United Rental Group’s 35th Birthday Party
Over the weekend, United Rental Group hosted a spectacular event in one of central London’s most prestigious venues to celebrate 35 years of the UK’s largest vehicle rental network, of which we’re proud to be a longstanding licensee. An unmissable landmark gathering of everyone who’s anyone in the vehicle rental industry, so naturally, as leading players in the car and van hire sector, we were privileged to receive an invitation and made sure Team Westwood was well represented.
The journey started on Saturday morning as 8 of us gathered on the platform at Wigan train station ready for our journey to London. We arrived just in time to witness the famous 46100 Royal Scot passing through, much to the excitement of a number of camera bearing ‘enthusiasts’ who’d gathered to see the historic steam locomotive majestically thunder past. Soon after, our train arrived, which was a little more modern, so we took our places in the First Class carriage and settled down for a non-stop journey to London Euston, from where we were chauffeured to the prestigious Park Plaza Hotel on Westminster Bridge – the opposite side of the Thames from The Queen Elizabeth Tower, Westminster Palace and the London Eye, all of which could be seen from the hotel.
We arrived in plenty of time and refreshed from a trouble free journey, we checked in and gathered for a few drinks and a leisurely bite to eat, before returning to our rooms and donning our party wear!
United Rental System – A Party Like No Other
Properly attired and dressed to impress, Team Westwood arrived at the drinks reception to be greeted by the flash of photographers camera bulbs and we mixed with the 800 or so of our industry contemporaries, with champagne and canapes before being ushered into the ballroom for the main event and we took our seats. The room was sumptuously laid out, with the lighting and the decorations all combining to create a feast for the eyes. The Westwood table was located right next to the stage and dancefloor, giving our entire team front row seats for the evening’s entertainment.
But first, food! Everyone had pre-selected their menu choices and a veritable feast was served in short order and it was as beautifully presented as the venue and prepared to perfection, not a crumb went to waste!
From there the evening’s entertainment began and what an evening it was. There were moving and inspiring speeches from some exceptionally well known names and faces from the team at United Rental System, followed by some incredible live music. We were entertained by an incredible four member vocal group initially posing as a soon to be departing chef and kitchen team before treating us to operatic vocals. A supremely talented brass band played an eclectic mix of musical numbers throughout and as the dance floor was cleared the rest of the evening was filled with singing and another diverse collection of musical styles courtesy of another live band.
There was dancing, there were drinks and there were diversions too. A classic London Taxi had been repurposed as a photo booth with a difference. Each guest had been issued with the United Rental Group version of ‘Monopoly Money’ which could be converted casino chips and guests could then try their luck on the casino table or the roulette wheel. Rather unsurprisingly, our very own Yolanda, whose previous job was in an actual casino, seemed to do rather well!
We could go on about what a spectacular night we had, partying into the small hours, but perhaps our pictures will say that for us, so be sure to check our gallery!
The Morning After…
After a restful night’s sleep in one of London’s finest hotels, it’s not surprising that most of us woke up refreshed and after a little breakfast, finding ourselves with a little time to kill before needing to check out and set off back home, we took a whistlestop tour of some of the sights within wasy walking distance of the hotel. So we did the ‘tourist thing’ and headed straight across the Westminster bridge for some photo’s with the newly renamed and renovated clock tower housing Big Ben and a few other surrounding attractions.
All too soon it was time to be collected from the hotel and whisked away to the train station ready for our return to The North, but what an absolutely fantastic time we’ve had helping our good friends at United Rental Group celebrate their 35th anniversary and we were all proud to represent Westwood and rub shoulders with our fellow licensees.
Our thanks to United Rental Group for inviting us to be part of their celebration and for putting together such a wonderful event. We congratulate them for leading the way with a rental network which has not only stood the test of time, but that all members can be proud to be part of and we look forward to what we’ll all achieve in the future together. Our thanks also to our very own Managing Director, Chris Melling, for treating so many of us to a memorable weekend away.
