Corporate hospitality is recognised as an established and important part of doing business, building and maintaining client relationships as well as rewarding or recognising colleagues' achievements.

As an increasing amount of day-to-day contact with clients and potential customers is conducted online, the value of sustained 'face time' is at a premium. Therefore, hospitality is becoming an essential part of a company's marketing strategy. A key consideration, for example, is how much time hosts can expect to spend with guests – a standard day at the tennis equates to nine and a half hours, and one at the cricket is even more at ten hours.

But to remain compliant with the law, the level of hospitality spend and gift giving must be seen as proportionate and reasonable.

To do this, corporates need to implement and enforce clear, practical and easy-to-understand policies, ensuring colleagues – in particular budget holders and those who purchase hospitality – are fully trained and understand their requirements and responsibilities, as well as the implications of non-compliance, both to the individual and to the company as a whole.

By following these steps, organisations will build a compliant programme, while providing more efficiency and return on investment from their annual hospitality budgets:

Due Diligence

Whether purchasing for business, reward, recognition or for personal pleasure, carrying out due diligence beforehand will enable bookers of hospitality to be better placed to make more informed, and ultimately more successful investment decisions. Research who will be the beneficiary of the entertainment and what their level is within their organisation, ensuring you fully understand the relationships between the recipient and your company – particularly if it involves high-profile organisations or individuals. It is also essential to ensure that the recipient is entitled to receive hospitality under the laws of their country.

Transparency

By placing openness and transparency at the heart of their buying practices, organisations will be able to develop a compliant hospitality programme, placing commercial resonance and best practice behind why they choose certain business entertainment.

Ensure evidence of all expenditure when purchasing hospitality has been correctly documented and recorded by all parties. Meanwhile, if expenditure on a hospitality experience is significant, then sign-off will be required from senior management and must be secured before going ahead with the purchase.

Corporate responsibility

A strong corporate responsibility policy contributes to compliance approval as it underlines a company's ethos and standing in the business environment, helping to enhance its reputation and contribute to business results; moreover, there is an acknowledgement that an adherence to policy is in fact an essential measurement in the budget approval process.

Corporate responsibility can be enhanced through booking official hospitality packages, whereby providers are contracted by governing bodies to design, develop, market and sell hospitality experiences on their behalf.

More often than not, the revenues generated by these programmes are invested back into the event or sport – enabling hospitality bookers to measure and report back on how they are contributing to their organisation's wider corporate responsibility policies.

For more information visit keithprowse.co.uk or to book contact Keith Prowse: 0333 414 9845 or enquiries@keithprowse.co.uk