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03/2021

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2/3/21 : Conference News exclusive with HBAA Board Member Callum McLean

Wednesday, 17 March, 2021 - 11:44

Column for Conference News - Feb 2021

Callum McLean, HBAA Membership Director and also Capita Travel and Events’ Director of Business Partnerships, talks about the association’s board restructure and plans for supporting members and the wider industry in 2021.

As we continue to navigate this era of disruption and move towards the recovery phase, being part of a stronger, united community is critical to survive and thrive. And the HBAA’s role, as the association for the meetings, events and accommodation industry, has never been more vital.

When Covid hit, our initial annual plans were put on hold. We moved into survival mode with our members to support their urgent, short-term needs, and collaborated further across the industry, particularly on advocacy.

Engagement with our members has continued to be key. For example, we ran regular pulse checks to understand how we could help them in an ever-changing environment and provided advice and guidance on a vast scale. We lobbied the government on many issues, including calling for furlough extensions, VAT cuts, financial support and grants to re-skill and re-equip our people.

Our longer-term vision, set out last year, was to become #HBAAFutureFit. This was about ensuring our association is robust, relevant, resilient and fit for purpose for members and the industry as a whole going forwards. We also wanted to be a platform for those underrepresented in the sector and to deliver support for non-members too.

We have now defined clear objectives that will heighten our industry contribution and position us as an industry leader by providing insights and championing change.

Last year we stripped back the organisation to its foundations to look at who we are and what we represent for our members. A year of change and restructuring was ahead. We did not know the devastating effects Covid would have at this point, but it has made our drive to be FutureFit all the more pertinent.

An in-depth review of our structure revealed that we weren't broad enough as a board to support our membership completely and the longer terms plans of the association, especially as we’re all volunteers with busy day jobs and teams to lead. Membership was continuing to grow throughout 2020 – people needed support and more guidance– so it was only right to push ahead with our plans.

As 2020 progressed, like all businesses, we've had to review inwards, as well as supporting outwards. As part of the process, we conducted a thorough analysis of what skills we require from a board to lead the association and also reviewed what our members needed.

This has now resulted in doubling the board’s size to bring in more leaders with specialist expertise from a diverse cross-section of the industry to better reflect our members' needs and interests.

The new volunteer board has seven roles, including three new ones, plus two consultant executive directors. As well as the treasurer there are directors for marketing, membership, governance and strategy. In addition, we now have advisors for specific roles to broaden our expertise and we will continue to review and expand the structure as needs require.

The role of association Chair has been discontinued along with the executive committee and sub-committees. This decision will enable us to take a much more strategic and agile approach, with the launch of action groups for key projects and initiatives.

However, HBAA has always been an organisation that welcomes members who wish to play active roles and, through various focuses and activities, this will continue within this new structure.

Our vision is now: “Driven by leaders, united by collaboration and a significant contributor to an industry which delivers £70bn* spend into the UK economy.” HBAA will be all about spearheading representation to government and policymakers, elevating a sector voice, and championing change and sustainable economic health.

Taking this forward, as the new board settled into our respective roles at the end of last year, we established a future strategy framework, based on four pillars: resilience, innovation, ethics, and quality. These will underpin everything that we do.

With resilience, for example, we are committed to ensuring our members are best placed to adapt and grow. We need to manage the impact of Covid, Brexit, trade overseas and any other major business issues on the horizon. It’s about supporting our members to build and bounce back better and balanced.

People have been hugely impacted by Covid-19 and this will be a significant focus for the HBAA in 2021. And when we talk about people, there are several strands to this. Firstly, mental health and how we support people will be very important to the future success of our businesses. HBAA has been championing the importance of mental health for several years and we will expand our training courses to offer more support on mental health and wellbeing in the coming months. This has also been elevated by our recent announcement of a new partnership with Eventwell and also continuing to support Buses4Homeless.

