GMB Congress provides major economic boost for Nottingham

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The 97th annual GMB Congress held in Nottingham from Sunday 8th to Thursday 12th June came to a close last month but figures just released show the event had a hugely positive impact on the city’s hotel performance for the duration of the event which was last held in Nottingham over 100 years ago!

Figures released by the Nottingham Hoteliers Association show the year-on-year comparison of holding the GMB Congress in Nottingham have resulted in a 38.23% increase in the average room rate during the week of the event compared with the same period last year – from £58.08 to £81.42 – and a 10.8% increase in room occupancy – from 82.6% in 2013 to 93.4% this year.

The win to hold the GMB Congress at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham was the result of partnership bidding by the Nottingham Event Team, the conference bureau at Experience Nottinghamshire; Capital FM Arena and the Nottingham Hoteliers Association. Ed Miliband, Leader of the Labour Party and actor Ricky Tomlinson were among the keynote guest speakers.

David Randall, Director of Conferencing and Events, Nottingham Event Team, said:

We worked with the Nottingham Hoteliers Association along with Capital FM Arena to showcase the city’s excellent venues, hotels and facilities to the event organisers in order to attract this major conference to Nottingham and this has paid huge dividends for the city.

Hosting the GMB Congress has brought over £1m to the local economy and we are highly delighted that both the hotel occupancy and the average room rate in the city increased enormously for the duration of this event compared to the same period last year.

Paul Michael, Vice Chair of the Nottingham Hoteliers Association, said:

It was great to be involved with such a successful event. After three years of building the relationship with the GMB and working with key organisations throughout the city, the success of the event demonstrated the benefits of working together to attract and host such major events. In addition to the positive economic impact on Nottingham’s hotels, local bars and restaurants benefitted too. The attendees had many positive things to say about Nottingham and the hospitality they were shown, and so we are hoping the event may be held here once again in 2016.

Claire Steven, Chair of the Nottingham Hoteliers Association, added:

The GMB event had a very positive impact on occupancy in hotels across the city as well as a boost to the economy as a whole.

The Nottingham Event Team were actively involved with the GMB Congress for the entire duration of the event, engaging with the delegates, briefing them on all the exciting things the city and county have to offer, and providing them with discount flyers for local restaurants, bars and attractions.