The Rundown
Topics: Venue Selection, Event Planning | 3 min read
There are more event venues than ever, with new spaces opening constantly. That choice makes the decision harder, not easier.
Whether you are running an awards dinner, a conference, a product launch or an experiential activation, the venue shapes almost everything that follows - budget, logistics, supplier costs and how the room feels on the night.
The most useful first step is not shortlisting venues. It is writing down what actually matters to the people the event is for, and to the suppliers who have to build it.
Here are the factors worth weighing, from the obvious ones to the ones that catch people out.
Location and Facilities
Location
Where the event should sit geographically is harder than it first appears.
A regional event for guests from one area is straightforward. Bringing people together from further afield is not. Transport links, accommodation options and what there is to do nearby all matter - and so does how guests perceive the city you have chosen. A location that reads as exciting to one audience reads as inconvenient to another.
Consider the journey from the guest's front door, not from the nearest station.
Facilities
Does the venue have adequate power on site for catering, AV and everything else the event needs? This is the question most likely to cost you later if you skip it.
Is there a kitchen and running water? Is catering available in-house, or does everything come in? Is there accommodation on site or nearby?
None of these are automatically dealbreakers. They only become problems when they are discovered after the contract is signed, at which point every fix is a temporary one and costs accordingly.
Ask for the power spec in writing at enquiry stage, and pass it to your production company before you commit.
Access and Service
Accessibility
How will people physically get in? Are there flights of awkward stairs, or is the building genuinely usable by people with a range of physical abilities?
Then transport. Venues with generous parking tend to sit outside town and city centres; central locations usually trade parking for public transport links. Which matters more depends entirely on your audience.
Supplier Access
This is the one people forget. Your suppliers have to get in too.
You will struggle to find a fairground ride contractor willing to negotiate narrow cobbled streets, and a production company facing a long carry with no loading bay will price accordingly. Look for a proper loading bay with straightforward access, and ask what vehicle sizes the venue can take.
Service
This often makes or breaks the experience.
A short-staffed venue, or one with inexperienced event managers handling your booking, creates stress for you, your suppliers and your guests.
Pay close attention to how you are treated during the enquiry and the site visit. That is the venue at its most attentive. If something feels off then, it will not improve once the deposit has cleared - raise it early or walk away.
Condition and Sustainability
Upkeep and Repair
Always visit before booking. This is the easiest problem to spot and the easiest to miss from a brochure.
A small number of venues struggle to fund their own maintenance, and it shows in the details - damaged plug sockets, loose balustrades, tired finishes.
That does two things. It makes an event feel less premium than the budget you have spent on it. More seriously, it can be a genuine health and safety issue, and one you may find yourself responsible for on the day.
Walk the back of house as well as the front. The parts guests never see tell you more about how a building is run.
Sustainability
Delegates increasingly notice how an event handles its impact, and clients increasingly have to report on it.
A venue with a genuine sustainability policy makes that far easier. Ask about renewable energy, how they handle waste, and what they can tell you about carbon emissions - before signing, not after.
Be wary of policies that exist only as a page on a website. Ask what they actually measure.
Getting Advice
There is a lot to weigh, and most of it is easier to judge with someone who has built events in a hundred different rooms.
If you are not sure where to take your next event, get in touch with Premier Live on 0116 202 9953 or info@premier-ltd.com.
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