Selecting the right venue for your event!

 

There are so many different venues now available for events it can be hard to choose the right one for your event, this week we look at the venue types out there and other aspects to consider when selecting your next venue! 

·         Unusual venues - this can be anything from a museum, football stadium to a castle! Ideal for creating a wow factor for your event but do not always have the same facilities you would find in conference centres or hotels

·         Hotels – most suited for residential and full service events, if you require accommodation on site, hot seated lunches, and a rated standard of service, hotels would work well for your events

·         Conference centres – purpose built and designed for conferences and events, usually only corporate events taking place and they tend to have the most up to date features and equipment in accessible city centre or motorway link locations

·         Academic venues – purpose built and educational institutions often with large lecture theatres and multiple smaller break out rooms available with built in AV equipment and on site catering in good central locations, they can be limited in terms of availability for meeting space and accommodation particularly in term time due to teaching and student accommodation in use

Other factors to consider:

• Service – you want a switched on team to run your event at your chosen venue, who are committed to making your event as much of a success as you are, organise a site visit to the venue to experience the staff service you can expect from the venue in advance

•   If you need a venue that is industry regulated  look out for industry standard accreditation AIM from the Meetings Industry Association at the venues you are considering www.aimaccredited.co.uk

• Catering – is your venue limited to the food and lunch type they can offer or can you select from a number of menus and offer cold and/or hot food to ensure you know all the available options for your delegates, check when you are enquiring

• Location – do your delegates need car parking and easily accessible by motorway or are you trying to encourage delegates to travel by public transport so require a more centrally located venue or a combination of both?! Deciding on your preferred location will help narrow down your search

Mosaic Events offer a free venue finding service to help save you time, reduce costs and add value to your events, as we book multiple venues nationwide we can negotiate the best rates and options for you.

Please contact us on enquiries@mosaicevents.co.uk if we can help with your next event venue or if you would like to share your venue finding experience with us

Keeping calm at your events!

This week we have put together some hints and tips to help you enjoy your next event and keep any stresses at bay!

Produce an event format – make a detailed running order for your event in advance, circulate it to all staff and suppliers at the event so everyone knows where they need to be and their roles during the event. Run through this with the manager at your venue on the day and caterers so there is no confusion over any times or setup for your event.

Have back up presentations – sometimes unforeseen circumstances can prevent a speaker from turning up at your event, ensure you have a back up presentation just in case that you can use if a speaker doesn’t show.

Be prepared – prepare for all eventualities, think of everything in advance, trouble shoot anything you think could happen and have a plan of action for these just in case. There are some things you cannot plan for but if you can be as prepared as possible it will be make everything easier if anything did go wrong on the day.

Get some sleep! – make sure you get plenty of sleep the night before so you are at your best ability and focussed to work at your event and deal with anything that comes up along the way.

Try and take a break – this can be easier said than done when you have delegates, speakers, exhibitors and an event to run, but try to schedule a few minutes to sit down or go out and get some fresh air, you will feel much better for it!

Learn from your mistakes – we are sure your events run smoothly with delegates, but there is always something to learn for your next event. Take a few minutes at the end of your event to think of anything you would do differently, anything that didn’t work well or any issues with your venue or catering so you can then take these into consideration when planning your next event 

Please share your experiences of working at events, or if you would like to write a blog for Mosaic Events please email sarah@mosaicevents.co.uk