The Meetings Industry Association (mia) recently hosted its latest Connect Day, which took place at Liverpool’s Titanic Hotel.
The event provided a platform for venues and representatives from 15 agencies to connect and gain insight from both perspectives.
The programme included a series of panel sessions, peer-to-peer discussions, team building activities and an agent Q&A session.
Industry challenges
Among the discussions was the current recruitment challenge. While the ongoing search for talent continues, the impact of using agency staff upon full-time employees was highlighted alongside long-term solutions such as developing closer relations with students.
Elsewhere, examples of venues taking new approaches to recruitment and the hours offered to suit individuals were also showcased as practical ways to help ease the current problem.
Despite the increase in enquiries that is resulting in short lead times, it was felt that the industry is becoming more attentive due to salary increases.
When posing questions to the agents during her corporate events landscape session, Sam Van Leeuwen, head of UK hotels and venues at PricewaterhouseCoopers, asked venues to be sensible with energy price increases as not all the available space is often used for one event.
Other key requests were to give breathing space to decision-makers while ensuring terms and conditions were given greater prominence in proposals, so clients can easily see the detail which ultimately saves time.
Commenting on the event, Kerrin MacPhie, chief executive of the mia, said: “Our Connect events, which are compiled with invaluable input from our voluntary agency task-force, are always well-received as they provide a unique opportunity for both agents and venues to create mutually beneficial connections while understanding each other’s pain points.”
