Lex Butler, HBAA chair and operations director at Wolf & White takes a comprehensive look at the challenges to the industry in the post-COVID era.
Q: How has the association adapted its operations to assist its members during the current situation?
A: We’ve had to become more present, more available and more reactive than ever to support our members. We’re having to really focus on the here and now, more than we’ve had to previously and at the same time immediately look at recovery and the future.
As most associations, the majority are volunteers and the current situation has meant we’re firefighting our own fires while being needed by members to step up on their behalf. It’s a very busy and critical time for us.
As a part of my 2020 strategy plan and post-COVID era, I’d already announced that we’d expand our board of directors with experienced heads. We pushed this up the agenda and have now appointed the additional directors to bolster our resources, knowledge and industry voice.
We’ve increased our paid resources by over 200 per cent to ensure that we have expertise and wider bandwidth not just to be able to support and deal with member queries now, but also to ensure we are championing them for the future and their recovery.
Lex Butler.We have opened up digital channels for members to be able to share their concerns and we are encouraging issues to be shared so we can review collectively and consider how we can assist our members in greater ways. One of our new digital channels for members is our own webinar series, to deliver on the pulse information and insights on what matters now; managing cashflows, managing staff, communications, recovery and becoming FutureFit.
We have developed the #HBAAFutureFit strategy for the association to ensure that we are in the best position for the future and to ensure that our members get access to an elevated industry voice and to ensure what we are doing is for the good of the industry.
Following the impact of Covid‐19 we are reviewing the Code of Practice again, which is the association’s backbone, to create a more in‐depth guidance for members, taking in the learnings and needs following all of our experiences.
We have also reviewed our financial position and decided to announce to members that we will be expanding the membership year by three months to January 2021 to aid cashflow for businesses, with continued review of this as the recovery unfolds.
Q: What questions are your members asking?
A: As this issue gradually kicked off around the world, our initial queries were around managing cancellations and postponements, where the Force Majeure clauses weren’t exactly yet in play, but clients were pre‐empting and cancelling. This raised tough negotiations and lack of understanding between the supply chain – in terms of what should be acceptable and how to support each other. That quickly changed when Force Majeure become the buzz word as countries and cities officially shut down.
When lockdowns and travel bans occurred, we were getting requests from our members for support to understand how they would survive and what do we know or what could we do to assist them and the industry. No government information had been released yet on support packages for businesses, so there was a lot of worry and frustration, understandably so.
Initially after government announcements, our members were asking about key issues such as supporting with grants and how furloughs work. This has progressed to queries on how to access the announced aid when there was no clear‐cut list of businesses included in the hospitality industry and businesses having to justify that they are indeed in the industry and qualify for relief.
We then have been receiving enquiries around payments not being made on either side, whether outstanding invoices to venues, to commissions not being paid on completed and executed work by venues.
We are also working to ensure that we are not waiting for questions to come in. We’re being proactive, pre‐empting potential questions and providing guidance. Sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know, therefore our role is also to be ahead in discussions and lead conversations/ debates, getting answers for our members first.
Q: What are the most pressing challenges in the post-COVID era?
A: Cash is king and business survival will be based purely on its cashflow. This is what is providing the biggest challenges – what is available from the government, what is not available from the government, how it can be accessed and how it can be accessed quickly. What does the future look like with taking on debt to survive. How long will this go on for and should I cut and run now or keep going and pushing money into my business with no income?
The Business Interruption Loan Scheme is not being accessible quickly and individual lenders are having a lot of say over who does and doesn’t receive them. Also, what are the percentage interest and payment schedules after the 12 months interest free?
Payments being withheld by either side of the supply chain, impacting cashflow and relationships. That one commission payment of £10,000 due to a business may be all that is needed to keep its doors open. That £45,000 invoice to a small independent hotel may be all it needs to keep going. It is becoming a big issue.
