Create wealth
Connect event investment to your commercial objectives. Track opportunities, new business and the return against what you spend.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND YOUR NEXT OPPORTUNITY
Turn your next event
into new business.
You invest in being there.
We make it count.
The right strategy. The right people. Wherever business takes you. We coordinate meetings, expert hosting and meaningful follow-up to turn events worldwide into commercial opportunity.
Event SOS · Last-minute opportunity? Strategy delivered fast.
Good conversations deserve a clear purpose.
ExhibitionsConferencesCorporate tablesBusiness relationships
A BETTER RETURN ON BEING THERE
A great stand gets you noticed.
Great people move you forward.
We create wealth through purposeful connections.
The Booking Office is a specialist commercial partner for conferences, exhibitions and corporate tables. We help turn your investment into revenue opportunities, valuable relationships and a return you can measure.
Wherever your company is based or your conference takes place, the essentials are the same: a clear strategy and the right people. We coordinate your conference and exhibition performance globally, from preparation and meetings to hosting, follow-up and reporting.
Build valuable relationships
Bring together clients, partners and collaborators who share your ambitions, with clear next steps for moving forward.
Develop people who deliver
Equip the right people with the preparation, judgement and conversation skills to turn human connection into commercial progress.
EXPERIENCE & RECOGNITION
A closer look at
The Booking Office.
Explore the experience behind our business and the story of our launch.
An oversubscribed seminar.
A shared purpose.
From bringing our network together to hosting and facilitation, explore the Scottish Mould Awareness & Action Seminar with Steri Systems as lead sponsor. Oversubscribed within four weeks.
Read the event story
Smith and Devine launch conference sector venture
Daily Business covers the launch of The Booking Office and our ambition to help companies turn event investment into commercial opportunity.
Terry Murden, Editor · 2 October 2026
Read the coverage in Daily BusinessONE CLEAR FIRST STEP. FOUR CONNECTED STAGES.
Start with the strategy.
Choose how far we go.
Start with a paid review matched to your assignment: a focused table review or a substantial commercial Strategic Review. Further support is your choice.
Strategic Review
We explore your business, your event investment and what you want to achieve. We test assumptions, uncover overlooked opportunities and agree what success should look like.
The starting point · Paid upfrontPre-event Preparation
Put the agreed strategy into action: research, relevant outreach, invitations, meeting plans and preparation for the people representing your business.
Optional · Separately agreed feeEvent-day Delivery
Confident, well-briefed people bring the plan into the room. Purposeful hosting, useful introductions and relevant conversations, with clear next steps.
Optional · Separately agreed feeFollow-up & Relationship Development
Keep opportunities moving through coordinated follow-up, account or relationship support and progress reporting. The duration reflects your sales cycle and the support we agree.
Optional · Scope, duration and fee agreedWHAT YOU BUY FIRST
A clear plan.
A decision you can make.
Every delivery engagement starts with a paid review proportionate to the assignment. Whether you need support for one table or a wider programme, we establish the purpose before recommending delivery.
Your review gives you
- Clear objectives and agreed measures of success
- Priority relationships, opportunities and gaps to address
- A practical action plan before, during and after the event
- Recommended next stages, with scope and fees for any proposed support
Take the plan and deliver it with your own team, or ask us to help with the next stages. There is no obligation to commission further work.
We agree the review’s scope and fee before you commit. Payment is upfront. Each further stage is agreed separately before it begins.
Discuss your strategic reviewTHE RIGHT STARTING POINT FOR YOUR BUSINESS
One table. A bigger programme.
Or something that needs attention now.
FOCUSED SUPPORT
One table, with purpose
For a charity dinner, business awards or corporate hospitality table. A focused review establishes what the evening should achieve, what your guests need and the support that will help.
Scope and fee agreed for your table
Explore the four stagesSUBSTANTIAL STRATEGY WORK
Your commercial event strategy
For a deeper review of your business and event investment, or a programme across the year. Leadership discussions, analysis and a practical strategy you can act on independently.
Scope and fee agreed upfront
The fee reflects the scope, stakeholders, markets and complexity. Further delivery is agreed separately.
Discuss your Strategic ReviewSTRATEGY DELIVERED FAST
A new opportunity?
An event next week?
A last-minute table. An event space becomes available. An opportunity your team hasn’t the time or specialist skills to act on. We bring fast strategic judgement and the people to help you respond.
Rapid review · Support subject to availability
Request Event SOS supportSPECIALIST SUPPORT, BUILT AROUND YOUR BUSINESS
How we make your
event investment count.
After your Strategic Review, choose the support that will help your plan succeed. For one event or a programme across the year.
STAGE 03 · CORPORATE TABLES & BUSINESS HOSPITALITY
A full table is only the beginning.
You have paid for the table and committed your team’s time. What should the evening achieve, for your business and for your guests?
We help you choose guests thoughtfully, understand their priorities and give them a reason to attend. Then we look across the wider room for introductions that could offer them a useful connection, a fresh perspective or a business opportunity.
A thoughtful introduction is a gift to your guest. It shows that you understand what matters to them.
