JUNE 21ST EVENTS REBOOT: Lockdown lifting brings bookings uplift for TLC

After nearly a year of Covid-enforced hiatus, one of the country’s most established event planners, the Taylor Lynn Corporation (TLC), has seen a renewed appetite for the booking of live events this year.

Growth which has been spurred on by last week’s Government ‘roadmap out of lockdown’ announcement, and by the success of the vaccination programme.

During January and February, the Manchester-based company saw a sizeable uplift in bookings for events in Q3 and Q4 2021 with over £1.5 million worth of new enquiries and tenders, and many clients rebooking their postponed events. Plus, since lockdown announcements on February 22, 2021, the company has seen a surge in large event enquiries for Q1 2022.

“We saw green shoots emerging towards the end of 2020, with corporate clients and private bookers showing tentative interest in booking events for this year,” said TLC’s CEO Liz Taylor (pictured). “The last two months have seen this convert to a real growth in enquires for business events in the autumn and private events from late August.

“I had anticipated that we wouldn’t see any substantial growth in bookings until at least Easter, especially with the Government restrictions implemented after Christmas, but it’s not been the case.”

“We have seen a number of corporate companies looking to re-engage with their workforce in the autumn and seeing live events as the right tool to use. Many are citing the success of the vaccination programme, possibility of more rapid testing and a more measured Government approach to the lifting of lockdown as the reasons for their confidence.”

She added: “Significantly, corporate clients are also showing some key differences in how they approach bookings since the Covid pandemic. Many are more flexible on dates and venues, realising that key dates are under increased pressure from events re-scheduling from 2020. More than half our enquiries are looking for venues with a mix of indoor and outdoor space, with that covid-19 advice on being safer outside still fresh in their minds. And very importantly, they only want to work with us to book only Covid-safe accredited spaces.”

“Clients who would normally have planned incentive events in Europe are keeping events in the UK or opting for hybrid events. In part due to uncertainty around foreign travel and allowing international delegates to safely attend, but also as a result of Brexit. With increased logistics and planning for events in EU countries comes increased costs, and when budgets are keener than ever, clients are preferring to use UK destinations.”