Villa Charities 2018 Annual Report VC19_AnnualReport_Interiors_Apr29_FNL2 | Page 46

BY THE NUMBERS villa charities columbus event centre 469 Events managed by CEC in 2018 179 Social Events 193 Columbus Event Centre (CEC) adopted a fresh new look in 2018 as it introduced a new logo, new menus and launched a dynamic new website with impactful visuals, customer testimonials and an enhanced photo gallery. Corporate Events 33 Weddings The number of managed events hosted by CEC, including social events, corporate events and weddings, increased to 469 in 2018, up almost 12 percent from 420 a year earlier. This was driven largely by growth in the number of social events to 179 from 120 the previous year, as well as corporate events (193 vs. 175). CEC expanded its online marketing reach by building its presence on event information, planning and booking websites such as Eventective.com, WeddingWire.ca and TheKnot.com. CEC also exhibited for the first time at the Fall edition of Canada’s Bridal Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Attendees responded very positively to CEC’s new branding and new Wedding Show Special, resulting in five new wedding bookings for the 2019 and 2020 wedding seasons. These results exceeded expectations and bookings from previous shows. As a result, CEC plans to make the wedding show a part of its regular sales and marketing program going forward. WHAT COLUMBUS EVENT CENTRE CLIENTS ARE SAYING “We hold many of our corporate meetings and dinners at Columbus Event Centre and the staff are always pleasant, accommodating and helpful. The food is always delicious and the guests have a terrific time!” – Angela T (Corporate Client) “I’ve dealt with a lot of venues and event organizers in my line of work for other clients, but the CEC team is by far the kindest, most reasonable bunch of people I’ve ever worked with. The banquet supervisor was incredibly attentive and very accommodating towards all our requests. … All I can say is, definitely book this venue for your next event.” – Alexandra (Family event client) “From the moment of our first venue tour until the end of our wedding, everyone was a pleasure to work with. They made the whole planning process really easy and enjoyable. The day of our wedding ran so smoothly and all our guests only had great things to say! The food was amazing and there was so much of it! The service throughout the day was phenomenal too. Our wedding day was perfect.” – Marissa (Bride) 46 VILLA CHARITIES ANNUAL REPORT 47