Managing conferences, meetings and events is a major part of many office professionals' roles, and one of the make-or-break elements is your choice of venue. Get it wrong, and your event could be a disaster; get it right, and you have an extra team of professionals on your side, helping to make your event a success.

So, we've devoted this edition to the very important subject of venues - how to find them, how online booking works, and where the UK's biggest event spaces are. We also take an inspirational tour of some of the most unusual venues these isles have to offer, challenging you to be bold and try something a little different.

And for those who'd like to know more about organising events - or who perhaps want to move into conference management as a career in its own right - we've rounded up the best training courses suitable for PAs and office professionals.

We also have some fascinating perspectives from people involved in different corners of the venue world. Conference guru and author Tony Rogers looks back 30 years to when he attended his first event, and charts the enormous changes that have taken place in the sector. The Managing Director of one of London's most prestigious private hotels in London, Henry Togna of the luxurious 22 Jermyn Street, allowed himself to be grilled by the team on what private hotels have to offer the business guest - don't miss what he has to say about where private hotels come out on top.

Our PA feature is contributed by Theresa Mabbutt, a long-serving PA at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in London. Theresa gives us the benefit of her extensive experience of keeping control of a portfolio of events. And don't miss the inside interview with an undercover hotel and restaurant inspector working for the AA, Gillian Scott, who lifts the lid on the ups and downs of hotel living.

Try your hand at our fun quiz - this time dealing with running your events through the year - and find out if you're holding the reins too tightly, or not tightly enough! And, as ever, we've come up with a super prize to be won in our free giveaway. We've got five copies of the brand new "Business Hotel Guide" from the AA.Winners will be picked out of the hat at random, so everyone has an equal chance of being one of those lucky five.

You may have noticed that this issue of ON! Office Networks is the "July/August" issue - that's because the team is having a break for the month of August while you're all sunning yourselves in the Med! We'll be back in September, with our issue about (unbelievably!) getting ready for Christmas, and we'll also be unveiling our brand new name for the ezine. Thanks to all those who sent in suggestions for the new title - we're keeping the winning name under wraps at the moment, so you'll have to wait and see if your name was chosen!

See you in September!

Best wishes


Penny

PS: If you're a venue booker, you'll also find the February issue of ON! Office Networks valuable. Click here to visit our Archive of Back Issues