The second strand to people is the huge talent shortage we now face as a sector. Sadly, a large amount of highly talented people in the industry have been lost to redundancies and this must be tackled. Thirdly, the digital disruption of our industry, with the emergence of virtual and hybrid events, means there are skills and knowledge gaps, so training and education will be crucial to move forward.

Confidence needs to be restored, too, particularly among our corporate customers. It is our duty to show how venues and events can be made Covid-safe for when restrictions are lifted. For instance, to help members be ready for the return of live events and build confidence among their customers we are now offering training for Covid Secure meetings and events.

In our research, one of the main things our members really needed was a voice – a strong and collaborative voice. What will continue in 2021, and will be welcomed, are associations working together in collaboration to join forces to put weight behind campaigns and key initiatives and ensuring the roadmap of recovery is united and clear for all members, regardless of which association they are a member of. After all, we are one family. The collaboration between associations in 2020 was very much unprecedented. Agendas were put aside, as they should be, and we welcome the continuation of this approach across the industry.

It’s about coming back stronger, it’s about coming back better, and that means we need to work smarter – not necessarily harder. This is about the survival of an industry and we need to stand tall together.

EIA requests government publish the information on the Events Research Programme

Tuesday, 16 March, 2021 - 11:41

Request for publication of information on the Events Research Programme

The Events Industry Alliance (EIA) represents the UK’s event and exhibitions organisers, venues, and suppliers - a sector that prior to the Covid-19 pandemic was generating £11bn in economic activity and supporting 114,000 jobs. However, unlike many other parts of the UK economy, the exhibitions industry has been effectively shut since March 2020 due to national Covid-19 restrictions and faces additional unique challenges to resuming operations once restrictions are eased.

The exhibitions sector therefore welcomed the Prime Minister’s statement on 22nd February 2021 and the associated Roadmap to Freedom document, however, we were surprised to hear about the creation of an ‘Events Research Programme’ and further pilots, given the three successful pilot schemes delivered in September 2020.

Nevertheless, we understand that the Events Research Programme will be a crucial element in establishing an evidence-based, data-led framework that will enable our sector to resume large scale events on or after 21st June. In our numerous conversations with ministers and officials from your departments the EIA has expressed its willingness to work closely with the Government to ensure a successful delivery of this programme and this remains the case.

However, we are extremely dismayed that nearly three weeks after the Roadmap announcement the business events industry has not received any formal information from Government about the Events Research Programme.

The lack of any information on the Events Research Programme, and what areas it will examine, who is the Business Events representative on the group, what criteria it might place on events and when it will report, makes any planning by the sector impossible ahead of 21st June. Furthermore other sectors, with arguably less COVID secure measures in place (for example shopping centres and non-essential retail), are included within the roadmap without the additional requirement and uncertainty of the programme.

We therefore request the urgent publication of detailed information on the Events Research Programme along with the issuing of specific guidance as to when the events and exhibitions sector, one of the hardest hit by this pandemic, will be given clarity about the basis on which it will be allowed to reopen.

Specifically, we request that:

  • Details are published outlining the factors that are being considered as part of the Event Research Programme;
  • A date by which the outcomes of the Events Research Programme will be published is provided;
  • The extent to which the Departments Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are collaborating on the development of the Events Research Programme; and;
  • The extent to which your departments are consulting with industry on the Events Research Programme.

The UK exhibitions industry is a hugely viable sector and offers a unique platform for tens of thousands of UK businesses to meet customers, generate sales and create employment. However without the publication of this information our sector faces a further, and unnecessary threat to its commercial position.

Given that most major events and exhibitions require at least a three month lead time to take place, the Events Research Programme is an even more vital component of maintaining confidence in our sector than other sectors with similar research programmes. The lack of information is causing a crisis of confidence for many events and exhibitions that could conceivably take place after 21st June, with severe consequences for organisers, suppliers and venues across the UK. Publishing the outcomes of the Events Research Programme, either alongside or just prior to the reopening date, simply will
not help this sector, as the decisions will have already been made by companies within the sector well in advance.

