There is a lot of administration to take care of when creating a meeting. The planners must determine what the meeting will deal with, what it wants to achieve, and where it will happen. All attendees must know all the detail before the occurring time.

Deciding on a venue that suits the company’s needs and wants can be difficult. The venue can add more value to the meeting by simply being the correct size and having the needed equipment and seating. A venue must fall into the company budget.

There is more to a meeting than simply determining the best venue. This, however, will have an impact on the attendee’s perception of the quality and degree of the meeting. Companies can take time to decide on a venue that falls into the class and status of the meeting.

Define Your Meeting Requirements

Before a venue can be considered, the team must identify and clearly state the goals of the meeting. The meeting requirements will determine the basic requirements the meeting venue must acquire. The event planners can consider these goals to asses what venue will be best suited. 

The number of attendees and whether the corporate event will happen in one setting are two of the main requirements to take into consideration. Another requirement will be whether the meeting has visual and auditory support. The event venue will need a computer and a screen to display the visual support while a microphone and speakers provide auditorial support. All this detail will be presented in the event strategy. 

Budget and Venue Cost Considerations

With a set budget, the event planners can determine which venue will fit right into the financial support. The cost of conference venues can be determined b multiple factors, all depending on the needs of the organization. The more companies add to their needs, the higher the price will be. The budget will provide the team with key aspects and cost estimates of venues suited for the company. A cost-effective venue will ensure that the company work within its budget. There are hidden costs to venue hiring which can lead the team to spend more than the budget stated. 

With a set budget, the event planners can consider a venue that will be cost considerate and have all the necessities that are needed to host the event. The budget must be set around the needs and not the wants of the meeting. This will allow the team to pick a venue that will cover the necessities without spending extra finances on added products that will not be used.

Research Potential Meeting Venues

Researching different venues will be one of the tasks that might take most of the time within the event planning process. Finding the venue that will meet every need for the meeting will not come easy. The planning team will have the responsibility to work through a variety of venues.

The team will have to measure multiple venues against each other to determine which venue provides the best services and meet the company’s needs. The team can ask the event space hiring team to present a small presentation on the strengths of the venue to ensure that the best decision is made. Some event venue trends will assist the company in staying in the loop and determining which venue will ensure an amazing event. 

Venue review and recommendations lists can be part of the research that the team can access. The venue review can be misleading, however, due to a list of contacts that leave fake reviews. The team must ensure that the venue review websites are accurate and trustworthy. This will save the team time and money for inspections later in the process.

Evaluate Venue Amenities and Services

Venue amenities and services refer to the basic service the venue provides. Some amenities can be Wi-Fi, clean-up staff, tech support, or a restroom. There hire the venue cost, the better the amenities should be. The Team must first evaluate their needs and decide on a venue that covers their basic amenities.

This will ensure that the venue hire and all extras are already covered, and the team does not have to budget for extra expenses. Amenities will take some stress and planning of the team. These services, such as restrooms, are already part of the package, which will clear some tasks or planning off of the planning tasks.

Check Out Selecting a Meeting Venue:

A Location that Is Convenient for Your Guests

The perfect location of a venue can determine the success of a meeting. The venue must be situated in an area that is easily accessible for both the attendees and the guest speakers and hosts. An easily accessible venue will ensure that all attendees can find the venue with ease, which will lead them to feel confident and happy beforehand.

The venue must be situated in a safe area. Attendees attend the event intending to receive knowledge and education without the fear of a robbery or hijacking. The company must determine which areas are safe. The perfect location will play a big role in the success of the meeting. Company executives and guest speakers, as well as the attendees, must be able to access the perfect location where the venue is situated. The perfect location can be found by answering these questions.

Layout and Capacity

Every venue has a specific layout or options of layouts that can be used by the company that hires the venue. These layouts are created to ensure that the attendees and guest speakers can have a decent flow where there is little to no traffic. These layouts fit the venue and can provide the company with easy exits or entrances. 

The meeting planners must determine the capacity of attendees and which layout will work best for the number of individuals that attend. The number of attendees will have an impact on the layout; thus, determining the capacity will assist in deciding which layout will fit the event the best.

