Blog posts tagged with 'hotels'

We’re back with another jam packed post of interesting articles sure to spark your business into a busy fall event season. To showcase what National Event Supply has been up to and in preparation for any permanent or temporary classroom setting, we featured our wood folding training tables and plastic folding training in a Back to School training table blog post. We also posted about the Top 5 Restaurant Dinnerware Manufacturers, their differentiators and what makes them leaders in the restaurant dinnerware supply industry. Around the blogosphere, fall trends have been making their way onto the scene.

Event planners can struggle with finding the perfect centerpiece to top off the event. There’s only so many times flowers, candles and vases can be used. Next time you’re struggling for ideas, why not call on your catering contacts for a dose of something unique? Check out Special Events Magazine’s inspirational photo gallery of salad centerpieces, edible herbs and dessert courses sure to spark a whole new variety of event plans.

In the restaurant business, success can be a far-fetched goal. With lots of moving parts in a restaurant, it’s hard to pinpoint what to focus on to ensure your restaurant’s success. Restaurantcentral.ca put together a fantastic article on the top 20 factors for success in the restaurant business including but not limited to location, quality food, and flawless execution. Check out the rest of the article for additional ways to succeed in the foodservice industry.

With school already started, it seems like we’re on the slippery slope downhill. Before we know it, Christmas will have come and gone and that means everyone’s favourite trade show, The Rental Show will be upon us. To help with everyone’s planning, Rental Pulse put together Orlando attractions to plan now for your February trip. Perhaps a team building event is in store before you hit the show floor.

Big charity benefit galas can bring out the brightest and best in fall decor trends. BizBash has pulled together what to expect for this fall’s upcoming season of big-name fundraisers and what’s in store in decor, entertainment and more. Check out this article on the trends in technology-driven events, Latin American flavour and more.

That’s it for the last favourite finds of Summer 2013. We hope you’ll check back here to see what we loved when we saw it this month! And if you need anything for you fall events, why not contact National Event Supply for a quote?

Hope everyone's July went well - we're back with our monthly round up of the best articles and blogs in the event planning, party rental and catering industry. There were so many good reads this month it was hard to choose just a handful! Here at NES, we've been testing the durability of our wood folding tables and plastic folding tables to see how they hold up against the elements. If you're interested in seeing the results, check out the current winner of the folding table durability test.

Many dream of having events outdoors during the warmer weather - but sometimes the anxiety associated with lack of control of the weather can deter those from actually making a go of it. While you can take the route of a more controlled indoor event, adding control to outdoor events is possible. Check out this article in Special Events Magazine on tips to ensure you select a caterer experienced with the outdoors.

The Food Channel has released its 2013 Trends Forecast. With tea, agave, "smokin' hot" meats and traditionally seasonal foods being stretched year round, 2013 is a cornucopia of variety sure to not disappoint the adventurous of caterers, chefs and clients. Here's a look at what Canadian Special Events sees happening in the world of food for 2013.

Struggling to find the perfect venue to satisfy your client's every dream? Event Solutions posted an amazing article on a unique type of venue that can hold an intimate or expansive event and is sure to impress even the most cynical of guest. Head over to Event Solutions to hit your next event "Out of the Park".

Over at Restaurant Central, the NPD Group, who sources consumer data to identify trends in the Canadian foodservice industry wrote an article to help better understand the foodservice industry marketplace. Are Canadians eating out more or less often? If they are, where are they eating out, and when during the day are they eating out more, or less, often? "Read this article" to gain a fuller perspective on what's happening in the Canadian marketplace.

Day 52—July 30, 2013

It’s been over fifty days since we set up a 4-foot NES Rectangular Plastic Folding Table and a 4-foot NES Rectangular Wood Folding Table outside to test the effects of the elements on our tables. When we looked in on the tables on June 22, we saw that the wood table was starting to bubble at the edge with the layers starting to pull apart while the plastic table had not deteriorated at all. It’s been over a month, and the Toronto area has had really hot weather, days with copious amounts or rain, humidity in the 80-90% range, and cloudy days with temperatures in the low 20s. So how are the tables holding up?

July 30-Wide Shot of Wood Folding Table Layers Peeling	July 30-Close-Up of Wood Folding Table Layers Peeling

As you can see from the pictures of the wood folding table, the layers of the plywood have begun completely separating with the top layer curling as it detaches from the layers below. The tabletop has been discoloured as it absorbs moisture from the rain and from the high humidity. The metal hardware on the table has not begun to rust and the powder-coated table legs are still in great condition.

July 30-Plastic Folding Table and Wood Folding Table	July 30-Mud-Splattered Leg on Plastic Folding Table

The plastic table has not been damaged by its time out in the elements. The table top is in the same condition it was in when we set the tables up for this experiment. All it would take is a quick wipe with a wet cloth before the plastic folding table would be usable again. And as you can see from the picture, the powder-coated legs have not been damaged at all, and simply need a wipe to remove the mud that has splattered on them from the rain.

