To a conference organiser they might have been the best delegates ever. More than two hundred thousand delegates who dressed themselves, knew where they were going, and turned up at appointed locations with plenty of time to spare. Besides that, they appeared well mannered and remained in a jovial mood when transport was crowded or ran behind schedule.
Who wouldn’t want them attending a convention you organised?
World Youth Day 08 saw the first Pope in Australia since 1994, and resulted in plenty of international publicity that can only bode well for the future. Indeed, who wouldn’t fall in love with the place when you’re camped under bright blue skies and watching boats dance on the shining harbour?
What was more inviting about this event was that everybody who wanted to get involved could get involved. Certainly a little bit different to APEC last year where locals were asked politely to stay away.
The success of World Youth Day 08 clearly underpins the direction Sydney hopes to take from now and into the foreseeable future. Government is more aware too of the power of events of this kind, which is even better news for the business events industry at large.
Head of the new Events New South Wales – the go-between if you like of the government and private sector – Geoff Parmenter, is a big fan of the events business. Holding key positions with rugby and football (bodies) in Australia, and internationally, he already sees the huge potential the events business has just six months into the role.
As he outlines in his interview in this edition (see page 18), Events New South Wales has already determined that bidding for big sporting events is not going to cut the mustard in the long term.
“What does make sense is to work with existing events and leverage off those,” he says.
“One of the events we are [currently] partnering with is the Rosemount Australian Fashion Week. About $30 or $40 million worth of business – export dollars - gets written at this event.”
This strategy falls in line with Events New South Wales’ charter to assist in the wellbeing of the state as a whole – to help drive new money into the state. The others are brand marketing opportunities that stem from hosting events and the value events bring to the community as a whole, including greater New South Wales.
Head of the Sydney Convention & Visitors Bureau, Jon Hutchison, is a fan of Events New South Wales and its objectives moving forward.
“Sydney is a leading city but up until now it has been under-serviced,” he says.
“Sydney is one of the world’s leaders in winning business events. The bureau has won 380 business events for New South Wales since the Sydney Olympic Games. You can put a value of this somewhere in the vicinity of $2 billion.
“We should never overlook the fact that we are one of the most aspirational cities in the world.”
A look at the happy, smiling faces at World Youth Day 08 shows that this is most definitely the case.
ABOVE: Pilgrims making their way to Darling Harbour.
Venue operators never stand still for long if they want to remain ahead of the competition, and it’s no different in Sydney.
This is despite hoteliers recording strong occupancy levels across the board. Partly due to the buoyancy of the market, and partly due to the fact that no new properties are coming on-line in the foreseeable future (except at Sydney Olympic Park where the Pullman Hotel Sydney opens in September), occupancy is high. Nevertheless, competition nationally is strong, and so venue operators must continue to develop new offerings.
Over the following pages we’ve compiled some of the latest and greatest initiatives and changes to the Sydney venue landscape.
Responding to a recent study which found that nine out of 10 Australians believe interactive gaming develops skills which enhance team productivity, Hilton Sydney has partnered with Microsoft and Xbox 360 to create Play@Hilton, a new complimentary gaming area available to all Hilton meeting delegates.
Delegates attending meetings at the Hilton can now loosen their ties and undo their jackets during conference breaks and partake in some fun Xbox 360 games.
Play@Hilton will bring out the rock star, tennis champ or football fanatic in the most serious of business people, as they re-energise in-between their long day around the boardroom table.
Hilton Sydney manager, Jerome Auvity, says in addition to strategic thinking, creativity and problem solving playing computer games, their research found that 91 per cent of respondents believed having fun with co-workers also significantly improved team relationships.
Play@Hilton is available as a complimentary option from Hilton Sydney when booking your next meeting. The service can be selected as either a dedicated gaming room, complete with food and beverages, or as individual mobile units for use in the Hilton Meeting Centre’s common break areas throughout the duration of the meeting.
Almost before it was officially opened some of Sydney’s premier party people gave the all-new Argyle Venues in the historic Rocks a spin at the RSVP 08 Party After Dark, with plenty of favourable comments given after the late-night soiree.
The venue is now available for seated events on a grand scale, offering capacity of up to 1500 guests.
