Following the success of Liverpool being the European Capital Culture in 2008, the Liverpool Tourism board is now attempting to re-brand the city as the Capital of Conferencing. But is it is a claim with any substance?

There is no doubt that with the opening of the BT Convention Centre (part of the ACC Arena which sits proudly on the famous waterfront next to Albert Dock) that this has shot Liverpool up the league table of conference hosting cities, but it still has some way to go to reach the pinnacle. You only have to look at the schedules of, for example, the NEC in Birmingham; Excel in London Docklands and even Manchester Central, in Manchester.

Yes, strides have been made and it is a great coup for Liverpool that the city will be hosting the Liberal Democrats conference accommodation (September 18-22), and Serviced City Pads looks forward to the influx of Lib Dems planning to stay in Liverpool accommodation during their stay – whether that is a hotel in Liverpool or a corporate apartment in Liverpool. But once you go beyond this particular conference, it isn’t a heavily packed conference season at the BT convention centre and this suggests that maybe Liverpool is still struggling to attract the large conference that other cities do. Of course, these rival cities have had something of a head start on Liverpool and we expect that the city will continue to make progress over the forthcoming years, and that the Liverpool hotels and apartment operators will really begin to benefit from conference delegates visiting Liverpool in the future.

At Serviced City Pads, a company that specialises in booking short stay apartments, the conference accommodation opportunity currently remains bigger in places like Manchester, Birmingham and London. Much of this is because they are more established. We also believe that once conference organisers re-discover Liverpool, they will find a thriving city keen to do business and look after it’s visitors. Once people have stayed in Liverpool for the first time, we find that they are enthused about returning for a second and third time. Most cities aren’t lucky enough to have that appeal.

If you are planning to book conference accommodation in Liverpool (or any other UK city) call Serviced City Pads on 0844 335 8866 and we will be delighted to find you the best accommodation at the best price.

But can Liverpool really claim to be the Capital of Conferencing? No, not yet. But it is certainly making strides in the right direction.

Tags: accommodation in liverpool, conferebce accommodation liverpool, corporate stay Liverpool, hotels for liverpool conference, Hotels Liverpool