Conference, Banqueting and Event Management

Assessment 1

As per the given case scenario, the Manager of Crown Plaza Hotel is required to manage an international conference. It is expected that in this conference approximately 250 delegates will be going to participate. In order to make the conference successful, some of the major key responsibilities are required to be performed by the manager of Crown Plaza Hotel. These responsibilities are described below:

Characteristics of conferences and exhibitions:

Conferences and exhibitions are used by business organisations which helps them to connect with targeted audiences. In relation to the case scenario, the characteristics of an international conference include many elements such as:

• The conference will be held in a large meeting hall in order to make it possible for the company to communicate with many businesses at a single time. It includes displaying pictures and interaction for business growth and announcements.
• Conferences are helpful in increasing networking and other professional relationships which is worthy for business growth (Bladen and et. al., 2012).
• Conferences are useful in promoting new products with the mode of announcement.
• The international conference will be going to organized within the Hotel in the largest conference hall.  

Meeting the required standards: 

It is the responsibility of the Conference Manager of Crown Plaza Hotel to ensure that the international delegates visiting the conference have a comfortable stay. A professional and polite service should be rendered by the hotel. There should be proper staffing in the hotel at all times to handle the queries of the guests. Proper cleaning of the room and necessary repairs of equipment should be carried out before the arrival of the guests so as to ensure a problem-free stay. Also, the rooms provided to the delegates should be spacious, properly ventilated, air-conditioned and have direct access to the reception by way of telephones. The security of the guests is very important and thus there should be proper safety guidelines followed by the hotel at all times. For the ease of guests, there should be proper pick-and-drop facilities available from airports to hotels and vice-versa (Burden, 2015). There should be a person available at the service of the guests every time. There should be a garden area available on the hotel premises so that the guests can go for a walk when they feel like it. Also, there should be a sitting area available within the hotel where the guests can exercise and relax. The food available should be cooked maintaining proper hygiene. It should be of high quality and should include a variety of cuisines to serve the needs of the international guests well. There should be proper lighting and the interior of the hotel should be pleasing to the eyes of the guests. Most importantly, it should be ensured that the primary objective of holding the conference is accomplished.

Planning & risk management:

Another responsibility of the conference manager includes planning and risk management as it is considered mandatory work for the whole conference. In relation to the conference and Banqueting manager of Crown Plaza Hotel, it is necessary to plan the whole conference according to a theme which is finalized on the basis of client's requirements as well as international delegates who are going to attend. For effective planning, it is mandatory for the manager to understand the actual vision and motive of conferences for which it going to be conducted.

In addition to this, the overall management of risk is also considered the most essential responsibility of the conference manager. The event conference includes various types of risks such as power failure, natural hazards, medical emergencies, withdrawal from sponsors, food safety, time cancellation, and so on. These are considered the main risks that are required to be managed by the conference manager (Deng, 2012). In relation to international conferences, the major risk that has been evaluated by its conference manager is a last-minute power failure, and the withdrawal of sponsors is considered the main problem that might occur at the time of the conference. In order to minimize its effect, the conference and Banqueting manager of Crown Plaza Hotel has signed an agreement with the sponsor in which it is clearly specified that the amount which is expected by the sponsor will be taken before the event only.  This will resolve the problem of sponsors' withdrawal. Another risk is that power failure will be managed by taking proper backup of lighting so that if in case any things misshapen then it will not affect the execution event.

Conceptualization and designing the theme:

It is important for Conference and Banqueting manager of Crown plaza Hotel to make initially finalize the theme for the international conference as it will be going to involve approximately 250 international delegates. The responsibility of a manager is not limited to making the event successful but also to satisfying the actual requirements of participants. For this, it is important to finalize an attractive theme for the conference which will help in engaging participants at the time of the conference. In this, the main responsibility is to choose a cultural theme that is capable of reflecting the basic religion of London. However, decoration of the same theme will be mild and soothing as professional conferences can not opt high level of decoration which might distract international delegates from their actual motive for the conference (Bladen and et. al., 2012).

