HND in Hospitality Management: Conference & Banqueting Report

This report examines the conference and banqueting (C&B) industry, focusing on its size, scope, and development in the United Kingdom. It highlights the industry's significant contribution to the UK economy and discusses factors influencing its growth, including social-cultural considerations, environment, political climate, technological advancements, and legal requirements. The report further delves into strategic and operational issues, such as pricing, religious and cultural guidelines, discounting, licensing laws, and health and safety regulations. It also outlines various techniques for quality and performance review, including budget, dress code, transport, and food & drink reviews, table plan assessment, and contingency plan evaluation. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of customer satisfaction and the established role of the C&B sector in the UK hospitality industry.

Conference and Banqueting Management

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................1
TASK – 1.................................................................................................................................................1
LO – 1......................................................................................................................................................1
Conference & banqueting industry – its size and scope......................................................................1
Factors influencing its development....................................................................................................2
LO – 2......................................................................................................................................................3
Strategic and operational issues...........................................................................................................3
Techniques for Quality and Performance review................................................................................4
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................6

TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Output of UK events in 2013..................................................................................................2

INTRODUCTION
Conference & banqueting is regarded as one of the vital part of the hospitality sector
wherein several events are being performed such as dinner, wedding, conferences, parties and
many more. Nowadays, United Kingdom is becoming central hub for various kinds of
corporate firms and is also offering varied opportunities for the business man (Mair and
Whitford, 2013). Pertaining to this booming demand, there has been enhancement in the need
of diverse kind of hospitality services where in conference and banqueting got the prime
significance. As an event organiser in the “Service on A Plate”, the main task is to plan a
hospitality event for the customer in regards with the C&B industry in United Kingdom. The
present report will also throw light on various factors that impacts its development,
operational issues and will discourse the quality review methods utilized by this industry.
TASK – 1
LO – 1
Conference & banqueting industry – its size and scope
The C & B sector within United Kingdom has got massive hike from the last one
decade. Pertaining to this, there has been consistent evolution and expansion in this sector.
Talking about the market of hospitality in UK, it is estimated around £20 billion to the
economy which encompasses all the expenses done on varied occasions by the organizer
(Ballantyne, 2006). Recently, decent efforts have been made to clearly describe the size and
scope of the C & B industry in United Kingdom in order to create its own developed career
path. As per Bowdin, this industry deals with events like business meetings, travel & tours,
community and outdoor events, festivals, cultural events, love music concert, trade fairs,
entertainment, sports event, fundraising programmes and exhibitions such as Cavendish
conference centre, The Gibson Hall, BMA House and conference etc.
Other than this, the size of this industry can be calculated on varied basis and they can
take place in any form such as middle, small and large based upon the day these events will
take place and the amount of participation of the people for a specified conference (Bowdin,
McPherson and Flynn, 2006). Moreover, there exists almost 6800 conference as well as
banquets venues in UK and most of them comes from the major hospitality brands such as
Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, Hilton and many more. Further, there are numerous meeting rooms
available which is even offered by small hospitality firm or business. It has been indicated
that the conference & banqueting industry has yielded around thirty nine billion pounds to the
economy of the United Kingdom in the year 2013. As per the report, there has been growth of
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8.3 percent from what this industry has achieved in the year 2010. The break-down of the
output of the events took place in UK in the year 2013 is being defined below:
Figure 1: Output of UK events in 2013
(Colston, 2014).
Factors influencing its development
Numerous factors are present which are mainly responsible for the conference support
as well as development. There are many factors which have certainly impacted the hospitality
sector in United Kingdom such as political, economic, social considerations and climatic
conditions. However, there are some factors which actually supports in shaping the C&B
industry in United Kingdom (Zaruka, 2008). Therefore, to search for all these factors, it is
vital to analyse the external environment affecting this industry. The impact of some of the
factors are as follows:
 Social-cultural considerations – United Kingdom has antique events which is being
recognised systematically for the pleasure of the visitors. In any culture, its history
related to people forms an inherent part. Moreover, the desire to see, having first-hand
experience and read about the events of ancient times in the UK is significantly
encouraging most of the corporate companies to host their meetings and programs in
the nation. This in turn increases the footfalls in the nation and developing the
hospitality industry.
 Environment – The settings of the environment plays a decisive role in selecting the
places for the corporate events (Matthews, 2010). The environment outlook of UK has
been enhanced by the government by modern infrastructural development as well as
planning. With the growth in the events concerning conference and banqueting,
organisers are monitoring the impacts of the environment on the visitors for
sustainable growth and this factor is attracting visitors towards UK.
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 Political – The political condition of the nation is the important reflection of the
power within the nation. Policies pertaining to the successive government in the
United Kingdom such as immigration, have strengthened the growth of C&B industry
in Europe.
 Technological – There has been continuous growth in the technological advancement
and this has impacted the banqueting & conference industry a lot. Today, most of the
corporate firms want their conferences as well as banquets to possess high
technology. In this virtual world, people are now comfortably working from their
home and making the conference and banquets as the one and only livewire
connecting the real live people (Lillicrap and Cousins, 2010). They should have
effective sound system, lightning and all specialists’ equipment to make the event
