Conference and Banqueting Industry Analysis: Summer 2017 Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the conference and banqueting industry in the UK, examining its size, scope, and factors influencing its development. It delves into strategic and operational issues, including planning, coordination, and potential challenges such as egoistic behavior within teams. The report also discusses performance and quality review techniques, such as food and beverage reviews, dress code assessments, transport considerations, and contingency plan evaluations. It employs PESTEL analysis to assess the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors impacting the industry. The report emphasizes the importance of effective management, including contingency planning, and highlights key performance indicators for successful conference and banquet operations.

Project Brief Response Document
Your NameYour Student IDYear GroupModule NameConference and Banqueting
Management (Unit 13)TermSummer 2017Tutor

Guidance:
This document should only be used in conjunction with the main Project
Brief Document. The Project Brief will contain full details of the question
and any background information; this document contains only a short
description of the question.
Match your answer to the appropriate section of the task – this booklet will
follow the same format and flow as the main Project Brief.
Enter your response in the box headed “Your Answer” (the box will expand
as you type so you are not constrained by the space).
Questions are shown highlighted in green; additional criteria for a Merit
Grade are highlighted in beige; supplementary detail for Distinction Grade
is shown in orange – you should make responses in all sections.
Task 1: 1.1Question Summary: Discuss the size and scope of the conference and
banqueting industry in the UK
Your Answer:
Banqueting includes large halls, spaces or hotel that provide their premises for
organising of big events. Also, this includes the offering of various service such
as food, wine and other beverages. Banqueting is wide term, it basically means
offering food and beverages to people in an event where they sit and eat
together.
Conference and Banquet industry has grown with a tremendous rate in
recent years. The industry has earned huge amount of revenue and profits from
its operations all over the region. The industry includes hotels, restaurants,
catering companies and various other kind of service providers. Activities of this
industry account to over 25 billion to the economy of UK (Walker, 2016.).
Spendings are huge which include various occasions and events in different
places all over the UK region. The count of attends in the various events was
estimated to be more than 100 million. The willingness of people to spend huge
amounts of money at events showcases the living standard of the population.
The scope of industry is to provide high quality services at the organised
events to satisfy the customers and enhance its customer base. Industry also
holds a significant potential to integrate the tourism, financial growth and
employment opportunities together. Under this various events are organised at
various venues. It was noted that hotels were most preferred by the
customers ,as hotels accounted to around 61% of the total business programs in
the mentioned nation. The total events organised by industry amounted to
around 1.5 million. The whoop in conference and banquet industry continues to
grow.

It was noted that in the UK region an estimated 7200 conferences and
banqueting places are available which offer services to organise programs. The
business sector is rapidly growing in UK which creates demand for meeting
rooms and halls to organise conferences and meetings (Voris and Cosco
Management, 2012.). Meeting rooms in the hotels were estimated to be more
than 9 million around the nation. Conference are referred to as meets for
consultation, communication of information. Also, the restaurants and catering
companies earn large sums of revenue through these events as these provide
large orders to the entities which build large sums of revenue.
Task 1: 1.2Question Summary: Analyse factors that have influenced its
development
Your Answer:
There are several factors that affect development of mentioned industry. PESTEL
analysis will be done to describe the political, economic, social, technological,
environmental and legal factors that affect the company widely in conference
and banquet services.·Political factors: The political factors influence the working of Hilton hotels at
large. The rule and regulations implemented by the government regarding the
food services impact the hotel and industry widely (Jurevicius, 2013). Moreover,
change in value added tax, environmental laws and various other regulations of
government influences the operations and earning of Hilton. This capitulates
restrictions implementation by political parties on the Hotels. Government is
making efforts to increase tourism in UK which will influence Hilton hotels in
positive way. The government is also trying to improve services provided by
industry which develops the industry.·Economic factors: These factors involve the economic condition of a country or
region. Economical condition of UK highly influences the business of conference
and banquet industry. Hilton hotels are highly influenced by this factor.
Economic factors include the spending power of population, thus when
economic conditions are poor spending power of population drops which
creates a evident crisis for the industry. In the time of low spending people are
not willing to spend their earnings on events and programs which leads to low
failure of the industry.

