How do we handle last minute changes?
The wrong beer at a brand dinner
An Australian agency brought a group to Amsterdam on behalf of a major Dutch beer brand. During planning, the client told us there was no need to serve their own beer at dinner. On the day itself, they changed their mind, and the restaurant didn’t stock it. We agreed with the venue that we could bring our own. Our project manager went to several supermarkets for cold bottles of the right beer, carried them to the restaurant, and borrowed branded glasses from another venue nearby. The guests sat down to dinner and never noticed anything had changed.
A closed city centre
On the night of a group dinner in the centre, a big football match brought thousands of supporters into Amsterdam, and Dam Square was completely closed off. Some of our coaches were stuck in traffic and couldn’t reach the hotel. We split the group: part of it walked to the restaurant with our guides through the quieter back streets, and the coaches that did get through took an alternative route and dropped guests close to the door. Everyone arrived together, in time for dinner.
Tulip bulbs that can’t fly home
For a welcome reception for 300 guests we had planned a tulip station, where everyone could take bulbs home as a souvenir. A few days before arrival, with hundreds of bulbs already ordered, we learned that many guests were flying home to the US and Canada. Those countries only let bulbs in with an official plant health certificate. It was too late to order certified bulbs online, so we walked to the Amsterdam Flower Market and bought the last 50 bags of certified bulbs they had. The tulip station went ahead, and every bulb could go home.
Sunset drinks while the crew caught up
We had planned an exclusive private dinner cruise in Rotterdam, due to leave the city centre at 19:30. Several motorways around the city were closed that afternoon, and the boat’s crew got stuck in heavy traffic. The boat only reached the quay at 19:25. By then the guests were already on their way: they had been ready in the hotel lobby well before 19:15, and the client’s host couldn’t hold them back any longer. Our project manager stayed in touch with her from the quay the whole time. When the boat docked, the group was already crossing the bridge. We had the gangway put out first, so guests went straight from the quay to the panorama deck. It was a sunny evening, so we started the programme up there with a sunset aperitif. That gave the team below deck another 30 minutes to get dinner ready. Upstairs, nobody noticed a thing.
These are just four of many moments, and most of them without guests ever knowing about it. And that’s exactlyhow we like it. Whatever your group needs once it’s on the ground, you'll have one point of contact who is already working on it before you’ve finished the question. Simply because we're on it.