The separation we noted 14 days into the experiment is spreading quicker than I thought it would. It is still mainly concentrated around the edges where the PVC edging has been attached. It is clear that the clear coat is helping to protect the wood, but the longer the table remains exposed to the elements, the more likely it is to be damaged by moisture infiltration. We are going to keep the tables up and continue monitoring them for further damage as the summer progresses.

One of the most common questions that we get asked at National Event Supply is how long will it take to get my order? This of course varies dramatically by your location relative to where the order is shipping from as well as the shipping method. Since the shipping method can have such a huge impact on the delivery time, today I am going to provide you with a guideline for our most cost effective LTL (less than truckload) shipments. This is the most common method that we use when you purchase many of our larger products including plastic folding tables, plastic folding chairs, wood folding tables, resin folding chairs, Chiavari chairs, and when you place a larger order for porcelain. It is additionally important to remember that major centers enjoy faster delivery than most secondary points, especially if our carrier needs to hand the shipment off to a smaller local carrier. When our carrier needs to do a hand-off it will take a minimum of 1 additional business day before the order is delivered to your location by the local carrier. It is additionally important to note that these are estimates only and delivery can be effective by factors outside of our control like the weather.

We'll start by looking at the transit times from Toronto, and then the transit times from Vancouver. So what are the approximate LTL transit times for orders shipping from our Mississauga, ON (Toronto) location?

• Victoria, BC—6-7 Business Days
• Vancouver, BC—5-6 Business Days
• Edmonton, AB—5-6 Business Days
• Calgary, AB—5-6 Business Days
• Saskatoon, SK—5-6 Business Days
• Regina, SK—5-6 Business Days
• Winnipeg, MB—4-5 Business Days
• Sudbury, Hamilton, London, Windsor, the Greater Toronto Area, Peterborough, Belleville, and Kingston, ON – 1-2 Business Days
• Ottawa, ON—1-2 Business Days
• Montreal, QC—1-2 Business Days
• Quebec City, QC—2-3 Business Days
• Saint John, NB—2-4 Business Days
• Moncton, NB—2-4 Business Days
• Charlottetown, PEI—2-4 Business Days
• Halifax, NS—2-4 Business Days
• Sydney, NS—3-5 Business Days
• St. John’s, NF—6-7 Business Days
• Corner Brook, NF—6-7 Business Days

Shipping from Vancouver of course gives different transit times, most of which are much faster for the western provinces. We currently stock most sizes of our Plastic Folding Tables, Wood Folding Tables, and a variety of Chairs in Delta, BC at our third party warehouse. This location in the Vancouver metro area not only allows for faster deliveries, it can also dramatically reduce the cost of shipping. So what are the approximate LTL transit times for orders shipping from our Delta, BC (Vancouver) third party warehouse location?

• Victoria, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Duncan, BC—1-3 Business Days
• Nanaimo, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Courtenay, BC—1-3 Business Days
• Comox, BC—1-3 Business Days
• Campbell River, BC—1-3 Business Days
• North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Delta, New Westminster, Richmond, Langley, Whistler and Coquitlam, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Kelowna, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Kamloops, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Penticton, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Calgary, AB—2-3 Business Days
• Medicine Hat, AB—3-4 Business Days
• Lethbridge, AB—3-4 Business Days
• Red Deer, AB—3-4 Business Days
• Edmonton, AB—2-3 Business Days

Image courtesy of Sula Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For those of our readers in Canada, Happy belated Canada day! Hope you enjoyed some rest with your friends and family while celebrating a wonderful nation. For our American neighbours, Happy Independence Day! Make sure you take some time to celebrate the stars and stripes and count all the ways you’re grateful for your fantastic land of dreams. This month has brought some pretty atrocious weather to the entire North American continent. Arizona is currently fighting a deadly wildfire that has already claimed the life of 19 firefighters. To help out in any way, you can check out this article on ways to donate. Calgary, Alberta is currently cleaning up and rebuilding from the flood that left the city and surrounding areas covered in water. To express your support, you can check out this article on ways to donate. In terms of news though, this month has been chalk full of new trends and more positive tactics to use in your everyday life.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, with more than 65 luxury properties around the globe has released its take on the cocktail trends for the remainder of 2013. Having bars that have created some of the most famous cocktails (the Mai Tai and White Lady to name a couple), Fairmont steps behind the bar to give us their take of what they’re seeing as cocktail trends. Check out this article for some hints on the top trends to tempt taste buds. And if you need some crystal for your cocktails, check out our Serenity Crystal Stemware.

Go behind the scenes in the world’s best restaurant, El Cellar de Can Roca. This video—just over 5 minutes—is worth the look. Apparently the smoke-in-blown-sugar ball that’s part of dessert is out of this world.

Get that social media is the future but not getting the internal buy in? Check out this article from Exhibitor Magazine about how to overcome internal resistance to social media marketing. With Twitter’s active user base generating 90 million tweets (and climbing) a day, it’s in your best interests to lead the pack with social media marketing that has endless possibilities and limited cost.