About Opus Agency
Opus Agency partners with world-shaping businesses such as Salesforce, Microsoft and Dell to create shared experiences that build lasting connections between people and brands.
With more than four decades of experience, Opus Agency offers end-to-end event capabilities spanning strategy, creative, content, production, event management, technology and more.
As the flagship of The Opus Group, Opus Agency delivers innovative, future-forward solutions from hubs across the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific and beyond. The agency empowers brands to engage, inspire and grow by delivering impactful experiences that drive business results.
The challenge
For its onsite programme in London in 2024 and 2025, the agency’s biggest challenges were hotels. Opus worked with more than 45 hotels, but about 10 of them were unresponsive, an issue that became more frustrating due to the eight hour time zone difference between the agency's North American offices and the UK capital.
The agency’s clients also said that the hotels near Excel London didn’t meet the high standards they were looking for. While Excel London itself is perfect for its needs, offering an expansive, blank-canvas space, the location is less than ideal in terms of accommodation.
Excel is in east London’s Docklands, a 20-minute or longer Tube ride to central London where many of the city's top-tier hotels are located.
Furthermore, Opus Agency said that managing 10 to 50 different hotels is far from ideal, as each hotel has its own billing system, and with constant staff turnover and people being out on holiday, the agency was always chasing down missed details.
How the London Convention Bureau team helped
The London Convention Bureau team supported Opus to overcome the obstacles with the hotels and make the event planning experience quicker and smoother.
“Our budget wrap-up got delayed because of the issues with the hotels, and eventually, I had to call Fiona for help. The very next day, Fiona dropped everything, visited every hotel on our list in person, got the answers we needed and within two weeks, we had final folios from all the hotels,” said Sarah Berard, Senior Project Manager, Event Management, at Opus Agency.
Over the past two years of hosting its event in London, Opus Agency has built a strong, lasting relationship. "Collaborating with Excel has been equally fantastic for Opus, as the venue is one of our most valued partners worldwide" Sarah said.
Working with the London Convention Bureau has been an outstanding experience. From Fiona and Josh meeting us during our site visits to staying in touch, providing Oyster Cards for the team and even visiting us onsite, their support has been incredible.Sarah Berard
Senior Project Manager, Event Management, Opus Agency
