Q&A with our London Area Manager, Seun Daramola

We sat down with Seun Daramola, Area Manager for our London schools. Seun shared insights into some of his favourite bookings, the BookingsPlus feature he finds most helpful in his day-to-day activities, and what a typical day looks like in his dynamic role.

What does a typical day involve?

My day starts with reviewing bookings for each school, which gives me an idea of what to expect and helps confirm staffing needs at our various sites. I often show prospective clients around, giving them a feel for the space and answering questions. In between all of this, I will ensure each area is set up perfectly, covering security and any accessibility requirements to make sure our clients have a good experience on site.

How does BookingsPlus help you in your day-to-day role?

BookingsPlus acts as the backbone for my role as Area Manager—it helps me to keep operations running smoothly as I’m able to view all of the booking details I need, and run relevant reports.

At my schools, I am supported by the BookingsGuru team who manage all of the lettings admin via our central booking line. The team take bookings, collect payments and deal with any customer queries. I am then able to access the information on site, via the booking platform, to see which activities are due in, what set ups are required, customer contact details if needed, etc.  It’s a comprehensive tool that really streamlines our daily operations.

What is your favourite BookingsPlus feature?

BookingsPlus has a range of tools I find helpful but the activity report is the tool I use the most – it gives me a clear overview of all our bookings, showing exactly which rooms are booked, by whom, when, and even what setup they need. I can run the report for any time frame I wish so that I can focus on what’s happening today or run a weekly or monthly report to plan my staffing requirements in advance.

Example activity sheet

Who are your main contacts at the school and how often do you meet or report to them?

Each month, we meet with Head Teachers, School Business Managers, Council Liaison Officers, and Asset Managers. We discuss everything from big-budget planning to small site repairs. It’s a great way to catch-up to see if any improvements can be made anywhere and also share the positive feedback we receive from our hirers.

Is there a favourite booking, type of booking or event you have worked on?

One of the standout bookings was a Disney teen movie that was partly shot at Brentside High School. It was such a cool opportunity to see the work behind the scenes and the amount of effort that goes into every shot. They’d film the same scene multiple times to get it just right, and the setup for each take took so much attention to detail—props, lighting, the whole works!

If you could join another team or take on another person’s role in Community, what would it be and why?

Honestly, I wouldn’t trade my role! Every team in Community brings something unique—like the creativity in marketing or the problem-solving in our Software Development team – but what I enjoy most is meeting our clients in-person and the combination of both office work and operational duties. Being part of the action is what keeps my role exciting!