Top 10 Tips For Making A Budget
The venue you choose for your event sets the mood and tone before your audience even steps inside. Its geographical location and reputation convey meaning to your invited guests before they RSVP. The process of getting there is shaping your attendee’s experience before they’ve experienced your message. Then there’s the myriad of practical considerations such as seating capacity, economic factors like equipment inclusions, and intangibles such as quality of service from its administration. With so much to take into account, where do you start?
Your event venue location
The first is location, where are your audience and what is going to work best for them? Bear in mind that closer isn’t always better – you might want to take them far from their usual places of work or residence to set your experience apart
Remote locations
Remote locations such as holiday resorts are great if you have the budget and would like everyone’s attention completely to yourself for a few days, but these kind of events are only practical with large budgets, and are generally used to reward loyal customers or excellent sales staff.
Metropolitan Areas
Back in the metropolitan areas, there’s a huge variety of traditional and non-traditional spaces to consider. For meetings, conferencing and staff training, the hotel function rooms and other dedicated event spaces have a solid offering that you’re probably already familiar with. Packages are standard, they understand the corporate market and they’ll provide a reliable service.
Space Is The Place
Will the venue you’re considering accommodate the number of guests you expect? Seated or standing, attentively listening or actively networking, you need to realistically assess if your audience will be too tightly packed, look lost in a cavernous space, or fit comfortably. If you’re unsure about how you would set up the room then check our article on “how choosing the best seating style for our audience?”
Proximity Thing
When considering events with a large amount of attendees, like a major industry conference or exhibition, centrality, access and a well-serviced locale are essential. The venue must be reasonable to commute to from the nearest airport, accessible by multiple modes of public transport and close to multiple hospitality options, including bars, cafes, restaurants and hotels. This enables both exhibitors, sponsors and attendees alike to get the most from their investment of time and money. There are also downsides to well-serviced central venues. They can attract attendees who are there for curiosity only, diluting the value to serious participants.
It's all in budgeting
Catering staff and costs are fairly easy to anticipate and understand. With a given number of people to serve and a set menu, any quote should be straightforward. Make sure you are aware, though, for the staffing aspects of the event that might not be so clear.
