Event Management: Tips and Guidance for Success

Ok guys before I go ahead with what I am about to hint us. When we want to select our Ushers for our events please let's endeavour to see them before the event and not just make a quick selection due to urgency. I know it is not easy selecting because we have times that we get incredible stats from Clients like Light skinned,tall,long hair,curvy,blonde bla bla bla..this make us to go about recruiting people we have not had good or long time job relationship with and we therefore have Girls who got the job on a platter of gold and eventually mess up..As an Event Planner I would advise that we always have a pre event meeting no matter how short..it helps a lot.

So to today's hint..we'll be talking about the 'Venue' of our event:

Venue

The venue for the event is of prime importance. Remember there is often a timescale for booking the venue, the further in advance of the event the better. Many venues have 'peak' and 'off-peak' times which will have cost implications
- This depends on the time of year the booking is made.

1. Selecting the Venue

This is probably the single most important aspect of planning an event or seminar. There are a variety of event finding organisations who will, often free of charge, find a suitable location and arrange everything you require for your event. However, it is often better to view your intended venue yourself and meet with the management team at that venue.

Visit the venue in person before you commit to assess how well it can accommodate your event. This will also give you an opportunity to meet the staff at the venue – it is important that you nurture a good working relationship with them from the early stages.

2. Location of the Venue

Consider your prospective audience and their geographic location before seeking a venue. Take into account travel implications for both your staff and your delegates – will it necessitate an overnight stay?
Make sure that your venue is close to public transport or is within easy reach of car parking.

Location does matter – it is much easier to find willing delegates for an event in a renowned and well connected city rather than in a difficult-to-access place. Think about the cultural appeal of the town where the event takes place. An interesting/ attractive venue also helps to persuade potential delegates to attend and will leave them with a stronger cultural understanding.

 Facilities
It is recommended for projects to organise their events within partner organisations' facilities where possible. This demonstrates the commitment of the institutions themselves to promote the project, but it also can give a direct insight into the local context in which people work.

Choose a venue which will accommodate your needs in terms of the types of rooms you need, i.e. a plenary hall, a number of smaller workshop rooms, an exhibition space, a catering/ bar area. As a general rule, the higher the number of rooms, the higher the cost.

Ensure that the venue capacity is appropriate to your needs. Take into account how many people you plan to invite and consider how you wish to lay out your rooms. You may choose theatre; boardroom; cabaret or horse shoe layouts. Therefore check that the room sizes are adequate for your chosen layout. Will the layout need to take wheelchair users into consideration?

You should also check if the rooms are close to each other and that it is easy to navigate between them. It is also worth checking if there will be any other events taking place in the venue on that day and what impact, if any, will it have on yours?
You will also need to have a top table and possibly a lectern; a place to locate your laptop or other audio visual equipment. If the room is large you will need to think about microphones both for the top table and the lectern and/ or lapel microphones for the presenters. If you plan a Question and Answer session, you may need a roving microphone to pick up the questions being asked.
Check also that the venue will permit set up and break down of conference materials outside the actual event times. If you are holding an exhibition, you may need time the day before to set up stands, etc. Will the venue permit you to send documentation beforehand and store it for you before and after the event?

 Obtain quotes and budget issues
It is good practice, particularly with a large event, to visit a few venues and ask them to provide quotes in order to help you select the option which offers best value for money and even to help you bargain. When obtaining a quote you will need to consider not only the hire of the rooms, staff costs (i.e. technician, cloakroom attendant) but also furniture, catering, signage, technical assistance, hostesses, audio-visual equipment and exhibition facilities (stands, display boards, power sockets and cables, cloths for the tables).

When getting quotes make sure you include the little extras as they are often very expensive.

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.