It is therefore vital that information, and a timeline, is published on the Events Research Programme without delay otherwise the sector will face a precipitous fall in confidence with a significant impact on
the viability of many SME’s within our sector and further job losses. We hope that you will look favourably on this request. The EIA, its constituent organisations and members stands ready to support the Government in the operation of the Events Research Programme, which we firmly believe will set a path to the sustained and safe reopening of our sector.

Yours Sincerely,

 

Chris Skeith                                           Rachel Parker                                             Andrew Harrison
CEO                                                         Director                                                      Director
Association of Event Organisers        Association of Event Venues                   Event Supplier and Services Association

 

 

Barbican Business Events sees more than 50% increase in demand for filming and photo shoots

Tuesday, 16 March, 2021 - 09:07

Barbican Business Events has continued to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the market, which included the launch of filming and photo shoot packages at the start of 2020.  The packages include not just the space for the shoot but also green-room and preparation areas, catering and on-site hosts.

As a direct response to an increasing number of ad-hoc enquiries, the packages and focus on this growing revenue stream helped the team increase film and photo shoot enquiries by more than 50% in 2020 (compared to 2019) despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clients using the Barbican for shoots have included pop rock band The Vamps, singer and songwriter Becky Hill, and several high-profile fashion and beauty brands.  The Barbican was also a key location in The One, a Netflix top 10 hit, released last week.

Jackie Boughton, Head of Business Events at the Barbican commented: “Although the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdowns have impacted our short-term meetings and event offering, we have continued to develop alternative revenue streams taking government guidelines on safety into account.  Our filming and photo shoot offering was just coming to fruition when the first lockdown struck, meaning we were in the perfect place to expand it beyond simple ad-hoc responses to a full service, as soon as restrictions lifted.  The whole team have worked hard to make this offering a reality and I am delighted by the success they have seen in enquiry levels as well as the subsequent confirmed business and delivery.”

The increase in shoots is just one area Barbican Business Events has seen growth and diversification over the last 12 months.  Others include weddings, training events and a full-service hybrid offering.

Further information is available from the Barbican Business Events team via business.events@barbican.org.uk

HBAA calls on government to urgently lift the ban on venue site inspections

Monday, 15 March, 2021 - 08:54

HBAA, the association for the meetings, events and accommodation industry, is calling for the UK government to urgently lift the current ban on venue site inspection visits because it is delaying and preventing meeting and event bookings and blocking the industry’s return to business.

Des Mclaughlin, Managing Director of Meet Events and HBAA Strategy Director, said: “Our industry is facing a colossal problem because clients are not willing to sign an event contract without a site inspection and the government’s latest roadmap does not permit site visits until 17 May at the earliest, despite venues adhering to strict Covid-safe policies. This is blocking the return of a £70bn industry.

“There is also a real disparity in the guidelines between industries which the government must address immediately. Estate agents have been permitted to conduct house viewings throughout this last lockdown. So why is there still a ban on organised and controlled visits to venues that are operating professionally under Covid-19 protocols?

“While it is great news that there has been a surge of enquiries since the government announced its roadmap out of lockdown a few weeks ago, it has been extremely challenging for venues to respond to the sudden demand and balance staffing levels when many key personnel are on furlough because venues have been forced to close and do not have any immediate incoming business.”

This topic was raised at the HBAA Let’s Talk Business Event last week. Beckie Towle, founder of The Events Raccoon and HBAA Marketing Director, was one of the agency members who hosted a session with venue members. Their discussion revealed that while some venues offer virtual tours, it is not sufficient to progress enquiries and provisional bookings to confirmations or contracts being signed. 

Venue members also said there is a need to promote flexible terms to clients, and that ease of service and agreeing realistic timelines for responses is important. There is also a willingness from venues to work with agencies on contracts and establish open lines of communication to secure client confidence and commitment. 

Mclaughlin concludes: “The government must now act quickly to remove the roadblocks in our path because, now we are starting to see customer demand, it is critical for our sector to get back to business before it’s too late and we lose more fantastic companies and talented individuals.”

