It’s great news that events are starting again, so we thought it would be interesting to look at the rates that are being quoted by venues in different parts of the country.
There is demand, but event bookers are reluctant to confirm the booking until the government guidelines are clear about social distancing and the pilot events have been completed.
As usual rates are higher in months where there is less availability and they are lower outside London.
For example, we’ve looking at a 3-day event for 350 people in February 2021 and comparing various locations around the country. The rates vary, as follows:
| Location | Catering | B&B |
| Liverpool | £32.00-£39.00 | £75.00-£105.00 |
| Manchester | £27.50-£36.00 | £125.00-£146.00 |
| Birmingham | £32.00-£38.00 | £96.00-£121.00 |
| East Midlands | £37.00-£44.00 | £87.00 |
| South Wales | £53.00-£60.00 | £120.00 |
However, the rates are higher for 2021. This is for a mid-week one day event for 30 people, where we’ve been quoted daily delegate rates of:
| Location | Date | DDR |
| Hertfordshire | June | £55.00 |
| Leeds | July | £36.00-£40.00 |
| Milton Keynes | July | £35.00 |
| London | September | £55.00-60.00 |
| London | November | £65.00-£85.00 |
Some venues are sticking to previous rates, some venues are increasing rates to take account of fewer people in the same space. Pricing isn’t consistent at the moment, with some venues requesting supplements or additional room hire costs.
Social distancing is a big problem for venues and both they and the event bookers need to know what they can do in terms of capacity. It’s not just for the meeting rooms, but moving around the venue, catering and restrooms. Venues with outside space definitely have an advantage. After a turbulent year, the venues will need to be confident that they can operate at a profit when they open.
The Meetings Industry Association carried out a survey into social distancing in May 2020 and found that:
- The majority (82%) of venues confirmed they can operate with social distancing measures in place.
- Nearly half (46%) of respondents identified that their venue’s capacity would have to be more than halved, with 27% highlighting a reduction of between 41-50% would be required.
- As a result of these reduced capacities, 59% of venues would not break even.
- Over 80% expect to lose more than half of their turnover per month.
- 17.5% of venue operators say it would be ‘impossible’ to open their venue while adhering to social distancing measures, both on commercial and operations grounds.
It will take some time for things to settle down. We will continue to review rates and report on trends as the bookings increase and report.
For more information and advice on booking venues for conferences, meetings and events, call us on 01780 484051 or email enquiries@edgevenues.com