·Social factors: conference and banquet industry employees large number of
work force in its operations. The society gives it a number of employees which
runs the functions of Hilton hotel. Change in career attitude or trend will affect
the working of hotels widely as without the workforce the industry will take a
downfall. The change in career objectives of the people will decrease the number
of people willing to work in the industry which will lead to a shortage of
employees (Issa, Chang and Issa, 2010). Without appropriate and skilled
employees, the productivity and quality of services will fall creating a critical
problem for company.·Technological: Technological solution and up gradation improve the quality
and speed of work in the conference and banquet industry. The modernised
equipment in the kitchen of the Hilton hotels increase the efficiency of the
functions of hotels. Also, the events organising becomes swift with the use
technological advancement. The use of software solutions which speed up the
manual work of employees help to operate swiftly.·Environmental factors: The increase in awareness among people regarding the
environmental safety has given rise to major regulation of government for
sustainable business. Conference and banquet industry is constantly pressured
by government and other awareness groups to decrease the waste of eatable
items in the events (Kusluvan and Et.al. 2010.). Hilton hotels controls the waste
of food in the organised events and takes initiative to reduce the wastage created
by Hotels.
·Legal factors: Legal factors impact the development of conference and banquet
industry widely as the companies are bind by various laws of UK which hinder
the development of the industry. Health and safety laws made by the
government of mentioned nation restrict a standard of food items for the
industry which leads to depletion in profits.
Task 1: M1Question Summary: The report should be effective and show that
clear evidence (and referenced) resource tools were used to undertake the
research.
Your Answer:

The tool used the analysis of the industry was PESTEL analysis. This tools is
used to find out the viability of organisation in the industry and macro
environmental factors that affect the working of Hilton hotel. Political,
environmental, social, economic and legal factors effect the functioning of
conference and banquet industry in wide way.
Task 1: D2Question Summary: The report clearly classified the size, worth,
diversity of venues, types of events and provided a full description of the
external factors to be considered including contingency arrangementsYour
Answer:
During an event there are various which may not function according to the plan.
To resolve such a situation a contingency plan is needed by the organiser.
Management of Hilton hotels must make a contingency plan to overcome the
situation during such an event. These condition may or not arise. The external
factors which must be considered are factors of the macro environment.
Task 2: 2.1Question Summary: Critically assess the key strategic and operational
issues involved in the effective management of a given conference or
banquetYour Answer:
Organising of a conference or event is a critical activity which demands highly
effective management. Low control of management may distraught the
operations of the organisation. This will lead to an unsatisfying event which
leads to low morale among employees. This also leads to negative feedbacks
which decreases the customer base of Hilton hotels. The failure of management
is caused to various strategic and operational issues.

·Planning: Planning is a significant part in the operations of the organisation.
The process of planning is highly important to organise a successful event.
Management is responsible for planning the event. A viable and proper plan is
made by the organisers before the starting of an event (North Charleston, Course
and Williamson’s Banquet Hall, 2014). A strategic and appropriate plan involves
the budget to organise the event. A properly built schedule of the event, the
items which are needed for organising. When planning of the event is not done
properly by organisers, it leads to failure of the event.·Coordination: Coordination between the management and staff is crucial for
success of a conference or event. There should be proper understanding and
coordination between the leader and the team member who are organising the
event. A cooperative and understanding approach used by the leader lead to
build trust and better coordination among the employees. This is important to
increase the working of the organisation. An ineffective coordination among the
team leader and members will lead to late completion of work and also the work
done is non-satisfactory. Moreover, ineffective coordination leads to failure of
event which shows ineffective leadership from the management.
·Egoistic behaviour: Some employees or members of the team have egoistic
behaviour. They are only willing to listen to the leader and do not respect their
colleagues which leads to ineffective coordination among the team members
(Walker, 2015.). If all the team members follow this kind of attitude,
organisation will not be achieved the goals on time which will lead to
unsuccessful operations of the company. The behaviour of employees to not
listen to their colleagues will decrease team work and the trust between the
team members will also deplete. This will result in low productivity of the
employees of the company.
Task 2: 2.2Question Summary: Discuss performance and quality review
techniques used by the Conference and banqueting industryYour Answer:
·Food and beverages review: The review of food and beverages is a significant
process as it is highly crucial to ensure that the guests are served with proper
food and drinks. The attendants may be on require some dietary food. It is
important to appoint a nutritionist to find the dietary food items for the
attendants.

·Dress code review: An event with special dress codes brings uniformity to the
events as the dresses match with the decoration and this gives the attendants a
memory of the event. The customers also find it amusing and are willing to
employ the same organisers and venue (McCabe, 2010.). The dress code must
match the profile of the customers and must also match the culture and values.
·Transport review: several guests come to an event and they all come from
different places. The organisers need to know and consider their mode of
transportation from which will be travelling. This is significant to decide the way
in which they will be escorted to the event premises.
·Contingency plan review: In an event there are several things which may not
occur according to plan which may create delay in the working of the plan. The
management must make a contingency plan in order if anything goes wrong in
the first go. The review of contingency plan must be done to ensure it is viable.
Task 1: M3Question Summary: Identify performance and review techniques
used for this particular conference or banquetYour Answer:
The techniques which will be used to review the performance and quality are
Food and beverages review, Dress code review, Transport review, Contingency
plan review. These techniques were considered to review the performance and
quality as the food and beverages review evaluate the quality of food offered and
the services provided by Hilton hotel staff. Transport review evaluate the quality
of transport and services offered by organisers (Fenich, 2011. ).
Task 3: 3.1Question Summary: Evaluate the suitability of a range of food
production systems and styles and food and beverage service styles for a given
conference or banquetFood production system is an important element of
conference and banquet industry. Companies in the industry need to give a