HBAA further strengths its leadership with the appointment of two venue sector advisors

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021 - 12:28

HBAA further strengths its leadership with the appointment of two venue sector advisors

HBAA, the association for the meetings, events and accommodation industry, has appointed Louisa Watson, Director of Marketing at Wyboston Lakes Resort, and Gareth Warnock, Group Sales Director of De Vere, as venue sector advisors to the Board.

The positions have been created to represent the depth and breadth of the HBAA’s venue community and they bring their voice and influence to HBAA’s board strategy and activities. They join David Taylor, formerly managing director of Grass Roots Meetings & Events and a non-executive chairman of BCD Meetings & Events, who was appointed as an advisor at the end of last year.

The appointments further enhance the HBAA’s board restructure, which aims to drive industry recovery through working collaboratively to deliver the association’s ‘future fit’ vision for members. The vision is underpinned by four pillars – resilience, innovation, ethics and quality – to ensure it is fit for purpose and ready to aid the revival of the industry.

In their new roles, Watson and Warnock will drive engagement within the HBAA’s venue community to deliver relevant content and support aligned to their sectors’ needs, which will also be complementary to the needs of agencies. Ultimately, this will help HBAA members navigate the path to recovery in partnership and will validate the ways in which the association hosts, plans and delivers overall content in the future. The pair will also be the leading voices on behalf of venues at the HBAA Code of Practice review which commences in April.

Callum McLean, Director of Business Partnerships at Capita Travel and Events and HBAA Membership Director, commented: “At the HBAA, we have ambitious plans in 2021 and our expansion is just the start of the Association’s future as we adjust to a world that has changed forever.

“Louisa and Gareth are highly experienced and well respected and will be fantastic leaders to support our #HBAAfuturefit vision and to meet the new challenges we are all faced with. These roles will specifically strengthen our commitment to recognising and representing the depth and breadth of our venue membership and will also support our agency community.”

Reflecting on the new role, Watson said: “Having been personally involved with the HBAA for six years and previously held roles as Marketing Committee Chair, Venue Chair for two years and more recently Sustainability Chair, I am delighted to have been appointed to this role at such a challenging and pivotal time for the venue community. I am focused on adding value and bringing support to HBAA members in the ways they need it most as they return to business."

Warnock added: “Having worked with and as part of the HBAA previously on various committees, projects and in the role of Venue Chair, I am delighted to be once again working with the HBAA in the capacity of Venue Sector Advisor. Drawing on my past and current experience as Group Sales Director at De Vere and previous experience of working for a global chain, I feel I can bring relevant insight and add value at a time where all parties need to work together collaboratively to rebuild our businesses and our industry.”

Sian Sayward, Director of Commercial Partnerships & Projects at Inntel and HBAA Governance Director said: “As we move forward into recovery, now more than ever it is imperative that our industry works in collaboration at every opportunity. This is not just about having a relationship between an agent and a supplier but making sure we are forging a deeper understanding of the working practices, drivers and challenges that agencies, hotels and venues deal with at all levels.

“Gareth and Louisa both bring a wealth of knowledge that will be invaluable to the association as we navigate through the next phase of #HBAAfuturefit. Their contribution, insights and experience strengthen HBAA’s ability to work pro-actively in supporting members across a multitude of areas, ensuring that our members businesses’ can adapt, grow and thrive in a rapidly changing industry.”

The Eastside Rooms Launches Plug in Studio for Hybrid Events

Tuesday, 9 March, 2021 - 11:30

The Eastside Rooms will ‘Launch Ready’ with a full hybrid meetings and events offering, including a purpose-built studio for broadcast standard capture and streaming. Plug in at The Eastside Rooms has been created in partnership with the venue’s in house AV, creative and event design agency, On Productions and its own On Line virtual meetings proposition.

The concept behind Plug in is to offer easy to use, easy to book products for event organisers. The new studio facility can be used as either a fully functional studio or in a ‘mini’ format for smaller productions. The area is situated within The Eastside Rooms and can work as part of a hybrid event, or as a single use option for those looking for high quality broadcast and streamed events.

