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Olga Xanthou-Kondo 30/06/2008 [0]

Kyriacos Theocharous

It is with deep regret and sadness that we inform you all the lost of our industry member, good friend and mentor Mr Kyriacos Theocharous chairman of the Hawaii Hotels Ltd owning GrandResort Limassol Cyprus.

The funeral will take place today - Monday June, 30 2008 at 14:30 hours at St. Nicolas Church in Limassol - Cyprus.

It is always difficult at such times of sudden bereavement and no words or messages can convey the true heartfelt thoughts that we all have for his family. Our prays will be with him and with them to remain strong and continue his dreams...

With our sincere and deepest compassion.
Premier Team
Olga Xanthou-Kondo

Brian Kirsch 23/06/2008 [0]

Don't panic over insurance regulation

Event agencies may have been alarmed to hear that the FSA is to start regulating the sale of travel insurance from 1st January 2009, and may have already been invited to apply for authorisation by the FSA. For many in the travel industry this is a great disappointment – a decision by the government (based largely on ill-informed anecdotal evidence) to extend regulation beyond that required by the EU Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD), which from its inception has exempted travel agents and tour operators from regulation where travel insurance is sold with connected travel services. Other EU countries are not going this far, so once again our government is putting UK business at a disadvantage and loading it with unnecessary regulation.



However, it is important for agencies not to panic, and for many in the CIT sector, FSA authorisation will not be necessary. The Eventia Regulation Committee successfully argued the case and persuaded the Treasury to maintain the exemption from regulation for event management companies. This exemption applies to events they are managing for commercial customers whose annual business turnover is over £1m – this will be the overwhelming majority of events for corporate customers.



We were able to make the case because Eventia members have been providing travel insurance for their customers for the last twenty years with no evidence of consumer detriment. On the contrary, because of the special position of CIT companies, the insurance market has responded and developed products which are superior from those generally available in the market.



So if you doubt the value of your trade association, remember this – we had the evidence to make the case and the government has listened to what we had to say. It takes years to achieve that recognition.

Managing Director, Event Assured

Chairman, Eventia Regulation Committee

Simon Greene 18/06/2008 [1]

Average cost per head for standard conferences

Does anyone know if there's any comparative data available / trends on average cost per head, for a 'standard' 24 hour conference? To include all the usual elements.

Martin Lewis 24/06/2008

The latest survey covering this is the The British Conference Venues Survey published by the British Association of Conference Venues. The chapter on this subject is pasted below:

2.4 Delegate rates

Average delegate rates (including VAT) achieved by venues during 2005/7 are highlighted in the following table.

Delegate Rates –2005/71
% venues
Day basis
Less than £20 6
£21 – 30 29
£31- 40 34
£41 – 50 17
£51 – 75 13
Over £75 2

Average daily achieved conference rate (inc VAT)1 £39
24 hour/residential basis
Less than £50 2
£51-75 6
£76 – 100 16
£101 – 125 26
£126 – 150 30
£150 – 200 15
£200+ 5

Average 24 hour / residential achieved conference rate (inc VAT)2 £130
1. Three average year (2005-07)
2. Overall average daily and 24 hour achieved rates are weighted by number of conferences and type of venue – they therefore relate to an overall achieved rate for conferences. The frequencies by rate in this table are simply weighted by venue type – they therefore represent the average rates achieved by venues.


Achieved day / non residential delegate rates tended to be in the £21 – £30 (29%) or £31-£40 (34%) range - the average was £39. The most common achieved 24 hour / residential rates were £101 to £125 (26%), and £126 to £150 (30%) – the overall average conference rate was £130.

Average day and staying rates have remained broadly consistent in recent years as the following chart illustrates.




There were variations by venue type (details are provided in Appendix 1) – for example:
• Universities had lower than average rates – e.g. average non-residential rates at universities etc were £28 and residential rates £74.
• Hotels were above average - £42 for day rates and £142 for staying rates.

Martin Lewis
Managing Editor
M&IT

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