As busy event professionals most of us know the core questions to ask once we have sourced a venue, and the 101 questions we have asked to get to the contract stage. However, there are some key questions which we should be asking our venues and the answers might just surprise you.
Every event starts with an objective, whether its an educational conference, a product launch, a gala with a charitable element, team building or training and as we have booked the venue, its clear that we have understood the brief. You always know exactly what your goal is and what the goal of your client is, but what if your venue doesn’t? It can be easy to forget that a venue won’t know your particular goal, and more importantly, how you’ll measure your event’s success, unless you clearly communicate it.
Asking how your venue can contribute, is a great way to start a different kind of conversation with them as they will have have experienced lots of events and will have great insights into what works and what doesn’t. Don’t hesitate to ask your event venue to share new ideas or ways to help you and your client, meet and exceed the targets you have set for the event. It’s a seemingly simple question. But one that could yield a whole new perspective on your event.
How are you going to ensure connections? This is not about electricity, but having understood your objectives for the event, the venue might help make those connections a little more meaningful, If it’s a trade show, maybe networking and meeting as many new peoples as possible is the top priority for delegates. If it’s a team-building event, helping employees get to know each other on a deeper, more personal level could be the kind of connection, or if its a less formal event, ensuring even the smallest party of guests feels included in the bigger picture.
Asking about connections, rather than just about the space itself, could lead to a new perspective on where to place elements of the event. The team should know the space intimately, and can give you great advice on how to best utilise it as the room with the best views could be the right place to host a serious training session, but will this be too distracting for delegates?
Fostering connections and meeting your event’s goals can get a lot easier with the right tech so ask your venue about the best ways to incorporate technology to make the event as engaging as possible. We’ve all been sold venues with high speed broadband which fails to deliver when 250 delegates all try and log on at once, so make sure you get some honest answers and work together for the best solutions.
It’s a collaboration and this approach could make all of the difference to your next event.