- A clear purpose and thoughtful guest selection
- Personal invitations, confirmations and host preparation
- Introductions across the wider room
- Follow-up that continues the relationships you have started
Our team can host a table. What do you add?
Hosting your guests takes attention. So does recognising who else in the room could help them. We bring dedicated preparation, relationship development and commercial hosting, giving your team time with its guests while we help connect the wider room.
Supporting a good cause and growing your business can strengthen each other. Commercial success gives businesses greater capacity to contribute, sponsor and support their communities.
Let’s talk about your tableSTAGE 01 · THE PAID STRATEGIC REVIEW
Understand the opportunity before choosing the solution.
You may arrive with a clear idea of the support you need. We start by exploring the business objectives behind it, what you have already invested and what could make the greatest difference.
An outside perspective can reveal opportunities, gaps and assumptions that are difficult to see from inside the business. The review shapes the plan and helps you decide where further investment is worthwhile.
- Clear objectives and agreed measures of success
- Priority audiences, relationships and opportunities
- A practical action plan before, during and after the event
- Recommended support, with scope and fees for proposed next stages
Can we use the review and do it ourselves?
Yes. You pay for the review and receive a plan you can act on with your own team. You can also commission us for further stages, each agreed separately. There is no obligation to continue.
The review is required before we deliver further work. Its scope and fee are agreed first, and payment is upfront.
Discuss your strategic reviewSTAGE 02 · PRE-EVENT PREPARATION
Start the conversations before you arrive.
The most valuable person in the room may never walk past your stand. We help identify relevant people and create opportunities to meet them through focused outreach, our networks and thoughtful introductions.
Your team arrives with a purpose for each meeting and a clearer understanding of the people it hopes to engage.
- Research into relevant organisations and contacts
- Personal outreach and invitations
- Meeting coordination and scheduling
- Briefing around the purpose of each conversation
Can’t we send the invitations ourselves?
An invitation is easy to send. Giving the right person a compelling reason to accept takes judgement, preparation and relationship development. We focus on relevance to them, drawing on our networks and experience alongside the contacts you already have.
STAGE 03 · EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE DELIVERY
Make your stand a place where business happens.
A well-designed stand creates interest. The people representing you turn that interest into a conversation.
Our hosts take time to understand your business, your audience and your objectives. They welcome visitors, listen to their priorities, recognise relevant enquiries and connect them with the right member of your team.
- Hosts briefed on your business and objectives
- Visitor engagement and purposeful introductions
- Support with meetings and guest flow
- Capturing relevant enquiries and agreed next steps
What makes this worth more than extra staffing?
Our hosts are prepared around your commercial objectives, with a role in recognising relevant enquiries, making introductions and capturing next steps. That helps your sales and technical specialists spend their time where their expertise matters most. We agree the purpose and responsibilities before the event.
EVENT ORGANISATION, HOSTING & FACILITATION
Bring the right people together around a shared purpose.
Sometimes you need to create the room yourself. We can help bring together a seminar, business gathering or focused discussion, shaped around the outcomes your organisation wants to achieve.
We help position the event so people understand why it matters and what they will gain from attending. Hosting and facilitation keep that purpose clear throughout the day.
- Event objectives, positioning and audience planning
- Venue coordination and contributor liaison
- Invitations and attendance development
- Programme planning, hosting and facilitation
- Capturing actions and supporting follow-up
Our organiser handles the event. Why do we need you?
Alongside the practical arrangements, someone needs to take responsibility for who attends, why the event matters to them and what the discussion achieves. We agree that role with your existing partners. Our seminar experience shows audience development, hosting and facilitation in practice.
STAGE 04 · FOLLOW-UP & RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Keep the opportunity moving after the event.
A promising conversation needs someone to take responsibility for what happens next. We help organise contacts, prioritise opportunities and coordinate the follow-up agreed with your team.
Some relationships need longer to develop. Where agreed, our support can extend into ongoing account or relationship management, coordinating next steps with your team over an appropriate period. We agree the responsibilities, duration and fees before this work begins.
We review progress against the objectives set at the start, distinguishing between initial interest, opportunities being developed and business secured.
- Organised contact and meeting records
- Prioritised follow-up with clear responsibilities
- Tracking meetings, opportunities and resulting business
- Ongoing account or relationship support where agreed
- A results review to inform future events
How will we know whether it was worth it?
A contact list alone cannot answer that. We agree what success means before the event, then track the relevant meetings, opportunities and business secured. Opportunities under discussion are reported separately from confirmed revenue, with clear ownership of follow-up.
Already investing in the event?
Give it a plan for a return.
Your stand or table, travel and team time already represent an investment. Who is responsible for turning that spend into relevant conversations and next steps?
You do not have to commit to a whole delivery programme at the outset. Start with the paid Strategic Review. Once you have the plan, decide whether to deliver it yourself or commission further stages, with costs agreed separately. Together, we assess progress against the whole investment.
MAKE YOUR INVESTMENT WORK HARDER
Different rooms.
The same commercial focus.
Choose the setting you have in mind.
MORE THAN A PRESENCE ON THE FLOORMake your stand a place
Make your stand a place
where business happens.