The ‘full’ package for Plug in includes; 9m x 3m 2.6mm LED video wall backdrop, three HD cameras, full generic & intelligent lighting ring, six radio microphones and earpieces, furniture and a Green Room with dedicated studio feed. Plug in also comes fully staffed with Producer, Broadcast Manager, Sound Operator, Graphics Operator, Vision Mixer and Camera Operator. The ‘mini’ package offers a scaled down version for smaller productions.

“The Eastside Rooms will be one of the first venues actually launching with a purpose-built hybrid event facility as part of the venue,” comments Matt Huddart, General Manager of The Eastside Rooms. “With Plug in, and through our partners at On Productions, we have the right facility and the right people to provide a seamless, easy to use operation with incredibly high production values.”

“As we open, everything we have tried to create here is centred around making life as easy as possible for event organisers. This is a facility that will take a lot of the pain and stress away from virtual and hybrid meetings. It’s a plug and play system, it has all the technical support needed and it will look fantastic,” concludes Matt.

The Eastside Rooms will launch in April 2021 as part of a continual regeneration of Birmingham’s East side area of the city centre. The district will become one of best connected in the country, situated right next to the new HS2 station and a walk away from the city centre. The East side will also carry the additional name of The Knowledge Quarter because the abundance of universities, Education and Learning Hubs that will also be created as part of the regeneration.

Global growth leads to team expansion and promotion at venuedirectory.com

Tuesday, 9 March, 2021 - 11:27

A series of significant international business wins has led venuedirectory.com to increase its global business focus and  expand its team. 

The largest booking and data distribution service of venue information in the UK MICE industry has confirmed deals to supply its data to major companies based in the USA, Australia and Canada. This data provides solutions for event planning agencies, corporate meeting planners and individuals to search for venues, enquire, book, track, invoice, report and make commission claims.  

To support this international integration and to consolidate this global growth, venuedirectorycom is strengthening its team with the recruitment of a Sales & Distribution Director and a Marketing Manager. Its IT development team has also doubled in size.   

Michael Begley, whose role has changed from Managing Director to CEO of venuedirectory.com, explains: “To have significantly expanded our international client base is exciting, especially in the current business environment. It’s a reflection of the considerable investment we have made into our in-house venue sourcing and management software over the last few years and also a sure sign that demand for venue data is increasing as the global events sector gradually recovers.  

“We’re a unique business as our clients have two different business profiles; there are the users of the data - the agents - and those who supply the data – the venues. Currently between 9 and 12% of venues on our database are outside of the UK and we’d like to increase that proportion in the future.  

“To support our global growth, we need to expand our core UK team and are actively recruiting, as a strong indication of our commitment to growth and to customer service.” 

venuedirectory.com was launched in 1993 and now has a database of over 400,000 meeting and event spaces in 300 countries. In 2008 Venuedirectory.com launched the UK’s first end to end solution for meetings management - GRATIS - which is today used by over 50 specialist businesses and organisations throughout the UK.  In addition, the company also developed an open API allowing organisations to implement bespoke online client solutions.  

 

“Once more the meetings, events and accommodation sector has been ignored by the Chancellor. It is deeply disappointing."

Wednesday, 3 March, 2021 - 15:32

“Once more the meetings, events and accommodation sector has been ignored by the Chancellor. It is deeply disappointing.”

 

“What more does our industry have to do to be recognised and appreciated at the highest levels of government?”

Simon Richards, Treasurer of HBAA and Managing Partner of Convenus says

“The Meetings, Events, and Accommodation sector urgently needs extra, specific financial support but once more the Chancellor has chosen to ignore the sector in today’s Budget.

“There was £700m for arts and sporting institutions; £5bn in grants for shops, hospitality and leisure businesses - Business-to-Consumer sectors. Yet there was no mention of support for meetings, events and accommodation agencies or venues anywhere - the Business-to-Business sectors which have faced all the same issues of having to survive without any income until lockdown eases - and will do so for some months longer as the lead time for events is much longer. Meetings and events businesses ought to be included in the £5bn Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants. We will be seeking clarification on this – and explanation if they are not.”

