Conference and Banqueting Management

TASK 1

1.1 Size and scope of the conference and banqueting industry in the UK

Conference and banqueting industry is a part of hospitality sector in which different types of services are rendered to the customers in order to increase profitability. The Ritz London is one of the leading hotels in UK now the directors and managers of the organisation are planning to launch conference and banquet launch. The plan is formulated to increase revenues by expanding business. A new assistant to the food and beverage manager of The Ritz London is being appointed and asked to prepare a report by evaluating the potentials in conference and banqueting sector (Chibili, 2017).

In hospitality industry the business is generated from hotels, restaurants, motels, conference and banquet halls etc. Overall profitability of this sector is continuously increasing due to enhancement of revenues of all the organisations who are operating business under hospitality sector. As The Ritz London is planning to launch banquet and conference events in order to maximise its profits, for this purpose effective strategies are required to be formulated so that the business can attain growth. Conference and banqueting industry of UK is continuously developing due to its rapid growth. This industry have contributed 39.1 million pounds in the  national income of UK in year 2013. Currently the industry is growing rapidly and according to a research the sector have recorded a growth of 6% in year 2018. Total turnover of the industry in year 2015 was 86 billion pound, in year 2016 it was 92 billion pound, in 2017 it was 98 billion pound and in 2018 it has crossed 100 billion pound (Growth of conferencing and banqueting industry, 2018).

Size of conference and banqueting industry: 

The size of this industry is medium because it is apart of hospitality industry. Size of conference and banqueting is considered as medium because there are end number of businesses that are the part of hospitality industry. These businesses are hotels, restaurants, airlines and all of them are larger than conference and banqueting sector hence its size is medium.

Scope of conference and banqueting industry: 

The scope of this industry is wider because it provides different kinds of services including conducting conferences, events etc. Banquet halls, events, conference halls are the part of this industry.

1.2 Factors that have influenced the development of conference and banqueting industry

As the industry is continuously developing but there are various factors including external and internal that are affecting business of conference and banqueting sector. The industry is rapidly growing. Causes for the growth are as follows:

• Business of conference and banqueting industry is continuously increasing.
• People are becoming social hence they conduct event frequently that leads the industry toward growth.

For all the organisations like The Ritz London it is very important to analyse such type of factors so that appropriate strategies can be formulated in order to decrease their negative impact. The factors can be analysed with the help of PESTLE analysis that focus on all the elements that can affect a business internally as well as externally. It helps organisations to All of them are described below in detail:

Political: 

All the forces that are imposed by the political parties of a country considered as such factors. These factors affect the business of conference and banqueting industry in various ways. If the government bound the industry to have a specific number of employees and the organisation is not able to hire appropriate number of work force than it can affect the business of whole sector. As The Ritz London is a part of hospitality industry hence it is very important for the organisation to follow all the instructions of the political parties in order to successfully operate the business (Davis and et.al., 2018).

Economic: 

All economy related elements like tax rates, inflation and deflation rates etc. are considered as the part of economic factors. All of them leave long term affect on the companies and the different sectors who are operating business in a country. In UK government is providing benefits to the growing companies like The Ritz London so that they can grow easily and help to develop the economy. When inflation rate of the country increases or decreases it affect the purchasing power of customers. If customers are not able to pay a specific amount for a service than it will affect the business of Conference and banqueting industry because it is not possible to operate business when clients are not able to pay (Do Le, 2017).

Social:

 It includes factors like cultural trends, education level, age, taste and preferences of the customers who use services or products provided by organisations. As UK's people are very much social and they like to hangout with their friends and family. Conference and banqueting sectors will get various benefits from these factors because it can attract the customers and attain higher profits. As The Ritz London is going to launch a conference and banquet hall so that revenues can be enhanced social factors will help to successfully operate business because of the nature of UK's public.

Technological: 

Research, innovation, technology advancement etc. are the part of such factors that attract customers. In UK all the people are technology friendly. If an organisation is launching it self with a technological factors than it will result in attraction of large number of customers. It will affect the development of conference and banqueting because if there is no technology involvement in business then customers interest will be decreased. For The Ritz London it is very important to include some technique at the time of launching of conference or banquet events.

Legal: 

Current and future legislations of the government are the part of legal factors. All the factors affect business and development of conference and banqueting sector when the organisations or the whole industry does not follow the rules and regulations imposed by the government. It is also very important for The Ritz to follow all the rules that are introduced by legal authorities and make sure that it it not a part of illegal activities to operate business in appropriate manner (Inkson and Minnaert, 2018).

Environmental:

Conference and banqueting sector get affected due to environmental factors because if a business entity is not considering the environment protection at the time of business execution than it is not possible to be stable in the market. An organisation who is harmful for the environment will not be allowed by the government of a country to operate business in it.

