The Meetings Industry Association (mia) is set to deliver a dedicated event entitled ‘Extraordinary matters: COVID-19 and its effects on your business’ to help venue and hotel operators understand their legal and social responsibilities surrounding coronavirus.
“We are very aware from both talking to our members and from the volume of enquiries that we have been receiving, that the industry is looking for advice – particularly in relation to its contractual obligations,” said mia’s chief executive, Jane Longhurst.
“The aim of next weeks’ event is to bring the sector together to debate and then develop best practice guidelines that we can then share with the business meetings and events industry.
The half-day event on 9 March, which is free to mia members, is designed to help venue and hotel operators understand their legal and social responsibilities to ensure the sector is equipped to manage the potential reputational damage and address customer and staff concerns to ensure business continuity.
“We are very grateful for the support of the speakers as well as our sponsors – 15Hatfields, Eden Caterers and event production specialist Eclipse – who have helped enable this event to happen,” added Longhurst.
Three-quarters of the Meetings Industry Association’s (mia) member venues reporting cancellation due to fear over Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The latest research from the trade association revealed that more than a quarter of respondents have seen more than 5 per cent of scheduled events cancelled in the last month.
One third highlighted the average estimated value of the cancelled business to be below £5,000, with 14 respondents valuing the average cancelled business at over £30,000 – four of which were expected to break the £100,000 mark.
Reasons for the cancellations included travel challenges for event delegates, speakers and organisers, in addition to general precautions attributed to the outbreak.
Places for ‘Extraordinary matters: COVID-19 and its effects on your business’ can be booked here and you cancheck the mia's event safety policy here.
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
