The British Isles offer a rich diversity of venues and support services for those tasked with organising a meeting, conference, or similar business event. For example, there are around 3500 venues from which to choose: city centre or airport hotels, country house hotels, purpose-built conference centres, management training centres, college and university venues, and the myriad of unusual venues which range from tourist attractions to stately homes to sports stadia, steam trains, and even a lighthouse or two. There are also a growing number of specialist conference and event management companies, able to take on the whole planning, marketing and staging of an event, or simply be contracted for certain aspects.
Given this plethora of choice, how should you go set about the process of organising a conference in the UK, and which external bodies and agencies can be relied on to provide expert assistance and advice?
The organisation of a conference in the UK requires a similar strategic approach to that needed for planning and managing most other events elsewhere. Clear objectives should be set from the beginning, a budget has to be established, a venue must be sourced, delegates’ accommodation and travel arrangements made, a programme has to be prepared and the conference managed for its duration.
Increasingly, health and safety, security, venue contracts and service guarantees are among a number of other aspects needing serious consideration. Then, after the conference is over, final administrative details have to be completed and some evaluation of the conference should take place in order to make appropriate ROI calculations. While there are different factors to take into account when organising a conference for 500 delegates rather than one for 50, the essential components are the same.
Choosing the right venue and location
An event organiser is always keen to maximise delegate attendance and ensure that the event in question is seen to be accessible, not just for delegates but also for speakers and possible VIP attendees. The choice of location is key to meeting these two objectives satisfactorily. The choice of location will also, however, impact on other aspects of the event, not least the overall budget, but also social programme options, the possible theme for the conference and the type of venue available, for example.
It is likely to be the case that for some types of meetings/events, a more out-of-the-way location will be appropriate to enable attendees to focus on achieving the aims of the event without too many disturbances or distractions, or to ensure that the event is seen as different or distinctive. Events such as board retreats, some training courses and certain incentive-type events fall into this category.
There is a whole range of tools and resources available to companies: trade magazines, exhibitions, directories, websites, CD-Roms and DVDs, promotional material from venues and destinations, familiarisation and inspection trips, venue finding agencies and professional conference organisers (PCOs) are some of the main ones.
The internet has transformed, and continues to transform, venue search activities, offering immediate access to information on venues nationally and internationally, including ‘virtual’ tours of venues and online booking of conference and meeting rooms (not just accommodation). While such immediacy may well have great attraction for the increasingly busy conference/event organiser, a word of caution needs to be sounded here. Online booking may be fine for a small half-day meeting for 10-20 people where all that’s really needed is a suitable room with some refreshments and possibly AV facilities, but it will often not be appropriate if the event is larger and of longer duration.
Conference organisers should still, wherever possible, visit the venue before booking. Pictures and photos in directories or on a website may give a very misleading impression of what the venue is actually like, and they will certainly not help in judging the quality and professionalism of the staff in the venue who will be assisting in delivering a successful event. Such assessments can only be carried out through first-hand, face-to-face interaction. We are still a people industry and happily are not yet reliant on robots to service and support our events!
Sources of advice and assistance
Many of the types of venues discussed above are linked with their local area conference or convention bureau. There are around 80 such bureaux throughout the British Isles, stretching from Belfast and Edinburgh to Torquay and Jersey, and representing all the key conference ‘destinations’.
The primary roles of convention bureaux are marketing (i.e. to maximise conference business for their destinations) and the provision of event support services (ensuring that events are run as successfully as possible). The USPs of bureaux include their intimate local knowledge and contacts and their ability to provide objective advice and tailored support.
Services include:
– Venue selection
– Familiarisation/inspection visits
– Delegate information
– Accommodation booking
– Social programme advice
– Access and local transport
– Supporting conference bids
– Financial assistance
The British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD) is the trade association representing conference destination marketing organisations across in the British Isles. Members are convention and visitor bureaux, conference desks, and national tourist boards. Founded in 1969, BACD is the oldest of the conference sector associations in the UK. Conference bureaux may be contacted directly or via the BACD web site (www.bacd.org.uk).
This is also the time to consider whether the conference should be organised in-house, using a company’s own staff resources and expertise, or outsourced to a professional conference organiser (PCO). A PCO can undertake all aspects of the management of an event or simply be contracted to manage certain elements. The services offered by a PCO range from planning/administration/marketing to financial management, exhibition organisation and technical aspects of the event (such as producing ‘abstracts’, briefing speakers, handling the press and media).
If it is decided to outsource the event to a PCO, care needs to be taken in the selection of the company used. It is advisable to shortlist for consideration only those PCOs that are members of their professional association, who have had to prove their capabilities in the process and/or who can provide strong testimonials from other satisfied clients. The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO) can give assurances for the professionalism of its members.
Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (for outsourcing aspects of the management of a conference to a PCO): www.abpco.org
Both associations may be contacted by telephone on 0121 212 1400