You have invested in the space. We help you make the most of it: preparing your team, arranging relevant meetings and giving every promising conversation a next step.
Talk to us about your event- Clear commercial objectives
- Relevant outreach before the event
- Confident, well-briefed hosts
- Lead follow-up and results reporting
CHARITY DINNERS · BUSINESS AWARDS · CORPORATE HOSPITALITY
A full table is only the beginning.
Here’s the plan around it.
Four connected stages, with a focused review first and separately agreed fees for any further support. Choose the stages you want us to deliver.
Table Strategy Review
Why have you bought the table? What would success look like? Who are your guests, what do they need, and what should your team and ours take responsibility for?
You receive
A concise table brief: purpose, guest priorities, success measures and recommended support.
Preparation & Outreach
Research the wider room, identify useful connections, develop invitations, manage confirmations and brief the hosts. Coordinate introductions where possible.
You receive
A guest and connection plan, attendance arrangements and a host briefing.
Hosting & Connections
Welcome guests, help conversations flow and create thoughtful introductions across the room. Capture relevant conversations and agreed next steps.
You receive
A well-hosted evening and a record of useful connections and actions.
Follow-up & Relationship Development
Coordinate personal follow-up, give actions an owner and help progress promising relationships over the agreed period.
You receive
An action tracker and progress review. Longer account or relationship support can be agreed separately.
PRESENCE WITH PURPOSE
People you notice.
Strategy you can build on.
We believe warmth and commercial focus belong in the same room. The Booking Office brings both: thoughtful preparation, confident hosting and the follow-through that relationships deserve.
MANAGING DIRECTOR & FOUNDER
Mary Ann Smith
Mary Ann leads The Booking Office with a clear commercial vision: every event should have a purpose, and every valuable conversation should have a next step. Drawing on her occupational therapy background and 35 years specialising in human behaviour and conversation, she shapes the strategy behind each engagement, connecting the right opportunities, people and actions to help clients turn their event investment into business growth.
Read Mary Ann’s story
CO-FOUNDER
Francesca Devine
Francesca brings warmth, confidence and an instinct for connecting people. She knows how to make an introduction feel natural, put guests at ease and give a business a memorable presence in the room. As co-founder, she leads client relationship development and talent acquisition, and develops our training alongside Mary Ann. Their shared commitment is to harness talented people and build the specialist skills that make event investment work.
Read Francesca’s story
A FEW PRACTICAL QUESTIONS
Let’s make
the next step clear.
What do we buy first?
A paid review matched to the assignment. A single table starts with a focused Table Strategy Review, with its own agreed fee. A commercial Strategic Review is scoped around your business, with the fee agreed before work begins. Payment is upfront; further delivery is optional and separately agreed.
Why is a paid review required?
The initial brief is a starting point. We need to understand your objectives, relationships, resources and existing event investment before recommending delivery. A fresh perspective helps identify overlooked opportunities and address gaps that could affect the outcome.
Every delivery engagement begins with a review proportionate to the assignment so the work is grounded in what your business needs.
Can our own team deliver the plan?
Yes. You can take the review and put the plan into action yourselves. If you would like our support, we agree the scope, responsibilities and fees for each further stage separately. There is no obligation to continue.
How are the further stages priced?
Pre-event Preparation, Event-day Delivery, and Follow-up & Relationship Development each have a separately agreed scope and fee. You choose the support you need after the review, and approve the cost before that work starts.
How long does follow-up last?
That depends on your objectives and sales cycle. Some opportunities need a short, focused follow-up; others need sustained account or relationship development. We agree the duration, responsibilities, review points and fees with you.
Can you help with one event?
Yes. We match the review to the assignment, including a focused review for one corporate table. For a wider or more complex programme, we scope a substantial Strategic Review. Any further support is shaped around the resulting plan.
Do you work globally?
Yes. We are based in Scotland with global reach. We work with companies wherever they are based and coordinate conference and exhibition performance worldwide, aligning strategy, people and follow-up around your business objectives.
How do you measure success?
We agree the measures during the Strategic Review. These can include relevant meetings, qualified opportunities, relationships progressed and resulting business. We report opportunities under development separately from secured revenue, recognising that some relationships take time to become business.
What if we need help urgently?
A last-minute invitation to take a table or event space can be a valuable business opportunity. If your team lacks the time, specialist skills or capacity to respond, we can help you explore the next step. The strongest outcomes come from a planned, strategic approach. When you need to react, Event SOS brings strategic judgement fast. Share as much as you can upfront so we can prepare for our call. We’ll reach out to discuss your needs, then agree a focused paid rapid review before proposing preparation, delivery or follow-up support. Scope and fees are agreed before work starts. We endeavour to respond the same working day. Enquiries received after 4pm UK time may be answered the following working morning. Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm UK time.
YOUR STRATEGIC REVIEW STARTS WITH A CONVERSATION
Let’s make
being there count.
Tell us about your business and your event plans. We’ll discuss the scope and fee for your Strategic Review, so you can decide whether to get started.
Monday to Friday · 9am to 5pm UK time