FMI is hosting a tour of the new Olympic facilities at Stratford, East London on 18th June in the company of official London Blue Badge guides. We begin with morning coffee at 1030h at the Andaz Hotel, near Liverpool Street, followed by a visit to the Velodrome, the Hockey and Tennis Centre, the Aquatics Centre and the Olympic Village with lunch at Forman’s Fish Factory with a look at their banqueting facilities.

Bearing in mind that this is the same day as England’s first match in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we will be finishing in plenty of time for delegates to get back home or the pub to watch the match which kicks off at 7:30pm that evening.

If you would like to attend this show-round as our guest just contact rod.lee@fmigroup.co.uk

Getting ready as chairman for the upcoming FMI Group seminar on TOMS (see Masterclass, 17 June, www.meetpie.com/events) I am amazed that so much is not known by so many. Those in the events industry will recall that the EU decreed way back in 1987 that corporate group travel events to EU countries should be treated like consumer holidays for the purposes of VAT. In other words, no VAT invoice should be issued to UK corporates and there should only be VAT on the margin, hence the Tour Operators’ Margin Scheme, dis-affectionately known as TOMS.

Within the UK, our Government opted out of using the TOMS procedure initially for UK events but this opt-out has now lapsed. As of Jan 1, 2010, UK events are now subject to TOMS, not VAT. It should be good news, but it isn’t for UK event agencies as they can no longer recover VAT down the supplier chain as there are no VAT invoices. It means that UK accommodation booked by an agency for a UK corporate now needs to be grossed up to include VAT as VAT can no longer be recovered, making accommodation more expensive when not purchased direct.

Earlier this year ‘the industry’ under the guise of the trade association Eventia held a seminar and declared that because travel services such as accommodation are ‘ancillary’ to the supply of an event then their view is that the opt-in can be ignored. Not so, as this would be blatant tax avoidance. Fines under existing legislation for VAT avoidance can be severe. Surprisingly there has been no definitive word from HMRC as to whether UK events qualify as ‘ancillary’ when it comes to travel services or not, hence we are all making it up to suit our own purposes and pockets. If the law was applied as it stands, most event management companies are in for a hell of a VAT shock at the year end if they do a lot of UK accommodation because what they thought was reclaimable is no longer reclaimable.

Can destinations hold a grudge? Possibly.

Three years ago we delivered an incentive to Iceland that was ravaged by a huge storm that continued throughout the entire weekend. It was a great trip which has now become the stuff of meteorological legend within the client’s industry sector.

Fast forward three years to April 15th this year when the same client and customers were due to depart Heathrow for an incentive weekend of Fast Cars and Speedboats in Monaco.

Iceland then dumps a cloud of volcanic ash over the whole of Europe and all flights were grounded!

This time though the group had not even made it to the plane. A ‘war room’ was quickly established (in ‘The 5 Tuns Pub) in T5 as alternative means of travel were explored. Once it became clear that no flights would be departing the good old event insurance, suggested by FMI, came into effect and the majority of the group then returned home. However, three people had flown to Heathrow from Guernsey and therefore needed to get home again without the aid of flight technology. Quick calls were made to ferry ports, tickets for the next day secured, hotels for overnight accommodation booked and chauffeur driven cars pulled in immediately to send the guys on the way (another reason to use an agency).

So now we regroup for a rearranged event in September. But there has been talk in corridors about what Iceland is planning this time to stymie the event. Fishing fleet blockade of Monte Carlo, giant geyser spurt causes floods all over Europe or the launch of another ‘too-good-to-be-true’ savings account? Leave us alone, for God’s sake.

And they’re off… again. This time at Lingfield Park, near Gatwick, on Wednesday 7th July. FMI are delighted to invite bona fide corporate clients to an afternoon’s racing with the added opportunity to view the magnificent new Marriott Hotel & Country Club which has just opened as part of the racecourse complex. We would very much like to host any corporate client who regularly buys conferences, events and incentive programmes to this enjoyable and professionally useful event. The programme starts at 1300h with a show-round of the hotel facilities, then lunch so that we can all be ready for the first race at 1425h. The afternoons ends at 1730h.

