Four Years of Coffee, Conversation and a Great Cause
With more than 1,800 coffees and hot drinks served, it was a busy few days behind the bar. So busy, in fact, that our baristas earned themselves the nickname “Angels of the Conference” from delegates — a title we’re more than happy to accept!
But what makes this particular event stand out for us goes beyond the coffee.
Turning a Coffee Into an Opportunity to Give
Kier uses the hospitality on its exhibition stand as an opportunity to support a chosen charitable cause.
Coffee and hot drinks are there for delegates to enjoy, with absolutely no expectation or requirement to pay. However, anyone who would like to contribute can make an optional donation when ordering their drink.
It’s a simple idea, but one that works incredibly well.
The barista bar is naturally a busy meeting point throughout the conference, so giving delegates the option to donate while they’re there creates an easy and completely voluntary way to contribute to a worthwhile cause.
We Took Care of the Donations Too
Our role went beyond running the barista bar.
Throughout the three days, our team also took care of the donation collection for Kier. Delegates who chose to contribute could donate by cash or card, and we managed everything behind the scenes — keeping track of the amount raised each day and watching the total grow as the conference went on.
Once the event was over, we calculated the final amount raised, took care of the admin and made the donation on Kier’s behalf. We also added a Barmotion contribution to the final total.
It’s a great example of what we mean when we say we bring more than just the coffee bar. For us, event hospitality is about understanding what our client wants to achieve and finding ways for the hospitality to support it.
In this case, that meant great coffee and a welcoming barista bar on the exhibition stand — but it also meant helping Kier turn that hospitality into an easy way for delegates to support a worthwhile cause.
It’s one of the things we particularly enjoy about working on this event. Kier gets to use its exhibition hospitality to support something bigger, delegates have an easy and completely optional way to contribute, and our team takes care of the practical side so the Kier team doesn’t have to.
Hospitality That Can Do More
We talk a lot at Barmotion about making event hospitality work harder.
Sometimes that’s about attracting visitors onto an exhibition stand. Sometimes it’s about creating a welcoming space for conversations, encouraging people to stay a little longer or simply keeping delegates well caffeinated through a busy conference day.
And sometimes, as with Kier at Flood & Coast, hospitality can provide an opportunity to do something positive at the same time.
A coffee is something many delegates will naturally stop for during an event. Giving them the option to make a contribution turns that everyday interaction into an easy opportunity to support a cause — without pressure or expectation.
Four Years — and Still One of Our Favourites
There’s something particularly rewarding about returning to the same event and client year after year.
We’ve loved supporting the Kier team at Flood & Coast over the past four years. They’re a wonderful team to work alongside, and being trusted not only with their exhibition hospitality but also with managing the donation initiative makes this one particularly special for us.
More than 1,800 hot drinks, three busy days, plenty of conversations and another opportunity to help raise funds for a good cause.
We’ll happily keep answering to “Angels of the Conference.”
Could Your Event Hospitality Support a Cause?
Working with Kier has also got us thinking about how we can make this type of donation-led hospitality available to more of our clients.
It’s where the idea for Conscious Café by Barmotion comes in.
The concept is simple: a client chooses a charity or cause they’d like to support, and we incorporate the opportunity to donate into their event hospitality. Our team can manage the collections through the bar, keep track of contributions and take care of the administration afterwards.
It could sit alongside a barista bar, smoothie bar or another Barmotion hospitality offering, giving guests the option to contribute while they enjoy their drink.
It’s still the same great hospitality — just with the opportunity to do a little more with it.
Interested in bringing a Conscious Café to your next event? Talk to the Barmotion team about creating an event hospitality solution around your brand, audience and chosen cause.
