GETTING THE VENUE RIGHT FIRST TIME.
The venue is an integral part of any meeting or event. They’re often overlooked, but if you really think about it, the venue generally controls 2 of the most important elements – food and service, as well as providing the backdrop and mood for the entire event. There are some easy wins when it comes to getting venue finding right, here are my top tips on how to prioritise and give some love to your venue choice.
The Big Picture
The venue should be thought of as a way to enhance your event and the message you are conveying. It’s looking at the big picture and connecting what you want the outcome of your event to be and how your venue can reflect this. Environment is integral to experience and if you can find the right place from the get-go – you can guarantee better delegate experience and engagement.
Prioritize delegate experience
If you know your event will have 250 delegates and several break outs - don’t pick a venue just because it looks incredible, pick it because it has great people flow, high ceilings, natural light and sperate spaces for lunch and breakout sessions. It's all about the venue fitting your event, not shoehorning your event into a venue, so always put yourself in the shoes of an attendee and think how they're going to feel on the day. Likewise, the location can be essential – you don’t want delegates arriving tired and stressed because they've had a 3 hour train journey or have been stuck in traffic. Remember happy delegates = successful events!
Get the price right
With the majority of venues – you get what you pay for. Thought it’s vital not to overpay and get value, you also don't want to scrimp as if the venue is too cheap – it often feels just that. In our experience, getting bang for your buck can be as easy as maximising a venues potential e.g. in-built technical equipment – which can then free up budget for you to enhance the event with other elements. This being said - any freebees you acquire make sure they're up to the spec and quality you require before agreeing on anything.
It’s all in the site visit
How can you be certain that a venue is right for your event if you have never walked through the door yourself? Time is precious for everyone, however, if you put in the time upfront, we guarantee you'll save it further down the line when planning the running of the event. Furthermore, having a face to face conversation with the contacts on-site will help them understand your expectations and what you need to achieve.
How Top Banana can help...
9/10 times we, as venue finders, get a better rate than you are able to get directly, due to strong industry relationships and reputation. We work with you to fully understand your business requirements so we can propose venues that really fit your brief – creating memorable experiences for your delegates. What’s more, we're able to work with potential venue choices before a proposal even hits your desk, saving you all the troubleshooting so what you see is a final proposal with all the kinks ironed out.
If you have a venue finding enquiry or want to learn a bit more about what we do – get in touch!
VENUES TOP TIPS. FEBRUARY.
Our Venue Sourcing Account Manager, Ian Brown, gives you his top tips on the importance of picking the right venue for your event…