Nearly three-quarters of the Meetings Industry Association’s (mia) member venues have had events cancelled as a result of fears of Coronavirus COVID-19, the association reports.
The latest research from the trade association has revealed that just over a quarter of respondents have seen more than 5% of scheduled events cancelled in the last month.
Read more: UK health secretary advises against cancelling events for now
One third highlighted the average estimated value of the cancelled business to be below £5,000, with 14 respondents valuing the average cancelled business at over £30,000 – four of which were expected to break the £100,000 mark. Reasons for the cancellations included travel challenges for event delegates, speakers and organisers, in addition to general precautions attributed to the outbreak.
The response to the situation has been varied, with 31% of mia members continuing to enforce cancellation policies as normal, while just over half have either waived cancellation fees or offered preferential rates.
To help support venues and hotel operators, the mia has developed a dedicated event entitled ‘Extraordinary matters: COVID-19 and its effects on your business’. The half-day event on 9 March, which is free to mia members, is designed to help venue and hotel operators understand their legal and social responsibilities to ensure the sector is equipped to manage the potential reputational damage and address customer and staff concerns to ensure business continuity.
In a statement released on the mia’s website, chief executive Jane Longhurst said: “We are very aware from both talking to our members and from the volume of enquiries that we have been receiving, that the industry is looking for advice – particularly in relation to its contractual obligations. The aim of next weeks’ event is to bring the sector together to debate and then develop best practice guidelines that we can then share with the business meetings and events industry.”
She added: “We are very grateful for the support of the speakers as well as our sponsors – 15Hatfields, Eden Caterers and event production specialist Eclipse – who have helped enable this event to happen.”
Places for ‘Extraordinary matters: COVID-19 and its effects on your business’ can be booked here.
The government released its plan for tackling the coronavirus, which can be viewed here. No events are planned to be cancelled at this stage, although that could change if the outbreak worsens.
