three years.

The venue, located on the campus of Aston University, is investing £6m in improvement works, with the first phase of work – costing £2.4m – due for completion by February 2014. This will include an expanded private dining restaurant to cater for up to 200 guests, brand new conference spaces with increased capacity, a completely refurbished bar area with a new coffee lounge and upgrading 50 remaining bedrooms.

Overseeing the transformation will be Lucy Talbot, who has worked in the conference and hospitality industry for over 20 years in a variety of roles including as a general manager for national conference specialist Principal Hayley and as a senior AA hotel and restaurant inspector.

She believes now is the perfect time for Conference Aston to be investing as Birmingham prepares to enter a pivotal time for attracting new conference and event business.

“Birmingham has a rich history of attracting major conferences and with the preparation for HS2 underway, it is fundamental that the region re-cements its reputation as the natural choice for hosting events. This is our chance to fight back against other big cities, which will aggressively pursue conference business to try and steal trade away from other places, as the wider economy and business spend recovers,” she said.

Ms Talbot’s past experience of awarding star ratings to facilities, as well as managing business through significant investment and change, means she brings a firm knowledge of what is needed to ensure Conference Aston’s business and leisure guests leave Birmingham happy and want to return in the future.

“We need to be dynamic, reactive and flexible. Being the biggest residential conference venue in the city makes Conference Aston the natural choice for organisations, so it is essential that we wow from the word go,” she added.

“Unlike other hotels and conferencing spaces in Birmingham, we offer a significant CSR advantage as we are run as a not-for-profit organisation. This means not only that we are still able to secure public sector bookings – which puts us at a natural advantage – but also that all of our profit is invested directly back into the local and national economy via Aston University. However our offering must remain world-class, which this investment will ensure happens.”