In March 2021, we were thrilled to host the Hostology Summit, in association with Historic Houses and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA).
The Reset, Reopen, Recover Summit offered venue owners and their event managers a series of informative and engaging sessions, centring on resetting, reopening and recovering from a very challenging year.
Watch this space as we will be joining forces with Historic Houses and the CLA to bring you a 2022 Summit.
In the meantime, catch up on the Reset, Reopen and Recover Summit 2021 in The Collective.
Catch up on day one – join The Collective to watch in full!
On the first day of the Reset, Reopen, Recover Hostology Summit, we discussed the challenges and opportunities behind opening up, how to diversify your venue revenues, and when larger events might be given the green light.
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10:30-11:10
Our first panel of the Summit took a birds-eye view of the roadmap towards opening up the hospitality sector; discussing the challenges, the opportunities, and how England and each of the devolved nations can meet them.
Panel Guests: Kate Nichols, UK Hospitality; Stuart Owens, Gavin Mackie and Phil Godsal & Caroline Inchyra from The UK Wedding Taskforce
Reopening Committee; Jessie Westwood, #Whataboutweddings, Duncan Clark, WVSG
Moderated by Emma Hardcastle, CEO & Co-Founder of Hostology
11:15 - 11:55
Many businesses were able to open up new channels of revenue throughout lockdown – were you one of them? We discussed new and exciting ways to diversify your business, including making the best of your outdoor space.
Panel Guests: Anselm Guise from Elmore Court; Joshua Dugdale from Wasing Estate; Charles Trotman, Senior Rural Business Advisor for the CLA; Robyn Isherwood from Gisburne Park; and Atul Lakhani of Sanjay Foods, caterer and venue owner.
Moderated by Judicaelle Hammond, Director of Policy and Advice for the CLA.
12:00 - 12:40
For our final panel of the day, we asked the question ‘When will we rave again?’. Addressing when and how larger events might open up and what’s on the horizon?
Panel Guests: Michael Kill from the Night Time Industry Association (NTIA) and Rory Bett, Founder of Lovebox and Wilderness Festivals.
Moderated by Anselm Guise, Elmore Court.
On the second day of our summit, we discussed recovery; refinancing your business, preparing for COVID regulations and how to use technology to move your venue team and events forward.
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10:30 - 11:10
The financial impact of COVID on the events industry has been huge. We asked the experts what’s next, looking for some positive pointers towards keeping afloat until June and beyond.
Panel Guests: Adam White, Commercial Director, Barclays Agriculture and Landed Estates; Martyn Wright from Duckett’s Trusted Advisors; and Paul Sullivan from the British Business Bank.
Moderated by Joshua Dugdale, Wasing Estate.
11:15 - 11:55
Are you ready to reopen? We assessed the soon to be published guidelines and the regulations and risks therein; both in looking after your team, your customers and their guests.
Panel Guests: Alan Law, Risk Assessment Consultant; Amanda Harman, Head of Aon Estates Practice; Charles Trotman, Senior Rural Business Advisor for the CLA, James Paxman of South Farm and the UK Wedding Taskforce
Moderated by Ben Cowell, Director General Historic Houses.
12:00 - 12:40
Exploring all things digital with some leading technology startups and event management experts. The focus was on how best to apply technology, to both ‘on-the-day’ events and throughout your sales and planning process.
Panel Guests: James Hickman, Founder of EcoSpend Open Banking; Alan Law, Risk Assessment Consultant; Parsa Pezeshki, Head of Partnerships, Clause.io and Anselm Guise, Elmore Court
Moderated by Emma Hardcastle, co-Founder and CEO of Hostology
On day 3, we tackled the big issues – looking back at Government actions and support during the pandemic; discussing the future of insurance, both for weddings and businesses; and welcoming an overview and ‘up next’ from the What about Weddings team.
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10:30 - 11:20
A fascinating session looking back at Government policy and the events sector during the Pandemic. We also addressed the roadmap, ongoing support & likely outcomes.
Panel Guests: Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government; Carl Creswell, Director at BEIS; Simon Baynes, MP; Sarah Haywood, Wedding Planner and Spokesperson for the UK Wedding Task Force.
Moderated by Judicaelle Hammond, Director of Policy and Advice for the CLA.