grand and successful. And this way, there will be evolution of the hospitality industry.
 Licensing laws & legal requirements – The development and growth of conference
and banqueting industry is highly impacted by the observation of vital laws that
forbids the activities of the event organisers. Room layout, licensing laws, certain
protocols and legal formalities should be considered for boosting the event
management in United Kingdom.
LO – 2
Strategic and operational issues
Because of the downturn in the global economy, there has been influence on the
occurrence of business happenings in relation to organising events. Furthermore, people are
now taking into account price as well as quality to get value for their money. Thus, it is vital
to take into account different operational strategies and issues for optimization of operational
standards.
 Pricing & Packaging – As there is too much competition in the C&B industry, it is
important to understand the competitors in relation with their pricing and value being
added by them to their programs (Tum and Nortor, 2011). Secret shoppers should be
utilized for implementing due diligence for unfolding data being needed about the
rivalry firms. There should be flexibility in packaging i.e. culture of the expected
customers should be considered for designing and decoration. If prices will be too
high than customers will shift towards the other venue and this is a significant
strategic issue that needs to be dealt effectively.
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 Religious and cultural guidelines – To operate at the global level, it is significant that
the religious inclination of the employees should be taken into account. People from
different backgrounds are employed within the hotel so their thoughts and values
should be considered to make them satisfied. It is an operational issue.
 Discounting initiatives – Customers can be attracted by offering discounts. Thus,
discounts should be placed on different events being organized by the organisers
(Bladen and Kennell, 2012). Sometimes, hotels does not believe in offering discount
and in such a scenario, customers emotional factor come into play and they might
switch to other venue. It is a strategic issue.
 Licensing laws – The local council generally gives permission on the businesses being
performed in United Kingdom. Thus, it is vital to avoid any disruption in events by
procuring licenses for the events. If these are not followed than organization’s
performance is hampered effectively which will destroy the brand name of the hotel.
It is operational issue.
 Health & Safety and hygiene regulations at work – Food as well as drink are regarded
as the core fragment of C&B industry. Therefore, there should be some standard for
people who will manage, cook, handle and service food to the public. Appropriate
training programs should be carved out for individuals desiring to pursue their career
in this sector. Further, trained professionals should be employed for events for
ensuring high sense of safety and hygiene (Bowdin and McDonnell, 2012). It will
spoil the image of the hotel and people will not recommend and come back again for
organizing a conference or banquet.
Techniques for Quality and Performance review
For assessing ongoing as well as future events, performance as well as quality review
techniques are generally adopted by C&B industry. As “service on a plate” is planning an
event for the customer in UK, following methods should be adopted for stronger
performance:
 Budget review – During the planning stage of a banquet, amount is apportioned for
each and every task effectively. Review of the allocated funds on various activities of
the event is very important to cater the needs of the customers. For example, total
number of guests against the food and drink should be cheeked (Wagon and White,
2010).
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 Dress code review – It is a trend prevailing where uniformity in dressing code is
matched with the background decoration of the event. This is being done to
experience something new. It should be reviewed effectively considering the culture
represented at the event.
 Transport review – Guests from many parts of the world will join the event and thus,
it is vital to take into account their mode of transportation for planning effectively and
bringing them to the premises efficiently. Considerations for the disabled persons
should be given as well.
 Food & Drink review – This is considered as the vital part of the event. It is done to
review the food as well as beverage desires of invitees. There are some guests who
have some dietary and nutritional needs (Dwyer and Forsyth, 2007).
 Table plan review – In an event both accomplished personalities and amateurs are
more likely to be present in order to share their knowledge and to connect with
people. This thing is taken into account at the time of sale of ticket of event. Review
of allocated table is necessary to ensure that the total goal of the event is made in a
different style. This will resonate the memories of guests.
 Contingency plan review – Many a times some challenges are being encountered at
the event that might delay the whole process. This highly influence the programs
which are outsourced. Pertaining to this, it is crucial that some alternative plans are
prepared if such a situation arise. It is vital to review the contingency plan (Matthews,
2010).
 Entertainment review – This is being considered as an inherent part of a banquet.
Consequently, it should be evaluated in terms of the taste and experience of the
expected visitors and the main tenacity of the event.
CONCLUSION
Thus, from the above report it can be inferred significantly that conference as well as
banqueting sector is quite broad in United Kingdom. This sector is being regarded as an
established industry within the nation. The current document has shadowed on effective bond
of event management firms with the satisfaction of the customers. Today, this industry has
been the key in almost all the hotels in the UK.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Ballantyne, D. (2006) Three perspectives on service management and marketing: rival logics
or part of a bigger picture? Journal of Services Marketing.
Bladen, C. and Kennell, J (2012) Event Management. (2nd ed). Oxon: Routledge.
Bowdin, G. and McDonnell, I. (2012) Event Management. (3rd ed). Oxon: Butterworth –
Heinemann.
Bowdin, G. A. J., McPherson, G. and Flynn, J. (2006) Identifying and analysing existing
research undertaken in the events industry: a literature review for People 1st. UK:
Association for Event Management Education.
Dwyer, L. and Forsyth, P. (2007) Impacts and benefits of MICE tourism: A framework for
analysis. Tourism Economics. 3(1), pp.21–38.
Lillicrap, D. and Cousins, J. (2010) Food and Beverage. (8th ed). London: Hodder Education.
Mair, J. and Whitford, M. (2013) An exploration of events research: event topics, themes and
emerging trends. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 4(1), pp.6 –
30.
Matthews, D. (2010) Special Event Production: The Process. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Tum, J. and Nortor, P. (2011) Management of Event Operations. (2nd ed). London:
Butterworth-Heinemann.
Wagon, L. V. D. and White, L. (2010) Events Management. (4th ed). New South Wales:
Pearson.
Zaruka, J. (2008) A blueprint for marketing your banquet services. Golf Business Canada.
Online references
Colston, P. (2014) New report values UK events industry at £39.1bn. Conference News &
Conference & Meetings World. [Online]. Available through: <http://www.conference-
news.co.uk/2014/03/new-report-values-uk-events-industry-at-%C2%A339-1bn/>.
[Accessed on 18thJune 2019].
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