13 Tragic Event Planning Disasters & How To Fix Them.

As much as we try to plan our events to the smallest of details, unfortunately, is doesn’t always go to plan. Event planning disasters just happen.

I think you’ll agree that most events aren’t flawless. Here is a list of some of the most common mistakes and some easy fixes that can be applied to improve our events. Make sure to read through to avoid these mistakes.

1. Not Selling Enough Tickets

First things first, if you don’t sell enough tickets, the likelihood of your event even happening or having the impact your were hoping for is low.

Ticket sales for an event will largely rely on the marketing you’ve done pre-event. One of the most important steps is to correctly define your target audience and your event goals. This allows you to promote your event more effectively.

Then make sure your price/value ratio is great. If this is your first event in this series make sure you are providing great value. You can focus on profit on future events.

2. Choosing The Wrong Food

The choices relating to your catering are pretty crucial, make the wrong decision and you could potentially ruin the event for most of your guests.

To help you decide on a menu, know your audience.

Having a clear vision on the demographics of your attendees is key. With this in hand you can, combined with your event format make an informed decision.

Planning a dinner for an older male audience would most likely benefit from having a classic style 3-course meal. Whereas planning a tech launch for a younger crowd would be better suited by a more organic, vegan instagrammable vibe.

Now imagine you exchange those two! Choose wisely…

3. Having a Technical /AV
Meltdown

Now it might not necessarily be a full meltdown but having issues with your AV or your event technology is no fun. And definitely not a great experience for your guests. Not seeing & not hearing are possibly some of the biggest event planning disasters you could have.

A lot of AV related problems can be corrected from the get go by choosing a reliable supplier and not necessarily the cheapest. Ask around for recommendations, and ask the venue who they usually work with.

The best thing you can do if you plan multiple events is to build a long working relation with a supplier or team.

In any case though, planning is key. Make a running order, gather all your event content beforehand and make sure your AV setup is adequate for the room. Just doing these basic things can have a huge impact.

If you know nothing at all about AV we have an Intro course suitable for most event planners and a Full AV course for those that want to really step up their event management.

4. Wasting your guest speakers

If you have guest speakers chances are they want to be there. Meaning you’ve either paid them or it benefits them in some way.

With that in mind, make sure you get your money’s worth. Having guest speakers do a talk at your event is already a great way to improve your event, get more guests or boost attendee engagement.

However if all they do is come to the event, go on stage, speak and leave then you might have lost out on some added benefits. Why not ask them or include in their contract a bit of networking or book signing. I’m sure you can even find ways to make it beneficial for them, extra sales or exposure.

If they don’t want to commit more time how about just sharing your event on their social media accounts, to give you more exposure. Think of things like that to make the most of it.

5. Bad Venue Flow - High Impact Event Planning Disaster

We’ve all been to an event and got lost or worse: stuck in a massive queue. Plotting out the flow of your guests between different areas of your venue is important for guest experience and to keep your event dynamic.

No one wants to be standing around in a queue or having to constantly ask for directions. Firstly ask the venue how the space works best. I’m sure you have your own ideas but check with them as they will know the venue inside out. Secondly once your ideal routes have been determined make sure to signal them with directional signage(a good branding/sponsor opportunity).

For avoiding queues to toilets or food stations consider staggering timings of breaks if you have multiple breakout rooms or sessions. Otherwise ensure that you have enough stations or toilets for everyone, and point them out.

6. Bad Budget Planning

Now you may start off with good intentions of sticking to budget and being smart with your money, however on the other side you have suppliers who understandably want to take more of it. They will have many options and offers to get you to spend more.

You could be strict and stick to your guns, but sometimes they actually have great ideas and suggestions. To be able to take these on I would suggest planning in the early stages under budget, with the clear intention of spending it eventually. In the end it’s all about the guests so try not to cheap out anyway.

The key points here are, set your total budget, leave a bit of wiggle room for opportunity and lastly learn how to negotiate. Around 80% of the time you will get a positive response. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Even small discounts add up fast and with the money saved you can get those confetti cannons you really wanted.

7.Unclear Event Schedule

Now you’ve sorted out getting your guests where you want you probably need to make sure they are there when you want. Having an event agenda is obviously quite crucial and not many events get planned without one.