Venues reducing or cancelling any agreed credit on accounts with agencies, requesting upfront payments by immediate bank transfer or credit card by the agencies. That is not aiding cash flow for agents, it is potentially crippling them further while they are trying to get as much new business in as possible in the post-COVID era.
So we are focusing on how our members can ensure that they continue to work fairly, ethically and as flexibly as they can rather than just focusing on their own interests. We must continue to work together and in the spirit of partnerships, rather than localised decisions being made in isolation which will and can impact wider relationships that have been built on trust and for mutual benefits.
Q: How are you campaigning with other industry organisations for government help and support?
A: Our route into the Government is via BVEP, who we are a partner of and we are providing member concerns, questions, association and industry insights and data weekly, supporting wider industry concerns, because as we are much stronger together.
We have direct communications with the likes of DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport), Tourism Alliance, BTA (Business Travel Association), MIA (Meetings Industry Association).
We are then subsequently sharing key information back to our members that allows us and BVEP to have a stronger voice to government. This includes such as industry tone of voice we should use, facts and figures of our industry spend we should correctly use, what we call ourselves as an industry sector. Ultimately we need to be united in our voice and to be united in presence.
Q: What are the most urgent areas that the government needs to look at for the post-COVID era?
A: Giving our industry an actual identity, to ensure we have a label with clear financial support, which is on offer. Currently we sit in between a few from travel, to hospitality, to events, to hotels, to venues, to party planners – we need to ensure that the government recognises the total contribution that our overall industry represents and support us with funds which need to be made available now.
We are starting to see examples of which banks or lenders are reducing credit due to the fact that we are associated with the travel industry and whilst we are a creative industry; we have been hit so very hard from the top down and need financial backing to help us recover in the post-COVID era and build back up however this looks.
Unlike other industries we cannot just open our doors and start working again. Our industry relies on all borders to be open, travel to be back on track, that the health of travellers is recognised as safe and for companies to have a desire to travel and meet in large gatherings again. This will not be a quick decision for any business and as an industry we will need longer, ongoing support from the government to survive.
A: Some event agencies will close in the post-COVID era ‐ which ones do you think are most at danger ‐ the smaller ones, or do you think a particular type will be most affected?
Q: This is really not a question for me to answer. Agencies (and any business) could close subject to their cash position. It is unfair to label any particular type, it all goes back to your cash position and the financial support available now and in the recovery stages for agencies. It doesn’t matter if you have 10 staff or 200 staff, the agency survival will be based on cash positioning.
Q: How are UK associations affected? Are their challenges different from event planners working in agencies?
A: I’ll start by saying that the majority of people behind UK associations are volunteers who donate their time and expertise to support the association and industry. During this time, they will all be required to be more heavily involved in their associations, while managing their own Covid‐19 business related impacts and also for some, even having been put on furlough.
An association’s prime functions are to offer business and industry guidance, insights, support and garner voice, offer networking, lobby for change and a channel for industry communication. They are not an agency or full of event planners. Our challenges are very different to that of an agency. We’ve become the busiest we have ever been, becoming needed more than we have ever been.
No‐one is unaffected by Covid‐19. We do have an amazing calendar of member events we hold throughout the year, and like everyone else, they are either cancelled or postponed. We don’t need live events to survive or to be relevant for our members, especially when we can turn to digital to ensure they still hear from us and get the guidance they need.
Q: What help and assistance can HBAA offer to its members?
A: HBAA has been supporting our members by providing up-to-date and known information as it is breaking from the government. We have also shared tool kits for
them to help themselves such as government surveys for fact finding to establish positions and concerns. As I mentioned, all 2020 membership fees have been extended to the end of December 2020, at no extra cost. This is three months extra free. We felt it was the right thing to do and wanted to continue to show our members that we have their best interests at heart.
