March/April 2022
The UK's outdoor hospitality business magazine for function venues, glamping, festivals and outdoor events
The UK's outdoor hospitality business magazine for function venues, glamping, festivals and outdoor events
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ISSUE 49 | <strong>March</strong>/<strong>April</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | www.openairbusiness.com<br />
WELCOME<br />
FOR ANYONE who missed it, outdoor marriages are now<br />
legal. Following the overwhelming response to a consultation<br />
conducted by the government on temporary measures<br />
brought in during the pandemic, couples can now conduct<br />
both their ceremony and reception in the open air. What great<br />
news for our industry – Charlotte Winship has more on how to<br />
maximise on the opportunity on pages 21-22.<br />
While the government has ‘given’ here, it has taken from<br />
the events industry with the banning of red diesel. Organisers<br />
are seeing their operating costs soar by the crackdown, billed<br />
as a carbon saving measure. EIF chair Steve Heap and Craft in Focus director Rob<br />
Chapman discuss the implications on pages 56-57.<br />
A fascinating factory visit to Glampsan’s workshop (pages 38-39) reveals the journey<br />
a humble plastic holding tank goes through in its manufacture, and leads nicely in<br />
to our feature on composting toilets! Thank you Practically Green for giving us your<br />
round up of the best toilets on the market and explaining the biological process<br />
behind composting.<br />
Following the low impact theme, our function venue case study Green & Away<br />
(pages 16-19) has sustainability at its core. A pop-up summertime venue run by<br />
volunteers, it is over 30 years old and welcomes people from all walks of life to party,<br />
learn and create.<br />
In a sector striving for the best guest experience and customer service, I would like<br />
to echo Caroline Cooper’s words in her piece on experiential learning (pages 26-27) –<br />
let’s keep our eyes open for best practice and exemplar service and seek to emulate it<br />
wherever we can. You never stop learning!<br />
Tally Rix<br />
Editor / Publisher<br />
PUBLISHERS<br />
Steve Rix - steve@openairbusiness.com<br />
Tally Rix - tally@openairbusiness.com<br />
EDITOR<br />
Tally Rix - tally@openairbusiness.com<br />
ADVERTISING SALES<br />
Marney Whyte - 01892 677743<br />
marney@openairbusiness.com<br />
David Hobden - 01892 677741<br />
david@openairbusiness.com<br />
ADMINISTRATOR<br />
Kirsty Farrow – 01892 677740<br />
kirsty@openairbusiness.com<br />
DESIGN<br />
James English -<br />
www.jamesenglishdesign.co.uk<br />
PUBLISHED BY<br />
Coffee Shop Media Ltd<br />
www.coffeeshopmedia.com<br />
Milroy House, Sayers Lane,<br />
Tenterden, TN30 6BW<br />
01580 848555<br />
Contents ISSUE 49 – MARCH/APRIL <strong>2022</strong><br />
UP FRONT<br />
4 News<br />
7 Product News<br />
10 Event Production<br />
Show Review<br />
12 Entrepreneur’s Chat<br />
– Helen McCombie<br />
Armstrong, Glamp<br />
and Tipple<br />
FUNCTION VENUES<br />
16 Green & Away<br />
– a low impact,<br />
pop-up venue in<br />
Worcestershire<br />
21 Go Outdoors –<br />
Charlotte Winship<br />
discusses the<br />
wedding law changes<br />
25 A Place to Interact<br />
– Andrew White on<br />
venues inspiring<br />
creative interaction<br />
26 Experiential<br />
Leaning – learning<br />
from experiences<br />
inside and outside of<br />
work<br />
28 Bars & Catering –<br />
products in action<br />
GLAMPSITES<br />
31 Birdholme Glamping<br />
– fully insulated safari<br />
lodges operating year<br />
round<br />
36 Booking Systems –<br />
how to compare and<br />
select the right one<br />
for you<br />
40 Compost Toilets<br />
– the best on the<br />
market with advice<br />
from Practically<br />
Green<br />
42 Bookings &<br />
Partnerships –<br />
products in action<br />
46 Alfresco Dining –<br />
products in action<br />
EVENTS<br />
48 Shrewsbury Food<br />
Festival – 200 food,<br />
drink and artisan<br />
craft stalls<br />
53 Total Immersion<br />
– the power of<br />
immersive events<br />
56 Seeing Red – the<br />
banning of red diesel<br />
for events<br />
59 Structures –<br />
products in action<br />
62 Spotlight<br />
63 Classifieds<br />
65 Behind the Scenes<br />
Susie Reid Thomas,<br />
Twilight Trees<br />
OPEN AIR BUSINESS IS<br />
NO LONGER FREE<br />
To start a paid subscription, please visit<br />
www.openairbusiness.com/subscribe<br />
Find more expert advice online:<br />
www.openairbusiness.com<br />
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ONLINE<br />
EVENT STRUCTURES<br />
FUNCTION VENUES<br />
› Bars & Catering<br />
› Outdoor Ceremonies<br />
GLAMPSITES<br />
› Compost Toilets<br />
› Booking Systems<br />
EVENTS<br />
› Seeing Red<br />
› Total Immersion<br />
CASE STUDIES:<br />
GREEN & AWAY • BIRDHOLME GLAMPING • SHREWSBURY FOOD FESTIVAL<br />
COVER PHOTO<br />
Pop-up summertime venue Green & Away in Worcestershire.<br />
www.greenandaway.org<br />
WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM 3<br />
BUSINESS
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