Recognised as one of the city’s hottest nightspots, it can be dramatically transformed with elegant long tables set over two levels, boosting the capacity of the precinct and creating a sizeable venue.
Group sales manager, Paul White, says all areas have access to The Argyle’s historic cobblestone courtyard which provides a great central area for pre or post-dinner drinks and mingling.
“With demand in Sydney increasing for large-scale yet unique function spaces, Argyle Venues is set to become the ‘venue of choice’ for seated events,” he says.
Each of the various rooms have a distinct personality making them ideal for theming. When combined they create wonderful areas for guests to explore throughout the event.
The venue’s three kitchens operate effectively in tandem to provide premium catering to each of the venue’s spaces. Dishes such as oven roasted medallions of barramundi, BBQ chicken with lemon & thyme and slow roasted black angus scotch fillet with creamed horseradish are just some of the choices available.
While The Argyle is relatively new to the Sydney bar scene, Argyle Venues have more than 30 years’ experience in creating memorable events with the people, service and attention-to-detail necessary for success.
Located in the heart of the Rocks, Argyle Venues is set within 19th Century convict-hewn sandstone walls with functions from 50 to 1500 possible. The venue can also hold 2500 people in cocktail mode. Visit www.theargyle.biz for details.
The doors of Sails Restaurant on the water’s edge at McMahons Point were re-opened by new owner Greg Anderson recently.
The new-look restaurant takes on a sophisticated and contemporary new look by renowned designers sjb interiors. To complement its new styling a new menu has been refined as “modern Australian” with a selection of seafood entrées such as roasted scallops, fennel puree, roasted black olives and preserved lemons and freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters.
The entrée menu includes veal sweetbreads caramelised with Jerusalem artichokes and kipflers and grilled zucchini flowers with Woodside goat curd, beetroot and rocket and watercress.
Choices on the main menu include suckling pig slow roasted with cracked wheat and apricot puree, seared ocean trout with sorrel puree, mushrooms and the aromatic Middle Eastern eggplant dish called Imam Bayaldi with cumin and spiced yoghurt.
Greg Anderson has appointed chef Steven Skelly to run the kitchen. Steven has great seafood credentials having worked with some of Australia’s top chefs including Greg Doyle, Tony Bilson and Peter Evans. Tim Stock of Vinous Solutions will showcase an extensive wine cellar which will include 100-150 wines. Proprietors Greg Anderson and Patricia Nunes also own Sugaroom located on the waterfront at Jacksons Landing in Pyrmont.
ABOVE LEFT: The Argyle at The Rocks.
ABOVE RIGHT: The new-look Sails Restaurant.
The Dockside Group has announced the acquisition of renowned restaurants Waterfront & Wolfies Grill at The Rocks to its existing portfolio making it one of Australia’s largest independently-owned venue operators.
As a result, Dockside can now cater for more than 3000 guests business events in the Rocks precinct alone across the three restaurant function venues.
With a track record of delivering high-quality events, Dockside now offers greater flexibility and creativity across its venue portfolio comprising four function venues – Dockside, Star Room and L’Aqua, at Cockle Bay Wharf, and WatersEdge at Pier One joining the four restaurants Ice Cube Seafood Bar and Grill at Darling Harbour and the historic Rocks precinct additions of Italian Village, Waterfront and Wolfies.
Managing director, Christopher Drivas, said this was an exciting leap forward in the group’s aggressive growth plans, demonstrating Dockside’s commitment to growing its waterfront venues strategy.
“We now intend to continue to grow our function venues to become a substantial contributor to the overall business events market,” he said.
“These new acquisitions catapult our growth plans forward, however, we maintain that outstanding water views and a central location is essential to any further acquisitions.”
Italian Village, Wolfies & Waterfront at The Rocks offer private dining rooms and event options to take advantage of the stunning harbour views overlooking the Sydney Opera House. Each venue can stand-alone or be offered as an integrated suite of meeting or entertaining solutions to clients.
“Whatever the event, Dockside can deliver outstanding restaurant-quality food and wine experiences tailored to our client’s needs,” Mr Drivas said.
“With outstanding produce available seasonally here in Australia our newly appointed executive chef Michael James is passionate about creating imaginative cuisine for both function catering and the restaurant menus.”
