Faircity Comes on Board with INHOUSE Venue Technical

	Kievits Kroon Faircity Hotel. Photo courtesy Kievits Kroon Country Lodge

The sublime surroundings in which Kievits Kroon is located belies the fact that it is not just a leisure destination but was also voted one of Africa's leading conference venues. Just 45 minutes outside of Johannesburg, South Africa, the Kievits Kroon Faircity Hotel is known for its superior luxury accommodation and wellness spa as well as for its business center and slick conferencing facilities.

The Conference Center has 12 superbly designed conference rooms as well as a 16-seater executive boardroom. The Old Chapel is a separate venue which accommodates 128 pax downstairs with four breakaway rooms upstairs while De Kasteel caters to a variety of other event types such as gala dinners, AGMs, or cocktail functions.

So, when Kievits Kroon was welcomed into the Faircity Hotel stable along with its neighbor Roodevalley Faircity Hotel (formally Roodevallei) towards the end of 2017, one of the first initiatives undertaken by the new management was to upgrade and revamp the technical offering in both, as a primary focus.

Roodevalley Faircity Hotel also has 11 indoor and four outdoor versatile conferencing facilities, accommodating 250 delegates in the largest venue indoor venue and 800 guests in its River Amphitheatre. The beauty of its natural surroundings on the banks of the Pienaar River makes it a popular choice for conferences, weddings, celebrations, awards, or teambuilding events as well.

The Faircity promise hinges on service by design and they needed to raise the bar on the technical service in line with the Faircity value proposition. It was at this point that they contracted the services of technical suppliers IVTM.

INHOUSE Venue Technical Management (IVTM) manages the day to day technical requirements of a growing portfolio of conferencing, exhibition, and entertainment venues around the country. Outsourcing this event element allows the venue to lease the technical equipment and personnel. It then becomes very easy to keep the venue's technology offering in line with international trends while doing away with the need for capital outlay and the hiring of additional staff as well as the burden of maintenance/depreciation costs.

More than two dozen venues already on contract with IVTM include the major convention centers like Sandton Convention Center and Cape Town International Convention Center as well as casinos, hotels, and exhibition venues around the country, so for Faircity this service was the obvious choice.

The contract at Kievits Kroon went into operation on February 1, 2018, with Roodevalley following suit in March.

IVTM' s general manager Anton van Wyk elaborates "The acquisition of Kievits Kroon into our stable of venues is a major step forward for IVTM in the Gauteng region. This promises to be an exciting partnership with the Faircity group. Our model is that of a partnership as opposed to a general supplier. The equipment we are installing is of the highest standards and our clients can rest assured that their conference requirements will be taken care of in a professional manner at all times. With the acquisition of Kievits Kroon and Roodevalley Country Lodge, IVTM has a formidable presence and foot print in the Pretoria North region."

Francois Stremmelaar, general manager at Kievits Kroon says, "Due to long working relationships with the Gearhouse Group and the INOUSE Venue Technical Management Teams by extension, this is a brand I have been able to trust over the years, so I am very pleased to have them in-house and handling all the technical aspects at Kievits Kroon. They are right up there with the latest technology and pride themselves on detail-oriented delivery so the IVTM service is a great fit for us and the conferences and events that we attract to this magnificent and very unique property with 19 very versatile conference venues, Team building Area and endless outdoor spaces."

Adriaan Liebetrau, general manager of Roodevalley corroborates, "Having been an event organiser myself and having the opportunity to work with IVTM as a services provider at the Sandton Convention Center, it was the perfect match for our two Flagship Conferencing and Event Hotels. IVTM's forward thinking, technical know-how, and services allows us to offer our delegates a world class service in our combined 34 venues, giving all our guests the peace of mind that they are working with the best."