Interview with an events expert: Charlie Grant Peterkin
What type of events do you run and who is your main target market?
Our events vary in size from intimate gatherings of 30 guests to large events involving thousands of people. These might consist of canape receptions, lunches, dinners – 75% of which are corporate and usually held in one of London’s landmark venues (the V&A, National Gallery, The Natural History Museum, as examples). 25% of our target market are our private clients, with events such as weddings and private parties and celebrations
Please do tell me a little bit more about the business?
The business was founded in 2000 by brother and sister Michael and Caroline Symonds. To this day it is still independent and family run. We have an annual turnover of £9M. We run two contracts (for the Formula One team, Racing Point and we operate Burberry’s restaurant Thomas’s). The contracts contribute £3M to our turnover, the remaining £6M if from the events business. We employ 38 full time members of staff and have 80 active casual staff (waiters/waitresses etc) on our payroll
What does a dream event booking look like?
From a key account (a client who knows and trusts us). A direct booking (no commissions payable to a third party), at a location where no venue or agency commissions are imposed. A weeknight, guest numbers in the region of 300-500, and a menu from our seasonal collection (ie minimal bespoke work). In other words, a booking that requires the minimal amount of resources to execute
Did you have to close your business during the COVID pandemic?
Yes – we placed 95% of our staff on furlough with just 3 to keep the business ticking over (April-May). We reopened in June, albeit with a small team working reduced hours
How can you make up for the shortfall left by corporate clients who presumably aren’t partying like previous years?
It is very difficult as they make up such a large proportion of our annual events business revenue. Our only options are: a) ensure that any corporate business that is available is snapped up by Rocket (and that we have the products available for them) and b) to pivot away from the corporate (B2B market) and focus on the consumer (B2C). We have developed and tested a new product over the past 3 months that is ‘covid-secure’ and targeted at a potential growth market. Our ambition is to be able to rebalance our portfolio, and over the course of the next 2 years (during the events market recovery), speak to a new audience
What is your current product offering and are forward booking returning to anywhere near ‘normal’?
We are still offering ‘physical’ events and we have seen a small increase in these in recent weeks (however, government restrictions, low confidence is making it challenging). Our focus has been on the development of products for the ‘virtual’ event and these range from Rocket Hampers to Ingredients Boxes. Forward bookings are nowhere near returning to normal and won’t until confidence returns (and restrictions lifted). The finding of a vaccine is critical to all of this or it will be a very long road to recovery
Do you have any special deals or offers to entice clients to book with you?
No. Bookings are so few that it is really only key accounts who are in touch. Clients are looking for deals, if anything, prices/costs have increased due to the extra resources required to be covid-secure
Has it been an enormous task to make your events Covid-19 safe and is there anything that you are doing that distinguishes yourself from the competition?
The guidance is very unclear for the events industry and changes. Often, guidance is stipulated by the venue to which we must comply. There’s not much we can do to gain a competitive edge to distinguish ourselves from our competitors, it’s more the case of doing what is required to ensure we’re Covid safe for the event in question.
If you had a direct line to the government, what would you ask them to do to make life easier for event organisers?
The events industry is a bit of a grey area and has been somewhat neglected by the government (unlike other hospitality and travel sectors). I think there needs to be a concerted effort to find solutions to get the industry back on its feet. I think that furlough should be extended until the above is achieved
How important is sustainability and green credentials to the modern client?
Extremely important and before Covid-19 struck sustainability was very much the buzz word within our industry. Particularly in the corporate sector, clients were looking to make their events more sustainable, as well as giving their events a more sustainable theme – they wanted their guests to take onboard their green credentials. We were investing resources into our operation practices, our supply chain, our product to become more responsible (because we needed/and wanted to), and to fit the demands of the market.
What type of personalities have successful careers in the events industry?
I think people who have a passion for food or drinks or entertainment or lighting or set design – i think you have to have a genuine interest in your product, whichever sector it might fit. I think it suits personalities who thrive under pressure, enjoy the sense of ‘occasion’, and don’t mind hard graft. It is incredibly rewarding
In the events industry, do you think it is possible to start from the bottom and to work your way to the top?
Yes I do, and that is exactly how I began. There are (were!) plenty of small events companies starting (there are relatively low barriers to entry), so yes, someone could join a company in an early stage and quite easily grow with it, as it did at Rocket. I think it would be harder to start at the bottom in an established company and work your way up, but not impossible
What advice would you give to candidates starting their careers in the events industry?
