Friday Mar 26, 2004

February saw the UK's largest hospitality and catering exhibition, Hotelympia, move to ExCeL London. To match the move to a larger, world-class venue, the 69-year-old event was re-branded and new initiatives introduced to bring it up to date to reflect the industry it serves. Hailed by Fresh RM as a success, Hotelympia saw almost 1,000 exhibitors joined by over 40,000 visitors during the week long event.

Says Andrew Evans, Fresh RM Managing Director:"The events of Hotelympia 2004 leave us in no doubt that the migration of Hotelympia to ExCeL London was a huge success. In addition to creating a new and refreshing environment for our clients, we were able to deliver a vibrant trading platform. What we witnessed at Hotelympia stands the trade in good stead for the forthcoming year. It also demonstrates the role that exhibitions can have in bringing real business opportunities to the hospitality sector.

Exhibition Director, Claire Finch was also very happy with the success of the event. "We have worked hard to exploit the potential of the new venue by adding a number of initiatives into the Hotelympia mix. Visitors enjoyed all that past Hotelympia offered plus extras such as the enormously popular Skillery, a demonstration kitchen run on our behalf by The Craft Guild of Chefs, and our new Grab 'N' Go section which showcased what was new in impulse and vending, an important area of growth in foodservice. Our commitment to the future of the show is to continue developing concepts which address the changing needs of our visitors ensuring Hotelympia retains its status as the leading event in the UK hospitality industry."

Terry Hockedy, Pastry Chef for the Blue Boar Group summed up the mood of the visitors when he declared that it was '100 times better than Earls Court', whilst a delighted Paul Burton of exhibitors, Multivac, declared "We were unsure about the move from Earls Court to ExCeL London but Hotelympia 04 has outstripped expectations. We have taken a significant number of orders and are expecting to close many more in the next 2 weeks. This is far in excess of previous shows."

Louise Salvoni, Brasilia, also supported the move: "The Hotelympia move to ExCeL London has certainly paid off, creating an environment that was relaxed, with ExCeL Londonlent staff support and providing easy access for exhibitors and visitors alike. The show encouraged enthusiasm, lifting the spirits and confidence of exhibitors while creating the right atmosphere to do real business."

ExCeL London Chief Executive, Jamie Buchan, concluded: The flexibility of ExCeL London, combined with the new initiatives introduced by Fresh RM, saw Hotelympia transformed into a fantastic showcase for the catering & hospitality industry. The success of Hotelympia once again proves that ExCeL London is a world-class leader in transferring shows."

For more information, please contact Gemma Parkhouse at ExCeL London on 020 7069 4739 or email gemmaparkhouse@ExCeL-london.co.uk