Since Eddy Brosse joined the Campanile Hotel on Crossways Business Park 12 months ago, the number of events have increased by 100 per cent versus the same period the previous year.
It comes after a solid 12 months of networking for the hotel’s general manager Eddy who has been on a mission to make the hotel a key community player.
Two business networking groups called Effective Business Network and 4Network are now holding fortnightly events at the hotel which regularly attracts over 15 local businesses, while Dartford Valley Rugby Club’s management and players are using facilities for monthly meetings and their AGM.
The hotel has also hosted events dedicated to bringing charities and businesses together with the Dartford Healthy Living Centre, Invicta Kent Chamber of Commerce, Dartford Living and the British Heart Foundation, as well as running customer service training days with training provider Bluewater Learning Shop.
Eddy, who is also vice president of Dartford Valley Rugby Club, said: “Due to our location between London and the continent we experience strong trade from business people stopping off on their travels, but the long term vision is to build on this and make the hotel a lively hub of activity in the Dartford community.
“The growth we’ve seen so far has all come down to networking. When I arrived in the area as a stranger a year ago it was difficult to know where to start, but after getting on Twitter to see who was talking about the area I met Sharon Phillips from the Healthy Living Centre who invited me to a business networking event where I was able to broaden my contacts.
“By taking advantage of one business event I now have a variety of different community events at the hotel stretching across business, sport and education, and hope to broaden this further in the future. It just goes to show, it’s not just what you know, but who you know and engage with.
“Such is the demand that we are now anticipating for the future, and we have earmarked investment for the restaurant with a planned relaunch in the near future.”