How to avoid these top 7 mistakes when booking a conference venue

Conference venue selection is one of the first decisions a committee needs to make, but be aware your venue choice can make or break your event. Here are the top 7 conference venue finding mistakes and how to avoid them.

Choosing the venue for your conference sounds like an easy task but it is one fraught with pitfalls that could not only leave a bad impression on attendees but also drastically impact your budget.

When starting your search make sure you avoid these common seven venue booking mistakes.

Conference Venue Mistake 2: Not knowing your conference program

While searching for your conference venue, you really need to know at minimum a general outline of your program.

This is of course much easier for conferences with a history, however, prior to commencing your venue search you need answers to these questions:

• Do you need an exhibition space, and if so roughly how many exhibitors?
• What types of presentations will your conference comprise and what space will you require to accommodate this?
• What technology will be required for these presentations?
• What will your catering and social event requirements be?
• Will you hold your social events in the same venue or an alternative one?
• Do your delegates need accommodation?
• And most importantly, what is your budget?

Create an overview of your conference venue requirements so you can create a shortlist of suitable venue options.

Top Tip: Remember your aim is to find a venue that is adaptable to your program, rather than you needing to adapt your program to a venue.

Conference Venue Mistake 3: Over or under estimating your delegate numbers

With regards to conference numbers, event history is once again a blessing, yet it’s an area that can be a minefield.

Book a space too large and you end up paying way too much, while booking a conference room too small can lead to your guests being cramped and uncomfortable.  Neither are a welcoming scenario.

For an annual conference, take a look at the conference data of past attendance.   As a general rule attendance will be affected by the state it will be held in – numbers tend to be larger in the Eastern states – particularly Sydney and Melbourne – than in the west.

If it’s an inaugural conference, it’s best to be more on the cautious side when estimating numbers.

We recommend reserving a larger space, with the option to be able to reduce space once numbers become clearer. This will minimise impact on your budget.

Top Tip:  While it is essential to make sure  your venue can accommodate your maximum numbers, only contractually commit to minimum numbers to minimise any potential financial ramification of low delegate numbers.

Conference Venue Mistake 5: Poor location to save money

A venue in an unsuitable, inconvenient location will be guaranteed to get your attendees offside.

Many committees fall for the mistake of selecting a venue that is not central to save money, however, as a result delegate numbers may fall due to the inconvenience of travelling to the venue.

When seeking your venue think once again about the needs of your delegates:

• Will the majority of attendees be local and require to be a reasonable distance from home or work?
• Is the venue easy to get to from the airport?
• Will there be attendees from out of town who will require suitable accommodation options close by?
• Is there sufficient parking and public transport options?

Top Tip: Trying to save money with an out of the way venue, may result in a higher loss of income from low delegate registrations. 

Conference Venue Mistake 6: Skipping Site Inspections

If your event is not in your state or country, it could be pretty easy to make the decision to forego the site inspection.

Yet, relying on a distant desktop review of venue options – for budget and convenience sake – can really lead you into troubles that are otherwise easily avoided.

If you are unable to attend line up someone with experience – an event planner or DMC at the destination – to conduct a site inspection for you in your absence.   But be sure to provide them with the full overview brief that we discussed in point 2.

If you can go along, we still recommend that someone with relevant experience accompanies you.

Top Tip: Have a checklist to review or standard questions to ask at each site inspection for comparison purposes.  Check what other events are being held at the same dates to avoid any potential clashes; ask about any planned renovations and if you have time, arrive early for your appointment so you can quietly observe the venue in operation prior to your appointment. 

While finding a conference venue may sound relatively easy – or fun – there are a lot of pitfalls to avoid. Pitfalls that can have an impact on your budget and your reputation.

It’s why we recommend getting an expert in to help out.

Are conferences relevant any more?

With the vast capabilities of digital technology is attending a conference even necessary these days? Here’s our thoughts on the matter. 

9 Examples of Interaction Rich Ideas for Conference

1. Speed networking for young professionals and students
2. Lunch with an Expert
3. Living polling in sessions via mobile conference apps
4. Mentor/mentee exchange
5. Tea, Toast and Talking Posters
6. Senior and Retired Practitioner lunch
7. Parents and Carers Networking
8. Meet and Greet
9. Live Twitter feed on screen during sessions

Keep Delegate Engagement Front of Mind

So, when developing your conference program keep opportunities for engagement at the forefront of mind.

Remember, it’s important to keep up with the modern digital world to encourage the continued growth of the real life, real time, real face to face interactions conferences offers.

Main Image: Photo by Nacho Capelo on Unsplash

Need to make your conference relevant?  Let’s talk.

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