Find a venue3rd May 2021
Over the past 12 months, the team at 10-11 Carlton House Terrace have focused on both personal and professional development ahead of the new realm of events facing the industry.
Speaking with Amie, the venue’s business development and marketing manager, and Catherine, the head of venue sales and marketing, the two event planning professionals offer some behind-the-scenes insight into the past, present and future of events at {10-11}.
Amie: “In a time where the world has essentially been on pause, our team have achieved so much. Hosting successful micro weddings and covid-secure business meetings, ramping up our filming bookings and working hard behind the scenes to streamline our processes and policies – there’s so much we’ve achieved and I’m so proud of the team for getting stuck in.”
Catherine: “I am very proud of how quickly and flexibly we have reacted to the ever-changing covid situation. That versatility has allowed our business to continue across all of last year, in a reduced capacity of course. We acted quickly and carefully to ensure we had covid-secure measures in place ahead of the possibility of reopening last summer.”
“We then went on to receive 3 industry safety accreditations which allowed us to open for small hybrid meetings, micro wedding and filming and photography as soon as government guidelines permitted.”
Amie: “We’ve been able to work on so many projects that would have taken us much, much longer had the venue been open as usual. One of my personal highlights has been refreshing our brand, and particularly the website. It was a collective effort with all of the team helping to write the content – and we love our new virtual tour that our partners at Hirespace helped us with! We’ve also done lots of work behind the scenes to improve traffic to the website – and this is in large part thanks to the wonderful work of our marketing agency Patch!”
Catherine: “Professionally I would say it was our first micro wedding after lockdown (and every one of them since!). Obviously, I am proud of the care and flexibility we employed to make sure the days happened safely but just a special as they would be pre covid. More than that though, I loved having people back in the building. Yes, they were in masks, and hugging was a no-go – but to have a bit of love, laughter and memories being made back in the building after so long and after so much grief was a very special moment. One I won’t soon forget.”
Amie: “Our team are both focused on sales and operational delivery, so with the building closing and events paused, our focus shifted to project-based work including formulating a ‘how to’ bible documenting all of our policies and processes, updating the contacts on our database, copywriting for our new website and so much more! Slowly our work is returning to normal – with our inbox getting busier by the day, and we’re closer to reopening now, with lots of bookings in the diary!”
Catherine: “Over the last year, team working has changed dramatically. We went from being a site-based, customer-facing, fast-paced team of event and customer service professionals, to working at home with no events to deliver. We shifted quickly along with the rest of the world and, riding on the adrenaline and novelty of the situation, set about doing all the projects under the sun for the first few weeks.”
“We got through all those ‘nice to dos’ that we don’t usually have time for when you’re putting out event planning fires or constantly moving on to the next event. They definitely weren’t always glamorous– think, data cleaning, copy writing, competitor analysis – but we also began planning for a safe reopening, ensuring we would be in the strongest possible position when the industry reopened.”
“We managed to get an important brand and web refresh project done and all members of the team were able to take time for professional development. From British Sign Language, Mental Health First Aid, and unconscious bias training to project management, team management and sales and marketing courses the skills developed by the team this year have made them into high effective and socially conscious professionals.”
“Of course, it has not all been highs. We have missed each other and our collective energy together. We used the government furlough scheme as well as internal secondments to ensure security for the team as the pandemic wore on. We have felt the impact of waning productivity, constant external stressors and social isolation.”
“However, I am so proud of the way team members have supported one another as well as taken care of their own wellbeing throughout the past year. They have been incredibly creative, flexible and resilient and are now very much chomping at the bit to get back to the building, and back to events!”
Amie: “We’ve had lots of couples downsize their wedding celebrations in 2020 & 2021, but equally we’ve also had lots of couples eager to enjoy traditional wedding plans with all of their friends and family around them.”
“For corporate events, I think there are many instances where we have seen virtual events do well, but lots have also gone quite wrong, and ultimately I just don’t think you can beat an in-person experience. Event organisers are thinking about the lasting impact of an event, so whilst I am confident in-person events will return – recording, reusing and sharing an event with a wider audience will become the norm.”
“In terms of experiential events, I think zoom fatigue is real and we are all pretty fed up looking at our screen 24/7 – people are excited to get back to socialising in person, and we can’t wait to safely do so too!”
Catherine: “I think there is a built-up pressure in demand for live events. I think we will see a focus on celebrations and that we may see more parties than typical corporate conferences. However, after that initial burst of pent-up demand, things will largely settle back into the usual event patterns, especially once restrictions on travel are relaxed.”
“However, events themselves will see some long-term (if not permanent) changes. I see the idea of hybrid events staying with us now, without question. There is going to be even more pressure to demonstrate return on investment, and as hybrid provides the chance to extend the reach of an event as well as the accessibility of its content, it will be an invaluable tool for helping maximising ROI.”
“There has also been a diversification of platforms and social media – think TikTok, Houseparty, IGTV, Instagram Live, as well as traditional streaming on Youtube, Twitch, Vimeo etc. I think we will see both becoming even more central to an event. Ensuring that both the ‘in the room’ and the ‘at home’ experiences are equally as enjoyable and effective will be paramount in future events; as will capturing video and photography in order to extend the shelf life and reach of any live event.”
For more information about hosting your event with 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, get in touch with the team on 020 7969 5224 or at [email protected].
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