We know how much you love to share your views on our hugely popular forum boards, so we’ve created a space for you to do just that on the main site, with our new Letters Page.

There will be a monthly prize for the star letter, so get writing to letters@deskdemon.com to win this month's goodies. We’re kicking off the page with some of the correspondence that we’ve received recently, but you can write to us about anything that affects your working day, whether it’s praise or problems with the site, questions for your peers, suggestions for articles, funny stories, or rants. In the run-up to Valentines Day, we’d love to hear your experiences of office romance, whether it’s you or a colleague, if it ended in disaster or happily ever after, or if you even ended up marrying the boss... You can stay anonymous if you prefer! To visit the new Letters Page, click here

It’s the small things that make an occasion memorable. A bowl of fruit and a personalised welcome card in a delegate’s room. Maps or plans of the venue and its different rooms. A phone call to a delegate’s mobile if there are traffic delays en route. Yet with so many things to remember and do, it’s often easy to overlook the very ones which make all the difference.

Even the smallest meeting or most intimate corporate dinner needs to be planned down to the smallest detail, as you well know! Sara Goodwins looks at the little things you can do to make an occasion memorable – and where to turn when it all goes wrong… To read the rest of this article, click here

Are site visits really worth it? You might think that taking a few hours out of the office is a waste of your precious time when you're planning an event, but a productive visit could prevent a lot of problems and save time and money in the long run. And with our ultimate checklist to download and take with you, site visits have never been easier. To read some hints and tips, and download the site visit checklist to help record every detail, click here

So, you’re planning an event in London. Wouldn’t it be great if you could find out what’s new from the city’s venues without making loads of phone calls or trawling the web? Well, VisitLondon is inviting DeskDemon users to join them at the lavish five-star Courthouse Hotel Kempinski for the brand new London Roadshow on 4th March. You’ll be treated to the finest selection of drinks and canapés, while you chat to representatives from some of London’s most unique and inspiring conference and event venues such as Barbican, BA London Eye, BAFTA, Sadler’s Wells and many more.

It’s also a great way to network with your friends and colleagues, establish new business relationships, discover exciting new events taking place and reap the rewards for your business throughout 2005. To find out more, and to reserve your place, click here

So, you thought that travel booking was another way of clogging up your in-tray and doubling your ‘to do’ list? Then you’re missing out on an opportunity to build up your brownie points. Travel booking is a chance to shine. Showing off your organisational skills, your ability to stay calm, and an eye for the details, can take you even further than you intend to send your boss. Cath Janes has put together a foolproof 20 point checklist that will have your boss singing your praises. Here’s a taster:

• Does your traveller love window seats but hate noisy rooms? Or do they want gourmet cuisine and swimming? Make their wish lists come true and they’ll love you for life.

• Even if costs are set in stone, push for extras. Free nights, meals or waived check-in times make you look like a miracle worker.

• New hotels run promotions so use them. It’s also a chance to build a relationship that could become profitable later on.

• Business travel is stressful because you’re not in control of what’s happening at work. Give your traveller updates to make them feel wanted and you look wonderful.

To read the rest of this article, click here

Thanks to those of you who answered our quick poll in the January issue of DeskDemon Express – but the results came as rather a shock.

We asked whether you felt that the venues you deal with understand your conference and meetings needs. On the plus side, some 181 of you reported that you believed venues were very good. But, 225 readers said your experience was a bit "hit and miss", and the largest amount of you (232) said dealing with venues was a constant frustration!

It looks like the venues up and down the country had better take note - because it seems many of them are not giving you the service you need, and deserve!

To help both you and the venues you use, we’ll be investigating what information venues need from you to help make your event run smoothly. Look out for the article coming soon on DeskDemon, but in the meantime, take a look at this article from the DD Express archives, which asks hotels and conference venues what event bookers could do differently.

There’s more of the usual great mix of useful articles and offers still to come in February. Look out for:

Marrying the Boss?: In the run up to Valentines Day, we take a look at the giddy highs and crashing lows of office romance. Cath Janes reveals good and bad stories from those that have fallen head over heels for the boss.

Spotlight on New York: Norman Flack presents the business traveller’s guide to the Big Apple. If you are arranging business trips to NY, we’ve got the low down on getting there, getting around and where to stay.

Win a copy of Microsoft OneNote: We’re about to launch an exciting new partnership with Microsoft, and to kick off we’ll have 26 copies of Microsoft OneNote 2003 software to give away in a free prize draw. OneNote 2003 is a great time saver as it lets you capture, organise and reuse your notes on laptop computers, desktop computers or Tablet PCs. Stay tuned to find out more about our link up with Microsoft, which will help you keep your finger on the pulse on the latest technology, bring you fantastic tips, tricks and work-arounds and give you the opportunity to increase your IT skills.

Hints and Tips: We know just how valuable our ever-popular forum boards are to our users, so we’ve decided to bring you another area where you can get advice from your peers. We’ll kick off Hints and Tips with some of the useful tips that we’ve received recently, and have been posted on the forum boards, but we want to build up a really comprehensive and useful archive – and that’s where you come in! Send us your hints on anything about your job – whether it’s a software shortcut or a great travel website. To make it even more rewarding, we've teamed up with Brother to give away a top of the range P-touch QL-550 labelling machine to the person who comes up with the Tip of the Week. Get writing to editoruk@deskdemon.com with your top tips, and this fab prize from Brother could be winging its way to you!