VIDEO: How are online bookings affecting the events industry?

Event organising and venue booking has significantly changed in the last 25 years. Customer interaction, speed and feedback are valued more highly now than ever before, in no small part down to the explosion of the digital age. Discussing how the information superhighway has influenced the way the industry has changed over the course of a quarter-decade was MD of Venue Directory, Michael Begley.

“We kind of see ourselves as the conduit between the booker and the venue,” Begley told Caleb Parker for The Future In 15 Show, and you can see the full interview below. “We want to add a personal touch to things and I’m all for that; we have a fantastic team of people back at my office who are there to give outstanding customer service.”

The team at Venue Director doesn’t undervalue the power of technology, however, which gives customers the ability to access data however they please. Since the company established itself 25 years ago, Begley has seen customer priorities change from over-the-phone discussions to faxes and emails to the on-demand nature that booking services have adopted now. Describing themselves as “custodians of data,” the biggest challenge the team at Venue Directory are facing is encouraging more venues to embrace the digital culture.

“In terms of the future, we’ve got to push technology forward with the venues,” continued Begley. “The minute [venues] start to engage with technology they see the benefit and they wonder why they took so long to engage with it”

“It’s just giving the customer what they want; the venue gets more efficient, everyone’s happy. It’s automation, online, efficiency.”

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