Can pubs make good venues for corporate
meetings and events? That was the question at the heart of the MeetingsInn
Discovery Forum 2022.
Co-founded by events industry veterans Andrew Winterburn and Ian Quartermaine, MeetingsInn aims to bring together
high-quality pubs with top-notch facilities to host business meetings. It’s
pitched at meeting bookers looking for fresh or alternative venues for
themselves and their clients.
The Discovery Forum brought together leaders
from across the UK pub and meetings and events sectors to gain a better
understanding of how pubs can deliver inspiring new experiences for the
meetings market.
Naturally, the event was hosted at a pub
– The Farmhouse at Redcoats, a 15th century tavern set in the
rolling Hertfordshire countryside. It was the perfect location to unveil the
concept, the facilitated workshop for the 30-odd attendees taking place in The
Barns event space, a roomy wood-timbered affair with a boutique feel.
The forum kicked off with a high-end
buffet lunch, before attendees gathered for an afternoon of panel discussions,
presentations and engaging interactive sessions.
Interest
It’s clear that the idea has significant
interest and backing from across the meetings space, with high-level
representation at the forum from event management agencies and venue bookers. Plus, the Meetings Industry Association (mia) has partnered with MeetingsInn to offer its nationally recognised AIM quality standard to the pubs and inns involved, while Greengage is on board to provide its ECOsmart sustainability accreditation.
The appeal of pubs as a meetings venue
has, if anything, become stronger over the pandemic. With many companies now in
the office just one or two days a week, there is a much higher need for places
to get together for more informal work gatherings.
Pubs, by their very nature, are more
approachable. If you go to a hotel it’s quite formal, and depending on the
meeting you’re trying to have, that might not fit the objective. Plus, if you
go to a pub you can have a really engaging conversation.
One of the agency heads in attendance said that
a lot of what clients are looking for is something different – and pubs deliver
this in spades. However, brand matching is important. It won’t be right for all
corporates, but there will be many who will find that the right pub can deliver
on their meetings and events objectives.
Battle
One of the key battles will be getting pubs
to recognise what the corporate market requires, whether it’s in terms of
quality or simply in terms of the language used. Meeting and event bookers are
used to talking about things such as day delegate rates and commission. Pub
owners will not necessarily be on the same page as event professionals about
these things. In other words, there is a learning and education piece of the
puzzle.
Another hurdle to clear will be the
association between pubs and alcohol. There’s no getting away from the fact
that for many people, a meeting in a pub is going to come with an expectation
that alcohol will be involved. However, people go to pubs for all sorts of
reasons – and they don’t always involve alcohol. To attract the corporate
market, pubs may be better instead focusing on their status as a place for people
to get together.
Possibility
Let’s be clear: not all pubs are suitable for
corporate events. Your city centre spit and sawdust boozer is unlikely to be
hosting boardroom meetings any time soon. But the big rambling country pub that
you take the family to for Sunday lunch? That’s a real possibility.
For the pubs themselves it’s a real opportunity.
Many of the pubs in question will host weddings, for example – so these pubs
will already have pretty much everything they need to host a corporate meeting
for up to 50 people. It wouldn’t take much adjustment to open up corporate
meetings as a midweek revenue stream.
The final session of the forum saw the attendees
designing the pub of the future. Ideas were thrown about, brains were stormed
and at the end of it, everyone concluded that the pub of the future could very
easily be a corporate event venue.
Whether pubs take off in the corporate market
remains to be seen, but one thing that the MeetingsInn Discovery Forum made
clear was that the conditions for it to happen have never been more favourable.
Watch this space.
M&IT editor Paul Harvey is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience. He began his career in the local press, working for various titles across the north. Since joining M&IT in 2013, he has become a trusted and respected voice in the sector, championing event professionals and reporting on all aspects of the events industry for the brand.
