Austria centre digs deep to beef up venue

EUROPE – Maintenance costs deepened the losses at a major international conference centre. The Austria Center Vienna posted a loss after tax €7,345,000 in 2014, compared to a loss of €6,859,000 in the previous year. The costs included work on a new business lounge with a Viennese coffeehouse and catering from Motto Catering. Thousands of new chairs and replacement banqueting and conference tables were installed and the winner of the 2014 German lighting designer of the year award was hired to create a new concept in the main hall for conferences and gala events. Revenue from events, rose by €0.29m, or 3.5 per cent, but total revenue for the year amounted to €16,563,000, a dip on the previous year’s total of €16,578,000. CEO Susanne Baumann-Söllner (pictured) said the fact that the Austria Center Vienna is hosting nine large-scale conferences in 2015 demonstrates that its strategy is bearing fruit. She said that from 2016-2018 the venue expects to host 10 big-name conferences each year. In 2014, the Austria Center Vienna hosted 148 events for a total of 152,788 guests, 38 per cent of whom came from abroad. She said: “In line with our slogan of ‘Rooms to grow ideas’, we offer our customers 24 halls and 180 meeting rooms to support a full range of meeting formats, inspirational digital networking opportunities and an extended portfolio of additional services. By working closely with our trusted partner enterprises we really do create room for big ideas to flourish. We will continue along this successful path, with various building upgrades and ongoing investment in furnishing and services planned for the future.”