Introducing top tips for booking venues from the perspective of event venues themselves offers invaluable insight into the intricacies and considerations of venue selection. Event venues are uniquely positioned to provide essential guidance, drawing from their extensive experience in hosting a diverse array of events.
By tapping into their expertise, event planners can gain invaluable knowledge on factors such as capacity, amenities, logistical support, and overall suitability for their specific event needs. Collaboration between event planners and venue professionals is paramount to achieving the best results, as it ensures a thorough understanding of requirements, preferences, and potential challenges, leading to seamless and successful events.
By working together, planners and venues can navigate the complexities of venue selection with efficiency and precision, delivering memorable experiences for all involved.
Picking the perfect partner
“Choosing the right venue goes far beyond the practical specs of capacities and colour schemes. If you pick your venue wisely it should be a true partnership between like-minded businesses with a shared goal of creating the very best experience for your guests. Team up with a venue that will help to reflect your business’ values and bring them in early to ensure they are familiar with your brand, your guests and your objectives.”
– Nicola Underhill, Hilton Birmingham Metropole
Outline your requirements
Be clear on your key requirements when searching for your venue. We advise brainstorming what these requirements are as this will better help us as a venue to ensure we can deliver and provide a successful event for you. These requirements could include location, accommodation, catering, delegate numbers and AV equipment. Once you’ve got those factors clear, you can then go and view some venues that fit your criteria. Communicate these requirements to your venue when making your enquiry so they can ensure they’re a good fit for you too.
Don’t skip the site visit
When booking events at Ellenborough Park, we strongly recommend a site visit is conducted. This means guests can see our historic and beautiful property in person, whilst visualising the spaces. Our friendly team are always on hand to assist in planning from start to finish, so ask lots of questions! We love watching each event come to life, so we encourage guests be creative and think outside the box, this way the event can be unique and memorable.”
Match the venue with your event needs
- Choose a venue that is easy and convenient to get to, with ample free car parking too.
- Look for venues that provide flexible and versatile spaces that can be tailored to a client’s specific needs.
- Vibrant and inspiring meeting spaces are a must to keep delegates engaged throughout the day.
- Nutritious and delicious food and drink is essential to keep energy levels high.
- Choose a venue with a dedicated team that will ensure it is quick and easy to book.
Think green with an ESG Policy
“With most companies being targeted on ESG, we at Hilton T4 are seeing more and more requirements to include this component while planning meetings and events. We find having a Sustainability One Pager, as well as a list of ESG activities that the delegates can do while at the hotel, a very important win-win for everyone involved – the end client, the agent and the hotel. Also Carbon Offset Calculator is very popular as it shows CO2 emissions offset for a particular event”.
Trust the process
“Be open to ideas and trust the process. With our site capabilities and wealth of industry experience, you’re in good hands. After sitting down with us to tell us your vision, don’t hesitate to ask for advice and be willing to experiment with delivering your event to achieve those business goals.”
Be an open communicator
“Planning a successful event requires a mix of foresight, flexibility and strong communication. First, thoroughly understand your event’s needs—size, tech requirements, ambiance—to match with the perfect venue. Engage in clear, honest dialogue with the venue from the start. Ask detailed questions about logistics, limitations and additional resources available. Build a solid relationship with the venue staff; their support can be invaluable in executing your vision. Finally, plan for contingencies, keeping adaptability at the forefront of your strategy. This approach ensures you’ll not just book a venue but create an event that resonates.”
Review, rebuild, and get attendees excited
“Planning an event can be stressful, so here are our top tips for event bookers:
- Review feedback from previous events. Consider the venue, food, activities, speakers and theming.
- Create a sense of excitement. You could use an app, gamification or friendly competition to generate a buzz amongst attendees.
- Set a clear objective or key message you want attendees to take away, and ensure this runs throughout your event.
- Budget carefully! Decide your non-negotiables, then build out your event from there.”
Choose eco-friendly practices – it’ll pay off
When planning an event and sustainability is key then choose venues with eco-friendly practices, such as energy efficient facilities & waste reduction initiatives. Opt for locations accessible by public transport to minimize carbon footprint. Select venues offering locally sourced, organic catering options to support the community and reduce food miles. Communicate your sustainability goals with the hotel tam to ensure alignment and implementation throughout the event planning process.
– Caroline Guest, Radisson Hotels
But, be weary of green washing
An increasing trend is the focus on finding venues that are serious about sustainability. Planners should be wary of venues that are still green washing. At Sutton Hotel Collection, we recommend planners select venues that have an accreditation such as Green Tourism or Engage EcoSmart. During the enquiry stage, ask your venue questions about community engagement, ESG objectives and green meeting or carbon offsetting initiatives. If a venue is proud of their achievements, they will also shout about them on social media.
Embracing diverse perspectives, including those of event venues, improves the process of booking venues and enhances the overall event planning experience. Each stakeholder brings a unique vantage point, whether it is the logistical expertise of venue professionals or the creative vision of event planners. By encouraging collaboration and communication among all involved parties, event planners can enjoy a wealth of insights, leading to more informed decisions and ultimately improving the quality of events. In essence, by valuing and incorporating different viewpoints, we can create truly exceptional events that leave a lasting impact.
