stay away,” he says. “However, we know of companies that hold large meetings in August which have already started to make arrangements to transport people in and out of London rather than trying to find rooms for them to stay overnight. Other companies are looking into serviced accommodation more than they would normally.” He concludes with this advice: “Book flexible rates now. Talk to preferred hotels about block bookings and allocations. Consider moving meetings outside of London to other UK cities.”
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bookings are for longer stays so should be less affected.” Several of her clients have gone as far as to issue a ban on non-essential international travel over the Olympic period and she expects this to dampen demand for her services within the UK. But Dines is optimistic that she will make up for this by providing accommodation around meetings that are diverted to other regional or international offices outside of the Olympic area.
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THE HOTEL AGENT “Our clients are talking about the Games a lot,” says Mark Douglas, director of sales at hotel portal HRS UK. “Generally they are very concerned about the impact and they will most likely reduce travel to London at that time. Some, especially those running hospitality or large meetings, are angry that LOCOG is holding all the suitable rooms.” He says many companies are
planning meetings in alternative locations outside of London or are reducing travel in general. The overriding view is only business- critical travel into London should be undertaken. “There’s a real worry
THE EVENT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT
Neil Pace, head of UK event operations at ATPI, is more optimistic than most about the impact of the Olympics on business travel. “To be honest, I don’t see any particularly harmful effects of the Olympics coming to town. Wherever in the world the Games are held, it always creates some logistics and transport issues and London is no exception.” He continues: “On the bright side,
visitors travelling from central London to any of the stadiums or venues are going to be treated to some of the
Olympics happen only once every four years and are extremely high profile. I predict that as we move into this year, hospitality fervour will be unlike anything the UK has ever seen.” He believes this will affect
availability, and he recommends business travellers look further afield for accommodation. “Corporates must face the reality, adapt and be prepared to look outside central London,” he insists. “Another option for clients is to plump for the Olympics’ ‘shoulder season’. This period, either side of the Games, should not be forgotten and business can plan for the slump in activity both before and after the event.”
most iconic buildings and sights in the world, such as Wimbledon, Eton Dorney, Greenwich and Hyde Park. While overland travel will be slower and busier than normal throughout the city, I would encourage people to sit back and enjoy the ride.” The corporate hospitality world has been struggling in the tough economic climate of the past three years – Pace believes the Olympic Games will provide it with a much- needed boost. He says: “The summer
Games transport at TfL, admits travel on road and rail will be affected during the Games. “70 per cent of roads and 65 per cent of tube and DLR stations will not be affected, but in certain areas and on certain days there will be significant impact,” he says. “So companies need to prepare.” He and his team have been trying to get this message across to corporate travellers. For example, businesses with more than 200 employees have had access to an adviser who will go in and help plan the business’s travel around the Games. Evers reports that there has been an encouraging take-up of this service, and he believes most businesses are aware of the issues. Towards the end of last year TfL moved to its next phase: communicating specific risks and expected problem areas. Evers explained: “We’ve launched ‘heatmaps’ on www.tfl.gov.uk/2012 which detail where and when we expect heavy traffic. So you can see that in south-west London on the first Saturday of the Games, the men’s road race takes place, and you can avoid planning meetings in that area. There is also a journey planner which, if you input the start and finish points, will tell you the anticipated delay.” He concludes: “There will
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be congestion but it will be localised and largely predictable so, with a bit of planning, problems can be avoided. We’re providing all the information business travellers need, and we hope they’ll be using it, and will see the Games not just as an obstacle to overcome, but also as an event to enjoy.” n