Do I need a hostess at my event?
Many exhibitors and event organisers, once they are approaching the event date, start doubting if it is essential to have an event hostess. It is merely unclear if this is vital. Many times it is seen just as a beautiful image full stop. It feels like an unnecessary expense. However, the truth is that the right event hostess can genuinely make your event succeed.
First of all, this person will be the image of your company: a well-groomed professional, with good manners and a welcoming smile, inviting people to spend more time at your stand. That is already one big goal accomplished!
Besides, there is no need to say that during the event you and your team might be very busy to take care of every aspect of the organisation. This statement is only one reason why an event hostess becomes vital as a temporary addition to your core team.
Here are five suggestions that will help you make want to hire an event hostess at your next event:
Plan your event strategy
Depending on your focus on clients or general public, your strategy can be planned differently.
The hostess can be, for example, a receptionist: taking care of filtering your stand footfall, if needed, and directing them to the right person. The hostess will make sure clients will feel welcome, inviting them to approach the stand, offering drinks when appropriate or providing more information about the company while your potential client is waiting for a Sales Manager to talk. That gives even a better first impression of your company, especially during busy show times, so you don’t miss any good leads.
What if you are trying to collect customer info at your event or exhibition?
In that case, a lead generator would be ideal for you. Lead Generation is vital for your business. Paired with the right brand image, a professional data capture host transforms your customer information into revenue. Just make sure if in this case, your strategy might be pen and paper or modern Tablets and smartphones. An expert agency such as Rox Event Staff Ltd. includes extra options of organising data on spreadsheets or storing it straight into your system or even an online databank dedicated to your campaign.
Also, agencies can contact every lead on your behalf, working on targets and commissions, following a precise data policy and making sure your campaign is on-brand.
Part of your strategy should be making sure the agency trains staff on your brand and campaign.
There are many strategies you can adopt at events, exhibitions, trade shows, conferences and so on. You should always discuss your plan with your event agency to see how they can help you grow your business faster and more efficiently.
Effective ways to make more money from your event
When exhibitions are open to the public, things are slightly different. The right hostess can capture the attention of many people, being more vocal and more sales focused. Typically, for big exhibition centres like Excel London, the footfall is so high that if not managed properly, you could give the opposite impression of what you were looking. The right hostess knows how to take advantage of that, searching for the public’s attention, greeting visitors, approaching them, providing them information, and offering them gifts when applicable. This service will help the sales team to focus on their primary objective: creating more revenue.
Event Support options
Event Hostesses can also help in the organisation of your event:
- Microphone duties for Q&A during conferences and talks
- Leaflet distribution to attract people to your stand or company’s website and products
- Cloakroom support to look after valuable items for your guests
- Product sampling, making sure the sample goes to the target audience
- Data capture and lead generation, turning customer info into revenue
- Corporate conference staff for registration and delegate assistance
- Directional team and info point desk
- Badge scanning team
- VIP and Speakers lounge host, for Media Press Launch events and Product Launches
- Event Organisers
- Financial Conferences
- Banking Conferences
- Welcoming guests with meet and greet hosts and hostesses
- Front of house staff to manage the guest list and make the best first impression
- Hospitality staff for drinks and food service
- Models based on the event style
Bilingual, Trilingual or Multilingual Hostesses for International Shows
When you offer your services or products to a foreign client, all personnel must speak an additional language to fluent English. You could lose many sales opportunities if there is no way for you to communicate fluently in other foreign languages.
In the event industry, there are agencies like Rox Event Staff Limited that are specialised in multilingual event hostesses. In the UK they currently have staff that all together speak 25 different languages.
Excel London guests more than 300 world-leading events annually. Among these have been London Yacht Show, the London Motor Show, Grand Designs Live, MCM London Comic Con, London Marathon Registration, World Travel Market, Defence Security and Equipment International (DSEI) or IP Expo, just to name a few. Olympia is another international exhibition centre in London. It hosts more than 200 international shows a year such as BBC Good Food Show, Olympia London International Horse Show, London Chess Classic, Pure London, Spirit of Christmas, Marketing Week Live, National Wedding Show, Spring Ideal Home Show and many others.
The final third big international expo centre in London is the London Business Design Centre, with over 250 shows a year, such as Bellavita Expo, GEO Business Show, the National Running Show, B2B Marketing Ignite, PayExpo, Plant-Based World, Mortgage Business Expo and so much more.
On the conference and corporate side of events, most international meetings happen in London. The main conference centres are in hotels. Some examples in London are the Landmark Hotel, Pullman London St Pancras Hotel, Hilton London Metropole Hotel, Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, Amba Hotel, Novotel Excel, Grosvenor Hotel, Park Lane, Andaz Hotel, Intercontinental O2, JW Marriott Grosvenor House, The Dorchester, Hilton Park Lane to mention just the biggest ones.
How to successfully manage your exhibition stand
For what concerns the stand, a hostess is vital to make sure your booth looks nice and tidy at all times and literature is always replenished. The event hostess will take care of the exhibition stand when your team is on meetings, ensuring the booth will not be left unattended. The exhibition hostess will clear the exhibition stand to make it ready for the cleaning team once the show is closed.
In conclusion, an event hostess helps you with achieving your exhibitions goals. An Event Hostess supports you with confidence and professionalism. They help to educate your clients about your business.
Rox Event Staff Limited is a London based International Event Staffing Agency providing event hostesses, models, graphic design for events, photographers and videographers for corporate events, anywhere in the UK and Worldwide. We carefully hand-select all profiles matching your requirements based on our staff experience, personality and passions, so that you can always have the right candidate will represent you and support you at your event.
