Why don't hotels answer their phones?

It's very strange. Hotels are multi-million pound businesses and, if what you read in the press is true, the market is pretty tough at the moment. And yet here I am with a bluechip client wanting to book 40 rooms for an event in March and the first two venues I have called haven't answered their phones.

Are receptionists much more expensive than one would think?

Is the fun coming back into corporate events?

In 2009 we noticed that events with business linked outcomes were more popular than the more frivolous activities. Corporate executives were in a sombre mood, but the thing we heard more than anything was 'it's not what we do, it's what we are seen to do.'

It would be easy to by cynical about that, but the reality is that you would have to be pretty thick skinned not to feel that way. Already in 2010 we're hearing more of that good old word 'fun'. That will mean the return of events like the good old It's A Knockout coming back.

And so it should be. Fun is one of the key ingredients of a good event. It builds relationships and it reduces stress in the workplace. Fun is not a four letter word.