When organising any event, you are confronted with many decisions, but choosing the right venue and location is the perhaps the biggest and most important decision of all, and one that will have the largest impact on your event. All aspects of your event, from the date of the event, speakers, F&B and attendees experience depend on the event venue and location you select.

This does this sound a bit intimidating, right? Well Hippo Events offer you a free Global Venue Finding service, which not only finds you the perfect venue, but also helps you with working out the best destination for your event.

Here are some guidelines we use when making decision on venue selection.

Capacity Of The Venue

It is very important to consider the size of the room(s) you need. Initially, try looking at your expected numbers – are they likely to increase or decrease? Your meeting room needs to have flexibility for change, but yet at the same time you don’t want a meeting room that can hold 250 for an event for 50 pax, unless of course your agenda or format requires the additional space.

Rates And Overall Costs

This one can seem intimidating to some, but always remember ‘you don’t ask, you don’t get’. There is usually some flexibility in rates and it is usually on the room hires or meeting packages. Using an agency for your venue find can prove extremely beneficial on this front as we have the experience, contacts at the venues (often with long standing relationships) and knowledge of how best to negotiate. Always ask a venue for a list of any additional costs – they are often hidden in rates such as Security, Cloakroom, Furniture hire etc.

Location

The very first question to ask yourself is “where are my attendees travelling from?”. Sounds simple right? But it is simple for a reason as it’s crucial they have as much of a pain free trip to and from the venue as possible. For a local event, a location near their place of work is the norm. If you have attendees travelling for far afield try considering how they are likely to travel there. Train and air transport means additional travel upon arrival to the destination, so what are the travel times from the station or airport to the venue? For those driving what is the parking like on-site or nearby? Consider the total travel time.

Logistics / Layout / Floor Plan

We would always recommend a site visit, as nothing is quite the same as seeing and walking the space yourself. Often a floor plan can be deceiving but at the very least request it. Moreover, a large number of venues now have Virtual Tours, so you can ‘walk’ the space virtually, or why not as the hotel to record a video for you or do a FaceTime whilst they do it? Consider the flow of delegates and how the layout of your tea/coffee area, registration and any breakouts may affect this.

Service Levels From The Start

During the sales stage if a venue shows flexibility and a ‘can do’ attitude, it brings a positive mentality to the customer. What were their initial response times like? Did they give you all the information you requested? Did they find solutions or offer suggestions? The initial contact with the venue is a good indication of their standard of service. You may find the perfect venue but if the service is poor from the start then expect this to cascade down to all departments, and suddenly you have a lot of extra work on your hands.

What’s The Atmosphere And Décor Like?

Matching a venue to the identity of your event is critical, as it is a reflection of your organisation. Choosing a rundown venue reflects on your company and its values and ethos. A venues décor can have a large impact of the atmosphere and ambience. A traditional venue wouldn’t typically reflect a forward-thinking innovative Tech company, for example, whereas it would contain more synergy with a company operating in a traditional industry with a long-lasting history. The atmosphere within a venue is dictated by the staff, surroundings and other guests within the hotel. This highlights the importance of a site visit; you get a ‘feeling’ about the place, something which pictures cannot convey.

The Delegate Welcome Area

They say you make up your mind in the first 3 seconds. Maybe this is not necessarily strict true, but first impressions count for a lot. Is there clear signage to your event? Can you place signage in the public areas and will there be staff on hand to direct? What about the location of your registration desk; is it hidden around a corner or can it be visibly seen upon arrival? If you get lost on your site visit, chances are your attendees will do too – not the upmost first impression!

AV Facilities

More and more venues are increasing the AV capacities nowadays, which is only a positive, particularly in the Virtual and Hybrid event era. AV requirements vary dramatically depending on what is needed, but most events tend to require a Projector and Screen. Usually included in a Day Delegate Rate (‘DDR’), it is important to check with the venue, and to see what else they can offer or include in their package – perhaps a lectern, microphone, PA system and stage blocks to help your bottom line. For any set builds, don’t forget about ceiling height.

Options For Offsite

Perhaps you’re looking at an off-site Gala Dinner, or activity for your event, or you’d just like the ability to have one if you need to in the future when you agenda changes. It’s therefore important to note nearby locations and venues which can provide this. Speak with the hotel for suggestions if you haven’t had any success in your own research, or better yet call Hippo Events. For off-site activities or dinners, we wouldn’t suggest much more than a 30 – 40 minute transfer.

Hippo offer Event Project Management and Global Venue Finding services. Contact us today on 01372 460 100 or events@hippoevents.co.uk to see how we can assist.