Identify your passion – is it catering or is it event production etc? Unless you’re able to get into a company where you can thrive and realise personal growth (as iI did), then I’d suggest moving around, every two years, build your network, build your experiences and skill, and over time i think candidates will find their niche. It’s a small industry; network is key
Can you see a time in the near future when events are booking up and event businesses are hiring again?
Yes, events businesses are responding to the current challenges, and are pivoting with new products entering the market. There is opportunity for hiring, certainly not as much as before, and probably not until 2021. I don’t think physical events will start booking until a reliable vaccine has been found and government guidelines returned to normal – with that in mind, i don’t believe there will be any hiring in this regard for a little while let
What was the best event that you attended in recent memory?
The best event was probably a dinner at the Natural History Museum, where an open kitchen was built on a stage, in plain view of all the guests (and Charles Darwin). Guests sat at two long banqueting tables under Hope the whale and dined on a 5-course tasting menu, in full view of the pass. You can enjoy a short video here: Events | #ROCKETPRIVATEVIEWS 2019: WPY
Get to know the events expert better: Charlie Grant Peterkin
Do you remember your first job in the events industry?
Yes, it was a smart dinner for 10 guests at a boutique jewellery store on Old Bond Street. Guests included Cilla Black and Kenny Dalglish. The latter asked for his steak ‘well done’. Our chef duly cremated it, and the smoke set off the fire alarm! I had to apologise to the table. It was rather embarrassing. I was 25
Do you collect airpoints or participate in any other travel loyalty programs?
Not personally but I have friends who seem obsessed by using their AMEX cards for British Airways avios
Economy or business class?
Economy, but will always pay extra for best seats – legroom, fast track boarding and anything to make shuffling through Heathrow or Gatwick that much easier
Hotel or self-catering?
Hotel 9 times out of 10
Package holiday or independent traveller?
Independent
A memorable meal from your travels?
Too many. It’s often the main driving force for us to go away in the first place! The Hartwood in [Tulum, Mexico] and La Petite Maison [Nice, France] spring to mind. Closer to home we find ourselves going back to the River Cafe…
An experience or attraction that you’d highly recommend?
Things have now changed a bit with kids on board. And I still don’t think you can beat a bucket and spade holiday to the coast – Cornwall or recently, Pembrokeshire
Do you travel more than other members of your family?
No. Everyone seems to get around a bit, granted 2020 has been a little bit of a write off. I am hoping the new venture [A Cook’s Tour] can help me to readdress that – we are hoping to bring the best of France, Spain and Italy to every subscriber’s kitchen!
Your best recent holiday?
A family trip to Cornwall – surfing, crabbing, cliff top walks, sandcastles and kite flying. What’s not to like?!
And the worst?
Can’t think… I think we’ve been lucky, or rather made good choices. Every stag-do is fraught with its own dangers. Namely pre-trip excitement counterbalanced against post-tripregret. Thank goodness I’m past that chapter, but the flight home from a stag abroad is the worst travel experience I have endured…
Do you think about your carbon footprint when you are travelling?
Yes, increasingly so… but with a young family, I haven’t been on a plane for 2 years!
Did you have to cancel any trips this year due to Covid-19?
Yes, there were a few. But ultimately we will consider them more so ‘postponements’ and were just as happy to switch to staycationing instead
Where can you recommend domestically for those preferring staycations?
I will betray my origins but there are so many amazing places on the South West coast of England, including Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. We are looking forward to another stay at Hotel Tresantan [St Mawes, Cornwall] coming up soon
Have you ever visited anywhere that you think you would be a place to retire to?
Yes – usually everywhere/anywhere that we stay and like we think we could retire to… particularly if there’s a view of the sea
Have you ever bumped into anyone famous on holiday?
Sadly not, although I expect my wife would have a keener eye for that type of thing
What technical innovation would make travel easier?
A portobal robot to pack and unpack the car. To proceed to then clean it would be next level
When you are about to travel what can you not leave the house without?
My wife’s teddy bear
What is your guilty travel indulgence?
A G&T whilst flying
What is the short and mid-term outlook for the broader travel, tourism and leisure industry?
I suspect it’s like the events industry: until a vaccine is found, then the future’s uncertain and international ‘borders’ will continue to open and close. The focus, I would rather anticipate, to be the domestic market
Any advice for people just starting out in their professional travel careers?
Use this time of uncertainty to try and gain experience and build a network… try and do your best learning, conserve cash. Do your best to use this time for career preparation for when the good times return. Try lots of things. Don’t be shy. Be resourceful. All these things will look good on your CV, talking points in an interview, and moreover make you more interesting