Venue Directory unveils inaugural Top 50 Meeting Venues for 2025

Cvent-owned Venue Directory, one of the UK’s leading platforms for sourcing and booking meetings and events business in the UK and across Europe, has announced its first ever Top 50 Meeting Venues list.

Holiday Inn Manchester City Centre took the top spot in the inaugural edition of the rankings, which offer a unique view into event planner and third-party demand across the UK hotel and venue landscape. The new list comes on the heels of Cvent’s recent Top Meeting Hotels and Destinations announcement, and serves as a curated, regional barometer for the venues and properties that not only prioritise swift communication with meeting and event planners but also capture a greater-than-average share of events business in their area.

Louisa Watson, chair of trade association beam, said: “At beam we see first-hand how essential responsiveness, transparency and reliability are when sourcing venues for events. It’s encouraging to see venues of all types across the regions recognised for getting that right. Tools like Venue Directory help event planners make fast, informed decisions — and this list is an indicator of meeting and event venues delivering where it counts.”

The hotel and venue rankings are determined based on insights gleaned from the more than £456 million in confirmed meetings and events booking revenue sourced through Venue Directory in 2024. This record-breaking volume of business underscores the continued high demand for quality, in-person experiences to drive business growth. Given 83 per cent of planners expect venue responses to their requests-for-proposals (RFPs) in four days or less, the list highlights the hotels and venues that take a partnership approach when collaborating with planners to bring events to life.

Jason Gutteridge, director of sales and operations, Venue Directory, said: “This new ranking reflects how planners are actively sourcing and booking through the Venue Directory platform. The hotels and venues featured are not only those attracting attention but also those that are highly responsive and prioritise building trusted relationships with planners. It’s particularly encouraging to see strong representation from regional venues across the UK, which continue to demonstrate their appeal through competitive pricing, meeting and event capacity, solid transport infrastructure and their reputation as cultural hubs and centres for business.”

The Top 50 Meeting Venues list includes hotels and venues across England, Scotland and Wales, offering a diverse mix of properties from international brands, regional hotel groups, independent venues and dedicated conference centres. The broad mix of regional properties shows that customers using the Venue Directory platform are increasingly considering and booking venues outside of larger metro areas for their events.

Regional highlights

• Manchester: Holiday Inn Manchester City Centre (#1) took the top spot on this year’s list. Additional Manchester properties include: DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester - Piccadilly (#9), Leonardo Manchester Piccadilly (#12), Pendulum Hotel & Manchester Conference Centre (#16) and Mercure Manchester Piccadilly (#37). The city continues to perform strongly due to ongoing investment, which includes recent venue openings as well as its increased profile as a destination focused on commercial success.
• Bristol: With seven venues in the top 50, Bristol has more properties on the list than any UK city outside London and Manchester. Engineers House Conference Venue (#3) is the highest ranked from the city, joined by hotels including DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol City Centre (#43). The city’s appeal as the West Country’s regional hub with strong rail links and a well-developed knowledge economy continues to attract meetings and training events.
• The West Midlands: Ten venues were ranked in the Top 50 across Birmingham and its surrounding areas. Notable entries include Holiday Inn Express Birmingham NEC (#5), Millennium Point (#15) and The Birmingham Conference & Events Centre (#29), reflecting the city’s appeal for event organisers seeking choice, accessibility and competitive pricing.
• London: London-based properties on the list include the Royal National Hotel (#14),Park Plaza Victoria London (#38), Holiday Inn London Regents Park (40), and Park Plaza London Waterloo (#41).
• Other key regional locations include Buckinghamshire, with two venues in the top 10: Holiday Inn High Wycombe (#2) and Crowne Plaza Gerrards Cross (#7). Scotland is represented by Best Western Plus Keavil House Hotel (#20) in Dunfermline and Westerwood Hotel Spa and Golf Resort (#23) in Glasglow, while Wales features the Holiday Inn Cardiff City Centre (#24)—highlighting the broader national spread of venue demand across the UK.

Top 20 Meeting Venues

View the full Venue Directory Top 50 Meeting Venues list here.

Carlie Shiels, general manager of Holiday Inn Manchester City Centre, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be recognised as the number one meeting venue. Manchester is a dynamic city for business and events, and we’re committed to delivering exceptional service, flexibility and a seamless experience for every planner who chooses to work with us. Being recognised through real booking data makes this achievement even more meaningful.”

Methodology

The Venue Directory Top 50 Meeting Venues ranking evaluated venues sourced and booked via the Venue Directory platform between January and December 2024. The list reflects booking activity from third-party agencies and event planners primarily based in the UK and Europe. Rankings were determined by a set of qualifying criteria including: total number of enquiries, confirmed bookings, booking value, conversion rate, response rate, and a proprietary destination score. In particular, the results highlight venues prioritising a partnership-first approach towards planners and clients, delivering the right information swiftly, with high levels of collaboration and adaptability.