Site Inspections and Site Visits

Most venue hires will allow the company to do site inspections to ensure that what they signed up for is accurate and what they need. These event logistics will allow the company to evaluate and determine the accuracy of event images. Companies should not solely trust images or videos presented by the venue team. Images can be misleading, and while most venue teams are honest, some might try to sell a venue that is not up to standard and will use misleading information as event marketing tactics. 

The site inspection will provide the team with an accurate version of the venue. This will leave the team with time to evaluate the capacity of their amenities and services. The company can evaluate the venue and adjust the price if it does not fit what the venue promised. The time spent at the venue will leave the organization team with time to determine the layout and general feel of the meeting and venue.

Large-Scale Wi-Fi Capabilities

The capacity of the venue must be capable of comfortably seating the attendees. And while the venue capacity is fixed, companies must evaluate and determine whether the standard Wi-Fi can host and incorporate the usage from multiple smartphones and computers.

With everything moving online, attendees might need to access the web via Wi-Fi. And while most Wi-Fi can handle large groups, the team must ensure that the Wi-Fi can host the entire group’s devices. If the Wi-Fi is not strong or big enough to provide the service to all the individuals, the team must find an alternative method to ensure that all attendees have access to Wi-Fi and an online network. These facilities will add to the electrical cost of the business event.

Options for Parking and Transportation

The parking therein can leave the organizing and venue team in a panic. Most planning teams do not consider that most individuals will attend the meeting by driving there in their car. Thus needing enough parking space for as many vehicles as attendees will be attending. The venue parking options must allow the entire team working at these kinds of events to have allocated parking spaces for them. 

The team can arrange minibusses at specific pick-up locations or other modes of transport. This will take additional planning end execution but will leave the terrain with more parking options. The meeting planners must determine the best solution and ensure there is more than enough parking, which will be marked to ensure all vehicles are safe. Departure times must be considered to ensure that there will not be a queue to exit at the end of the event. 

FAQs

How Do I Pick a Meeting Location?

There are a few methods for choosing the best meeting locations. The team must evaluate the goal and determine their goals and needs for the meeting. Based on the set needs and goals, certain venues will be a better choice. Location, amenities, and service can be deciding factors that will change a corporate company’s view of a venue.

Why is a Venue’s Location Crucial?

The venue location will determine whether the individuals that are invited will attend. If the venue is too far or in an unsafe area, attendees might decide not to attend due to a far drive or a dangerous area.

What are the Crucial Elements to consider while Selecting a Venue?

The layout and capacity are some of the first elements the team must consider when determining whether the venue will be a good fit for the meeting. Other elements, such as Wi-Fi, restrooms, and parking options, are essential to consider.

What are the Major Obstacles You Run Across While Looking For Venues For Your Event?

The venue size and capacity can cause an obstacle for the planning team. Another obstacle can be in the form of a budget and the venue’s amenities. The team must ensure that what the venue promise to deliver exists and that it is in good condition.

Final Thoughts

Corporations must take their time deciding on a venue. The venue will impact the success rate of the meeting and can defer many invited to avoid the meeting. If searching for a venue adds too much stress and headaches to the team, the organization can outsource to a planning business.

These corporations will provide the team with a venue that suits their needs like a glove. Venue recommendations from other companies or events. The team must ensure that the corporate meeting will be suited for the actual meeting venue. The meeting space requirements must be checked, and then the team can decide whether the dream meeting venue recommendation is suited and ideal for the meeting.

The best venue is the one that has all the amenities, services, and capacity that the meeting requires. The team must inspect the venue to ensure that everything is in good condition and that the meeting suits the venue. Companies can spend some time determining the best venue because this will lay the foundation for the entire meeting.

Sabine Ghali

Kelly Murphy

PRESIDENT & FOUNDER

Certified Meeting planner with 20+ years of event management experience, founder of ConferenceSource, expert in meeting facility sourcing & contracting in North America, Europe, South America and Asia. Kelly will manage your budget as if they were her own, negotiating the best possible rate and hotel contract to benefit and protect every client and exceed all expectations for all planning aspects for sales meetings, educational meetings, product launches, incentive trips down to a small board of directors meeting. We make meetings easy understanding your meeting objectives and delivering meeting matched components.