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Nigel Cooper of P&MM 29/06/2009 [0]

FAIR PLAY FOR RBS?

You have probably read the stories that have been in several national papers recently that RBS has been spending up to £300,000 on corporate hospitality at Wimbledon for a select small group.

It looks like RBS has again managed to alienate alot of its staff, customers, shareholders, the media and the public. Perception is everything and such a substantial investment should clearly have been questioned, but is this type of reporting really in the public interest?

Is this a pre-existing contract which would cost as much to cancel? Also, are the potential guests revenue generators for the bank? And, if they are, how many £millions of profits does this select group generate?

Even in a recession, entertaining has a valuable role in building and maintaining relationships. It is a false economy to cut it out entirely, even short-term, and particularly if the huge cost of cancelling would mean a total waste of “taxpayers' money”. Which is worse: to pay £200,000 in cancellation fees and get nothing for it, or to pay an extra £100,000 and maintain relationships with key individuals who will be essential to the future growth and prosperity of the bank?

By the way, if this helps to drive the RBS share price up to 70p, we, the taxpayer, will have made an £8 billion net profit out of this deal. Now that would be a great deal of “public interest".

Nigel Cooper
Executive Director
P&MM
















 
Philippe Attia of Dolce Hotels & Resorts 29/06/2009 [0]

Innovative venue promotions support buyers

After seeing Excel London freeze its electrical mains prices until June 2010 to help clients working within restricted budgets, it is great to see the industry rallying together to support meetings and events bookers and buyers.

Offers such as this ensure the meetings and events industry, which is of vital importance to both the UK and European economy, remains buoyant in difficult times.

Similarly reassuring is the gusto in which delegates and bookers are responding. In addition to the range of offers in the UK, our ‘Dolce exchange rate’ has been equally successful with UK bookers and agencies organising events and meetings in Europe.

Appreciating the pounds devaluation against the Euro and the impact this has on events and meetings, Dolce Hotels & Resorts offered €1.2 for every £1 on our complete meetings package across our six European properties, and a 12% agency commission. This generated enquiries for over 5,132 room nights - proving that business is still out there for those savvy enough to attract it.

More venues should follow suit with innovative offerings. In time it would be fantastic to open industry magazines and see a range of promotions providing immediate results in the marketplace. By supporting buyers in this way we can directly encourage recovery and growth.
Philippe Attia
Senior Vice President Operations Europe
Dolce Hotels & Resorts


 
Simon Hunt of Regus Plc 25/06/2009 [1]

Re Residential meetings - not dead yet!

The recession is increasing: - company debt management pressure - green pressures - decreasing headcount & increasing workload - productivity pressures - competitive forces Venues, be they residential or non residential, have to address these pressures their clients are facing daily. Those that stay in their micro world, dealing with the current climate using tactical means are transparent to all and will struggle to keep their customers. Unfortunately by virtue of them being residential, costs tend to be higher and therefore clients watching costs will migrate to lower cost providers. those venues/companies that: - drive down costs - move fixed costs to variable costs through outsourcing - reduce client travel costs or instances - offer more productive ways of dealing with larger workloads these companies will survive and thrive. It was clear during the Business Travel Market that there were definitely two camps of venue emerging and beginning to polarise at each end of the tactical and strategic spectrum. It will be interesting!!! Simon Hunt Regus Plc

Peter Turnbull of Corperactive Event Business 28/06/2009

Congratulations! Without doubt that was the dullestand most meaningless twaddle ever posted, with plenty of business jargon thrown for good measure. I'm reporting you to the campaign for plain English!


 

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