All the above described factors impact the growth of conference and banqueting industry because all of them are related to the business activities directly.

TASK 2

2.1 Key strategic and operational issues involved in the effective management

Effective management in every organisation is very important as it can help to execute the business appropriately and also guide to make strategic decisions. While launching conference and banquet event the managers of The Ritz London needs to properly manage the new launch so that all the desired goals can be achieved. There are various issues that may take place and affect the management of the organisation (Kosmieja and Paslawski, 2016). All of them are described below:

Strategic issues:

• Lack or training:This is the major issue that can affect the business of The Ritz because if the employees and works are not properly trained then it is not possible to fulfil all the requirements of customers. It is very important to provide appropriate training to the work force so that all the tasks can be completed successfully.
• Improper decisions:This the issue that directly affect the organisational profitability. A wrong decision which is taken by the mangers may lead whole business towards the failure. If the management of The Ritz take an ineffective decision than it will result negatively and also affect the revenues and profits.

Operational issues:

• Inappropriate execution of operational activities:Operational activities are related to business execution in which all the operations are carried out. If the activities are not performed appropriately by The Ritz than it will result in decreased customer's interest and organisation's revenues.
• Poor management:If there is no management at the workplace then it is not possible to execute business and other functions properly. When an event is organised by Ritz and it is not properly managed than it can affect the profitability and market image of the organisation hence it is very important to properly manage all the operations.

All the above described issues may affect the operational efficiency of Ritz hence it is very important to handle them appropriately and for strategies so that all of them can be resolved  quickly (McCallaghan, 2015).

2.2 Performance and quality review techniques that are used by conference and banqueting industry

For all the business entities who operate business under hospitality industry it is very important to review performance and quality of the organisations so that modifications can be made according to requirements of customers. As Ritz is also a part of this sector so the managers should also take feedbacks from its customers and review the activities in order to enhance presentation and attribute of services.

Importance of delivering quality:

• It is very important for Ritz London to deliver good quality services to the customers so that their trust can be gained.
• Delivering good quality services is essential to increase profitability and revenues.
• If Ritz London is rendering good and effective services to the clients than it can result in large number of customers (Park and et.al., 2016).

 Following techniques can be followed to review the quality and performance:

Client and guest evaluation techniques:

In this method employees of Ritz can take feedback from all its customers that can be used in future to make modification in services and delivery method. This method is mainly used to resolve all the issues of clients.

Venue appraisal: 

In this technique the place which is used to execute all the operational activities is analysed. The place can be adjusted according to the requirements of the guests.

Profit realisation:

 By evaluating the profits of prior events the managers of Ritz London can estimate the profits of upcoming events. It can guide the managers to form appropriate strategies to increase profits.

Closed loop evaluation: 

This technique is mainly used to set business goals, aims and objectives in order to achieve all of them in future. If all the objectives and aims are achieved then it means that organisation is performing well.

All the above described methods can be used to review quality of services and performance of The Ritz London.

TASK 3

3.1 Suitability of a range of food production systems and styles

From a research it has been analysed that Olympia London is a great venue for conferences and events. An off site business event is going to be conducted there in which corporates are going to be invited (Wood, 2017). In this event financial issues that are faced by corporate organisations will be discussed. Starters, main course, deserts with drinks are going to be served to all the corporates. A food production system and style with food and beverage service style is described below for this event:

Food production system and style: 

It is the system which is followed by a event managers to feed people who are coming to attend an event. Cooks in Olympic London going to use different food production systems and styles like chopping, grinding, marinating, boiling, frying, grilling, mixing, steaming etc. All these systems are suitable for the business event as all of them are required to prepare food for the guests who are coming to attend the event.

Food and beverage service styles: 

It can be defined as the method in which food and beverage items are served to the guests. The service systems that can be used by the event manager for the farewell party are described below:

Buffet service:

In this system a huge presentation of food items including hot and cold with different types of cuisine is served to the guests. Guests take and serve food themselves (Rahimi, 2017).

Family service: 

This is a simple method of delivering food to the guests in which all the food items are placed on a table and guests are asked to come and have food by them self.

Both the above described systems can be used by the event manager to properly conduct the farewell party. Buffet service style should be selected as it is the most suited style of serving food and beverage items to the guests at event.

3.2 Factors to be consider at the time of organizing an off site conference banquet

An event of a farewell party of college professor is going to be conducted by an event manager at  Olympia London, there are various issues and factors that are required to be considered by the event managers to successfully conduct the event. All of them are described below:

Food according to the number of guests: 

This factor is required to be considered by the event managers of the event. If the food is not enough for the guests than it can become an issue which is required to be dealt effectively (Seal and Mattimoe, 2017).

