Customers booking conference venues in the UK are paying historically high rates, according to a new study from BVA BDRC, while demanding value of money.
The figures gathered by the VenueVerdict CX report coincided with a recovery in on-site experience.
London saw rapid growth in day delegate rates (DDR), with the provinces and the overall UK and Ireland average increasing by almost £5 year on year for 2023. The capital reported DDR of £87.71 for 2023, with the UK and Ireland at £58.50 and the provinces reaching £50.15.
When Q4 2023 was compared with Q4 2019, London rates were shown to have increased by 33 per cent, the UK 38 per cent and the provinces by 41 per cent. Year-on-year growth for the quarter was seven per cent in London, nine per cent in the UK and 10 per cent in the provinces.
Louise Tawadrous, client services director, hospitality sector, BVA BDRC, said: “The ongoing growth in rates across the sector and across the region indicates that the demand for meetings and events has remained buoyant.
“Venues are able to command record prices, which is critical to driving profit in this time of high costs, but they must also be aware that customers are suffering under high costs and will be searching for value.”
Experience improving
The recovery in on-site experience had lagged that of DDR, but was now recovering, with Sales Enquiry Performance also now at record levels.
The VenueVerdict’s Sales Enquiry Performance UK industry average had fallen to an all-time low of 46 per cent in Q3 2021, from a peak of 74 per cent in Q1 2019. There was a vast improvement throughout 2022, with Q4 2022 average at 67 and this continued throughout 2023 with a steady increase, up to an all time high of 79 per cent in Q4 2023.
The feedback module of VenueVerdict reported an all time low in Q4 2021 UK National average Net Promoter Score of 44, dropping a 25 points from the peak in Q2 2019 and ending Q4 2022 at 48. The most-recent study saw higher scores, closer to 2019 levels.
Tawadrous added: “Consumers are increasingly focused on experience and it is vital for venues to get this right. It is most welcome to see this recovery in performance, but areas such as F&B continue to be a weak spot and present an area for opportunity.
“Perception of value for money has remained fairly low throughout the past 24 months, but given the increase in DDR rates, it is now more important than ever to make packages more appealing and add value, to see a positive impact on the value-for-money perception.”
Response times bounce back
A further area of improvement was proposal response times - critical to ensuring future business - which dipped in Q1 2023 after moving upwards in 2022 and had yet to return to 2019 levels.
In 2019, around 80 per cent of venues were sending the proposal within eight hours, and around 70 per cent were within four hours. This fell to a low of 54 per cent sending the proposal within eight hours in Q3 2021 and 44 per cent sending it within four hours, recovering throughout 2022, with 72 per cent of venues sending the proposal within eight hours in Q4. In 2023, this closed the year at 70 per cent for eight hours and 64 per cent for four.
Tawadrous said: “With booking windows remaining short, response times are key to success when seeking business.
“We are confident, going into a new year, that venues will build on the improvements made and perform strongly, as people and businesses continue to see the value in meeting up face to face.”
