I’ve been doing events for many years and if one thing is for certain there a million things that go into making an event successful. Guests can feel the difference when you put time and effort into putting on an amazing experience for them. At events, no matter how big or small, every detail matters.
Many event professionals have that one thing they feel takes the utmost priority and importance above the others, but for me, it’s the venue. Ambiance, feeling, tone and experience can all come from the venue alone. If you don’t have a rocking venue for your event, you can turn guests off before they even walk in the door.
There are 5 things that I require each venue to have before I consider booking. and we’re here today so I can share some of my best venue booking secrets.
1. Location/Neighborhood
This is the very first thing I look into when picking an event is location, location, location. Before I start looking at venues, I actually research the city in question. Are there neighborhoods that locals tend to visit? Is there something that’s unique to that area? Once I’ve pinpointed a few hot spot areas, I begin looking where transportation is (ie: subway stops, parking garages, proximity from highways). This is key to make sure that anyone in the area can easily get to your event.
2. Brand
You’ve worked hard to come up with a great concept for your event and it’s important to make sure the event you host is at a venue that aligns with that concept. An example of this would be you’re hosting a swank cocktail party with emphasis on wine and passed appetizers; you would want this in a higher end venue with a more modern touch (I would use Press Club in San Francisco) versus something more on the quaint or rustic side. You want the brand and style of the venue to compliment and bring your concept even more life.
3. Staff
This one is massively important! I pay attention to how the staff presents themselves from our first interaction to the final payment after the event is over. If someone takes forever to get back to me, then he or she will likely do the same when I need something urgent onsite. These are the people that will help you (or not) in a crisis, they will be interacting with attendees, and can very much impact the overall feeling of the event. I always like to set expectations with a venue early on so they are aware of my needs and I am aware of their ability to execute on them.
4. Reviews
This can be tricky, but still an important part of finding that perfect venue. While there will always be the cranky reviewer (we’ve all seen the crazy review on an amazing restaurant), there is some merit to review sites. I use them to spot common issues that people face so I don’t have to find them out on my own. I suggest using a few different resources. My favorites are TripAdvisor, Zagat, Cvent and Yelp.
5. Uniqueness
I often look for venues that have unique characteristics or venues that can generate some buzz just because we are hosting an event in that particular location. This could be a celebrity chef (great way to get prospects to agree to hang out with you for a few hours), a secret experience only offered to invited guests, cool design features, etc. This could also be the most well-known hangout in the city or a venue no one has really discovered yet, both have their perks. For this type of research, I tend to go off of things I personally like (I travel a lot and check out things in every city I go to), but it can also be done with smart online searching. Having a pulse on what’s hot is important, but going through sites like Gilt City, Thrillist, Refinery29, Zagat, LocalEats and Conde Nast can uncover lots of very interesting places.
Providing your guests with a unique, lovely experience WILL stay with them and impact their image of your events. Now get out there and go find some amazing venues!
– The Reportery
thereportery.com 