United Carpets and Beds hold annual conferences for managers of their many British branches, and love to do them in style in sunny southern Spain. Area 51 have been their partners of choice for these events for coming up to two decades.
In 2025 the company designed and created a new contemporary stage set enhanced with LED lighting, LED pixel screens and a flatscreen lectern. The spring conference was staged at Kimpton Los Monteros Hotel and Spa in Marbella.
Over the years the Warwickshire company has worked closely with United to produce an ever-evolving series of event décor that has been imbued with state-of-the-art design and manufacturing standards, complete with the flair and imagination that Area 51 is associated with.
At a previous annual conference, Area 51 designers were asked to transform the Guadalmina Spa and Golf Resort Hotel in Marbella to resemble a mediaeval castle, called “U-Nite Hall”.
The key challenges were the short set-up time and converting a huge modern glass-sided restaurant into a medieval-styled castle wall. To deliver the theme on time, Area 51 technical staff were despatched to the venue while décor and props were transported via an articulated lorry overland. On site, the team expertly executed a floor-to-ceiling installation in only six hours.
For a subsequent spring symposium, the carpet giants wanted a fresh concept, and so Area 51 created an idiosyncratic international food bazaar.
The décor came with stalls and the flags of the featured nations while incorporating indigenous gourmet food. Like many of their conferences, the event was further enhanced by Area 51 performance artists undertaking key hospitality and entertainment roles.
On other occasions, Area 51 adapted the conference hall to include a World War II bunker to convey a price-war message, a celebratory 1920s cabaret was staged, a special dazzling theme called Illuminations proved to be very successful, and the company helped United Carpets with its own circus transformation, complete with Big Top gala-dinner table centres and specially selected Area 51 circus entertainment.
