Venue Site visits - what to think about

Mosaic Events undertake venue finding and often when it comes to booking site visits for our clients they ask us for tips on what to look for when making that all important decision of which venue to go with! Here are a few tips to help you when planning a successful event.

1) always request a map of directions from the venue - so you can test out how good these are for delegates finding their way on the day of your event.

2) always ask for the main conference room to be set up as you want to book this - this is not always possible but good to see the layout.

3) think about the access of the venue.. is there a train station or car park nearby and then on arrival is it easy to find the entrance?

4) when inside the venue what sort of reception do you get - is the receptionist warm and again is this area easy to navigate?

5) ask the person doing the show round where the registration point would be for your delegates - is this easy? and then where arrival tea and coffee will be again is this nearby?

6) when in the main room ensure there are no pillars  that would block delegate views, asking about noise within the room are the walls likely to let in external noise.  If the room has windows go and have a look to see if there is building works taking place nearby or ask if they are aware of any taking place in the near future.

7) for lunch ensure the space offered fits with your objectives - if you are having exhibitors it is advisable to have lunch in the same area as the stands so therefore how many exhibition stands will you accommodate in the space offered?  Otherwise ask to see the restaurant area and the lunch options available.

8) overall you need to look at the access of the venue for delegates that may have mobility requirements ensure this is suitable.

9) if you are visiting a hotel and you are needing bedrooms always request to see these and ask to see the smallest and the best the hotel has to offer then you have no nasty surprises!

10) finally always confirm with the person showing you around that they will be dealing with your booking up until the event - get their contact details including direct line! it can be so frustrating going through switchboards. 

We hope these tips help your next site visit and are interested to hear from you if you have any further thoughts as always we are looking for a guest blogger so if you are interested please contact sarah@mosaicevents.co.uk thanks very much happy hunting!

Sarah