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How Event Planners Can Choose An Innovative Event Venue

Posted on 25 Maggio 201618 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

An event venue can make or break the look and feel of an event.

While hotel conference centers are easily accessible, they often don’t feel innovative, and they are often expensive unless reserved well in advance.

This article is designed to help event planners identify venues that will inspire event attendees, without breaking the bank.

1) The Innovative Theme

It’s great that you are hoping to provide attendees with a space that inspires innovative thinking. But in order to narrow your search of venues, you should first try to determine what type of feel you are trying to create.

Often this will simply be based on the kind of event you’re planning. A launch event should feel different from an off-site meeting of a Fortune 500 company. Work with key stakeholders to try to identify what they are hoping to achieve with the event.

2) Time & Place

Just like the cost of a hotel room or the price of a plane ticket, event venues will vary in expense depending on when you try to book. The same venue could be had for below market rate if you decide to plan an event during an off-hour.

Of course off-hours will vary depending on location, so it’s important that you think about ways in which you might be able to find an event venue for a bit less by choosing to host the event in a location that is not in demand, or at least not in demand during your event.

If you’re planning an event on a low budget, try to think of a location that won’t be in-demand when you want to host your event, often venue managers will be much more willing to negotiate if you are interested in using the space when it would otherwise go un-used.

3) Mixed Use Venues

Airbnb and Home Away are two popular examples of how mixed use spaces can transform perspectives. Staying in a private apartment rather than a hotel room can provide travelers with a unique perspective.

Similarly, event attendees can find inspiration when going to events hosted in spaces that are outside of the norm. Consider hosting an event in an artist’s studio, a public space, an art gallery, or some other mixed use space that can still provide the logistical support you need.

By choosing to host your event in a mixed use space, you’ll likely save money in comparison to booking a traditional event venue, while also providing attendees with a unique experience.

4) Go Green

Sustainability is a trend that has already permeated the hospitality industry, and it will soon have an impact on the events industry as well. One excellent way to expose event attendees to innovative spaces is by presenting them with a venue that features innovative design in order to overcome environmental challenges.

Conclusion

Searching for and selecting innovative spaces might seem challenging. Finding an affordable space is hard enough afterall.

The famous innovator and leader, Steve Jobs, famously obsessed over the construction of a new headquarters for his company, Pixar. He wanted to build an innovative space that had the ability to encourage people to feel inspired and to collaborate. The result was a revolutionary building the encouraged employees to meet and solve problems.

The example of Steve Jobs highlight how a space can impact people, as an event organizer, your goal should be to find a venue that positively impacts attendees by inspiring them to solve problems together.

What makes a good conference venue?

Posted on 9 Maggio 201618 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

The choice of venue will clearly depend on the kind of event you are hosting, but there are certain variables that are always considered before a decision is made.

Establishing the size of the conference will be the starting point when choosing a venue. The size and accompanying needs of different conferences need to be dealt with in a bespoke manner.

Another key variable for a good conference venue is location: a venue that can cater for an international as well as national and regional audience is becoming a key priority for some organisers.

A conference venue that is easily accessible and in a prime location can often be a deciding factor, so good transport links are a necessity.

To add to this, a venue needs to set the right tone for a conference to ensure that delegates leave with the right impression about the host.

An extra component that it is becoming increasingly essential for a good conference venue is technology.

With the rise of the mobile workforce and the need to stay connected while on the move, the technology requirements for events and meetings have evolved.

Video conferencing facilities and social media packages will most likely become a pre-requisite for organisers looking to extend the reach of their event to a wider audience.

Coupled with this, robust WiFi throughout the venue can bolster this kind of offering.

While each of these factors holds significant standalone importance, feedback from our own customers suggests that what really makes a difference is the service they receive from the moment of enquiry to the post–event follow up.

In this fast-paced business environment, venues need to be able to provide for the extensive needs of organisers.

By working in collaboration with the client at every stage, venues can match and exceed expectations down to every last detail, whether this be by creating a unique menu that matches dietary requirements; correct room specifications or a team of specialists to help with AV equipment.

To add to this, a good conference venue will be flexible when it comes to service and transparent when it comes to price. A friendly team adds immense value to a venue as does a dedicated event manager who is aware of all that is required.

Coupled with this, the reassurance that there will not be any hidden costs when it comes to making that final payment is key.

How location influences the success of your event

Posted on 9 Marzo 201619 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

The first dilemma that presents itself to potential event organizer is the choice of location. While choosing the right place doesn’t ensure the event success, it is also true that the best organization in the world will fail to ensure a good result if the location is hopelessly wrong.

The right place at the right time

First of all, you must first know your audience.
We turn to the shareholders of a company or university students in the city? It is reasonable to think that our audience will move by car or we have to take into account the links between our location and the main public transport? If we choose a beautiful location in the middle of nowhere, we would then be included in a budget bus / shuttle service to allow participants to get to the venue? And if the location did not include its own catering service, as we will organize supplies for refreshments?

We have not even confirmed the first choice, but already we envisage a number of options that are likely to have a profound impact on our budget.

In principle, any location whether it locates outside the city centers involves an increase in costs and is probably best suited for a high-profile event and with a large budget.
By contrast, a converted industrial building just steps from the subway station will be much more suitable for an exhibition of young independent artists than a sixteenth century villa lost in the hills.

Size matters

The second element to consider is the size. If you schedule an event with entrance fee is the key word: “pessimism.”
You have to apply a simple arithmetic: the division by two. If we plan to charge an entrance fee for our event, probably our budget must be balanced against a profit forecast. That prediction gain must always be divided in half. We expect to attract an audience of 1000 people? We calculate the costs in order to cover with 500 entries and then choose a place that has the potential to accommodate 1000 people, but it may seem full even with half.

Magic? No, decor. Many rooms offer the possibility of different settings, with the addition or removal of panels, movable walls, tables, seating and room dividers.

A good strategy, if we are not sure to be able to correctly predict the influx, has set up the local minimum of its capacity and then delete items (such as sofas and tables) in case you need a larger space.

Cool vs Uncool

What it brings with it the end of an event is, first of all, the atmosphere. The memory of the feelings will remain for a long time, more than menu and even the theme of the evening. Location is a valuable ally in the creation of the atmosphere, but to exploit the full potential must have a thorough knowledge of the area.

The beauty and practicality of the structure are important, but the way in which the structure is perceived is even more.

In selecting the location for your event, it is essential to apply these same knowledge or rely on someone who can give it. That our keywords are “luxury, glamour and elegance” or “avant- garde, minimalism and counterculture”, it is essential that the site that will host our event is in keeping with the spirit of the initiative.

If we got this far, it means that we have successfully avoided the pitfalls of the first choice and on the right track.

Now we just have to organize our event.