HOW DO I PICK THE PERFECT VENUE?

Whether you are hosting an event for work or for a personal engagement, in my experience choosing the venue that is a good fit for your event is crucial to event success. Over the years my check list has grown to vetting the right venue which comes from experience and honestly sometimes things going sideways and you have to think of your feet and create solutions. Below is a list of my top tips to help you select the perfect venue to make your event a destination that guests want to turn up to.

1.COST

When choosing a venue to hire it is important to keep a budget in mind. Whether you need a  Meeting room, conference venue or a party space etc. will affect price points and not all venues are charged in the same way so it's vital to have a view on this from the start.

Venue charges can vary from a fixed hire fee based on the number of days or hours, cost per person and minimum spend are all common price models when you are providing catering or have large headcount, and the one you choose can make a big difference to the final cost. Research on average venue market prices for your region, then you will know what to expect and that will give you a pricing ballpark assumptions to work on.

Make sure you do your homework before you meet with any venue manager, a high level checklist some of my team use is listed below;

• Know exactly what’s included before signing the dotted line.
• Don’t be afraid to negotiate either.
• Being flexible on the date can help, as certain days of the week usually cost less.
• Most importantly; remember to always confirm the cost, dates, times and details in a written contract with clear deliverables from the venue for example if catering and AV is included or comes at an additional cost.

2. LOCATION 

When picking a venue my second golden rule is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION as when hosting in person events triangulating the best venue to ensure high attendance rates and close proximity to transport links is essential.

Online venue marketplace platforms will make this process especially easy as you can adjust the map to show you only the venues in a particular area. When booking a venue look at how convenient the location is, by that I mean you may need to check public transport links, airport access and whether there’s onsite parking and plenty of it, or valet service. It is worth considering if you need to partner with a car service or taxi firm to help seamlessly get your VIP's from the airport terminal to the venue and home again.

3. DATE & SEASON

Lot's of factors can influence your final event date or dates including speaker availability, seasonal factors such as the weather or something that you wouldn't think is an issue like school holidays but all can have an impact on your ideal date.

My advice is hire as soon as possible! In peak seasons you will have to book in advance and they will likely be more expensive the longer you wait to book it. So talk to the venue manager about the best time to book and do it before you run out of places for that Christmas Party or New Year’s Dinner, because other experienced planners will snap them up quickly.

However, if you can’t plan your event in advance, you should try to make the most of the last-minute bargains that some venues offer, however this is likely to be very expensive and is where most people end up paying over their budget. In my experience this is my least preferred option, of course it is possible to hire a venue at the last minute and do a quick turn around, but I do not recommend it because as we covered in point 2 you need enough lead to time to get your guests to a fixed location, so if your operating within a large region rather than one city this can impact your final return on investment.

4. STYLE

Be specific and put an emphasis on the details because as an organiser you usually know what you want, as well as what you don’t want. Defining the details, helps to narrow the search for perfect venue options.

Think about the type of venue that would best suit your event style, choosing a venue that fits the theme or style of your event, helps with other aspects in the budget .

What are you looking to organise? Whether it is a dinner or a party or a large corporate conference, all events have different needs for it to be successful.

Look for venues that have had experience in holding events that are similar to yours, because the venue staff will understand what it takes to make your event successful. And my personal tip if you are running events regularly is invest in your relationship with the venue team as this will often mean small challenges are overcome quickly and you get a lot of hidden value from a venue as a lot does remain at the discretion of the venue managers as to what extras can be included as a complimentary add on to your booking.

5. WEATHER

As weather is unpredictable, something very important to remember is to always have a Plan B any time you book a venue with an outside space, make sure the venue has a Plan B in case it starts to rain or snow, I learned this from personal experience in Europe!

6. LAYOUT & CAPACITY

I always have a ballpark guest list based on the budget of the event so that I know if all proceeds as planned the maximum number of guests I could have.

This acts as a really quick tool to help you eliminate a lot of venues based on their capacity alone depending on if you are having a theater style seated event versus a standing room networking event for example.

Booking a venue that is just able to accommodate your desired capacity will help give your event a lively atmosphere and save money, however a publicly promoted event, such as a corporate conference, has the potential to be bigger than expected, in that case a larger venue would be more appropriate so you can scale to your max capacity quickly.

Make sure that the venue you choose is able to adapt their layout to what you need within your event; for example, if a temporary bar needs to be installed or flexibility of room layouts with sliding wall partitions to open up or close off venue sections if needed, should you have a lot more people than originally intended or less people and you need to create a more intimate setting.

Carry out a site visit wherever possible, as this will always help you see how the online venue floor plan and images match up to the reality. Do not worry if you cannot get there or if pandemic restrictions prevent an in person visit, most venues have virtual tours or 360° photos / videos along with dimension information for you. Again, speak to your venue manager, they always have an archive of assets to help. Top tip if you can't get to your venue is ask the venue manager for a live tour so you can get a real sense of space.

7. SERVICES & FACILITIES

When booking your event make sure that the venue will be able to cater to your specific needs. When I am organising I always make a list of those special needs and compare it with the list provided by the venue.

This list may include:

• Parking - is it on or off site?
• Kitchen facilities - can the kitchen cater to your event capacity or is outside catering permitted?
• AV Equipment - Lights, large screens or sound equipment for presentations
• Extra space - does it have a cloak room?
• Security - some venues if alcohol is being served require a security guard to be on site.
• Licences - ask whether the venue  has an alcohol or wedding licence
• Restrictions - noise or photography restrictions? Can the venue accommodate any pandemic restrictions?
• Extra fees - such as a cancellation fee or clean up fee

8. FOOD & BEVERAGES

Ask the venue manager for all of the options before searching for catering or drinks companies yourself as some venues don't allow outside food and beverages (F&B) as they will have existing relationships with suppliers so i'ts always worth clarifying this from the get go.

With in house catering, you need to make any specific requirements extremely clear; whether they’re vegan, pescatarian, kosher, etc. again do not forget the details!

Taste test the food before you decide on anything! Ask if you can sample the menu and read customer reviews about their past events to find out if past event catering was a success or not.

With drinks ask the venue manager if you can bring your own alcohol as this can help with cost. But if you're new to the industry many venues already deal with external catering and drinks companies that could come in handy if you don't have an incumbent supplier and are looking for new contacts. 

If you have any questions about event planning or are interested in having a discussion