How to Pick the Perfect Venue

How to Pick the Perfect Venue

The setting for an event can make or break its success.  The perfect location can set the tone, make a statement or simply be a fitting backdrop to the occasion.

So, how do you pick the perfect venue?

It’s not an exact science, but following these simple tips should help you to choose the ideal setting for your event.

Define the Purpose of Your Event

You should know and understand what your company is trying to achieve with your corporate event.  You may want to improve your corporate image, network or generate more business.

A great business event will in some way add to your business strategy and move your company forward.  Even an internal event may aim to improve morale and increase productivity.

All the questions that follow will relate back to what you want to get out of your event, so you need to be clear about it now.

What Do You Need From Your Venue?

Before picking up a brochure, or even sitting down to write a budget, decide what you need from a venue.  Here are some things to consider:

• Type of event.  Unusual locations can create memorable events, but you still need a venue that is fit for purpose.
• Number of guests.
• What are you going to do?  Do you need somewhere that people can work and play, space for simultaneous meetings, or an exhibition hall?  Which activities are essential and which are optional extras?

Practicalities and Specifics

Now that you have an idea of what you need from your dream venue, it’s time for the reality check.  Look at the practicalities of what you are proposing.

Budget Set a clearly defined budget and look at your plans and objectives again.  If your budget accommodates your plans, excellent; if not, look to see where you could make savings.

Location Who is your event intended for, where will they travel from, what time of day will it be on?  An out of town location may not work for a breakfast briefing, but may be perfect for a black tie event.

Transport If you choose a venue that is inaccessible, you may need to provide transport for your guests.  If this isn’t affordable, rethink your location and pick somewhere with good transport links.

Prioritise and Compromise

You’ll now have a list of criteria, and should be able to draw up a shortlist of venues that meet your needs.  And now we get to the hard part – picking the perfect venue.

But, armed with your event objectives this should be easy.  Prioritise your criteria based on what you are trying to achieve and rate your shortlist accordingly.  Hopefully one venue will stand out, but if not, choose the one that matches your most important criteria most exactly.

Finding your ideal venue can be one of the most time consuming aspects of event organisation.  But if you’re clear about what you want to achieve from the start – and stay true to this throughout – it will be much easier.  Good luck!

Guest post by Claire from Staffordshire Conference Bureau, a UK-based free venue finding service to help businesses pick the perfect location for events in the Midlands, England.  Find out more on their website: www.conferencestaffordshire.co.uk