Along with this, another responsibility of the conference manager is to opt for a theme that looks more attractive but in actuality, it should consume less amount. This will generate more amount of profit for the Hotel too. It is essential for manager to execute all of their events effectively as it helps them to increase their networking with satisfied clients as well as other visitors who have attended the event. These networks are successful in getting future contracts and tenders that will directly enhance the profitability of Crown Plaza Hotel.

It can be said that an increase in a number of events also increases the profitability ratio of the Hotel as through the event hotel not only earns from the clients but also generates money from various sponsors who are interested in promoting their products with the medium of conferences and other events at international level. Sponsors are helpful for events that not only share responsibility for expenses that are going to be spent on the event. This directly increases the profitability of the Hotel.

Site  management:

Another responsibility of conference managers includes site management of the conference. In this manager of the conference and banqueting of Crown Plaza Hotel is required to manage the whole site effectively to make the event memorable and successful. The main responsibility of a manager is to conduct events in attractive manner with minimum chances of faults. It includes the usage of moderate, low, and high reflective lightening which is important for conducting conference meetings. As it will be required according to the situation such as conference will include presentation which requires low lightening. At the time of the award moderate type of lighting will be helpful (Hassanien and Dale, 2013).

Site management also involves seating arrangement and decoration in the venue hall. Each and every table will contain 4 chairs with a table lamp. It is mandatory to comfort every guest and give them the opportunity to sit with their own people. It will also help them to understand the actual concept of the conference for which it is organized. In addition to this, it is essential to equip the table with relevant materials that involve water (hot and cold) according to the requirements of guests. Decoration will be mild only to represent all things attractive rather than this main focus will be conducting a more informative and interactive conference which will be beneficial for both the organizer as well as the participant.

It also includes enhancement of transportation facilities as 250 international delegates are going to be participating who actually require pick and drop facility to attend the event. This will help in comforting all the coming participants with transportation facilities. In addition to this, participants will also feel special with personalized services which also influence them to opt same event manager for future conferences and other events (Kitchin, 2011).

Marketing:

Conference meetings will going to be marketed by opting for many strategies like using the theme for the actual conference which would be helpful in engaging visitors during their visit. Along with this, personal invitations will be sent to the guests according to the client's list. Invitation will be attractive according to the required standard client and its reputation. The attractive invitation will also persuade guests to visit the conference for sure. As per international conferences, E-mails are considered a more feasible option to convey accurate information to the guest including all relevant information.

In addition to this, the marketing strategy also includes the promotion of conferences within the Hotel which internal premises will going to be promoted with the premises that is banners, hoardings, and flexes (McCallaghan, 2015).

Site & crowd management:

Seating arrangements for the guests will be held in a conference hall in order to manage the whole event effectively. Crowd management of conference meetings will be managed by hiring third-party security which is helpful in managing the whole crowd at the time of the event. Along with this, barricades are also going to be used in order to execute the whole event in systematic manner. It will also include an emergency plan that is mandatory for the security of guests as well as the whole working staff of an organization. The emergency plan for the international conference includes double door entry and exit way which will be beneficial for attendees at the time of any misshapenness (Pantelidis, 2018).

In addition to this, special safety measures will be used to ensure the life safety of visitors and other people present at the time of the event. In this, risk evaluation will be conducted with a team that will enable us to identify actual problems that can be started at the time of the conference. Responsibilities of managing the crowd are not only limited to providing security to guests. It also includes accommodation for international delegates according to their comfort zone. Along with this, food items will be offered as per the preference of the client (Pavlović, 2014).

Logistics:

The responsibilities of the conference and banqueting manager is to utilize the whole available space in effective manner. In relation to this, the manager of the event will use high-quality equipment which is successful in securing the lives of visitors who are present there at the time of the event. In order to utilize the whole available space effectively it is important for conference manager to estimate the number of visitors so that preparation of their accommodation and other basic activities can be prepared. To conduct a performance in a meticulous way and properly use a spacious place in Hotel Crown Plaza. They provide a first aid facility who got injured during the conference. To attend conferences from several countries there are 250 international delegates who are going to participate in the conference. It is important for manager to remain their hotel vacant which will help them to adjust to all international clients without compromising the quality of services (Shams, 2013).

