Companies pushed out of South East and London venues by the ‘Olympic displacement’ effect are flocking to the Midlands to hold their events.
But Southern conferences centres and hotels forced to turn down long term clients in favour of Olympic business risk losing out longer term warned a Birmingham conference centre.
Companies who have had 2012 bookings turned down are now taking their business to other venues for 2011 and 2013 in protest, according to Conference Aston’s head of sales and marketing Christine Page.
“It’s great news for the Midlands and further north as companies who would have traditionally chosen London or the South East are being forced out through price hikes or date clashes with the Olympics,” she said.
“And there’s no denying that the games are a fantastic revenue generator for the South East and the UK as a whole.
“But the venues involved face losing out for cashing in on the Olympic pound – leaving them facing lost bookings struggling for business both before and after the Olympics, even though in many cases they were forced to bid for Olympic business.
“And in an industry which depends on customer retention and loyalty, making choices based on a short term gain is, quite frankly, short sighted.”
Conference Aston, which is situated in the heart of Birmingham, has already received a wave of enquiries from companies looking for venues for 2012 and is expecting to see even more in the coming twelve months from both companies and other venues.
“We are already taking bookings for 2012 and are talking to some companies who are looking at moving their business for 2011, 2012 and 2013,” said Christine.
“And we welcome calls from venues who are looking for alternative locations for clients during 2012, rather than simply telling them to look for another venue.
“But we are also liaising with our existing clients to make sure that their events and conferences for these dates are accommodated.
“We pride ourselves on our customer service and retention and despite the promise of Olympic gold, we are aiming for long term client relationships, not a quick win.”
Conference Aston welcomes more than 54,000 people a year to Birmingham for training, residential conferences, for weddings and to stay in its high quality hotel facilities and on site campus accommodation.
It sits at the heart of Aston University, which is a long established research-led university known for its world-class teaching quality and strong links to industry, government and commerce.