UK meetings venues expect fierce competition next year with buyers still leaving bookings until later in the day.
A poll of leading London venues, in the run up to the UK Venue Show next February, found that as well as competition, the London Olympics will also have a major impact on the market in the first part of the year.
One London manager said that many non-Olympics events were being moved to the early part of 2012 to avoid the Olympics while others were being moved away from London altogether.
Robin Parker, general manager at Church House Conference Centre, said: “There are potentially many opportunities for 2012, but the fact that some buyers are leaving it so late would suggest that they are going to be looking for value, and will not accept inflated rates.”
Kevin Leaver, head of events at Millbrook Events, said: “Conferences and events are being moved into the early part of the year, away from June & July and those that would have taken place in London during the summer months are looking for alternative venues due to lack of availability and accommodation and accessibility concerns caused by the 2012 Games.”
Wendy Greenhalgh, director of sales and marketing at One Great George Street, added: “There are many great last minute, unexpected and ‘one off’ opportunities to play host to product launches, hospitality events and high profile meetings, events and press conferences in the first half of the year until the full extent of transport disruption can be seen and felt.
“The challenge will be quoting the right price to get the business, coping with transport disruption, recovering and activity to gain business in the post-Olympic Games period.”
The poll was held in the run up to the new UK Venue show to be held next February at Olympia, west London.
The show’s exhibition director Tanya Cohen said: “The challenge for the venues will be to get the balance right between price and offering and when the Games are over to work closely with new and existing clients to get them through the new year.”