MICE market acquisitions "not ruled out"
Expotel has announced plans to expand its meetings and events division and has not ruled out an acquisition.
The UK hotel booking agency (HBA) said it is on the hunt for two new staff to help drive sales growth in a flat market.
Expotel's ceo Ian Burnley said: "We intend to grow our business in the meetings market and will be looking to recruit one or two key people to help with this.
"The meetings market is obviously very flat at the moment but our long term growth plans remain in place and we hope to find the right people to add to the team during the autumn."
Mr Burnley said he could not rule out an acquisition to support Expotel's expansion plans in the MICE market.
"However we are confident that we can grow this business organically by continuing to build our team," he said.
"We will try and make additions to the team in sales and management roles over the coming months to help us take advantage of the opportunities open to us."
Expotel said it hopes to capitalise on its expertise as a hotel booker to drive sales of meetings venues.
James Steventon, Expotel's sales and marketing director, said a number of new initiatives would ensure customers have access to new deals.
"Although many customers' spending levels have fallen, choosing the right venues for external meetings remains important," he added.
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