special attention to food production systems as this influences the operation of
the company at large. Hilton hotels focus on this element of organising as this
leaves a heavy impact on the event (Kuo and Et.al. 2012). Food production
system refers to the production ability of organising entity. In other words it can
be defined as the quick serving ability of the hotels with the standard of food
being kept steady. Modernisation of kitchen and other elements play an
important role in this factor. A modernised and advanced kitchen help the
companies to serve food swiftly which improves the performance of the hotels
making the event successful. Also, the modern kitchens are highly advanced and
specialised with software support which facilitates the working of the staff. This
enhances and speeds up the performance of hotel in serving food which satisfies
the guests.
Food and beverage serving styles
·Silver service or English service: The service includes the presentation and
serving of food into the plates of guests. This is a style of serving food from the
platter or dish to guest plates with the use of service gears. Style focus on
serving from hand side of the guests. The silver service style includes serving
with the service gear in right hand and food platter in left hand.
·Pre-plated service: The pre-plated style of service is to manage and carry the
plates in the hand without disturbing the food items in the plate. The food is
already arranged in the plate when it is served. The food is served from the right
hand side of the guests. The service style asks to master in carrying three plates
in the left hand and three to four plates in right hand at one time (Thornton,
Ribeiro-Soriano and Urbano, 2011). The service style is mostly practised in
coffee shops.
·Buffet service: This kind of service is a large presentation of food and beverages.
The servers of the food an attached behind the tables or arrangements of buffet
and serve the food to guests in their plates with the use of silver plating
technique.
·Task 3: 3.2Question Summary: Discuss factors to consider when organising an
off-site conference or banquetUse of skilled manpower: Manpower is the most
important factor to consider during the organising of an event, as a program is
organised and worked with the help of workforce. Without the use of workforce
the leader organises and maintains the event. The availability of workforce on
the off-site must be checked before organising an event.
·Climate conditions: The climatic conditions effect the event in huge way. The
arrangements in an event are made on the basis of the climatic event of the place
(Davis, ET.al. 2013.). For instance in a place prone to rains, arrangements to
provide prevention from rains will be done to facilitate the event. The climatic
condition of the off-site needs to be considered before selecting the site for
event.

·Presence of resources: Availability of various resources is critically important
to organise an event as without necessary resources an event cannot be held.
This is highly important to consider, budget is one of the most important
resource which is needed to organise an event. Without the necessary finance to
organise an event off-site, it cannot be done. It is critically important to consider
availability of resources.
·Transportation: Appropriate transportation is needed to escort the guests to
the venue. In case of an off-site event proper transportation needs to be managed
to bring the guests to the venue (Andrew, Schmidgall, and Damitio, 20). When
the place of event is far, the guests needs to be escorted comfortably and
availability of transportation needs to checked before selecting a off-site venue
for organising an event.
Task 3: 3.3Question Summary: Analyse the key menu planning considerations
for conference and banqueting eventsMenu planning is critical part of an event.
Many factors are needed to be considered while planning the menu of an event.
The menu includes the choice of food and beverages which will be served at the
event. The most important aspect of menu planning is selection of menu taking
in account the choices of the guests.
·Cultural variations: Guests which are invited at an event come from different
cultures. This means that the beliefs, values and taste of guests widely. The menu
must be made in accordance with the culture of the guests. Cultural differences
create a big gap in the preference of food and beverages. Taking in account the
preference of all the culture is important to satisfy all the guests.
·Hygiene: The food prepared by Hilton hotels must be hygienic. This is an
important factor which needs to b taken into consideration while preparing the
menu as the food served must be hygienic and healthy for the guests
·Production capacity: The menu must be made in accordance with the
production capacity. In other words the capacity of production must be checked
before deciding the menu. Planning of menu must be based on this factor as it
effects the serving of food during the event. If the production capacity is not
adequate to support the menu, then problems may arise during the event
(Brotherton, 2012).
·Feasibility and budget: Budget is an important part of planning the menu. Food
and beverages consume a large part of the available budget for the event. A
proper calculation regarding the menu must be done and compared to the
budget before deciding the menu. This will help the feasibility of the menu and
whether the budget can support it.
Task 4: 4.1Question Summary: Assess the ergonomic considerations for a given
conference or banquetYour Answer:

