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What happened at the Head for Points 2019 Summer Party?

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Thank you to everyone who came to our Summer Party on Monday at Renaissance St Pancras.

There were over 500 people in the room at one stage – twice as many as we have ever had before – and we were understandably nervous about what that would mean in terms of logistics, although the feedback we have had so far has been very positive.

With the outdoor patio it certainly didn’t feel too crowded until we made everyone come back in for the raffle draw.  Here it was, empty, at the beginning of the night (click on any image to enlarge):

HFP party

We need to thank Marriott Bonvoy for their generous support of the event. You will have met many of the Bonvoy and Renaissance staff during registration. If you were at our last Christmas party I think you will agree that the check-in process was a lot smoother this time round.

The space was beautifully decorated with a central bar adorned with floral arrangements generously funded by Bonvoy, two of which Rob and I took home at the end of the evening.

We also had Glen Roughead, an impressive acoustic-looping musician, playing:

Head for Points summer party glen roughead

Here is a photo of Andrew, from Marriott Bonvoy, giving his short speech:

Head for Points summer party raffle

What we don’t have is a really good photo showing all 500+ of you in the same shot, which would give a proper feel for the scale of the event.  It was a lot of people.  This is probably the best one:

Head for Points summer party

Towards the end Marriott Bonvoy provided some muffins and macarons, which seemed to be flying like hot (or cold) cakes.

I struggled to get any although I did manage to grab a few macarons when a second round was brought out …. reader Alex managed to get this photo before they were all snapped up:

Head for Points summer party macaroons

Here is Rob with a member of Head for Points commenting royalty:

And Anika, with Jon from South African Airways:

We decided to have a shorter raffle for this event, as is traditional for the Summer parties, although you can expect a longer one again at Christmas.  There were four prizes to be won, generously donated by various properties in the Marriott network:

A champagne afternoon tea at Renaissance St Pancras:

A stay at The Ritz-Carlton Herzliya, Israel:

A stay at The Ritz-Carlton Budapest:

A stay at Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf and Spa resort:

Congratulations to all the lucky winners and we hope you enjoy your prizes.

Head for Points summer party bar

If you attended the party please check your email inbox today for a short survey. It is fewer than 10 questions long.  If you have a spare minute we would really appreciate it if you could complete it – we will read all of the comments and do our best to reflect the feedback next time.

Thank you again to everyone who came and made this event such a success, and especially to Marriott Bonvoy (Andrew, Elina, Nidhi, Lauren, Clara, Kate) and Emily and her team at the Renaissance.  See you all at Christmas.

Comments (115)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Bootlace says:

    To put it in some perspective, yes the drink prices were on the high side, but no one was forced to buy another drink, I didn’t ,having arrived at 7.30 although the 20 minute wait to get served. was not good.
    I was a little disappointed with the raffle ( I think a lot of the attendees were only there for that reason given the stampede to the exit at 8.10) Perhaps asking the readership to donate prizes in return for some exposure for their companies may be a way forward.

    The chap playing the acoustic set was too loud, it made it difficult to hold a conversation, but the people I met were great including some regular posters on here. We left at 8.40 for a free night at the Kimpton Russel Square (payback for two nights in the dreadful Met Leeds last January!)

    • Rob says:

      We don’t do a big raffle in Summer. Impossible to get everyone inside for the 20 minutes it takes. We also can’t go around the industry scrounging prizes every 6 months.

  • Mot says:

    People whinging about the high prices. Get a grip, it’s a five star hotel in London not a Wetherspoons. Funny how people are happy to fly in luxury cabins they wouldn’t be able to afford without the guidance this website yet whinge about a tenner for a nice glass of red.

    • Andy says:

      Wouldn’t pay twopence for red…white wine only in my hands…JD.

  • ankomonkey says:

    A ‘do’ up North would solve the price of drinks issue. £8.75 would get you several pints of brew or half a bottle of wine and a stottie&saveloy/chip barm&battered sausage.

    • Lady London says:

      Now you’re talking!

      However let’s recall the North does have its own share of rather lovely bit expensive places ..

  • Liam says:

    Robs pretty stylish for a guy in his 50’s

  • Alex Sm says:

    It was great to be there last night – both my partner and I enjoyed it though it was sometimes difficult to start new conversations. Nevertheless, I was glad that some people were interested in my little Twitter account about various travel-related prize draws and competitions. A few new followers after last night. And I’m happy that my pic of macar(o,oo)ns was used in the post!

  • Freddy says:

    Did anyone get lucky 😉

    • LB says:

      When you say “get lucky” do you mean hook up with someone?

    • ankomonkey says:

      It could be like speed dating. To join you have to list your credentials such as TPs earned in 2018, nights stayed at various chains, money spent with Emyr, # credit cards, # places in the sun, etc….

      “Ooh, I’m not speaking to them as they stayed at a Britannia Hotel…”

      “Whoa, they’ve got Hertz President and Bangkok Airways Crystal Medallion status… Dreamy…”

  • Princess says:

    I also enjoyed the party a lot! Shame to read so many negative comment…anyway, I’m guessing it is almost impossible to make everybody happy!

  • Ziggy says:

    Some of these comments really make me wonder why Rob bothers. I certainly wouldn’t.

    No one was forced to come to the party and no one was forced to buy any drinks – if you don’t like the prices then don’t buy the drinks. This really isn’t rocket science.

    The attitude of “I want it all my way and for not a lot” that oozes out of some people is just staggering.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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