Spotlight on: Radisson Blu Hotel Sydney

What goes into planning and delivering a gala dinner for charity? And what tips does the team in the know have for those about to tackle a corporate dinner event? Today we cast the spotlight on Radisson Blu Hotel Sydney – a stylish and modern hotel within a historic setting. 

Plus – spoiler alert – Radisson Blu Hotel Sydney has a couple of stellar booking perks up their sleeve too: a five-star overnight stay at the hotel or a high tea voucher for two.

Radisson Blu Hotel Sydney hosts a yearly gala fundraising event in support of a chosen charity. In other words, they take a break from putting together perfectly executed events for other people and businesses to plan and execute a lavish soirée for the benefit of a worthy cause.

This year it's the Touched by Olivia Foundation that's receiving funds from the event (held in mid-September this year), with all food, wine, AV support, entertainment, room design and prizes being donated by the hotel and its partners.

It's all part of a five-year plan that specifically supports local charities that assist children from birth to adolescence. As such 2016's event targeted that earliest stage – birth – and supported the Royal Hospital for Women. The event raised $70,000, to assist in purchasing a neo-natal ventilator for the Premature Baby Unit.

According to the Radisson Blu's Director of Sales and Marketing, Terry Oomens, the events the hotel will host varies widely, from high-profile political and corporate events to smaller-scale meetings, private dining events and cocktail parties. Perhaps surprisingly, a standout event recently was actually a christening celebration for about 100 guests – the entertainment and decor was especially creative and surprising. Not just meetings and conferences within this particular Sydney hotel, it seems.

Of course, when dealing with clients Terry's team would have any number of must dos in order to ensure their event is a roaring success. Be specific with your budget, provide a budget range, know the timing of your event and entertainment, all of those little details. What happens when you're a hotel team planning your own event?

While in recent years customers have begun working with much shorter lead times than in the past, the Radisson Blu Hotel Sydney gives themselves six to eight months to plan their charity gala. That leaves plenty of time to navigate the many, many items on the to do list:  organising entertainment, navigating commitment from suppliers, planning the menu, and inviting guests directly related to the charity and cause of the night.

This – understandably – can be particularly powerful during the event. The guests at last year's event benefiting the Royal Hospital for Women? A young woman who'd been a premature baby saved by the staff and equipment at the hospital, along with the parents of a young baby who survived due to the availability of the type of ventilator they were raising money to purchase.

The Radisson Blu Hotel Sydney is available for events large and small – gala dinners as well as private dining. No matter the size though, Terry says the most rewarding part of planning and delivering events is seeing and hearing the feedback and banter from guests and staff during the event itself; the moment when you can see everything 'click'.

Charity Gala supporting the Touched by Olivia Foundation
Date: 22 September 2017
Time: 6.30pm until late
Place: Marble Room at Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney

If you'd like to donate to the Touch by Olivia Foundation and get involved in the Radisson Blu Hotel Sydney's gala charity event, click here >>

Book your next event at Radisson Blu Hotel Sydney – whether it's a gala dinner, conference or private dinner >>