If only choosing a venue was as easy as opening the yellow pages and blindly choosing a location. Luckily we have four experts who are masters in the art of choosing the right venue. A function space can make or break an event and make your ‘do’ memorable for the wrong reasons. But you can relax and pick up some pearls of wisdom form our event gurus….
 1. Location, location, location – How will your guests be travelling to and from the event? Is it easily accessible or will you have to organise transport. Additional transport will impact your budget.
2. Consider your budget – This will impact on the type of venue within your reach. Consider your desired outcome when choosing venues, trying to create a Venetian theme in an Art Deco room is just making your job harder and stretching your budget.
3. Consider your demographic – A dance club may offer fantastic technical options but may not suit a networking event for oral surgeons. Think about who is coming. Is it for staff or clients, or both?
4. Catering – The gorgeous little stone cottage at the beach may offer the perfect setting for a cocktail party under the stars but if the catering is restricted to foccacias and a big breakfast from the café operators your event may not live up to expectations.
5. Consider the amenities – Does the existing furniture suit your purpose or will you need to bring in additional equipment? Is there an in-house technical team, do the chairs need to be covered, are the tables big enough? Are there enough rest rooms, is there wheelchair access? All these questions need to be answered in order to advise your client on the best choice of venue for their event.
 1. Consider the tone and style – ensure the venue selection reflects not only the image you want to present but make sure you understand or research your audience so that you know it is in line with their preferences and expectations.
2.The right size – choose a venue to suit your audience numbers. Don’t always trust capacity charts - as a rough guide allow 1 m2 per person of audience space for theatre or cocktail-style.
3. Check the ceiling height – for an audience of 50 pax or more with on-screen presentation, you need a minimum ceiling height of 3 metres to position a screen for viewing. A higher ceiling also provides more scope for product displays, banners and décor with more impact.
4. Site check venues you don’t know – pictures and floor plans are useful but nothing beats a site check. In addition to assessing technical requirements, a site check allows you to experience the location and look at accessibility to transport and parking.
5. Book well ahead – Planning in advance, particularly for multi-city road shows, allows you to select the most appropriate venues on the dates you require rather than having to compromise from the start to fit with availability.
 1. Have a clear written brief – It is always a good idea to phone the venue prior to sending the request in writing to check availability or capacities. Always ask the venue to detail any planned refurbishments work. If any is planned get the proposed schedule in writing (beware - this will almost certainly change).
2. Sourcing venues – never assume you know every venue that will suit the event, or that any one website or listing will have all venues listed. Good sources of venue information include the local tourism/convention bureaus (you may be surprised at the venues they suggest).
3. Short-listed venue summary – Highlight the venue’s pros/cons - if any of the venues do not match your brief advise the venue they are no longer being considered (you will avoid continual follow-up from the venues and free you to focus on venues that match the brief). This process will also reinforce the most suitable venues.
4. Present the venue summary to your client – If there are limited options it is a good idea to place a tentative hold on the venue/s. It is always a good idea to conduct a site inspection of the short-listed venue/venues as this will ensure you get to see the venue in its current state.
5. Lock the chosen venue away – Make sure you secure the venue for your event as soon as possible after the decision is made. There is nothing worse than deciding on the venue and finding it is no longer available. Your booking agreement should detail all of the event requirements including everything you have discussed and agreed upon with the venue sales representative (having a paper trail is vital in an industry where staff turnover is often high).
1. Ask the locals – As a priority, always contact the local tourism organisation of the venue destination you are considering.
2. Environment – Ask yourself, will the venue provide the right environment in order to deliver your key message to your audience - consider the space within the venue and how this can be best utilised?
3. Easy access – How accessible is the venue for my delegates attending - Is there plenty of parking at the venue; How far is the venue from the delegate hotels and airports; will there be any additional transfer costs?
4. Finances – Does the venue suit your budget requirements?
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