How to Find the Right Venue for Your Business Event

Research

You need to research the venues that are already on offer in your area and create a list of all of their positives/negatives based on the sub-headings below. The best way to do this is simply enter your location followed by conference venues and visit each relevant site listed on the search page. Once you have your list of venues with their pros and cons you can work through the rest of this article and find out the best place for you.

Location

Choosing the right location is pivotal in ensuring high attendance. Think about where your attendees will be travelling from and what method of transport they will use. As an example if the majority of delegates live in the North of the country and you hold your event in the South then you have some serious logistical and costly problems on your hands. Consider whether you have a budget to refund travel expenses or if travel costs will be paid by the attendee.

Size

This is an important step in ensuring your venue will accommodate the number of people attending. Many of us have seen it before, walking into a massive conference hall to only find 2 rows have been filled and the rest a ghost town. On the opposite end of the scale you wouldn't want to overflow into other rooms when your main speaker cannot be in 4 places at once! The seating capacity, car park spaces and even the size of restrooms all need to be taken into account. Consider the possibility of your attendance being greater or lower than expected and plan appropriately.

Facilities

The facilities of a building cover a wide range of areas and can really endanger your event if not thought out properly. It's not only the essential facilities you need to think about such as disabled access and multimedia equipment. You need to include things like flip charts, pens, internet access, accommodation and refreshments. It's always best to brain-storm every eventuality you may encounter on the day so you don't get caught out.

Cost

The deciding factor for many businesses. You may have found the perfect venue for your business by now with all the bells and whistles you'd expect and more. Unfortunately, in the world we live we cannot always go for the best of the best but this doesn't mean you have to go for the worst. Balancing between facilities, size and location you could find the ideal place that meets all of your basic needs and comes in budget. Plan for any additional charges which may be incurred such as catering, changing booking times and even petty cash for a taxi if you are moving between sites. It is essential you keep a track of all costs both on the day and on the run up to the event. Ask to be quoted well in advance and plan all of the extras around the base cost. Finally, with any event you put on always keep a percentage contingency for any of those unforeseen problems. Make sure you evaluate your attendees thoughts on the venue to help you plan future events. Found this useful? Comment with your best/worst experiences of business events.