[Home > Event Planning > Event Venue
Selection ]
Keep following things in mind while selecting
venue for your event:
1) Target Audience/Guest Size
It means number of people you are expecting to attend your
event. Make sure that your venue can easily accommodate
your expected target audience. Your venue should not be
too small or too large for your guests. If too small, then
your guests will feel discomfort. If it is too large then
you will unnecessarily end up paying more for the venue.
Get firm indications whether guests plan to attend your
event by sending R.S.V.P clearly printed on the invitation.
The term R.S.V.P is a French acronym. Its meaning in English
is 'Please Respond'. If R.S.V.P is printed on the invitation
then the invited guest is expected to tell the host whether
or not he/she is attending the event. Since many people
don't understand the meaning of this term or don't bother
to reply back, it is advisable to individually call and
ask your guests about there plan to attend the event. In
this way you can get quite accurate idea of the guest size
which will help you in deciding food and beverage quantities
also.
2) Target Audience Status
If you target audience are rich people then your venue must
be a five star hotel or resort and all the services provided
during the event must be of very high quality.
3) Target Audience Convenience
Select venue according to target audience convenience. Your
venue should not be very far from the place where majority
of your target audience live. Your venue should have proper
lighting and ventilation. It should not be in a noisy or
polluted area. It should be absolutely neat and clean and
free from any type of infestation.
4) Climatic Conditions
Keep Climatic conditions in mind while selecting a venue.
If you are going to organize an event during rainy season
or during peak winter then selecting an open-aired venue
is not a good idea. Always try to organize indoor events
if possible as there production cost is lesser than the
outdoor events.
5) Venue History
Before hiring a venue check out the history of the venue.
Find out how many events have been organized in the venue
so far. In this way you can find out whether or not venue
and the staff there is event friendly. This will help you
immensely when you later organize event there as you will
have to do less amount of work in making the venue suitable
for the event. If venue has noise ordinace problems in the
past like neigbours calling the cops to shut down the event,
then it is not a good idea to organize event there especially
outdoor event.
6) Venue Services
Before hiring a venue check out the number of services
provided by the venue like:
Parking facility
Make sure venue has its own parking space. It should be
big enough to accommodate your target audience's vehicles
conveniently. If parking space is not adequate then look
for other venue. Never compromise on parking space especially
if you are organizing event on a large scale.
Security Arrangements
Security of guests, service providers and target audience
is a very important issue which should never be neglected
or compromised at any cost. Make sure that your venue has
adequate number of fire extinguishers, fire alarms, emergency
escape routes, sprinkler system (a system consist of overhead
pipes designed to control or extinguish fires), security
personals, handicap ramps, security cameras, first aid kits
and power backup (like generator, inverter, UPS). Your venue
must have separate entrance and exit gates and it should
not be more than 30 minutes away from the nearest hospital.
If your venue is at a remote location then presence of doctor
and ambulance is a must. Also make sure your mobile phone
properly works there. If your mobile phone network area
is weak there or doesn't exist then you must have some other
modes of communication like satellite phone. For large scale
events presence of fire fighters, fire engine, police, paramedical
team with ambulance is a must.
Venue Staff
Your venue must have adequate number of staff to serve your
guests. Find out the ratio of servers to guests. The venue
staff must be friendly, helpful and courteous. It should
be decently dressed. Give special attention to there personal
hygiene. Nobody likes to be served by someone who is stinking
and looks like a pirate of the 13th century. Ask you venue
manager whether or not the staff is able and willing to
work overtime.
Restrictions
Every venue has some unsaid restrictions like photography
and videography restrictions, alcohol restrictions, music
restrictions, dress code, decoration related restrictions
(like you can not install your own structure and lights
for decoration or paste/paint anything on the venue's
wall), advertising restrictions (like you can not put
a banner on the main gate of the venue) and other restrictions
like outside caterer is not allowed or outside security
service is not allowed etc. Find out all these restrictions
before hiring a venue.
Additional Services
Some venue provides additional services like catering, floral
decoration, fireworks, audio-visual aids; Staging, Lighting,
props, decor for event production; ticketing, reservation,
transportation and sight seeing tours for the guests; DJs,
anchors, performers etc for event programs.
Ask following questions from venue manager before hiring
a venue:
Q1) What is the venue fee? Does it
include all other taxes? (Negotiate rental fee to ensure
the best deal.)
Q2) Is dance floor included in venue fee? Are table,
chairs and linens included in the venue fee? Is security
and liability coverage included in the venue fees?
Q3) What is not included in the venue fee?
Q4) Is there any cost for parking? (Generally parking
space is provided free of the cost by the venue. But some
venue may charge separately for parking facility.)
Q5) What is the price range for a seated/buffet
lunch and dinner?
Q6) What is the Corkage fees (i.e. fees
to server liquor)?Make sure that venue has the license
to serve alcohol. Check the license for expiration date.
Q7) What is the cost of sleeping rooms?
Q8) What is your cost per person and
per food item?
Q9) What is your bartending and bar set
up fees?
Q10) What is your fees and how you charge
for providing additional services like floral decoration,
fireworks, audio-visual aids; Staging, Lighting, props,
decor for event production etc?
Q11) What modes of payments are available?
Q12) What are your payment, refund and
cancellation policies?
8) Venue Inspection
If you will go as an event manager to a venue for inspection
you will be shown the venue as an ideal venue for organizing
your event. So best way of inspecting a venue is to check-in
there as an anonymous guest, stay there for 2-3 days and deliberately
use all the services provided by the venue. Make sure Air
Conditioners, fans, water tabs work properly, elevators are
operational. There is adequate lighting and ventilation. Check
out for sanitation and infestation. Find out how helpful,
courteous and professional is the venue staff. Check out whether
or not the venue has a noise ordinance in the area where it
is located? If yes? At what time is it enforced? E.g.: 10:00PM,
11:00PM. Check out whether or not security is provided in
the parking lot and how is the law and order situation in
the area where the venue is located. Make sure that the venue
suits the event theme.
9) Amount of Work Required
On the basis of venue history, services provided by the
venue and venue's inspection determine how much work is
needed to be done to make the venue suitable for your event.
Select a venue where lesser amount of work is required to
be done. Lesser the work, lesser will be the production
cost of the event.
10) Contracting
the Venue
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