Making a success of an iconic site
Miguel Fenton, Head of Marketing, Sales & PR at The Hop Farm at Paddock Wood, talks about the joys of working at the venue. Tell us about your career
This is my fifth year at The Hop Farm. My background is in the hospitality, travel and leisure industries. I began my career working for the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall, where I was Marketing Manager with a particular focus on 5-star hospitality and events. I spent nine years at the IoD and some highlights include being involved in the Annual Conventions at the Royal Albert Hall and looking after some distinguished guests including Margaret Thatcher, Richard Branson, Buzz Aldrin and at our sporting events, George Best, Jack Charlton and Bobby Robson. Following my time at the IoD, I spent several years as Director of Marketing at London’s leading entertainment website, www.viewlondon.co.uk. I have had the fortunate opportunity of travelling the world on business, in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia and at the Hop Farm, one of my biggest highlights was being involved in the music festival where I’ve looked after Grace Jones and the Beach Boys amongst others.
What makes The Hop Farm special? The Hop Farm is a fabulous place – it has such a diverse range of products and services which is a delight for a marketer as every moment of the day throws a different challenge. It is a visitor attraction, wedding, conference and field event venue, business park and also has the UK’s largest drive-in cinema! I call The Hop Farm ‘the South East’s entertainment hub’ because whatever interest you have, there is something here for everyone. One of our latest installations is a Segway/Hoverboard arena, and that’s for all ages!
How much of a selling point is the history of the site?
It is such an iconic site. We have the world’s largest collection of Victorian oast houses and during the peak time of hop-picking and supply, it was one of the South East’s biggest employers. The backdrop of the oast houses is phenomenal, particularly for field events and weddings - Kent personified.
What trends have you noticed in the corporate events/conferences market in recent years?
A few years back during the economic recession, businesses cut back on ‘luxuries’, particularly meeting space. We’ve seen bookings return to pre-recession levels and many of our previous clients, including the NHS and Kent County Council, again use The Hop Farm as their venue of choice. With my background in first-class hospitality, I’ve played a key part in raising the quality level. We’re now at the upper end of the hospitality spectrum and the result is the business is growing exponentially. Our client retention levels are now phenomenal. Another key point is that we’ve kept pricing competitive, which enables us to provide our clients more, for less. We have the fortunate situation of having so many varieties and styles of rooms - we can cater for a meeting for five people or an exhibition for several thousand. Also we sell out each year with our office Christmas party offering which is fantastic. This December we have an Alpine/Aprez-ski theme whichis totally unique.
Do you have team-building / corporate entertainment facilities?
Yes we have a hovercraft and quad bike course, laser clay pigeon shooting and we are specialists in company fun days – every Summer we host mini-festivals for companies. Like small Glastonburys!
Are weddings popular at The Hop Farm?
Yes, very. In fact we’ve got very few weekend dates left this year and we’re now trying to encourage mid-week weddings. We’ve just launched a seriously competitive package for Monday to Thursdays, so you can have a first-class wedding with a second-class price. We have several areas licensed for ceremonies, including on our beautiful, manicured wedding lawns and ornate Gazebo. One of our larger function suites, The Dray and Dray Marquee, which has a huge capacity, is really popular for Asian weddings that we host – a very versatile space.
Big Interview
What are your plans for 2017?
For several years we’ve hugely re-invested in the business so our maintenance and renovation projects of the Grade II listed buildings continue. And it’s not just the buildings where we invest. Last year we launched our new website, which then subsequently won at the Kent Digital Awards. We’ve a number of new features to add to the visitor attraction, launching from Easter, and our drive to bring the biggest and best events in Kent to The Hop Farm continues to reap rewards. This year some of the highlights are the War and Peace Show (it’s back home!), Truckfest and 10CC are back here in concert. 2018 is already shaping up well with some major bookings. The future is looking very bright for us, and for the Kent community as we deliver some great entertainment, corporate and leisure activities.
Brexit? Good or bad thing for the Hop Farm?
At this stage it’s difficult to say but we’re starting to see and be able to forecast trends. The weaker pound will mean more families will stay in the UK for the holidays, whilst foreign visitors will increase as they get more bang for their buck. So it’s a boost for visitor numbers and for our camping and touring site. The flip side is there are concerns that purchasing costs will increase, particularly imported goods or UK goods with elements that are manufactured abroad. We have always tried to buy local and support local businesses, so our risk in this respect is relatively minimised. In summary, the effects of Brexit as far as we can see, are positive.
“We’ve a number of new features to add to the visitor attraction, launching from Easter, and our drive to bring the biggest and best events in Kent to The Hop Farm continues to reap rewards” Thinking Business
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