Chelsea FC won Best Football Club Hospitality and was acknowledged for its customer-centric approach focused around innovation in the food and beverage offering, progressive use of technology and the creation of new hospitality packages.
The award for Best Non-Match Day Use of Venue went to Royal Berkshire Conference Centre (RBCC), Madejski Stadium, Reading (pictured right). The win was based on RBCC’s strong sales performance throughout 2014.
Colin Bailey, managing director of Levy Restaurants UK, said: "Congratulations to both clubs; the competition is very high and each award is a fantastic achievement. We work in partnership with our venue clients by sharing insight, innovation and our flare to create world-class, legendary experiences in both match day and non-match day activities. These awards are a testament to our bespoke approach for each of our partnerships”.
Commenting on Chelsea Football Club’s award, the judges said: "Chelsea have broadened the appeal of their hospitality and had some outstanding results. There are some very strong initiatives including their mobile app. They really do care about their customers and have achieved impressively high renewal rates.”
The judges also commented on RBCC’s award: “The team met and exceeded tough targets in a very challenging operational environment with innovative solutions and hard work attracting outstanding feedback. An impressive example of how a focused team effort and a never say no attitude can deliver impressive returns to non-match day business.”
Levy Restaurants UK is the sports, leisure and hospitality sector of Compass Group UK and Ireland. Levy also caters for The O2, Somerset House, Earls Court Olympia, Hever Castle, Salisbury Cathedral, Edinburgh Zoo and Wembley Arena.