Says Beckie Towle, marketing director of HBAA beam and founder of The Events Raccoon:
“The business events sector is now looking forward to January with trepidation; with so many events being cancelled or postponed, how much work will we have to keep us afloat?” asks Beckie Towle, marketing director of HBAA beam and founder of The Events Raccoon.
“We desperately need to know whether the intensive rapid booster campaign and the common sense of the British public will halt the rise of Omicron so that confidence returns to our industry? The business events sector has already lost millions of pounds worth of bookings for December and January. If that continues, we will have potentially little work after Christmas, so government support will be crucial to the survival of many businesses. But the schemes that kept businesses alive during the pandemic have ended or are winding down.
“The Scottish Government announced a £100 million financial package will be made available for eligible businesses including the hospitality sector that have lost bookings during this key trading period. We need the other UK Governments to provide the same help in addition to the continuation of the reduced rate of VAT and the Kickstart scheme – our Plan B for Events. We need to know before the end of the year – otherwise the start of 2022 is going to be a bleak midwinter.”
“We appreciate the Government’s efforts to keep ‘business as usual’. But, for corporate organisations planning events, ‘business as usual’ along with a directive to work from home is a mixed message. They must consider their duty of care to their staff while facing charges if they cancel the event – the costs are very unlikely to be covered by the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme. Since 15 December, cover must be purchased no less than 8 weeks before the event is due to occur. Many insurance policies are also expensive and won’t cover against Covid.
“Corporate event planners are facing a challenging dilemma that is likely to be costly for everyone, for venues and event suppliers as well as their own businesses.”
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
