Top Tips Choosing a Venue
When picking a venue to host your event there are certain things you should consider before getting in touch. That is why we have put together these 5 top tips for choosing a venue, to help you out when you next organise an event.
1. Location
Firstly we have location. This is an important one, and one that you are probably thinking is an obvious one.
However, sometimes you forget to consider things like enough travel links to the venue. This is really important to facilitate the travel journey of your guests. The easier it is to get to the venue the easier it will be to reach full attendance.
Another thing you can consider, is hosting your event locally. This would be a more sustainable way of thinking when booking a venue. Simply because there would be less travel from your guests and less environmental impact in terms of emissions.
2. Top Tips for Choosing a Venue: Size
Secondly we have venue size. When you look into booking a venue, you should already have in mind a rough idea of the maximum number of guests.
What you need to understand as well about the maximum capacity of a venue is that its is not just a random decision. It is based on space and what type of event you are hosting. For instance, if it is a sit down dinner, you will fit less people in the room than if it is just a standing drinks reception with bowl food.
Once you know this, then you can search for the maximum capacity for the venues, so you don’t end up disappointed when the venue isn’t able to host your event due to the high number of attendees.
This is something that can occasionally happen. Especially if you have last minute sign ups to an event that you were not expecting. So I would suggest that you always aim to book a venue that can accommodate more than what you are expecting. This way you wont have to turn any of your guests away due to having reached the venue’s maximum full capacity.
3. Catering
Thirdly is catering. When you pick a venue you should check their in house catering. Normally the catering provided by the venue will be very straightforward and easier to manage. Simply because the team will already know the venue, the policies and how to best go around with service.
However, you always have the possibility to hire an external catering company. If you decide to do that due to specific reasons, I would suggest you check with the venue first. Simply because most venues will have a list of acceptable catering partner that they accept working with. As they have probably worked with them before and have a good partnership.
4. Top Tips for Choosing a Venue: Reputation
Fourthly, there is the reputation. When you book a venue you should check on their reputation and their feedback from previous events.
This way you can somewhat know what to expect from the venue. Things that you should look for is how well known the venue is; how do they deal with their clients in terms of friendliness & how accommodating they are.
If you can’t find sufficient reviews to make up your mind, you can always get in touch with other event organisers that have used the venue before and see what they have to say about it.
After all we are in the industry that everyone knows everyone and there is no better way of knowing than by someone who had first hand experience.
5. Technology
Last Tip is about the Av & Event Technology. When you pick a venue you should check up their AV company. Normally, things can be made easier for you if you choose the in house AV team for your event.
However, you should check what are their capabilities, as you don’t want to pick the venue’s provider if they can’t perform what you require. So do your research and see who are the AV company and what can they do for your event.
If you do get an external AV team, do check with the venue about the policies, and ensure you have enough time for them to load in all of their equipment and set up prior to the event. Because, if timing is short you might lose on quality of set up and production.
Top Tips Choosing a Venue Conclusion
These tips, can seem a given, but for a successful event you should consider all of these when booking a venue. Having these sorted will guarantee that your event is a smooth as it can be.
If you would like more tips when booking a venue please do get in touch at our Contact Page or at the comment section below.
Also, have a look at our online event related courses platform: Tip Academy.
If you are also interested in some FREE Event Resources, then hop over to our Event Resources Toolkit Page and subscribe to our Newsletter for access.
Please comment below if you have any other topic in mind that you would like us to expand on.