So, if you think you qualify and would welcome impartial advice about your programmes simply click info@fmigroup.co.uk and tell us your details and we will take it from there.

Wrote a rather scathing piece in M&IT(March issue) recently about how badly hosted buyers tend to be treated by the trade exhibitions industry. The main criticism was the online bullying of delegates once they agree to be hosted as a buyer and the collection of your business credit card number by the organisers so that they can ‘fine’ you for cancelling, attending less appointments, generally deviating from the norm.

To give IMEX their due, bossman Ray Bloom wrote to me saying that they do not ask for delegates’ credit card details and that their whole aim was to bring buyer and seller together in a friendly atmosphere. He invited me to IMEX in Frankfurt as his guest to experience how hosted buying should really be done. Unfortunately I have a client commitment on the days of this year’s show so cannot attend. But I would say to anyone wavering that the opportunity to meet new suppliers for free is not to be sniffed at, just be careful about being signed up automatically for duff supplier interviews that you have no interest in. When neither the buyer nor the seller wants a conversation, what’s the point of making them meet up? Hopefully ‘dating by computer’ will fall by the wayside and we can all get back to meeting people we really want to meet with stuff we really want to hear about.

Orient Express on a glorious spring day

Twelve corporate clients joined FMI on a day trip to Bath, courtesy of the UK Pullman. ‘Taking clients out of their everyday environment and showing them arguably one of the UK’s best incentive ideas is a great way for us to get to know people better. Along the way we hope they will be impressed with the way we handle things as well,’ says John Fisher, MD of FMI.

The privately chartered carriage left Victoria Station at 0930h and meandered its way to the West Country at a leisurely pace, arriving in Bath just in time for a reception at the 5 star Royal Crescent hotel and then on to an open-top bus tour of the city. Following a tour of the now refurbished Roman Baths, it was time to step back on the train for afternoon tea before gently rolling into Victoria once more at around 2000h.

For details of future corporate buyer events please click here.

Misspent Youth?

Had reason to investigate getting hold of 20 visas to Russia for successful qualifiers to a sales incentive to Moscow for later this year. Despite ‘glasnost’ you will be pleased to know that communist bureaucracy is well and truly alive and kicking. The first application from the 60-something sales director was returned as he had not listed his employment between the ages of 16 and 22 and had failed to clarify the name of his primary school. It took six weeks to gather all the minutiae of the other delegates’ lives that were essential to ensure that the Russian State would not be compromised. That said, once all the data was collected, the actual visas were issued within five days, exactly as stated in the documentation. So, there you go, if you comply in the first place, everything you ask for will be granted.

Tangible Incentives for Employees

The Hindu Business Line, October 2009

To accountants who are weary of massaged numbers here is a message about massage. That, as an incentive, massage can be more powerful than money… Book review of FMI’s How to Run Successful Employee Incentive Schemes, now in paperback, available from FMI or directly from the publisher Kogan Page at £18.99.

Vibrant London

C&IT magazine, March 2010

FMI entered the monthly ‘Agency Challenge’ in C&IT’s regular feature that asks four agencies to present their ideas in less than 150 words for a fictitious brief. A client is then asked to judge the entries. Dave Ball, Events Director, provided his brief thoughts on London.

” ‘One day’ suggests in and out on the same day, so it has to be London because of travel time/air access. The group would transfer from Heathrow by Routmaster bus to Brown’s Hotel for morning coffee, followed by a Duck Tour of London. Delegates would then stop after the first section at the London Eye for champagne and substantial canapés. Then it’s back to the river to embark on James Bond-style Royal Marine RIBs and ride all the way to the Thames Barrier. The group would then take a Duck Tour pick-up back to town for High Tea at The Ritz, with activities along the way including a Segway tour of Hyde Park before Rolls Royce transfers back to Heathrow. We would also suggest a souvenir e-album mailed to delegates that night with a suitable “thanks for coming” message from London Mayor Boris Johnson.