Events screened...

The Forum  ____________________

                                                                                                                         Just as we'd added terms like hedge fund to our vocabulary the nation now absorbs its successor, the "credit crunch".

But Danielle Nay (below) kicks off our Forum questioning whether the doom is real or apparent in the event industry.  So, are we looking good when it comes to the crunch? Is this borne out by your business/sector?

Send in your view on Danielle's view to:  editorial@redkarpet.co.uk    



"If the mainstream media stopped hyping us into a recession would we still be there? Isn't the industry sick of it?"





  

Danielle Nay, Events Director, Taylor Herring

You said :  _________________________________

       
Reply  

Our hotel hasn’t seen any signs of an economic downturn so Danielle Nay's statement is 
borne out. Our occupancy rates are as buoyant as ever and Birmingham is as busy as ever. 
Sure, people might be more tempted to shop around, but they’ve always done that. 

I am convinced that if the media continues to carp on about the economy going into 
meltdown, that’s exactly what will happen, which is a worrying prospect. Let’s tell it like it 
is and not how we gloomily think it might become.

Kathrine Ohm Thomas, General Manager, Radisson SAS Hotel, Birmingham  
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Reply

While the financial sectors are obviously going to be reining in, mainly because they cannot be seen to be too overt, I believe that there is still a lot of activity in the consumer goods and leisure markets which are less affected by suggestions made by cynical, doom and gloom press. Danielle's right in that there's a danger that everyone is being talked into a greater downturn than really exists. There are also masses of opportunities in mainland Europe.


 Philip Hughes, Managing Director, The Ice Box & ISES UK
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Reply

Yes recession news is making corporate clients react in various ways – nervous and holding
 back decisions and budgets or cutting budgets and activity individually or in series. 
The more forward thinking are looking to target spend better and measure the value of 
events activities that are not just a jolly, but actually work for, and deliver to, their business
by developing and supporting customer relationship building, or employee reward. We have 
just had two business wins in one week. This points to the success of re-pitching and 
pushing for reconsideration of spend by focusing harder on deliverables. 


Robin Carlisle, Managing Director, Mobile Promotions        
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