There we were – as a booked client – in a beautiful setting looking out on a large pond with well-established lush foliage and graceful swans paddling-by, while being tested on the topic that had just been presented. Our booking could have been at a rural game lodge or an exclusive one-meeting- room venue at an up-market B&B in the suburbs. With plenty of hot and cold refreshments and more than sufficient morning-baked ‘eats’ on tap – the silence and conducive atmosphere was almost palpable.
Instead we were comfortably seated at the Galllagher Convention Centre in Midrand – a short distance from perhaps one of the busiest highways on the African continent.
Where in the crazy, tumultuous Midrand area between Sandton and Hadfield can one feel so exclusive? The secure precinct on this particular day were setting-up for a 1400-seated banquet, and three further events with capacities each of over 300 were simultaneously in various stages of set-up.
Yet it was as if our booking was the only one. The personnel attention was the same with not one extraneous noise permeating our concentration.
The MICE industry is booming – with a range and depth of bookings almost unprecedented at this time of year. So it is satisfying to know that standards have not been affected. On the contrary if Gallagher are anything to go by – the venue industry is excelling in ensuring only the very best is good enough – no matter the capacity or type of booking.