Parking for the guests: 

The guests who are coming to attend the event the mangers needs to assure that all of them are having appropriate parking place to park their vehicles. If there is no place for the parking then manager have to take immediate action so that guests can attend the event.

Appropriate number of workers: 

It is very important to have sufficient staff members who can handle the event properly as it can help to finish the events successfully (Venske, 2018).

Sufficient space for all the guests: 

The manager need to assure that there is sufficient place for all the guests and they are enjoying the event or not.

All the above described factors are required to be considered by the event manger in order to successfully conduct the event. If a single element is missed by the manager then it will spoil the event and guests will be dissatisfied with the services.  

3.3 Key menu planning consideration for conference and banqueting events

The event manager is going to consider the following key menu planning considerations:

Number of guests:

 The manager is required to consider the number of guests so that sufficient food items can be cooked for them. If the manager fails to arrange sufficient food for the guests than it can affect the whole event. As 200 guests are going to attend the event hence the manager needs to arrange food according to their requirements.

Quality of food: 

The managers needs to consider the quality of food because if food quality is not good then it will result in dissatisfied guests. If the food quality is good than all the people who are coming to attend the event will be highly satisfied and a positive image of the hotel can be set in the mind of them (Sweaney, 2014).

Limitations:

• It is not possible to arrange food according to the taste of every guest.
• Sometimes it is very difficult to handle those customers who demand for different variety of food which is not mentioned in the menu.

The menu which is decided for the event is as follows:

Food items	Meal
Chicken nuggets	Starter
Apple Pie	Desert
Rainbow rice with curry	Main course
Red wine	Drinks
Manchurian	Starter
Fish curry	Main course
Garlic bread	Main course

TASK 4

4.1 Ergonomic considerations for a given conference and banquet

Ergonomics is the science to design the place of work according to employees limitations and capabilities. Ergonomics considerations is relationships among machines and human and also application of physiological, psychological and anatomical values so that problems can be resolve that arises from the relationships of human and machines. In hotel, this considered the relationships of hotel and housekeepers and so on. To assess the ergonomics considerations in The Ritz London of conference and banqueting events by :

Space utilization techniques:

This techniques is generally used to measure the space that is going to be used in conference and banquets events. This techniques are used by The Ritz London are as follows:

Seating plans:

Various kinds of seating plans are organised for conference and banquets. In The Ritz London it can be arranged in seminar and banquet styles. This plans generally depends on category of programs, capacity of space and also as per the choice of events holders.

Computer aided design package:

Now generally designs are made with the help of computer systems. So, this are used by The Ritz London to calculate the area of space and design according to clients and participants and facilitates better quality of services.

Quality of ambience:

This defines the characteristics and properties of environments and also measure the surroundings conditions. The Ritz London measures the environmental conditions for conference and banquet events by:

Air conditioning:

This system are considered by Ritz London as heating and cooling system are ususally required for system controlling.

Ventilation:

Sufficient quantity of air have to be enter in conference hall. So, for this Ritz London have to provide sound surroundings and proper ventilation of oxygen is must for conference and banquets events.

Audio- Visual:

This means considering both visual and sound components. So, this help The Ritz London in conference and banquet events and some elements are required are:

Video projections:

In some conference and banquets events presentations are required for that clients used inspirational and innovative videos for that The Ritz London have to provides presentation projector with big screen is necessary.

Sound:

For any banquets and conference events sound system are necessary. So, The Ritz London have to provide smooth and good sound system which allows clients to quietly hear speech or videos. If sound system are not good that gives bad impacts on their clients.

Conclusion

From the above project report it has been concluded that conference and banqueting industry is a key part of hospitality industry because it contributes a higher amount in the overall income of the sector. For all the business entities who are operating under this industry it is very important to render good quality services to the customers so that profits and revenues can be maximised. Conference and banqueting sector of UK is continuously developing and helping the economy to grow. Scope of the industry is wider because various businesses like conducting events and conferences, booking of banquet halls for functions and meeting etc. are considered as the part of conference and banqueting sector.

References

• Berners, P., 2018. The Practical Guide to Managing Event Venues. Routledge.
• Chibili, M., 2017. Modern Hotel Operations Management. Routledge.
• Davis, B. and et.al., 2018. Food and beverage management. Routledge.
• Do Le, T., 2017. The reasons and solutions for the under-representation of women in the hotels’ senior management.
• Inkson, C. and Minnaert, L., 2018. Tourism management: An introduction. Sage.
• Kosmieja, M. and Paslawski, J., 2016. Flexible Designing of Large Sports Complex. Archives of Civil Engineering. 62(2). p.77.
• McCallaghan, W. A., 2015. Service quality management in conference tourism: expectations versus delivery (Doctoral dissertation, North-West University (South Africa), Potchefstroom Campus).