Brighton Business Tips - World Guide to Brighton

Business in Brighton / Business Tips

The main businesses in the popular seaside resort of Brighton and Hove are tourism, generating retail and hospitality industries. Brighton is a lively city, with tourists arriving throughout the year, but Brighton is particularly busy during the seasonal summer months. As a result of the important tourism trade, there are a large number of hotels, guesthouses, shops and restaurants in Brighton city centre, providing an excellent choice for visitors in Brighton. There are also numerous tourist attractions and major office blocks in and around Brighton and these continue to thrive as the city of Brighton expands.

Business in Brighton: Brighton Conference and Convention Centre - Kings Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2FL, England
Tel: +44 (0)1273 290131
The Brighton Centre is located in central Brighton and is one of the premier venues for conferences in the Brighton and Hove area. Home to many important Brighton exhibitions, concerts and conferences during the year, including many political events, the Brighton Centre features a vast auditorium with capacity in excess of 5,000 people, two smaller halls with a capacity of 400 people each and a number of meeting rooms. The Brighton Centre is close to Brighton train station.

Business in Brighton: Brighton Media Centre - 9-12 Middle Street, The Lanes, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1AL, England
Tel: +44 (0)1273 384206
The Brighton Media Centre in central Brighton is an important information technology centre. With regular multi-media business courses and numerous exhibitions, the Brighton Media Centre also features a gallery and cinema.

Business in Brighton: Brighton Business Hours / General Etiquette
The locals in Brighton are fairly formal in both dress and manners, and normal business courtesies should usually be observed in Brighton. The degree of formality necessary depends on the nature of the business, with financial and legal professions tending to being much more formal than most of Brighton’s large computer, software and media organizations. Many men in Brighton still wear suits and short sleeve shirts are acceptable during the summer months in Brighton. Woman may also wear suits, but tend to be more casual in their general appearance.

Business hours in the Brighton area are usually from Monday to Friday, between 09:00 to 17:30, although some of Brighton’s offices and businesses many close slightly later. Many of Brighton's shops are open longer and often during the weekends, and some of Brighton's larger supermarkets are open 24 hours.

Banks in Brighton usually open from 09:00 to 17:00 and larger banking branches may also open on Saturday mornings. Some banks in Brighton also have late-night opening hours and there are countless ATM cashpoint machines located throughout the city of Brighton. These Brighton cashpoint machines provide a useful way to exchange currency. Most shops, restaurants and hotels in Brighton accept credit cards, including Visa and Mastercard.

Working lunches are a particularly popular way to do business in the city of Brighton and locals in Brighton are quick to use first-name terms when appropriate. Some more exclusive restaurants in Brighton have a strict dress code, although Brighton restaurants tend to be much more informal and a relaxed dress code is acceptable.

Business in Brighton: Greeting Someone in Brighton
A brief and friendly handshake is usually the customary greeting in Brighton and generally throughout England. It is acceptable to address new acquaintances on first name terms in Brighton.

Business in Brighton: Smoking in Brighton
Many of Brighton’s restaurants and cafes operate a strict 'no smoking' policy, although some may cater for smokers in different areas. Most offices and businesses in Brighton are 'non-smoking' and although the English have neither a positive nor a negative attitude to smoking, it is best to only smoke when in the company of like-minded people.