Commercial director Scott Mitchell is ‘cautiously optimistic’ new events like Scottish experience night Slainte can help the business expand further
WE’RE BECOMING MORE EFFICIENT WHICH HAS THEN FED THROUGH TO PROFITS. I WOULDN’T WANT ANYONE TO THINK WE’VE JUST HIKED THE PRICE”
Scott Mitchell, Commercial Director, Surgeons’ Hall, Edinburgh
has then fed through to profits. I wouldn’t want anyone to think we’ve just hiked the price,” he says. In terms of structure there are
two outbound salespeople who target different market sectors - or split the tasks if it’s a larger segment - and a full time events team of four who do relationship management with all existing customers. On top
of that sits a commercial director (Mitchell himself) and a revenue manager. “So actually we have quite a big team handling incoming sales and sourcing business,” adds Mitchell. With a strong first quarter last
year Ten Hill Place Hotel has also increased occupancy rates and there is growing awareness of the
accommodation options Surgeons’ Hall can provide. And with an ex- panding Fringe Festival offering this year - they are hoping for 90,000 ticket sales as opposed to 80,000 last year - as well as the start of the new Scottish experience night, Slainte, at Playfair Hall, leading to “cautiously optimistic” estimates of 16,000 tourists from May to Sep-
tember this year (but definitely by 2017, says Mitchell), the business is determined not to rest on its laurels. “Awareness of that [Slainte] is
growing and we are in very exciting negotiations with several worldwide operators who are very, very keen to use us. So fingers crossed that is going to become another big ele- ment to our business.”
EVENTSBASE | SUMMER 2016 | 33
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