BNC PEOPLE: Rebecca hurley

I’ve held numerous senior event roles in my 14 years at BMA House, and together with my love for weddings, this led me to develop weddings from scratch for the venue.

Before joining BMA House, I worked at the exciting ZSL London Zoo as a Sales Planner, organising the launch of some incredible animal houses and elaborate summer parties where animals could be taken to an event to surprise guests! Prior to this I began my working life in London at the London Marriott Hotel, Marble Arch where I spent two and a half years developing my customer service skills and love for events as Executive Meetings Manager.

For me, the best part about working in events has got to be the daily variety this industry provides, no one day is the same which makes this role exciting. The people I meet (virtually and in-person), the team I work with, their enthusiasm, drive and passion for hosting events, all of these sum up why I’ve stayed in the industry for so long. Sometimes the hours are long (at BMA House our planners manage events from start to finish) and we’re sometimes in the venue at 6am, with an event going on past 1am. It’s a good thing we have great coffee in our café!

We were fortunate enough to host Nike’s Hospitality House for the London 2012 Olympics, and I was very lucky to be fully involved in this incredibly exciting event and time for London. On day one of the Games, our Grade II listed building saw a transformation like no other - from its typical medical and historical nature, into a great sporting and media hospitality space. The Great Hall was pumped with adrenaline when our flagship space became a games room for athletes’ families and half of the Hall stored over 4,000 Nike running shoes! Rooms on our third floor saw top-of-the-range AV installed to project and display images of Nike’s products, whilst the Courtyard Suite on the ground floor became three individual physio massage rooms to heal tired bodies. Our most popular spaces, the Snow and Paget rooms became the athletes lounge, a quiet space to relax and unwind and watch the live games on large screens, with flooring installed to resemble that of a running track. Prestigious dinners for winning athletes took place outside in our stunning Courtyard, with food and drink provided by their own innovative Italian chef, who catered for every runner’s needs by serving up nourishing, fresh dishes to aid fatigue and energise.

BMA House is proud to be able to offer guests the choice of two luxury outdoor spaces, a real rarity in central London. We encourage delegates to get some fresh air in meeting break times which not only promotes wellbeing but also enhances productivity. These large spaces can be hired privately in the evenings and weekends for summer parties, receptions and weddings. Our team are what brings our clients back time and time again. We’re a very friendly and caring team and build on our client relationships by managing the events from the initial enquiry, right through to the event itself. We love to see our clients enjoying their events with us and our feedback proves how well looked after our clients feel.

Now we’re out of the hardest two years the industry has faced, and a slow return to face-to-face events, I’d like to see more thought and care go into trade shows when sustainability comes to play. The waste produced at the end of a show is phenomenal, for example, many single-use stands go straight to landfill, Lanyards disposed of in general waste, pointless stand giveaways, to name but a few. MICE needs to do more to promote sustainability at the shows and prove the UK is leading the way in this field. To support this argument, I recently wrote a blog on this topic, I encourage you to have a read here!

The trends that I see emerging over the next twelve months are: more hybrid events taking place, with technology playing a big part in it’s continued growth. Food waste reduced (we have some great concepts on how we’re working on this!). Clients having knowledge of their carbon footprint for their event and how they can reduce their emissions for their next event. More plant-based items and fewer meat options being included on menus / DDR packages.

https://bmahouse.org.uk/

Getting to know Rebecca: 

If you could choose an entirely different profession, what would it be and why? To be a classical performer on stage! Singing    and playing the piano have brought me so much joy when I was younger, so to pick this hobby up again and turn it into a career would be a dream come true!

Where do you go on holiday? Anywhere hot. Last year we were lucky enough to jet off to the Dominican Republic with our family! 

What do you do in your spare time?  I’m a busy mum to five-year-old girl/boy twins, so ‘spare time’ is always filled with fun craft activities or getting out and about seeing places of interest. Our favourite spot to visit is Hever Castle, but you can also find us going on long country walks ending in a cosy pub lunch, my perfect Sunday.

What is your motto for life/success/work? ‘Never assume’! Something I’ve learnt over the years and pass on to all our new team        members as it’s simply the best advice in life and at work!