However what happens a lot is not following the agenda. This may not seem like a big event planning disasters but try and avoid this as much as possible especially on a virtual event. It tends to create a snowball effect on the rest of the event. Then you will either overrun or have to cut the ending short. Both options are to be avoided if possible:

Running over the end time can cause people to leave or make them feel like you do not value their time. And people might have plans, especially when they are viewing remotely.
Cutting your event short might take time away from the last section of your event which can be one of the most important for you or your guests. Like your big final sales pitch or a networking drinks reception.

A few ways to avoid this is to plan the schedule with a few buffer slots like breaks, it’s better for a break to be too long than too short. You can also give each speaker/item an extra 5 minutes than they need.

By planning the venue flow of people well you will also help a lot with timings. Just remember to account for travel from one zone to another.

8. Not Enough Food

There is something to be said about fine dining… And that is that sometimes portion size is disappointing. Knowing you audience here is another good tool in picking food as well as portion sizes.

If you have a past event with similar attendees and numbers it is a good idea to find out how you did back then. The venue you were at will possibly have some notes if you don’t. Take into account the time of day when you are hosting your event. If you are hosting for a whole day keep that in mind as well. Just think back to your own experiences and dont hesitate to ask your venue or caterer for advice.

9. Not Getting Feedback

To help iron out some of these points for a potential future event it is important to gather feedback post event. This is extremely valuable information.

Rating of the event
Would they recommend ? Why ?
Likes/Dislikes
Organisation
Food

And any other questions that relate to your event. Not only will it help you plan for next time but it will also provide you with great ways to improve your event. Like this Survey :

>> Survey <<

And it gives you a good way to keep in touch, which is next up .

10. Not Keeping In Touch

Your existing contacts are one of your best ressources that you currently have, ask any marketer. But to keep those contacts primed and ready for the next time you need them you need to stay in touch. Don’t go overboard but a little reminder every now and then is important to maintaining the relationship.

As past customers there is a good chance that you can turn them into repeat clients giving your next event a head start.

Keep them engaged with updates about the next event and provide them with content that has value to them. This will remind them why they want to go again.

11. Trying To Do Everything Alone -
Most common Event Planning Disaster

This in my eyes is one of the biggest event planning disasters, not only for the event but for yourself as well. There is A LOT involved in planning an event and event though it may be hard to give up control… Do it.

Having a team or just a single partner can make a huge difference.

Save your sanity
Helps bounce ideas off of each other
Gives you someone to party with post-event

Trust me, on the day of the event you will be glad to have some help even if it is a small occasion. There will be a lot to do and not enough time. Ask for help.

12. Leaving things too late

Obviously planning things ahead of time can only be a good thing but there are always elements we leave until the last minute. Usually because they depend on other people.

Things like:

Final Guest Numbers
Dietary Requirements
Menu choices
Floor Plans
Other Details like event timings

As you can guess from this list this is things that people will also need further down the line as well. Which could have bigger consequences.

I would suggest moving up your deadlines by at least a few days. Having some time pre-event where you aren’t rushing around is a great idea. Finish each item as early as possible by being stricter on your attendees sending information as well.
When you start planning your event set out each key dates of when you need to sort out those points and stick to them.

13. Bad Guest Numbers On The Day

Now this is an event planning disaster that we are all worried about if we dont have a set guest list. What if no one shows up? Or what if too many people show up.

With some events there is a need to be a bit more flexible on the guest list but how do we then make sure people show up. One way to get a bit more commitment from your guests on numbers could be a small entry fee. Having money involved, even a small amount makes guests more likely to attend. If you really want your event to be “free”, i.e. you’re selling something then why not make them pre purchase other items, like drinks, food or event goods.

Ideally to make sure you have close enough numbers then you should have a ticket system in place to at least keep track. On a free event expect at least a 50% dropout rate. To get better numbers well you need to create value, and in this case it’s maybe not all about the content. Consider giving out free coffee and breakfast for example as a way to hook in your attendees. This should boost up your attendance.

Last thoughts on Event Planning Disasters

Now hopefully you haven’t had any of these event planning disasters happen to you, or not all of them at least. With these tips you’re at least on a better path to avoid them now. Most of these are easily averted with a bit of preparation. Having good data on you attendees is really one of the key points in planning a successful event. This is mainly why we have created Event Tip. Seen to many events go wrong because of bad planning or advice.

For more tips like this, don’t hesitate to subscribe to our newsletter which also gives you access to our event ressource toolkit.

Leave us a comment if you have any other suggestions on how to avoid any of these event planning disasters or if you have any horror stories you would like to share.