The HBAA’s Next Gen Board has been renamed and re-purposed as the Diversity & Inclusion Board (D&I).

The move is a natural evolution of the #HBAAfuturefit vision, which aims to ensure the association is robust, relevant and fit for purpose in the future, as well as providing an inclusive platform for the under-represented in the business events, accommodation and meetings sector.

Please download below the open letter sent to the Chancellor on 30th June 2020.

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The Event Industry Alliance (EIA) – the collective associations of AEO, AEV and ESSA, is pleased to introduce its latest cross association working group initiative – ‘Project Confidence’.

"Covid 19 and lockdown have been a hammer blow to business events, meetings and accommodation agencies, venues and suppliers, basically for the whole sector. By reducing social distancing to one metre and providing guidelines, the Government has wrapped the hammer in plastic.

“However, while we welcome the relaxing of this distance, damage has been done. The development of one metre social distancing makes meetings and events just about viable once they are able to take place; keeping it at two metres they would not have been. The requirement for everyone to identify themselves as they arrive is an additional safety measure and giving everyone the confidence to visit venues and meet again safely is the immediate priority for our industry.

“Now, after chasing these guidelines for many weeks, the industry has less than two weeks to put the exact requirements in place. It’s a challenge but one we’re pleased to have at last.

“Even so, many thousands of people in the business events, accommodation and meetings industry will still be made redundant in the coming days, weeks and months. The industry still needs extra financial support - a special extension of the furlough scheme, continuing business rates relief, commercial rent relief, a delay in payment of Corporation Tax and a reduction in VAT on accommodation and meetings packages - until Spring 2021 to keep businesses alive when, we hope, the hammer blows will stop and business will hopefully return.” 

At the last meeting of the Events Industry Board (EIB), members continued to press for more support as they reviewed measures for the longer term recovery of the Industry.

Whilst welcoming the extension to the furlough scheme, members urged the government to extend the scheme further and offer help to many of the Industry’s smaller businesses that were often struggling to access government programmes.