BEST VENUE TEAM
ExCeL London
The past 12 months have proved both an exciting and challenging one for the event industry and in particular ExCeL London’s Venue Team.
Staging 350 events into a condensed 10-month calendar required an enormous team effort, especially to still achieve a 91% satisfaction rate amongst organisers.
From delivering a record-breaking 16 events in a single week, to brushing on 14,250 litres of paint or dealing with 623 exhibits for a single event, the ExCeL venue team stand out for all their hard work and dedicated and hopefully the testimonials speak for themselves.
Hilton London Bankside
Hilton Bankside’s events team distinguishes itself through dedicated members who consistently deliver success for their clients. The team’s focus on conversion, relationship building, and efficiency has yielded remarkable results, with an 85% growth in events revenue year on year, a 6% increase in conversion rates, and 62% repeat business. They have successfully executed over 350 events, hosting more than 70,000 satisfied guests. Investment in cutting-edge technology, such as an advanced AV systems and a detailed 3-D tour, has streamlined the decision-making process.
Commitment to sustainability is evident in Hilton Bankside’s eco-friendly practices, including reducing single-use items, recycling waste, and implementing a ’50-mile menu’ sourcing local ingredients to reduce carbon impact. Comprehensive training programs empower team members to excel in their positions, instilling confidence and fostering a culture of continuous learning. Cross-training encourages collaboration among colleagues, resulting in a cohesive and supportive team dynamic.
The team’s experience and dedication was showcased when they successfully organised an awards dinner for 550 people within a tight 23-hour timeframe, impressing the client and securing immediate rebooking.
Hilton Bankside’s events team sets new industry standards, excelling in service and innovation. They have established themselves as a preferred choice for clients seeking outstanding event experiences.
IET London: Savoy Place
IET London: Savoy Place is as renowned for its facilities as its venue team. Described as ‘friendly’, ‘helpful’ and ‘professional’, these qualities continue to win new business and build valuable long-term relationships.
Our team, comprised of staff from the IET and our service provider partners, collaborates with colleagues from across the organisation daily. We take a ‘one team approach’, trusting in each other to deliver. Open communication ensures we provide excellent customer service and continue raising our NPS.
We’ve invested heavily in our industry-leading IT and AV infrastructure, including a £20,000 fibre installation and £120,000 investment in Wi-Fi 6, and Event Coordinators are trained by AV colleagues, empowering them to confidently respond to customer queries and requests. This has helped bring business back up to 2018 and 2019 levels, and record months this February, March and April.
We also regularly collaborate with our in-house production company iet.tv to deliver additional value. In 2022 they supported 50+ hybrid events, worth £200,000 to this part of the business, with many already run in 2023.
We’re very proud of our team, and are always finding new ways to quantify and improve our outstanding service standards.
QEII Centre
The QEII Centre employs a team of 50 highly-skilled and experienced individuals across seven departments with more than a fifth with a service length of more than 20 years. This wealth of experience and expertise provides continuity for clients who value the connections they make and enhanced understanding of their needs. Unsurprisingly, our client retention rate is 67%.
The hard work of our team with its ‘one team ethos’ applied to every booking means we have met our goal of maximising use of the centre, leading to our third best financial year in 2022/23. While we have retained clients, we have also attracted new ones, including London Tech Week, which returned to the centre for a second year in June 2023 and the World Adhesive & Sealant Conference, which will come to London for the first time in 2026.
Stamford Bridge
Among the teams working at Chelsea FC is the Hospitality and Venue department, which continues to be a pillar of success for the business The Venue team sits within this, and their dedication to the club and their clients is recognised company wide The team consists of nine members, many of whom have worked for Chelsea FC for over ten years, some having returned to the Club after exploring alternative pursuits.
There is a wealth of skill and experience within the team, with members having worked in the sporting, hotel and hospitality industries previously With the changing landscape of the sporting and events industry, the team consistently learns and adapts to face new challenges Due to the lockdown and subsequent sanctions that were imposed on the Club, the team has had to steadily return to business whilst managing workloads.
The Hurlingham Club
A hidden gem…a quintessentially British venue in the heart of London
Set in 42 acres of magnificent grounds on the border of the Thames in Fulham, The Hurlingham Club is a green oasis of tradition and international renown, effortlessly combining timeless elegance with state of the art event facilities.
Steeped in grandeur, the Hurlingham Club is not only a private members’ club, but also a venue for private hire. Home to events such as Fete Champetre and the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at Hurlingham, The Hurlingham Club is also available for corporate and private events. Guests are always treated with the high level of service which has become synonymous with the Club.
The Club provides a unique space to host gala dinners and award ceremonies, with the magnificent Palm Court offering a stunning entrance for drinks receptions and backdrop for photos, and choice of function rooms catering for 30 up to 1,200 guests; and everything in between.
The Club’s team of highly trained and experienced staff, high class facilities and experience with hosting prestigious events ensure that your guests’ will leave your event with only great memories to behold.
The National Gallery
It is through the expertise of the National Gallery Events Team that we are able to adapt a building containing extremely important works of art into a fully operational events venue. This involves careful collaboration from the Events Team who foster excellent working relationships with colleagues across the Gallery such as the Conservation, Curatorial and Security Departments, exploring what can be achieved within a historic setting and providing solutions or alternatives to a client’s brief as required. This includes extensive sound, vibration and lighting tests to ensure that we can accommodate live music, dancing and high levels of production without putting the paintings at risk. We work collaboratively to ensure that we create events with fantastic feedback (see testimonials!) and fostering relationships to cultivate into corporate partnerships and happy repeat clients, including the Oscars and BAFTA Nominees’ parties.
Tobacco Dock
Tobacco Dock began its life as an events venue with a team of 4 and a handful events in 2012. A decade later its team has grown to 25 event professionals helping to produce over 250 events a year. A big enough team to deliver excellence within a busy schedule, but also small enough for everyone to have knowledge of everything that is going on within the venue, the ethic of teamwork and working for each other is incredibly strong.
Our team is our greatest asset, and when you consider the rest of the cards in our hand (Grade 1 listed, historically and architecturally significant building, cutting-edge tech infrastructure, central London location, 57 adaptable spaces over 16,000 sqm suitable for events hosting from just 6 to over 7,000 attendees, to name but a few), that makes them pretty special indeed!
We aim to give our clients extraordinary service from the moment they pick up the phone to make their first enquiry, all the way to debrief (and often beyond).
Our emphasis on customer service means we have cultivated strong relationships with our clients and are proud to have an Average Customer Service Score of 94/100.
