Since 15th September 2005 and thus since 5 years the city of Esslingen am Neckar has had a new premium venue: the modern meeting, convention and event centre called Neckar Forum. And the Neckar forum with its eight conference rooms, foyer and flexible large hall with a capacity of up to 1,200 seats has, together with the Best Western Premier Hotel Park Consul and underground parking area, which is directly-attached, developed into an attractive location of social Esslinger life and an attractive venue for the regional meeting and event industry.

Since it opened, over 800 events have taken place in the different rooms of the Neckar Forum. The focus of the events is in the meeting and presentation area (70%) while the cultural and social events have an almost equal share of just fewer than 15%. These two areas are also organized by local Esslinger clubs.

The core and most profitable part of the Neckar Forum is the Great Hall. Since its opening until the end of September 2010 it was occupied for nearly 500 days. On average, it is used every third day and has an average utilization rate of around 30% (at a scale of 365 days a year). The Esslingen live GmbH is extremely satisfied with this figure and rated the result as a great success. A survey by the consulting firm Symbios AG in 2008 came to the same conclusion.

CEO Monika Riexinger’s strategy is a constant orientation to the market and its customers. “We always stay active and innovative. In marketing, we explore new possibilities and use new media to attract potential customers” Next year, the area of online marketing will be at the forefront. With the expansion of this area by including topics such as search engine optimization and more targeted marketing the forum wants to embrace current trends.

www.esslingenlive.de