An Insider’s View from Belmond: What it Means to Attend an inVOYAGE Event
Ever wondered what it means to attend one of our events? Considering booking for 2024? Hear from one of our most long-standing partners Perrine, Senior Director of Belmond and take a peek behind the scenes as we find out just what it means to join one of our events…
Perrine
Senior Account Director, Groups, Belmond
inVOYAGE: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us Perrine, can you believe it’s been 5 months now since we welcomed all our fellow inVOYAGERs to The Nellie here in Cape Town! What an incredible event that was! Now I believe that was your 9th event with us and you’ve attended inVOYAGE every year since the very beginning. So, tell us, what is it that keeps you coming back and why is it important for you to be a part of inVOYAGE?
Perrine: Aside from Richard and Debbie being the loveliest! I attended the very first edition of inVOYAGE and right from the very start, I saw that there was this niche that they'd found and that I genuinely needed as Belmond. As Belmond, we're obviously a very niche company, focused on ultra-luxury; and yet we need groups. Group is the difference between a fantastic year and a good year. So, for us to finally find a show that was targeting the high end of the events industry, we just thought, My God, this is exactly what we need, if we're going to budget for one event a year, then this is the one.
It's been fantastic to meet Richard and Debbie year on year and to really see inVOYAGE grow and evolve as a brand to what it is now and what it continues to achieve every year. As far as Belmond is concerned, it's in the diary, it's in the budget and this is the show that we want to attend as a luxury brand.
inVOYAGE: And how have you found the mix of people and companies that attend our events?
Perrine: You can feel that there's a real qualification from the start. And I think that's really the value of inVOYAGE - the way they qualify every single buyer. When you walk into that meeting room, you know that every single one of those meetings is intentional; people want to meet you because they have a business purpose; they know your brand and they’re there to discuss a specific business topic or group. So, it's incredibly different to most of the mainstream MICE shows that we have attended in the past.
inVOYAGE: That’s wonderful to hear! And what is it that you’ve taken away from each of your times with inVOYAGE?
Perrine: As crass as it sounds, leads! Which is what we’ve seen over the past years. We wouldn’t keep signing up if we weren’t getting a good ROI. But, of course this June in Cape Town, as the host venue for the event, it was more than that. Belmond has supported inVOYAGE since its inception in 2013 and we have attended the event every year religiously. So, to have Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town as the host venue for inVOYAGE's 10th Anniversary felt incredibly special and was true testament to the long-standing friendship and business relationship that we have with inVOYAGE.
inVOYAGE: We couldn’t agree more! Well, we always love having you join us Perrine and we look forward to seeing you again soon!
inVOYAGE are running 3 events in 2024. Find out more and sign up now
Alternatively, if you have a brief and would like to be connected with Perrine from Belmond, email us here