The Westminster venue reports an upsurge in new business, as the industry returns with gusto and clients appreciate the extra measures implemented. Matches Fashion, the Institute of Masters of Wine, party organisers Sharky & George and concert bookers Fever are some of the new clients who have recently hosted events. Continuing the trend City Law School, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, United World Schools and We Are Flex have all secured events at the Halls this year.
February and March budgets have been smashed three times over with April and May’s targets reached with more events in the pipeline. Venue and special event manager Rhiân Pressley said “it’s looking really encouraging. We’ve learned a lot over the last two years and have re-configured all our events with positive effect. Achieving our targets is a major boost not only for team morale but for the industry too.”
On top of the Good to Go accreditation from Visit England, the venue has invested in a Storm Ballistic Virus Killer which sprays an anti-virucidal mist over every surface. The windows in the 14ft high ceiling are opened to circulate air, creating a natural convection without making guests cold.
Pressley continued “we have become highly adaptable, able to cater for last minute bookings and two events in one day with the new Storm Ballistic machine. Our business model has been redesigned to suit this new era. We are very much client led relating to restrictions but always ensure the latest guidance is in place.”
Already a favoured venue in the wine trade for tastings, the team had to redesign how these events were run to make them extremely safe, in turn bringing in more wine clients. Pressley maintained “everyone now has personal spittoons, and the liquid waste is treated as toxic waste and discarded very carefully.”
Wine GB said “Ours was one of the first major trade tastings to return to the calendar and we were anxious to deliver the safest environment for our guests. The RHS team went to great lengths and detail to ensure that all safety aspects in and around the venue were covered, navigating us efficiently through the complexity of safety requirements. As such, we knew we were safe in the knowledge that we were compliant, and we could inform and assure our guests that they were coming to as safe an environment as possible.”
