Conference and Banquet Management: Strategic and Operational Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of conference and banquet management, focusing on the UK industry. It begins with an introduction to the sector's size and scope, followed by an examination of factors influencing its development, including political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental influences. The report then delves into strategic and operational issues, such as pricing strategies, implied laws, regulations, and social guidelines. Performance and quality review techniques are also discussed. Furthermore, the report covers factors to consider when organizing off-site conferences and banquets, and key menu planning considerations. The report highlights the ergonomic considerations, offering a comprehensive overview of the practical aspects of conference and banqueting service, essential for hospitality managers to operate effectively. The report draws on secondary research and provides insights relevant to the "Service on a plate" company.

Conference and Banquet
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
AC 1.1 Size and scope of conference and banqueting industry in UK.......................................1
AC 1.2 Analyses of factors that influence development of banqueting industry........................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
AC 2.1 Strategic and operational issues involved in effective management of conference or
banquet........................................................................................................................................3
2.2 Performance and quality review techniques used by the conference and banqueting
industry........................................................................................................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
3.2 factors to consider when organising an off-site conference or banquet................................5
3.3 Analyse the key menu planning considerations for conference and banqueting events.......5
4.1 Assess the ergonomic consideration for given conference or banquet.................................6

INTRODUCTION
Conference and banquets is a very crucial as well as important part of hotel business and
thus it will become even more important to make sure that these sub parts of Hotel industry will
be running effective and thus a proper management of the business can take place. Hotel industry
is growing very fast and it is very important to make sure that the overall needs as well as
demands of the customers will be entertained and a proper and effective policies as well as
strategies shall be framed for developing the business over longer period of time. The current
report will have a proper discussion as to what are the special practices that needs to be adopted
by the organisation for the purpose of effectively serving clients and customers and maintain as
well as build a healthier reputation of the organisation (Rahimi, 2017).
TASK 1
AC 1.1 Size and scope of conference and banqueting industry in UK
Hospitality sector is the most growing and developing industry specially in United
Kingdom. This industry includes hotels, restaurants, camps which provides services of
accommodations, food and beverages serving and many more. “Service on a plate” is a catering
service company which deals in providing catering service to various conferences and
banqueting. United Kingdom is a developed nation which has huge opportunities in every filed.
Hospitality majorly includes conference and banquet industry which has a wide scope in UK.
Conferencing sector includes arranging conferences for corporate meetings and gatherings and
due to high number companies and business organisation, scope of this industry is relatively
higher than any other industry. Banqueting sector includes arranging various events in banquet
halls which consists services of buffets, interiors etc. and due to increasing trend of giving high
society parties, scope of this industry is rapidly increasing.
There are several services which are arranged in Banqueting and conferencing and some
of them are Business meetings, cultural events, community events, live shows, concerts, charity
events and many more. According to the secondary research, there are around 46000 hotels in
United Kingdom which provides above stated services. Apart from hotels, there are nearly
100000 properties which are used for these services. In order to simplify and bring efficiency in
this sector, the size of this industry is classified as small, medium and large. In case of small
scale organisations, there is average rate of 30% profitability which is more than medium scale
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banqueting industry. By considering secondary researches, it has been analysed that overall
scope of this industry is really high and it contributes around 8% in United Kingdom's economy
(Hurrell and Scholarios, 2011). This percentage involves various break downs of services which
are mentioned as below:
Conferences and meetings 3.80%
Cultural events 2.10%
Corporate fairs 1.10%
Sports and other musical events 0.30%
Personal events 0.30%
Exhibitions 0.40%
Another method of classifying this industry is time period, small scale organisations
incorporates 1-3 days in arranging an event, whereas medium and large organisations use 7-10
days in arranging an event. The profitability and productivity is also relied on this basis. Few
more services provided by these industries are food facility and corporate corporate meetings.
AC 1.2 Analyses of factors that influence development of banqueting industry
In order to serve a report to the general manager of “Service on a plate”, there are various
factors which influence functioning of conferencing and banqueting sector and some of them are
mentioned below:
Political factors: These influencers are related with the political parties and
governmental framework. United Kingdom has aggressive government which develops rigid
policies when it comes to public favour. Banqueting and conferencing sector has to face various
policies and rules which can be result in non beneficial for them. In spite of issues, this industry
has contributed around 8% in the country's economy.
Economical factors: These influencers are related with the economy of an organisation.
United kingdom is a developed nation which has stable economy due to which this industry gets
benefited. Public of this country has several reasons to celebrate due to their success which leads
to ample of business to the organisations engaged in this sector. UK economy is continuously
growing which has contributed to the emergence of this new industry.
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Social factors: United Kingdom has a rich culture and to celebrate their festivals and
events, public of this nation has several reasons to celebrate. This industry is engaged in
providing buffet services in their events, diet and current food preferences are the factors which
influence functioning of their business operations. Apart from food services, themes and
decorations are the facilities which can get affected by current tastes and choices of the society.
Few other social factors are culture, religion, gender, race etc. of their clients.
