Community

Our Association

beam (formerly known as the HBAA) is recognised as the leading association for the business events, accommodation and meetings sector, representing business leaders and their companies in an industry worth more than  £70bn annually in the UK alone. Membership of beam is acknowledged as a hallmark of quality assurance throughout the meetings, events and travel industries.

beam acts as a collective voice for our members and promotes best practice as well as educating, informing and championing positive change within the industry. beam’s values are built around our four pillars – resilience, innovation, ethics and quality. You can read more about our four pillars by hovering over the cogs below.

Our Four Pillars

Resilience

beam’s primary purpose is to support our members and provide a platform to network and share ideas. The association also gives members a powerful voice within our industry.

Innovation

beam offers members a wide-ranging educational events programme, which helps their businesses remain relevant, innovative and able to thrive in a rapidly changing industry.

Ethics

beam champions ethical practice within the membership and the wider business community. Our code of ethics reflects our values around a wide range of topics including sustainability, mental health, the living wage, diversity, and disability.

Quality

beam is committed to promoting best business practice within our industry.  All members of the association must abide by our Code of Practice. Membership of beam is acknowledged as a hallmark of quality within the meetings, events, and travel sectors.

Our members

Within membership, we have agencies, hotels, serviced apartment and venue companies, including global hotel brands and independent properties.

Our agency membership covers a wide range of businesses that specialise in the procurement, creation, design, management and delivery of facilities and services for business events, accommodation and meetings,  both in the UK and internationally.

Since 1997, the association has been supporting them, and the hotel and venue companies they work with.

In 2022, beam will be broadening its membership to include

  • Creative agencies
  • Convention bureau
  • Destination management companies
  • Production companies
  • Representation companies
  • Tourist boards

 

All member companies agree to adhere to our  Code of Practice which defines best working practice between agencies and venues and protects the interests of their clients. Our members also agree to uphold our Terms of Ethics which supports ethical employment practices, diversity, equity and inclusion.

We are proud to be an active Partner of UK Events whose support provides us with a route to government and other influential trade bodies.  The UK Events Partnership is an umbrella organisation representing leading trade and professional organisations, government agencies and other significant influencers in the business visits and events sector. The Partnership seeks to provide a cohesive point of view for the entire business visits and events sector.

Our Code of Practice

The association’s Code of Practice forms the backbone of members’ business relationships. Developed and agreed by members, the Code of Practice assures best practice between agencies, hotels and venues, ensuring their clients receive a professional service.

To ensure it remains relevant and appropriate,  the Code of Practice is regularly reviewed and updated by working parties representing the full range of member organisations. The review in 2022 will reflect current business practices as well as the association’s repositioning as beam.

All members pledge to adhere to the Code of Practice as a condition of membership, and can display the assurance logo

 

Download the current version :

Code of Practice

We are proud to be involved with The Power of Events as a supporting founder.  This organisation is the legacy initiative of the highly regarded One Industry One Voice which was formed during the pandemic to raise the profile of the events industry.

Launching in late 2022, the Power of Events platform will represent the seven core industry sectors through showcasing and mapping all aspects of the industry and its communities.

Providing a ‘one-stop go-to’ for anyone wanting to learn more about the events industry and backed analysis of data gathered by its own web-based app, it is expected that Power of Events will become instrumental in driving awareness of the wide-ranging opportunities for employment and professional development for anyone working in events.

Go to The Power of Events website.