Conference venues think outside the box in response to credit crunch

Conference venues across the UK are thinking creatively and adopting flexible strategies as they react to the downturn in business brought on by the global credit crunch, reports caterersearch.com.

While many event venues are cutting their rates in a bid to attract prospective businesses, others are opting to arrange deferral periods with clients who have already made bookings. In addition, some venues are choosing to add appealing extras for both personal and corporate visits such as vouchers or other freebies. Energy-efficiency and staff outsourcing are also proving more popular.

Tim Fryer, food and beverage manager at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London, told the website: "Instead of charging the company a cancellation fee, we now offer them a deferral period of six months whereby, if they rebook in that time, they will not be charged a cancellation fee."

Staff at the Metropolitan Hotel in London will even be using their own system to filter and bottle water, a move which may sound small but which will save £25,000 a year.

According to the BBC, 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe told a Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce meeting that the Olympics will help revitalise the British economy.
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