A MONTHLY GET-Together for venues
The Venue Round Table
A small group of venue owners and senior managers, on Zoom over lunch once a month. We talk about how we each run things day to day, what's working, what really isn't, and the stories you can only tell to people who understand your week. Think relaxed lunchtime natter with a sandwich in hand, not a webinar.
Strictly limited to 15 venues · Live interactive round table
SESSION 01 : September
What's Changing In 2026?
Most of us spend the season with our heads down, and then it's suddenly over and there's been no chance to compare notes with anyone doing the same job. This first session is that chance. What was hard, what worked better than you expected, and the moments you'd happily never repeat.
It's an open conversation rather than a presentation. Caroline asks the questions and keeps things moving, everyone else brings their season. You'll leave with a couple of ideas you can actually use, and having met people who know exactly what your week looks like.
How did spend per wedding hold up this year?
Are guest numbers still falling, and what have you changed because of it?
What did you try in marketing that worked, and what quietly didn't?
Which bits of the week eat time you never get back?
SESSION 02 : October
Reviews, and the complaints that never became one
How couples actually read reviews and what they take from them, how you respond when one stings, and the best turnaround from unhappy couple to happy one that anyone can remember. Plus the practical bit: how do you chase reviews without it feeling like chasing?
SESSION 03 : November
The numbers behind the booking
Guest numbers are falling and weddings are down, yet budgets are holding steady. We'll talk about what that's done to the way couples negotiate, where they first meet your pricing, and what's genuinely worth adding to a package.
WHO's hosting
Meet Your Hosts
Between us we've spent a long time in venues, in hospitality, and in rooms full of people talking honestly about their work.
Principal Consultant
Caroline Southard
Caroline has spent 30 years in marketing, service design and market research, starting at the BBC and working since across publishing, banking, telecoms, FMCG, restaurants and hospitality. Most recently she headed up marketing for Titchwell Manor and two other well known restaurants on the North Norfolk coast, where she developed the wedding proposition, marketing and enquiry engine. She has run over 100 focus groups and workshops, and her job here is simply to bring people together, ask open questions and help everyone connect the dots.
30+ Years Strategy • 100+ Focus Groups
Founder & Managing Director, VenueBot
Mark Kirby
Mark Kirby grew up in a family-run hotel and venue, so he knows what a Saturday in peak season actually feels like. He spent 20 years in customer engagement, running a contact centre for Heathrow, M&S and Macmillan that won Best Contact Centre EMEA. As founder of VenueBot he brings that engagement technology to wedding venues, and as a chair at Helm, the entrepreneur network for scale-up founders, he runs rooms like this one regularly.
20+ Years Customer Engagement • 15+ Years Founder Growth
About
The Venue Round Table is a monthly conversation between wedding venue owners and senior wedding managers, hosted by Caroline Southard and Mark Kirby at VenueBot.
Event Inquiries
Direct questions regarding registration, guest vetting, or agenda topics: [email protected]
Legal & Governance
© 2026 VenueBot. All rights reserved. Strictly confidential peer exchange conducted under the Chatham House Rule.