Swissôtel Sydney is offering conference bookers a chance to win return flights to the shopping paradise of Singapore, staying at Swissotel The Stamford. Organise a residential conference package worth $20,000 before the end of January 2009 to immediately qualify for the draw (conditions apply).
Swissotel Sydney’s conference and banquet facilities, located on the eighth floor, are designed to meet the highest contemporary standards of functionality, comfort and style. Equipped with the latest audio-visual, lighting and staging equipment, the versatile conference rooms are able to accommodate a range of functions.
The Blaxland Ballroom can cater for up to 500 people or be partitioned into two large salons for smaller groups. The ballroom is named after early colonial Australian explorer Gregory Blaxland who lived on the Market Street site where the Swissôtel Sydney now stands.
The hotel also has the advantage of four junior ballrooms - Blaxland A, Blaxland B, Maple and Oak, and five meeting rooms, of which both Elm and Birch rooms offer natural light.
 The Swiss meeting advantage catering team along with Swissotel’s talented chefs can design specialised themed coffee breaks, such as ‘Chocoholic Break’ – with decadent homemade rocky road and chocolate dipped strawberries, ‘High Tea Break’ - with warm scones and cup cakes, or ‘Swissness Break’ – with a selection of uniquely Swiss delights.
For further information, bookings and terms of entry, visit www.sydney.swissotel.com or telephone (02) 9238 8829.
The launch of Sean’s Kitchen in September is set to revitalise the Pyrmont dining scene with its sumptuous interiors, inspiring cuisine and theatrical presentation.
Signalling a new style of dining, Sean’s Kitchen encourages customers to rediscover the art of eating, whether through a quick encounter at the bar, the comfort of table dining, or for a casual plate of Jamon in the tapas lounge.
After scouring the globe for inspiration Sean Connolly (current SMH Chef of the Year) brings his passion for the finest produce and clean Mediterranean flavours to this new venture.
“For me, great food is all about fantastic ingredients,” he said.
“From the best Jamon sourced from Seville, to the freshest Australian seafood I want to present simple, clean flavours perfectly cooked.”
This philosophy is evident in Sean’s Kitchen menu, where prime cuts of steak are on offer alongside line caught snapper, slow cooked seasonal dishes, freshly baked bread and indulgent desserts.
Open from breakfast to supper, prices range from $14 for a plate of crispy prawns in the tapas bar, to $400 for a signature Fruit de Mer grande, featuring rock lobster, ocean trout sashimi, soused sardines and Balmain bugs. With Mediterranean classics such as the Seafood Paella on offer alongside a 200g Oakleigh Ranch Wagyu tenderloin, Sean’s Kitchen is the missing link to the current Star City dining options - the $6m investment a clear sign of Star City’s ongoing commitment to revitalise the area.
General manager of hotel food and beverage, Richard Munro, says this restaurant represents the first major step in Star City’s plan to change Star City into a true dining destination.
“With Astral already well established as one of Sydney’s top restaurants, we believe Sean’s Kitchen will give diners another exciting destination within Star City,” he says.
My commute to work has me thinking about… I try to tune out and listen to my iPod. It’s my moment of meditation.
As soon as I arrive I… get a coffee, turn the computer on and check my emails.
Usually my inbox is full of… emails and questions from clients and all departments of the hotel - executive office, banquet operations, sales & marketing, front office, concierge, food and beverage, housekeeping, reservations, stores, kitchens and audio-visual.
Mid-morning has me… tied up with meetings. Because of the diversity of my work environment there are so many departments that need to know even the slightest detail for each event. The success of the event usually relies on this clear communication.
Lunch? What’s lunch? By the time midday comes around I’m headlong into…
I usually make my rounds of the day’s conferences, ensuring everything is running smoothly from an operational point of view.
My favourite part of the day is… all day, every day. Each day is different and brings a new challenge.
I couldn’t get by without my… mobile phone, it rings every two minutes.
I’m challenged when… even the smallest things can present the biggest challenges, so you can never afford to treat things like they’re routine - you always need to be mindful of something unexpected.
My clients are important because... we stage events almost every day, but for the client it might be the most important thing they do all year. So if it’s important to them, they’re important to us.
I leave at the end of the day with… a sense of satisfaction and the comfort of knowing that my professional team will be able to deliver the event at the highest level for our clients.
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