11:25 - 12:05
Our industry cannot move ahead without insurance but post-covid what does insurance cover post-pandemic? We helped to answer your questions, bringing insurers back into the conversation.
Panel Guests: Will Johnson, Weatherby’s Hamilton; Amanda Harman, Head of Aon Estates Practice; JessIe Westwood, Studio Sorores and #whataboutweddings.
Moderated by Ben Cowell, Director General Historic Houses.
12:10 - 12:40
Catch up with the people behind the #whataboutweddings campaign as they discussed lessons learnt from the past 12 months and what opening up means for them.
Panel Guests: Tamryn Settle, Annabel Beeforth, Jessie Westwood from the #whataboutweddingscampaign
Our final day of the Summit and we looked to the future, helping you understand where the sector stands and where it is heading. We also discussed the team, joined by resilience expert Cath Bishop (author of The Long Win) and Debbie Lewis, functional medicine expert. Finally, we focused on Bouncing Back with venue marketing consultant Kelly Chandler and expert panel.
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10:30 - 11:10
Our first panel of the day focused on looking ahead; discussing the future of the wedding sector; its governance and leadership, and the impact of the Law Commission’s recommendations.
Panel Guests: Professor Nick Hopkins, Law Commissioner for Property, Family and Trust Law; Hamish Shepherd, Founder & CEO of Bridebook, Stuart Owens, UK Wedding Taskforce, Ben Cowell, Historic Houses and Mark Dawson, WVSG
Moderated by Emma Hardcastle, Founder and CEO of Hostology.
11:15 - 11:55
Focussing on resilience and keeping team morale high, this panel includes Functional Medicine specialist Debbie Lewis and Olympian and team-building expert Dr. Catherine Bishop (author of the Long Win). Catch up now!
Panel Guests: Debbie Lewis, Functional Medicine Consultant; Jade Hedley, Head of Sales, Hostology; Dr Catherine Bishop, Olympian and Team Building Consultant.
Moderated by Samantha Vaughan, Dewsall Court.
12:00 - 12:40
Ending our summit on a high note, we focussed on promoting your venue and optimising for growth, specifically marketing tips around attracting new couples, perfecting the show-round and boosting confidence in your venue.
Panel Guests: Samantha Vaughan, Dewsall Court; Philip Godsal, Iscoyd Park; Anna Winkworth, Thicket Priory and Emma Hla, Coco Wedding Venues, Annabel Beeforth, Love My Dress.
Moderated by Kelly Chandler, Venue Marketing Consultant.
Joshua Dugdale in conversation with the Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State for Business.
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Weatherbys Hamilton specialises in providing insurance to estate owners, from houses to horses, cars to combines, as well as the whole host of commercial activities that often take place on their properties. We provide an expert personal service, with each of our partners taking responsibility for all aspects of their clients’ insurances, and are ready to help at any time from our seven offices across the country.
From castle to cottages, Aon help ensure that your assets are protected. Aon’s Private Client Estates Team look after some of the UK’s largest estates and historic properties, as well as working with smaller country houses and farms.
Aon understand that no estate is the same, so your insurance arrangements need to be equally unique.
Gusto’s Super DC immune support drinks are created with an adult audience in mind to help support a healthy immune function all year round. High in Vitamins D & C (hence the name), Zinc, Vitamin A, K and Folic acid, these delicious cans of plant-based goodness are high in antioxidants and deliver a taste explosion that we naturally associate with wellbeing.
Pitchup.com is a booking platform for over 4,000 campsites worldwide, including around 800 farms and hundreds of show and event venues.
Last year landowners earned up to £7,000 per day by opening a temporary campsite during the holiday season and one Cumbrian country estate has had £26,000 of bookings already this year.
With new regulations enabling land-based businesses in England to operate a campsite without planning permission for 56 days now extended to at least 31st December 2021, there’s never been a better time to take advantage of the growing trend for staycations.
Coco Wedding Venues is the leading directory of wedding venues for UK couples.
For all things venue related and actionable planning advice, head over to their website!
Kelly Chandler is the founder and chief consultant & trainer at Kelly Chandler Wedding Consulting. Dedicated to helping unique locations to thrive in the modern wedding market, ownership and wedding planning teams to surpass customer expectation, grow sales and wedding bookings, often preserving heritage alongside.
SUCCESSFUL EVENTS
HAPPY CUSTOMERS & GUESTS
