MEET THE TEAM: Darren Peters, Sales Account Manager
The team at Harrogate Convention Centre is dedicated to ensuring every event is a success. From account managers to event planners, and technical experts to cleaners, our knowledgeable staff are here to help in any way we can. Get to know some of the key members who work hard behind the scenes to make your conference or exhibition a smooth and enjoyable experience.
Who are you?
Darren Peters – Sales Account Manager since March 2018. I absolutely love looking after the public sector for HCC, and really enjoy, with a huge obsession, music, gigs and travelling. I love watching gigs in Europe in destinations that I would like to visit (this year I am travelling to Antwerp & Paris to watch Mumford & Sons).
I left school aged 16 on the Friday and started full-time work the following Monday at British Waterways Board (now Canal & River Trust) and stayed there for 15 years. Aged 52 or 40’s if anybody is asking.
How long have you been working in events and hospitality?
After a stint at a couple of hotels in Leeds and then at a local airport, the last seven years at HCC have definitely been the best years of my career. To work at HCC with such a great team, supported by a great leader too, is really enriching.
What is a typical day like?
Starting with the one-hour drive into Harrogate, armed for the drive with my favourite podcasts (Help I Sexted My Boss, Table Manners with Lennie & Jessie Ware, Dish & Alan Carr’s Life’s A Beach), or the latest BBC Radio Two shows for Jo Whiley, Trevor Nelson & Liza Tarbuck on the BBC Sounds App. Then I will start researching various conferences that I may be pitching for. If I have a client event in the venue we will check in on them and welcome them to our wonderful venue and superb town of Harrogate. We will then send out any contracts to clients and agents.
What is the best part of your job?
I look after the public sector market here at HCC, and we really excel on site visits, showcasing the venue and the delights that the town has to offer. I am really proud to be working with some of the best people that I have ever worked with. You can certainly tell when the four of us in the Sales team are in the building, as you can probably hear us laughing and talking two miles away!
Harrogate is such a wonderful town “to showcase” along with the surrounding districts; when clients come on a site visit they can certainly feel the “Yorkshire Love” and with all of the delights that both Harrogate and the surrounding districts have to offer, there is a lot to go home on an evening to feel very proud of.
What is the biggest challenge?
Biggest challenge is finding the specific dates available in our ever increasingly filled diary, but also an exciting challenge is the works that will soon be undertaken to get Studio Two breakout rooms over the line.
Tell us about the scariest moment in your career.
The COVID pandemic was a very scary time, and we all wondered if we would ever recover from it, and thankfully there is still a massive need for face-to-face conferences and events.
What is the most remarkable trend (past or future) you’ve observed in the events industry and how do you respond to it?
The green awareness has really grown in the events industry over the years, and I admit, I was really impressed late last year attending Events Sustainability Live with Ian. It really made me realise how important this is to our industry. Since COVID our team have worked incredibly hard to make our venue greener, from carpeting the halls to working with consultants and improving our waste management protocol. I am really proud how far we’ve come.
What makes HCC special?
The clients and agents always comment about the warm personable welcome that they receive from the team at HCC, and how green, tranquil and peaceful the town of Harrogate is when they arrive either by train or car. The Early Bird Run Crew organise 5k morning runs around town and delegates can join them - what a fantastic start to the day, before you start work at the conference
I always say that we are very lucky in Harrogate that when our clients arrive on the train (six direct services a day between London Kings Cross and Harrogate), they are not met with tall, ugly buildings, where it can sometimes resemble a concrete jungle. There are so many unique and picturesque buildings in the town, and the high level of service that the clients are met with from local hotels, B&B’s, restaurants and bars is truly superb!
What is your favourite book / movie / artist?
Favourite book would be Long Walk To Freedom by Nelson Mandela, I can still remember getting off the college bus at home and running the one mile journey home to watch Nelson Mandela being released from prison--THE most incredible piece of television to watch, a gentleman and humanitarian that worked tirelessly until the end. I even took a holiday on the day that he visited Leeds in 2001 and got within touching distance of the iconic man himself. I am kinda obsessed with autobiographies so this is all I ever read.
Favourite movie would be Silence Of The Lambs, and Anthony Hopkins is just the G.O.A.T.
Music is all about the vinyl for me Chris Stapleton, Jalen Ngonda, Beverley Knight, John Legend, Frank Ocean, Texas, Tina Arena, Mumford & Sons.
What’s your favourite restaurant in Harrogate?
Favourite restaurant in Harrogate is definitely Ambers (inside The Cedar Court Hotel) or Phranakhon Thai Tapas. Both places serve the most amazing food, complemented with superb service too.
