CLIENT Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland
EVENT HIT Industry Dinner 2016
LOCATION The Hilton Hotel, Glasgow
DATE 9th June 2016

The annual HIT Dinner is the acknowledged jewel in the Trust’s fundraising crown – and you could say that we took that concept quite literally this year with a spectacular Bollywood-themed evening! As ever, innovative ideas, brilliant connections and fantastic relationships with our sponsors were absolutely critical to the event’s success and we were delighted to work in partnership with event sponsors, Big Day Events.

Since 2007, we’ve delivered fabulous fund-raising events for HIT Scotland with the overarching aim of raising money for scholarships and bursaries to support people in the hospitality industry and encourage emerging talent. In-kind support for the provision of prizes is vital but we’re always careful not to ask the same people to donate every year – it keeps the auction list appealingly different and helps us maintain positive relationships with our donors – often the trick is knowing when not to ask!

Solid experience means we think strategically around the dinner – details of prizes are sent in advance, bidding opens prior to the event and we aim to secure ‘money can’t buy’ experiences, rather than traditional prizes to engage the interest of a sophisticated audience. This year was no exception and our guests bid enthusiastically for unique exclusive private dining evenings, their own fish and chip van and drive-in movie parties against a backdrop of locally sourced entertainment from the Edinburgh Bhangra Crew, the VIP Dholie Drummers, the Bollywood Dancers and our excellent MC, Des Clarke.

We sold out the 2016 annual dinner with 500 guests in attendance and have received some utterly amazing feedback. Not only did we meet all our client’s targets, we also raised over £70,000 on the night – a significant increase on 2015.

“Susan and her team at ECS are the consummate professionals… she will always think outside the box and come up with new and exciting ideas.”

David Cochrane
CEO, HIT Scotland