Find out more about SugarFactory

What is the status of your venue right now?

We are following the guidelines of our Dutch government and our venue has been closed accordingly until further notice. Fortunately, our events have not been cancelled but postponed to later this year.
Due to the fact that our venue is empty, we are utilising the opportunity to perform tasks such as deep cleaning and maintenance so that we have our venue in its best state when the event season starts again.

How are you staying in touch with your employees?

We are using Microsoft TEAMS to have regular meetings with each other as well as with other departments within the company.

How do you motivate your sales team right now?

The current situation has not affected the motivation of our team. We are more than ever in good contact with our clients and with our colleagues to see how we can help each other or learn from best practices. Each team member has their own projects and tasks but is also willing to assist at other departments if necessary. This does not only improve their knowledge but brings our team closer to each other.
As enquiries are still being received and we are preparing for better days to come, we are looking forward to improved days while keeping ourselves busy and useful.

How do you see the future for the rest of the year once the crisis passes?

We see an increase in enquiries for the end of the year and the first two quarters of 2021. Our events start right after the summer break, from September this year. However, we have adjusted our terms with the possibility of being able to cancel without penalty, should the virus still not be under control during those event days. This encouraged planners to sign off without fear of spending large amounts on cancellation costs. Also, we are in good contact with different event platforms and event associations to keep ourselves updated. Event companies and corporate clients in the Netherlands have started to be a bit more optimistic about the fall 2020 and thereafter.

What are the unique selling points of your venue?

Given our uniqueness thanks to our history and the fact we maintained the old elements of the factory, we are one of the largest venues in the region of Amsterdam. Amsterdam remains one of the most popular cities in which to organise events and conferences, according to several global statistics. We can easily host conferences of up to 1,200 participants while still having rooms available for networking/catering area and breakout sessions. Furthermore, our venue is perfectly situated being only 10 minutes from Amsterdam Central Station, Schiphol Airport and with our own train station and parking lot in front of the building. Especially for companies from the UK, there is not only a direct flight connection but also train connection that increased their frequency last winter.
It therefore doesn’t matter how you prefer to reach us or how large your group is, we can serve (almost) any type of event!

What message do you have to MICE bookers in the UK who will read the interview?

We understand that the current situation has significant impact on the industry.
As one of the largest event venues in our region we therefore are open for discussion about our flexibility towards terms and conditions along with especially included healthy clauses in our contracts.
We look forward welcoming great events back to Amsterdam and back to SugarCity Events. Meanwhile, we are making sure that both our venue and our team remain in good shape and can deliver what’s expected when the situation returns to normal.
For the time being we would like to wish all readers good health and safety, for you and your loved ones.
Till we meet again!