Getting more value from venues

Faced with the challenge of ferocious meeting and event budget cuts from both the private and public sector, the UK’s venues have faced a stark future; survival or ruin. The days when their clients were happy to sign off expenditure without question of its relevance are over, every penny has become accountable and there is determination to optimise every minute of venue hire time. For some, the solution has been to do the same but make it cheaper. The problem is that charging less money to make the same mistakes is an unsustainable approach. It cannot go on indefinitely and does not satisfy the growing demands of procurement offices seeking to derive increased value from their meetings and events spend.

Another group, working collectively through one of the industry’s trade associations, mia, have found a more realistic solution; to guarantee they will deliver what their clients want.

Those that take a keen interest in the fortunes of the meetings and events industry will be familiar with AIM, the accreditation that works as an assurance of excellence for event buyers in very much the same way that AA rosettes do for hotel standards. AIM is designed to tick all the procurement boxes and raise standards across the sector.

Amy Clear, conference and events manager for the Boarding School Association says, “We always have to check that the venues we use are properly managed and now we know about AIM, we find it really helpful as it does the job for us.”

Spending budgets wisely
Although it was launched before the worldwide recession, increasingly venues have realised that in today’s business world, survival depends on whether or not you make a difference. For good reason, ‘adding value’ has become a modern business cliché and through AIM, venues have found a way to make life easier for their clients, while giving them a reason to feel instant trust in the services they deliver. On the flipside, buyers have learned that at AIM venues they can feel confident their reduced budget is being spent wisely; more are insisting on AIM and as a result, more venues are seeking accreditation.

Virtuous Circle
In 2011, the industry saw substantial increases in the number of venues with AIM, which at its AGM in March 2012, the mia cited as being in excess of 500 and is forecast to grow beyond 600 by the end of the year. It’s a forecast that could turn out to be somewhat modest. The potential that AIM offers venues as they compete to attract buyers, has now caught the attention of long established hotel groups. The likes of InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), Jurys Inn and Park Plaza have bought in to the AIM vision and now have either all or a large section of their UK and Ireland properties promoting achievement of AIM. The result of this - AIM venues attracts buyers, buyers attract AIM venues – the virtuous circle is that in the future more venues will realise they need AIM and more buyers will only do business with AIM venues.

Jane Longhurst, chief executive of the mia, comments, “We’re seeing unprecedented interest in AIM from all types of venues, whether they’re independents or groups, hotels or purpose built conference centres, sports stadia or academic venues. Buyers need AIM because they need to know they are getting the most from their budgets and their event will be a success, venues need AIM because they need to be able to demonstrate they can achieve the standards buyers want.”

Visit England's AIM Strategy
Professional event organisers are not alone in their enthusiasm for AIM. VisitEngland’s chief executive, James Berresford, who, recognising the importance of business tourism to the UK economy and job creation, is seeking to ensure all English meetings and event facilities, products and services continue to meet market demands. In his strategy document, ‘VisitEngland’s Business Tourism Action Plan’, Berresford cited the growth of AIM as an important element of his strategy, and is working with the ‘mia Destinations Group’, in order to further the growth of the accreditation scheme, thereby raising the industry’s competitive status on an international level.

Along with VisitEngland, AIM has received widespread endorsement from other major tourism bodies such as Visit Wales, MPI UK & Ireland, ABPCO (Association of British Professional Conference Organisers), as well as 29 of the country’s regional destinations.

Buyer Power
Few would argue, that in terms of the UK business tourism industry, AIM has been a welcome addition, the uptake by venues has been fast and the major players in the industry have given the accreditation their full backing. AIM has encouraged venues to take a second look at how they run their business, enabling them to make efficiency improvements, increase staff motivation and raise standards considerably. The question, for Longhurst, is ‘are buyers buying in to the AIM proposition?’,

“Having the promotion and supplier sectors of the industry supporting AIM is massive boon; it has put the focus on service, making the industry more competitive, but it’s only half the job. The power to make a difference really lies with the buyer and we are encouraged by the response from professional event organisers, who have certainly taken note. There are now enough AIM venues of all kinds to offer genuine choice, this is the message we bring to buyers; AIM raises standards, increases value for money, protects jobs and attract investment.” comments Jane Longhurst, “Furthermore, with advanced venue search technology we can now ensure finding the perfect AIM venue is simple.

AIM Venue Finding
To ensure event organisers can easily find AIM venues that have all the facilities and services they need for their event, a free to use venue search and automated enquiry tool is available online on the AIM website.

To use the search tool buyers fill in and submit a simple online form, providing full contact details and information on the type of event they are organising, including desired location. The search results returned include only venues and destinations that have achieved AIM and can meet the requirements of the brief. Each venue that meets the requirements receives a copy of the brief and has the opportunity to respond with a competitive proposal.

Not surprisingly, the search facility is popular with buyers, as it enables them to very quickly find a venue that meets all their event requirements and, through its AIM standard, offers guarantees of excellence. Sali Gray of The Business Advancement Consultancy comments,

“When one of my clients asked me to arrange accommodation, in a geographic area which I was unfamiliar with, I spent fruitless hours surfing the internet. I then remembered the mia and was delighted to see that you now offer a venue finding service. I completed the requirement form and was introduced to a selection of first-class venues. After much deliberation, (they were all lovely) I made a booking with one of them. Congratulations to you, on this brilliant system, which has saved me so much time.”

These professional event buyers use AIM because they know the stringent grading criteria an AIM venue has achieved means they can be confident their event is in the hands of hard working, well trained, highly motivated people, and all their needs will be met with the minimum of fuss. Furthermore, it enables them to achieve the most from their budgets, with no unforeseen or ‘hidden’ costs.

Further information
To find an AIM venue visit www.aimaccredited.co.uk