A venue can make or break the outcome of an event. Different functions carry different requirements, and knowing what to look for in the site you’re hiring isn’t always straightforward. International conference centres are great for large-scale affairs, but, what if you’re after something more bespoke for say, a company meeting?
Here are seven things to consider when booking the perfect meeting venue:
1. Cost
Without a budget in place, how are you to know which options are available to you? Work out how much you have to spend, and then decide on locations. By doing your research in advance, you’ll get a sense of what the going rates are for certain sites and/or areas. What’s important is finding spaces that offer value for money. A good venue will carry few to no hidden costs, and give you all of the prices up-front. Its managers should also grant you a pre-booking site visit.
2. Availability
Look for venues that are available in advance, but can also accommodate you at the last minute. If they’re forthcoming, then they’ll respond to your query straight away and allow you to cancel your booking at short notice. Certain times of year and/or days of the week are busier than others, so, in any case, plan ahead.
3. Location
Make sure wherever you book is located close to public transport. This way you’ll run into fewer problems navigating people to and from it. A typical space should be no more than 10-15 minutes from nearest train station by foot, as well as reachable by bus. The venue will, ideally, offer on-site parking, but, don’t let that be the deciding factor.
4. Uniqueness
An increasing number of working professionals are millennials who seeks individuality in the spaces they occupy. Things like creatively designed rooms or unconventional games and activities. Bring some spice to your event by choosing a site that makes a statement through a grand staircase or an art installation. Depending on the catering available, you may also want to offer some Instagram-worthy food at your event, which, after all, makes for great photography.
5. Interactivity
Most corporate-style events require the same sorts of audio-visual facilities including digital projectors, flip charts and interactive whiteboards. Any decent venue will have all of this plus free, unlimited Wi-Fi. Smartboards are a good feature to look out for if you’re hosting a seminar or panel discussion as they allow guests to download information directly to their phones.
6. Flexibility
What you want is a space that’s customisable. Ideally, you’ll be able to move chairs and tables around, and tailor the surroundings to your liking. There should be a choice of soft and hard seating available, along with different sized rooms for small and large groups. A suitable venue will also be able to provide food that meets a variety of different needs.
7. Accommodation
If your event is going on for a couple of days and attracting people from all over, then you may want to offer guests a place to stay. The ideal scenario would be to choose a venue that already has accommodation on-site. Serviced apartments, like those provided by SilverDoor, are a viable option as they feature meetings rooms and business lounges as part of their accommodation offering. Many of SilverDoor’s properties are also located close to conference centres, should you wish book a meeting venue off-site.