Event Consultation Experts explains Venue Questions

For most, venue and ambiance are the first things to attract you to a space for your event and many locations meet these basic requirements and are similar in cost. However, you have to dig deeper to find what those expenses cover and whether a venue is right for your needs.

Expenses

To ensure you stay on budget, ask what the base price includes. Some venues give you only the space. Everything else is extra. Others include amenities such as tables and chairs, basic lighting and multimedia equipment, drapes, and parking. If your event is outdoors, it is necessary to know you can be charged for the basics like electricity and water. Or you might be required to provide your own. Some offer a staff for free while others require one or more site staff for which you will pay extra.

Time

Another item to consider is time management. For locations that charge by the day, how many hours are included and when does the times start and end? An event lasting three or four hours may need two hours of setup and at least an hour or more for breakdown. Full rates may only apply to the hours the event is held if the venue offers hourly rental. Charges for setup and breakdown can range from a far reduced rate to full price.

Staff

A day-of-the-event coördinator can take care of all the little details to make certain your event runs smoothly as well as manage setup and tear-down. Even if you’re having the venue handle everything, you still want to follow-up and have several on location meetings and walk through(s). Even with a coördinator, you need to be on top of things.  Most venues include at least one coördinator with your space. Find out how many are coming, their schedules, and responsibilities. Venues may also require security guards depending on the size of the crowd and whether you serve alcohol.

Meals

What about food and drink? Hotels and restaurants usually need to only use their Food & Beverage departments. This may not only be a matter of profit because any food on their premises reflects on their standards. Also ask, if the venue supplies the meals, is there an added cost for plates, silverware, and serving utensils? Linens come at a price. How many servers, and bussers will be working? And remember servers are tipped separately from all charges should they be allowed to accept tips.

Insurance

It is also a good idea to carry liability insurance and to ask if coverage is included, or is it an extra cost? It can take care of material damage should a guest break or steal decorations belonging to the venue, cover injuries like a person tripping down a flight of stairs, slipping on a spilled drink, or falling on the dance floor. Some venues may carry a basic amount or only need it if you’re serving alcohol. Keep in mind, even though many caterers and event planners have their own coverage, which can cut the need for you to spend on insurance, it is best to be covered.

If you would like more information, please contact us, your event consultation experts.

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When Is Event Consultation A Good Idea?

When do you need an event consultant? That question is best answered by the importance of the event itself, not only to the attendees, but to you. What is the purpose of the event? Will it decide your future?  Will it affect your livelihood? The greater the impact of the event on your life, the more important it is to get the details right.

If you have an introduction for a campaign, how much do you really know about focusing the attention of the media on that day? Do you know who reads Luxury Las Vegas, and how to use the demographics associated with it? Have you priced special invitation dinners, and do you know who offers the latest trend and most exclusive venue?

If your event lasts all day, are the people who are there at 6 am going to be there when the last customer walks out the door at 7 in the evening? And perhaps most importantly, do you even have time to worry about it?  Much of the time, when you are staging an event the star of the show is you. 

Perhaps the problem is best stated by a New Zealand firm that offers a venue for entertainment talent. The details that go into event planning are myriad and sundry.

“A well-designed and well-orchestrated event is analogous to a good stage production. It’s all about getting your act together and performing the right show for the right audience.”

One is often able to deal with the “when” and “why” aspects of an event, but the “where” and “how” parts can get a bit tricky. You have a budget that you have to honor. You have a purpose to fulfill. You have to publicize it, and meet expectations.

You have to know how to conceptualize a theme, where to buy the Kobe beef, how to leave them smiling, and where to present your event for the biggest impact on your target group.  Where do you go to hire temporary waiting staff, and what is the best price for oysters? Do you need an investment analyst? A ballet dancer?  A string quartet? 

If this event will affect the public’s conception of your endeavor, then what you need is an event consultant.

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