Technological factors: In case of conferencing and banqueting industry, technological
factors which can affect business operations of these organisations are sound systems, lightning,
specialist equipments etc. United Kingdom is technologically advanced nation in which there is a
intense competition when it comes to technology. In order to grow and survive in the market,
companies engaged in these industry has to spend ample of money in upgraded technological
tools and technologies.
Legal factors: Legal factors are the influencers which impact an organisation by
implying various rules of several laws. Laws and legislations which are applied on this industry
are minimum wages act, payment of wages act etc. Few specific factors which affect business
operations of these organisation are licensing laws, traffic and control control (Varini, 2012).
Environmental factors: Environmental factors are the natural conditions which can
effect functioning of these organisations. Conference and Banqueting industry deals in arranging
events indoor as well as outdoor and various environmental conditions can affect the business
operations. These influencers can be divided in natural and man made. Natural factors are the
natural disasters such as flood, fire, tsunami etc. and man made factors are theft, strike, lock outs
etc.
TASK 2
AC 2.1 Strategic and operational issues involved in effective management of conference or
banquet
As an event organiser of a conference and banquet organisation, it can be said that there
are numerous operational issues which influence working of an organisation. In order to serve
report to general manager of conference and banquet organisation, there are several issues
impacting their organisational performance and they are:
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Pricing strategies: Every organisation adapts different pricing strategies according to
their objectives and priorities. Some of the companies use flexible pricing strategies as there
priority is customer satisfaction and some of these organisations use rigid pricing strategies as
there as primary objective is profit maximisation. These strategies are adapted according to the
level of competition present in an organisation. Pricing can influence performance of a company
as it defines what margin a business can earn.
Implied laws: Conference and banqueting organisation is engaged in providing services
to public due to which there are several laws present which are implied to these industries. Some
of those issues are, every C&B organisation has to register itself by government along with they
also has to acquire license in order to serve food to the public. Various permissions and
regulations can be reasons of affecting development and growth of these business organisations
(Kitchin, 2011).
Regulations: Apart from implied laws, there are several regulations related to health,
safety and hygiene which is necessary to be followed. Government of United Kingdom is
relatively rigid when it comes to health of their public due to which they have imposed numerous
regulations on these companies and some of them are every business organisation has to follow
certain standards of handling, preparing, and serving food to their clients and public. According
to the regulatory bodies of UK, every individual who is thinking to develop their career in this
industry has given proper training as it is important has a sense of safety and hygiene.
Social guidelines: There are few social rules and guidelines which are required to be
followed by these organisations. Compulsory nature of these regulations can resulted to be an
issue of these business enterprises. These guidelines include various cultural and religious norms
which are considered as hurdles. In order to develop and grow, organisations needs to reamain
inclined with these guidelines.
2.2 Performance and quality review techniques used by the conference and banqueting industry
Performance management and quality control is the main objective of conference and
banqueting industries. There are type of tactics and management approaches adopted by
hospitality and management industries to execute and operate the conference functions for better
growth and development. Performance management mainly helps to analyse the efficiency and
management in terms of utilising the management capacity with operations and management.
Growth of Hospitality industries only depends upon effective performance management and
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growth analysis of business. Fair and clear conduction of the conference is require efficient
human skills and manpower to elaborate the management and skills development approaches.
Quality management and control stands for completing assigned task and projects in more
significant and specific manner.
Professional and skilled employees and staff members are the main required areas which
help in participating and enhancing support of the management. This will help in more better
management and hospitality industry to increase the success in future. The client verdicts to
support the decision making and strategic process subject to make conference plans and
strategies. There are type of leadership conferences are managed and organised to increase the
professional environment with in the organisation. Main vision and mission statement to be
considered while making performance management plans. Managers not only try to implement
the quality management but also helps to consolidate the management services in more effective
and efficient manner. In hospitality industries it is very important to allocate the work and
bifurcating the information in more significant way. This also helps in deriving the proper skill
management and operation program (Kennell , Bladen, Abson and Wilde, 2012).
TASK 3
3.2 factors to consider when organising an off-site conference or banquet
There are type of facto affect the process of conference or banquet industry. The main
factor which occurs at initial stage regarding electing or choosing the proper destination of
setting up venue. The main factor which helps to analyse the main aspect in terms of determining
the price and managing the operations and management factors. It is required to analyse the
budget and the availability of financial resources while opting an off site conference of banquet.
Best in guest facility and proper management and alignment of workforce management is also
one of the essential aspect considered in off site conference or banquet. As per above factors, it is
required to analyse the budget requirement and framing the guest structure to overcome the
budget by effective enforcement of staff management.
As the venue is selected, another factors of organising the departments in single format.
There is a contract made between the organiser and the management agency for the management
of the conference such as managing the guest and providing the accommodation and food
services are also considered in this content. It is also required to manage the meeting room and
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allocation as well the the beverage service before organising the meeting. Management agencies
plays vital role in all those arrangements and facilitating the services with in conference and
banquet organisations (Pantelidis, 2012).
