Events booker Katy's spot-on, survey shows

Business Development Research Consultants carry out test calls on venues around the world and mark the performance, from start to finish, of those who take the call and handle the booking enquiry.

BDRC handed out one of its highest ever scores, of 96.5 per cent, to Katy Barber, conference and events co-ordinator at Ramada Hotel & Resort Kidderminster - a leading member of the Conference Worcestershire organisation.

Katy's performance was rated on everything from the time taken to answer the phone and her professionalism, to her product knowledge and follow up calls after the initial contact. The overall likelihood of booking the venue as a result was also taken into account.

Katy, who has been at Ramada for five years, said: "It's great to have your work recognised. But everyone here is determined to offer the best possible service that we can.

"I love organising events and conferences and while Ramada offers some of the best facilities around, people are starting to realise that Worcestershire as a county has some real pluses on the business side."

Karl Storey, revenue manager at the Kidderminster hotel and conference centre, said it was a great achievement at the end of a very good year.

"Katy is so enthusiastic and professional that noone was surprised she scored a high mark - but 96.5 per cent was amazing," he said.

"As a hotel we also topped our charity target of £3,000 last year and we have a really exciting challenge to try and maintain that in 2006."

Emma Robinson, conference desk co-ordinator at Conference Worcestershire, which promotes business tourism in the county, said the success was good news all round.

"Congratulations to Katy and the whole team at the Ramada," she said.

"We know that Worcestershire has some of the best venues for meetings, product launches and conferences and this shows that we also have first-rate people on hand to make the events just right."