The sessions consisted of five ‘inspiration stations’, each hosted by an expert from the industry. This included Lisa Pennington, managing director of Definitive Events Limited; Simon Benson, director of Vivid Event Group; Brett Tonkyn, director of hospitality and sales for The Open Championship; Andie Devlin-Ball, head of events at Darling Events, part of the Darling Colective; and Ruth Lawton-Owen, sales and marketing director at Blue Strawberry and Table Talk.
The workshop was designed to give attendees the opportunity to understand current and future trends in corporate hospitality, as well as ask questions related to their own businesses.
Event highlights a selection of trends revealed at the workshops:
Catering
Lawton-Owen of Blue Strawberry and Table Talk said allowing guests to create their own cocktails is an inexpensive way of creating a more special feel at an event, while adding an element of theatre using dry ice on food and drink displays adds an extra touch.
She added: "Make sure you push catering providers to get exactly what you want to achieve."
Other trends included fruit caviars, which can be served alongside champagne, and street food market carts.
Experiences
Darling Events’ Devlin-Ball talked about how the company plans ahead for the next six months and creates collections around emerging trends.
She said: "The most popular experiences our clients have been asking for are sloe gin workshops, chocolate making and food foraging sessions to find out more about sourcing food and what’s safe to eat."
Devlin-Ball added the company is working more with craft businesses such as micro breweries to create experiences.
Sports
Pennington of Definitive Events explained about the company’s work on three Olympic Games and how it is not just about getting a ticket, but creating an experience.
She said: "You need to create a brand experience for your clients throughout the whole event, and look beyond the event to see what your guests can do in and around the location they are attending. Understanding transport is just one important element as part of that process, as well as creating brand touchpoints such as invitations and signage."
When asked about trends in hospitality bookings, Pennington said: "Big events such Formula 1 and the Olympic Games are extremely popular as people know this is an event where they cannot always get access to, not like a football match or rugby game."
Other sport events becoming increasingly popular within corporate hospitality include extreme sports, as well as more events in the UK such as next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Tonkyn from The Open Championship also highlighted the rising popularity of corporate hospitality packages at the golfing event.
He explained there are challenges in ensuring the catering suits all tastes, with guests having different levels of expectations.
Tonkyn added: "We work with a lot of agencies who are looking for unique ways of holding conference, but the great thing is that we can often tie in business with passion, which is what we should be doing more of as an industry."
What did you think of the corporate hospitality workshops at yesterday's Guide Live? Comment below to let us know what you think.
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