3.3 Analyse the key menu planning considerations for conference and banqueting events.
There are certain factors that needs to be considered before making right kind of Menu
for the purpose of special events. Conference is usually used by business community and people
for the purpose of conducting a business meet with various business partners, that will enable
them to have a better and effective interaction with their business partners. There are various
dishes which can be selected by the organising committee for the purpose of conducting a better
and effective social event. Some of the Key menu planning considerations can be laid down as
follows:
Studying the Guest Profile: Understanding guests is a main issue, they shall be properly
understood before planning a menu for them, this will enable them to effectively make certain
dishes that will be suitable for the clients and they would be more then happy to have the same in
their eating plates.
Knowing the Guest Preference: It is essential to understand the preference of guest, what food
they want whether vegetarian and Non-vegetarian etc. this will allow them to effectively manage
the whole event and make their clients feel happy as well satisfactory (Roy and Pyne, 2011).
Provide Seasonal food Items: There is a need to consider seasonal foods for the purpose of
serving the same in Menu and satisfying the customers with foods. Seasonal food can be made
available easily and the same remains quite fresh, which can be effectively used in the Menu for
the purpose of treating them in a more effective manner.
Regional Menu: The menu can have different kinds of offers in it, Every culture have a different
kind of food, thus the same shall be in calculated within the Menu to serve the customers in a
better manner.
Presentation: The cooking should look that there is an appropriate introduction of the
nourishment at the setting. their obligation isn't constrained to influencing the nourishment
however they to need to likewise deal with the portrayal at the setting. The closing introduction
of the sustenance ought to be alluring in light of the fact that individuals get fulfilled just when it
looks great. 50 % fulfilment relies upon the presence of the nourishment.
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Event Schedule: Menu choice ought to be done in the wake of knowing the occasion plan time.
The menu would base on the time plan for eating. The nourishment things which are served in
breakfast are unique in relation to the things which are to be served in the lunch. Because of this
coordinator ought to consider the time calendar and serve the sustenance as per it implies lunch
things at lunch just not in supper (Bladen, Kennell, Abson and Wilde, 2012).
4.1 Assess the ergonomic consideration for given conference or banquet
The efforts and contribution given by their employees decide the growth and success of
an organization. Therefore, in catering business the employees if have sufficient knowledge how
to deal with their guests then it will help company in attaining good image among their
customers. The ergonomic consideration for a conference and banquet of service on A plate are
described as under:
Communication skill: It is an essential for employees to have good communication skills so that
they can effectively deal with the guest comes from different backgrounds and countries. It help
employees in acquiring knowledge about the situations and concern about their guest and
perform accordingly.
Commitment and dedication of the employees: The employees must be sincere and passionate
towards their roles and responsibilities so that they are ready to fulfill their commitments and
perform for the betterment of their guests.
Consistency of job: It is essential to be consistent in providing food products and services thus
any changes or modifications in the quality of food may bring adverse result to company due to
which the chances of getting future order from the guest are minimized.
Team work: Working in a group always brings maximum result to company therefore the leader
of catering business have liability to allocate roles and responsibilities into different group after
identifying their skills and experience. This ill bring efficiency in performance of workers.
Interpersonal skill: As in catering business lots of guest has been arrived from different countries
due to which it is essential for the employees to have such skill so as to make better relation with
them and achieve their loyalty for longer period of time.
Enthusiasm: The employee should have more passionate towards its work so that maximum
result can be achieved. It makes positve impact on the overall performance of an organization
thus the chances of achieving growth in their professional career are more (Guilding, 2014
Wilton,2012).
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CONCLUSION
Thus, From the above discussion, it can be said that conference and banquet management
is an important part of the hotel industry and the clients who access these services are also quite
premium as well as important for the business over period of time. It is of paramount importance
to make sure that clients are served well and their queries are addressed and this is possible only
by making necessary amendments within the business policies and management.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Hurrell, S.A. and Scholarios, D., 2011. Recruitment and selection practices, person-brand fit and
soft skills gaps in service organizations: The benefits of institutionalized informality (pp.
108-127). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Varini, K., 2012. Revenue management for the hospitality industry.
Kitchin, P., 2011. Planning and managing the stadium experience. Managing Sport Business: An
Introduction, pp.350-66.
Berners, P., 2018. The Practical Guide to Managing Event Venues. Routledge.
Kennell, J., Bladen, C., Abson, E. and Wilde, N., 2012. Introduction to events management. In
Events Management (pp. 26-45). Routledge.
Pantelidis, I.S., 2012. The role of events in the hospitality sector. Events Management: An
International Approach, p.253.
Roy, S.K. and Pyne, P., 2011. Managerial Accounting in the Hospitality Industry—An
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Bladen, C., Kennell, J., Abson, E. and Wilde, N., 2012. Events management: An introduction.
Routledge.
Guilding, C., 2014. Accounting essentials for hospitality managers. Routledge.
Wilton, N., 2012. The impact of work placements on skills development and career outcomes for
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Lindsey, K., 2011. Planning and Managing a Corporate Event. Hachette UK.
Online
Introduction to HACCP Training. 2018. [Online]. Available
through:<https://food.unl.edu/introduction-haccp-training>.
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