While short-notice bookings were the order of the day at the start of the year, the past few weeks have brought long-term reservations for larger events. “We have recently secured four international meetings with 400-800 delegates and a congress with over 1,000 attendees for 2011 and after,” said a delighted Hofburg Vienna Managing Director Renate Danler. These acquisitions will raise Vienna’s profile as a business and science location, and will generate over 13,000 overnight stays. The reservations include the International Congress on Prevention of Congenital Diseases (12-14 May 2011; 400 physicians), theCongress of the European Society for Animal Cell Technology(ESACT, 15-18 May 2011; 800 experts) and the Austrian Ear, Nose and Throat Congress (HNO, 14-17 September 2011; 650 delegates). And a jubilee conference to mark the 400th anniversary of the Barmherzige Brüder will bring about 1,000 healthcare professionals to the Hofburg in May 2014.
With business in 2010 shaping up very well it is not just future bookings that give grounds for optimism. In autumn 2010 three prestigious gala events will be coming to the Hofburg Vienna. The imperial staterooms will provide the setting when Austria’s Leading Companies are honoured on 4 November, and the country’s best red wines are chosen at the Falstaff Rotweingala(Falstaff Red Wine Gala) on 7 December. The Redoutensaele will roll out the red carpet for the Uhrengala (watch gala) on 9 December. “Austrian and international banquets and gala evenings account for 10-15 percent of our revenue,” Danler noted. Taken together, all segments are forecast to generate revenue of almost EUR 10 million and added value of about EUR 190 million in 2010.
