Steve Jones, managing director, Wyboston Venue Management and Wyboston Lakes Resort, talks about how the venue has pivoted to being more sustainable and servicing the needs of the new generations.
The senior management team of Wyboston Lakes Resort successfully turned around its conference and events venues from sales declining at 20% per cent year on year in 2018 to be up 79% on 2018 in 2022. Profits are five times what they were in 2019.
This achievement resulted in the launch of Wyboston Venue Management, a consultancy and management contract business. Here are insights into the achievements that are energising their interest.
Identifying needs
We identified the need to change the size and flexibility of the rooms and to modernise and upgrade the facilities as, in 2017, £2.8m of enquiries had been lost business due to lack of the right sized space alone.
It was also vital to meet the needs and expectations of the next and future generations of event planners and delegates, the millennials, Gen Y and Gen Z. They want a social experience and relaxation, they expect quality and vibrancy.
Implementing solutions
The space was reconfigured to create a new large room that accommodates over 600 theatre style, increasing the size of the principal function room by around 54 per cent.
The next gen wants social space that encourages collaboration, different and imaginative work areas and a sense of fun. We searched for the latest in inspirational design while keeping sustainability as a key focus. We introduced new room layouts, new moveable wall divisions, a new mini theatre and themed rooms. We elevated the food and beverage with new Paddy & Scotts coffee facilities, creative food options, bowl and street food made with quality, locally sourced ingredients and we introduced festival style presentation as a new choice.
Throughout all this, sustainability has remained very high on our agenda. Among a lengthy list of initiatives, we have achieved the highest level of accreditation in all the major industry schemes, published a Green Energy Roadmap and reduced our carbon footprint by 65 per cent.
The results
Sales had increased by £940k in 2019. Then we went into lockdown. However, in 2022 the Woodlands Event Centre and Willows Training Centre, (also recently refurbished in lockdown) generated their best conference and training performances with sales up 49% on 2019 and up 79% on 2018. Average booking value has increased substantially since 2019. Profits are five times what they were in 2019.
The Resort already has contracted bookings for more than 50% of its 2023 budget, greater than it achieved in the whole of 2018. The venue has secured several multi-year, multi-million pound contracts. Exceptionally high levels of repeat business and guest satisfaction are contributing significantly to this.