Ergonomic considerations can be defined as efficiency of staff which is working
for Hilton hotels with respect to Tesco's conference business conference. The
consideration refers to offering of high quality services at reasonable costs. The
ergonomic consideration includes space, floor capacity, arrangements of tables
and arrangements for celebration after the conference is over.
·The arrangement of seats by the organisers must be appropriate and suit the
hierarchy of the organisation. The seats must be comfortably for the guests.
·The space available for the floor must be adequate to maintain large number of
people. Tesco a large multinational firm therefore delegates will come in large
numbers from around the world, the place selected for conference must be large
enough to accommodate and handle such a gathering (Legrand, Sloan and Chen,
2016).
·Arrangement for the conference must be made properly in regard of the light
and sound systems, as they are highly important to organise a conference.
Communication with the delegates needs to be adequate and effective.
·There must be high quality arrangements for celebration after the conference is
over. The guests must be served properly to satisfy them.
Task 3: M2Question Summary: The information produced for the presentation
utilised a range of referenced sources of information that justified offsite issues
to be considered when planning a conference or a banquetThe factors identified
while planning a conference on an off-site venue were use of skilled manpower,
climate conditions, presence of resources and transportation. These issues were
considered as they influence the organising and working of an event. For an
event to be organised in time a team needs skilled labour to complete the work
on time. Climate factor influences the event in a wide way and in an off-site event
proper transportation is needed to escort the guests.
Task 1: D1Question Summary: [From your Group Presentation] Use critical
reflection to evaluate the success of the event and identify issues to be addressed
for future events. Demonstrate that self-criticism of approach has taken place
within your reflectionYour Answer:

The business conference of Tesco was successful in the working though the
organising team faced issues regarding the working coordination among the
staff of the company. This issue needs to be dealt with by the management. In the
near future the organising team need to blend in more and work with
coordination which will help them to complete the work on time.
Task 1: D3Question Summary: [From your Group Presentation] Demonstrate that
innovation and creative thought have been applied and ideas have been
generated and decisions taken in planning and implementation of the conference
or banquet.
Give a detailed account in writing to support thisYour Answer:
Through the report and presentation it was conjured that to overcome the
cultural differences among the guests the menu can be made in a way that it
respects the preferences of every culture. Also, Hilton hotel can take various
steps to ensure sustainability in business. These steps can be to ensure the use of
products which consume less electricity in the hotel premises.

·REFERENCES
Books and journals
Andrew, W.P., Schmidgall, R.S. and Damitio, J.W., 2010. Financial management
for the hospitality industry. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice
Hall.
Brotherton, B. ed., 2012. International Hospitality Industry. Routledge.
Davis, ET.al. 2013. Food and beverage management. Routledge.
Fenich, G.G., 2011. Meetings, expositions, events & conventions: an introduction
to the industry. Pearson Higher Ed.
Issa, T., Chang, V. and Issa, T., 2010. Sustainable business strategies and PESTEL
framework. GSTF International Journal on Computing, 1(1), pp.73-80.
Jurevicius, O., 2013. PEST & PESTEL Analysis. Strategic Management Insight, 13,
p.2013.
Kuo and Et.al. 2012, November. Intelligent menu planning: Recommending set of
recipes by ingredients. In Proceedings of the ACM multimedia 2012
workshop on Multimedia for cooking and eating activities (pp. 1-6). ACM.
Kusluvan and Et.al. 2010. The human dimension: A review of human resources
management issues in the tourism and hospitality industry. Cornell
Hospitality Quarterly, 51(2), pp.171-214.
Legrand, W., Sloan, P. and Chen, J.S., 2016. Sustainability in the hospitality
industry: Principles of sustainable operations. Routledge.
McCabe, S., 2010. Marketing communications in tourism and hospitality.
Routledge.
North Charleston, S.C., Course, L.B.C. and Williamson’s Banquet Hall, H., 2014.
Our Content. Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention, 14(6), pp.730-
732.
Thornton, P.H., Ribeiro-Soriano, D. and Urbano, D., 2011. Socio-cultural factors
and entrepreneurial activity: An overview. International small business
journal, 29(2), pp.105-118.

Voris, L., Cosco Management, Inc., 2012. Banquet table. U.S. Patent 8,225,725.
Walker, J.R., 2015. Exploring the Hospitality Industry, 2/e. Pearson Education
India.
Walker, J.R., 2016. Introduction to hospitality. Pearson Higher Ed.