“Agencies require widespread access to the grants already available, but our research found that 20% of our agency members had not been able to access any grants and less than half have received support from existing schemes.

“The extension of the furlough scheme and another self-employed support scheme to September, the continuing Business Rates Relief and VAT reduction; these will all be welcomed by our industry. These measures have been important to many agencies with 74 per cent of them recently telling us that they wanted an extension to the furlough scheme and 48 per cent requesting 100% rates relief. However, many cannot benefit from the rates relief as they don’t have business premises, either through the nature of their work or because they have invested in technology.

“Many resilient businesses and talented individuals in this sector are struggling to survive until after 21 June when they can start creating and running major live meetings and events once more. We have said for a year that this will be one of the last sectors to reopen fully and we have ben looking for specific support that acknowledges that factor.

“We also wanted support for the recovery not just for survival. Event insurance is key to giving event organisers confidence to book. We also require help to reduce and prevent further unemployment but there was no mention of it, although we welcome the increase in incentives to take on apprentices as our industry needs new talent for the future.

“We also were hoping for urgent support for the mental health of the workforce as well; personal circumstances aside, furloughing and redundancies have taken their toll and many face more months without work or running businesses with no immediate income. Our recent survey found that less than half of agencies and just over half of venues have trained Mental Health First Aiders at a time when they are needed. Financial support for Mental Health at work is more vital than ever.

“We hope for better news once the details in the Chancellor’s Red Book are published. On the face of it, the neglect and lack of specific support for our industry is deeply disappointing.

“What more does our industry have to do to be recognised and appreciated at the highest levels of government?”

Confernce News - Solid Foundations article

Wednesday, 3 March, 2021 - 12:36

Make Venues Continue Investment Programme

Wednesday, 3 March, 2021 - 11:32

Make Venues Continue Investment Programme

Make Venues has completed its latest round of investments in its people and product, ready for the industry’s return later in the Spring. Today the group has announced upgrades in the businesses virtual conferencing, hybrid and digital technology across it’s three venues in London, Bristol and Leamington Spa.

The upgrades are focused predominantly on video conferencing, hybrid events, and the capture and broadcast and have been designed to complement the growing number of businesses looking to return to live events, but also reach growing ‘out of the room’ audiences.

The investments including the installations of; fixed 4K commercial LFD display systems (up to 98”); PTZ cameras for both ‘display’ and ‘presenter views’; microphone arrays that will pick up sound throughout meeting rooms; digital signal processing, including Automatic Echo Cancellation; and ceiling speakers, all of which can be easily used by moderators and organisers through a simple ‘plug and play’ process. As well as permanent installations in larger rooms, there will be also be mobile units offering similar technology that can be quickly moved between smaller rooms.

“We’re about to see our market open up for the first time in nearly a year, as a business we were keen to be in a position to to handle every kind of meeting, be it face to face, virtual or hybrid,” commented David Vaughton, Managing Director, Make Venues. “Over the last 12 months the way we do business has changed and we must continue to offer cutting edge facilities that meet the demands of our customers. We’re pleased to be making these investments on their behalf.”

Make Venues works with a number of businesses who run major training programmes across the group’s venues, reaching delegates both within the UK and internationally. A key part of the investment is to give these companies secure and reliable hardware, with ‘plug and play’ ease, that will ensure minimum delays and glitches in streaming, while offering the very best sound and visual quality to those connecting remotely.

“Our strategy has always been to give our customers all the facilities they need to have meetings when they can, and when they want to,” continues David. “As the market continues to return, we’re ready to greet them with new technology, upskilled staff, and enhanced health and safety procedures that will give them confidence no matter how they wish to manage their meetings.”

The new technology will be available across the group’s venues; Broadway House, London; Engineers’ House, Bristol; and Woodland Grange, Leamington Spa.  Make Venues is continuing to invest in its facilities throughout the first half of 2021 with more announcements to come.

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