It also includes arrangement of effective seating arrangements for attendees in the large conference hall which will help them to make them comfortable in whole conference sessions.

Safety and security:

The responsibility of the Conference manager also includes the safety and security of the whole event as a huge number of people are involved in it. It is important to follow all the security measures that is availing safe environment to international delegates that are participants of the conference. Managers can provide security to all people by securing them from theft and damage of life. For this, a special security team will be hired only for events that are habitual in securing all human beings. Along with this, the whole event will be under the eye of the cameras that are capable of covering each and every table along with the entrance and exit gate.

Its responsibility also includes using good quality equipment in whole conferences are a tables, chairs, chandeliers, etc. which are considered as the basic requirement of the conference. It can be said that if any of the stated items are not good quality it might harm people who are present. So, it is the responsibility of the conference and Banqueting manager of Crown Plaza Hotel to use high-quality equipment and also recheck in order to execute the whole conference safely (Smit, 2012).

According to Health and Safety legislation, it is the responsibility of Crown Plaza Hotel to high a safe environment for all of its working staff as well as its guests who are present under its premises. So that they can work freely without any harm. This ultimately comes to the responsibility of the conference to renew all the licenses that are mandatory for the event. Also supervising the whole event properly is helpful in making the overall conference safe and successful.

Provision of food & Beverage:

The responsibilities of the Conference Manager include:

The hotel should have at least one large dining hall that can be used for breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals. The food provided at the conference should be fresh and of good quality. The food service should ensure proper hygiene in terms of food safety and reduce food wastage. Food should be sufficiently available at all times. The food available should be of different cuisines to suit the choices of the various delegates. The choice of vegetarian and nonvegetarian should be available for the guests at the conference to have the food of their preference. The management of Crown Plaza Hotel is responsible for maintaining properly air-conditioned and ventilated spaces for eating. There should be provision of proper seats and tables for all the delegates. Also, there should be a sufficient number of waiters available in the conference room at all times to take timely orders from the delegates. There should be bar counters having a variety of drinks with bartenders to take orders from the guests. The presentation of food also needs to be focussed upon. The food items available at the conference must look good and have a decent placement and presentation on the tables (Venske, 2018).

CONCLUSION

From the above-mentioned report, it has been evaluated that conferences, Banqueting, and events are considered as some of the ways through which people can easily interact with the bulk of people in positive manner. It has been observed that the responsibility of the conference and event manager is not limited to organizing an event and earning their profit ratio. But it also includes some of the major responsibilities that as executing the whole event in positive and secure manner so that people can interact with each other properly and enjoy their special occasion.

REFERENCES

• Bowdin, G., and et. al., 2012. Events management. Routledge.
• Bladen, C. and et. al., 2012. Events management: An introduction. Routledge.
• Burden, D., 2015. A resurgent Christchurch. Australasian Leisure Management. (111). p.24.
• Events management: An introduction. RoutledgeDeng, Y., 2012. Shaping mega-event flagships: a case study of Expo Center of Expo 2010 Shanghai, China. Facilities. 30(13/14). pp.590-610.
• Bladen, C. and et. al., 2012. Events management. Routledge.
• Hassanien, A. and Dale, C. eds., 2013. Facilities management and development for tourism, hospitality, and events. Cabi.
• Kitchin, P., 2011. Planning and managing the stadium experience. Managing Sport Business: An Introduction. pp.350-66.
• McCallaghan, W. A., 2015. Service quality management in conference tourism: expectations versus delivery (Doctoral dissertation, North-West University (South Africa), Potchefstroom Campus).
• Pantelidis, I. S., 2018. Food and beverage management/Bernard Davis, Andrew Lockwood. Journal of Applied Hospitality Management. 4(1). p.5469.

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