We launched our Covid Coffee sessions which cover a range of topics to help businesses and to help them now such as management of cash flow, HR support and also PR through times of crisis. We also continue to provide mental health and wellbeing free webinars to support our members and their teams; we recognised prior to Covid‐19 that championing positive mental health is required in any business and this has never been so prevalent, as it is today. We have shared the personal contact details of our HBAA certified mental health first aiders to our members, to reach out to, should they need them.
The HBAA board recognised that our members need to work together and have created blogs, engagement tools and generally supported them with escalations and responses to issues.
We provided support to a member looking for accommodation for key workers as the location had limited supply due to hotels being closed. So we requested support from another agency, and within a couple of hours the agency provided the contact details for two options using serviced apartment providers who were able to help with the booking.
Q: How are you managing your time between HBAA and Wolf and White?
A: I made a decision with the board’s approval to increase the paid resources for our immediate association needs, to ensure we didn’t fail our members in this time of crisis. Not only did it give work opportunities to those we brought on board, I, like my association colleagues, am a volunteer and I am experiencing the same tough challenges that our members are. I am being needed more than ever in the association and I am committed to ensuring HBAA delivers and is present. I am lucky to share the workload with some very experienced and committed individuals and so my time is fairly managed between the two things I care about.
Q: How has Wolf and White been affected?
I think like most agencies, our event schedule is on pause and as each week goes by more and more events this year cancel or postpone. Next year still looks as promising as it always did. We, like others, have had to look at what we can action now to ensure survival later. We have spent the last few weeks developing a low-cost, digital solution and in‐house for our existing clients, which has been very successful. We are taking this time to train our staff, clean house and do everything that we have had on our list for far too long - but just never had time to do!
Q: I have heard that some event planners are busier than ever ‐ probably running with a skeleton staff ‐ while other event planners are finding it very difficult to survive ‐ is that something you have heard?
A: Every business in the events industry right now will be operating differently from the norm and different from each other. Some are absolutely running on massively reduced team numbers and finding it difficult. We are all affected and that’s why we need to ensure that the government supports us financially. As I mentioned earlier we have been hit very hard and need to continue to elevate our voice and stand united.
Q: I've been hearing from event planners and venues that there is a lot of good will at the moment ‐ helping each other ‐ being prepared to delay costs as events are postponed. But do you think there will come a time when good will runs out ‐ and people want to be paid? For example, how many times can you cancel an event?
A: This is more than good will. Terms apply and gestures of moving space is to protect these revenues secured into venues. Customers are willing meetings and events to take place and therefore offsetting and delaying is an all‐round good offering for all parties. Postponement is best for all parties, rather than full out cancellation.
Should cancellations happen a second time, then the risk is that a) new space isn’t available b) this will be into a new financial year and venues less reluctant to take it c) rate strategies are changed and therefore rates will differ. Let’s hope that this isn’t on the agenda…
Q: When do you think live events will start up again?
A: This is really difficult to answer, as no one knows how long this will go on for. However, one thing I feel is very clear, is that our industry maybe not the same as we left it. We are a creative bunch and there will be new approaches, new ways and most importantly new avenues to explore to enrich, ignite and deliver.
I genuinely believe this will be a much longer ride for our industry than other industries, our industry relies on borders to be open, travel bans to be lifted, venues and hotels to be operational, people willing and wanting to attend mass gatherings while there is no vaccine or preventative measures. More importantly that our clients need the time once this happens to then evaluate their own corporate positions on travel and safe‐guarding their staff, customers and partners.
I think there will be a significant period of time where businesses are instigating new practices and protocols for their travel and event policies, while reviewing the financial impact on their businesses during the outbreak and lockdown. We are an industry that will need ongoing government support to survive.
We also have no idea what each country will implement that impacts how we do business globally. China, a leading business zone, now needs everyone to show a QR code to leave their home, take the subway, go to work, enter cafes, restaurants and shopping centres — each move, dictated by the colour shown on their screen. Green: you're free to proceed. Amber or Red: you're barred from entry. How would such global initiatives impact our industry?
