Martin Fullard, editorial director, Conference News, says venues should have demonstrated greater flexibility during the rail strikes.
During the pandemic I often found myself wondering whether the events industry would really change that much when it came out of the other side.
While there is no doubt that the conversation has shifted towards topics such as sustainability and diversity, actual tangible action has been slow to get going. There is movement, but habits and processes are often hard to change. By virtue of the fact everyone seems to be doing the jobs of about three people these days, it’s more important to get the event over the line by any means necessary than to rethink and reset – there just hasn’t been time.
It seems that old habits die hard. It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that some venues have slipped back into old ways. In June, the UK saw its biggest rail strike since 1989, meaning that no trains were running anywhere in the country on 21, 23 and 25 June, with the intervening days seeing a reduced Sunday service timetable. Which industry do you think was adversely affected the most? Correct, it’s a familiar story.
Some organisers postponed their events at a cost, others ‘pivoted’ (I thought we’d heard the last of that word) to hybrid, and others were left with no choice but to cancel. I took the liberty to speak to several organisers who had been impacted and most told me that they were not impressed with how they had been treated by their venues.
Of course, a venue has bills and wages to pay, and they have every right to enforce their terms and conditions, but given the circumstances it would have been diligent to show a bit of ‘lockdown spirit’. By agreeing to move an event to another date, a venue is putting its client first and in all probability the relationship will remain, and perhaps even become stronger. By digging in their heels and charging full price or enforcing heavy cancellation costs, one can be reasonably sure that the client will not be returning. Reputation management and all that.
The pandemic necessitated flexibility, but while we need structure and conditions to prevent event-booking anarchy, surely a common-sense approach is best for all on rare occasions. Occasions such as the biggest rail strike in over 30 years.
I think this is a conversation that is worth continuing, while I have had several conversations with disgruntled organisers, I’m yet to hear from any venues on the matter. Does anyone want to put up a counterargument to flexibility? Drop me a line.
