One of the key elements that everyone in the Live Event space is trying to understand is when corporate sentiment will shift from the current neutral phase to a ‘buy’ setting.
Around this time of year, many of the most influential figures in the UK’s event market would have been preparing to visit the London Christmas Party Show. So the question of what, if any, plans corporates have for spending in this time of Live Event lockdowns is a very real one, even if the timing of the event is at the end of 2020.
Venue Search London, part of Story Events, has polled more than a hundred and thirty leading London corporate event buyers’ to gauge sentiment, and to find out their event plans for the Autumn and Christmas seasons.
Just to understand the survey methodology:
- Survey via email to previous London Christmas Party Show visitors and recent enquirers to Venue Search London;
- The submission window was open for 27 hours and closed last Tuesday;
- A total of 134 corporate buyers participated;
- The survey only covered current booking and future booking intentions for actual corporate buyers (and NOT agencies/third parties) and only for their internal (ie staff) events.
- The average event size being considered by the responders was for 118 pax, with 20 percent of responders responsible for events attended by over 200 pax.
The above graph shows the four month through to the end of 2020 in which the buyers currently had contracted events, with some buyers having multiple events booked across these months.
The conclusion to draw is that are still a large number of events booked into the Autumn that have yet to be moved or cancelled, with the number increasing later in the year.
This is a different question asking not about existing events, but when buyers think that corporate internal events will start again.
A wide spread of opinion, but many share Venue Search London’s view that September will be the month of a major return to London event venues, provided that they are permitted by then. This would allow for a 6-8 week lead time from bookings that would be contracted in say, late July, if the confidence is there to do so at that time.
Interestingly, the above data shows that the responders are split broadly 50/50 around events re-starting before/after the end of October.
And finally, a question around 2020 London Christmas Party plans and intentions, where 23 percent have already made a decision, (with two thirds of these planning to proceed, if allowed).
As Venue Search London reported, ‘with previous years, the vast majority have yet to decide about staging a London Christmas party and are sitting in “the waiting room” to see what is permissible and desirable from those on high, both in Government and in companies’ virtual Boardrooms.’
‘Our overall sense is a positive one. There appear to be no mass cancellations or postponements to date, with many showing more expectation than hope that things will return to some kind of normal in the Autumn.’
You can also listen to a discussion about these same survey results between moderator Mike Kershaw and Sam Gill, from Venue Search London, on this recorded webinar below, as well as a fuller discussion about the short-to-medium term future of the UK events market. The discussion starts at 06.10; the password is: 3h&##+1G
