When Transportation Strikes

With 1000+ attendees at our client’s global sales kickoff in London, a sudden transportation strike during the last two days of the event was definitely not in our plan. To make sure no one was lost or left behind we relied on strong local partnerships and thinking – literally – on our feet.

Our client’s Worldwide Kickoff was a multi-city affair, culminating in London. As our team arrived, we got word that a rail strike was planned for the final two days of the four-day event. Worse, it would affect the local transit line most of the attendees would be counting on to navigate London throughout the conference, and with the addition of luggage on their way to departing flights.

Having just experienced an Air France strike during the Paris event the week before, we knew attendance would be affected. And the impact of a train strike would likely be far higher. To avoid attendee stress, distraction and temptation to leave early, we leapt into action.

Working with our local Destination Management partner, 2bUK, we formulated a plan around alternate rail lines. We created handouts with maps as well as written directions. And we hit the ground ourselves, testing routes and directions. At tricky transfer sites we assigned staff to stay under the radar of station agents while subtly guiding attendees.

The strike wasn’t officially announced until the day-of, so we had two scenarios ready for roll-out. The strike began on day three of the meeting. Our plan worked beautifully until the train at the final transfer point ran late. We kept attendees updated via our event mobile app and everyone made it to the meeting on time.

But it wasn’t over yet. That same day, we learned that our planned departure line would end service an hour before the meeting closed. The team procured enough buses for all 1,066 people to depart from the convention center.

Next issue: luggage. With broken station elevators and construction, dragging luggage along to the final meeting day was not an option. So we quickly hired trucks, drivers and security to collect the 1,500 suitcases, bring them to the conference site and distribute them when the meeting ended. Coupled with departure transfers from the venue to all London area airports, made for a smooth departure day.

In the end, the attendees had a seamless transportation experience and stayed focused on a successful annual meeting. And our team got to know the streets of London better than we ever expected.