Within the sales team I worked towards selling the event space at Twickenham to both new and existing clients.

Responsible for co-ordinating commercial conferences and events of up to 1,200 guests at Twickenham Stadium on non-match days.Planning and logistics were a key part of this role due to the nature of events at a national, working stadium and the volume of guests and level of clientele that I dealt with. I assisted clients with developing their events by offering ideas and solutions to ensure that they have the most successful event possible. This involved advising clients on AV, production, health and safety, food, beverage and the creative elements of events being held at the stadium. This would then need to be seamlessly communicated to various teams across the stadium to ensure a perfect delivery.

Responsible for the sales and co-ordination of all events at a prestigious private members club in the West End of London for which we are the exclusive on-site caterer. Within the role I worked with a variety of clients (members and commercial) on a wide range of events varying from weddings to conferences to cocktail receptions for up to 300 guests.This role was heavily dependent on strong attention-to-detail, effective communication and the ability to prioritise tasks and work well under pressure in a very busy and demanding role. Account management was also a key aspect to this role in order to maintain client relationships and encourage repeat business.I was also responsible for financial forecasting and reporting back to the client monthly on the sales and events performance.

This role was offered as a promotion due to my heavy involvement with hotel marketing. I was responsible for the marketing budget across all departments of the hotel whilst providing support to all heads of departments in creating and developing marketing campaigns. This role was carried out in conjunction with my initial role as Event Co-ordinator.

As Sales and Event Co-ordinator the role involved reactive sales and co-ordination of commercial events at the hotel.I would negotiate with potential clients to win business, pitch and sell the venue and conduct site visits in order to secure events. This would also involve a high level of developing and maintaining contacts and business relationships in order to encourage repeat business. Once these events had been contracted, I was then responsible for co-ordinating the clients events from start to finish to ensure that they ran seamlessly. This involved liaising with suppliers and colleagues to ensure that each event is carried out to the highest possible standard.

This role was undertaken during my industrial placement year so formed part of my degree (Year 3).The role involved the operational and staff supervision of conferences, weddings, banquets, receptions and parties held on the University of Southampton campuses. It also involved supervising the fine dining restaurant and bar areas at times.During my time here, I successfully completed a project aimed at improving the delivered catering service offered at the university where several of my recommendations were enforced.I had the opportunity to work closely with the event co-ordinators by spending time shadowing them which first sparked my interest in this field.I gained a wealth of experience and detailed insight into the event industry and how to co-ordinate and run events of all different varieties. This formed a great base for the final year of my degree and also provided me with vital skills and experience for seeking and securing a role straight from university.