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It might sound easy to book a corporate meeting space. You just book a venue, right? But from a small internal corporate meeting to annual meetings with global travel, there’s actually a lot you’ll need to consider when choosing your venue.
A venue that fits your budget is often a top priority, but you’ll need to consider the attendees too. Where will they be coming from? Will they need to stay overnight? Would a poor venue choice affect attendance?
To plan your corporate venue as strategically as possible, you’ll need to consider a range of factors. You don’t want the meeting to get off to a rocky start with technical difficulties, late arrivals, or hungry attendees.
To ensure you’ve assessed all the factors involved to make your corporate meeting a success, we’ve put together this simple list. Keep reading to check off each item and make choosing a corporate venue a breeze.
Budget Allocation
Before you book the fanciest hotel in town, you’ll need to look at the budget available for your meeting. Work out how many people will be attending, whether you’ll be paying for transport and accommodation for them, and any incentives you could offer a venue for reduced rates.
By offering repeat business to a corporate venue location, you might be able to strike up a more favorable venue hire rate and free up part of your budget.
Location Options
If your attendees are all local to your business, it makes sense for your corporate venue to be in the immediate area. But what if your attendees work across three offices around the world? Or if they’re coming from many countries?
Local Attendees
When choosing a location for local attendees, you’ll still want to think about the exact location. Will it be downtown? Should it be near your office? Does it need to be in an impressive location?
Corporate meetings can be much more enjoyable when the location is somewhere a bit more special than an ordinary conference room. Treating local attendees to a venue that has a little more luxury could be a great option.
International Attendees
In our modern, global business world, many companies have corporate partners all over the planet. For major conference meetings with international attendees, you could choose a venue somewhere different.
If you have attendees in Asia and Oceania, why not look at conference venues in Queenstown, New Zealand? Choosing a wonderful location like Queenstown makes your conference or meeting a memorable event that will stick in attendees’ minds.
Transport Links
No matter where you choose to have your meeting, it needs to be accessible by a mixture of transport links to suit everybody. If attendees will be coming by plane, your venue should be within easy reach of an airport.
Metro links, bus routes, and even taxi stands are all useful to have within a short walk of your venue. This reduces the trouble you attendees have when getting to and from the venue as well as minimizing cost.
If attendees will be coming by car, choosing a venue that has adequate car parking will also be well-received. Parking hassle is sure to irritate attendees and make your venue choice look thoughtless.
Venue Size Required
The size of your venue could have a big impact on price and attendee experience.
You don’t want to end up booking a huge venue only to have half of it filled, wasting money and making it look badly attended. Equally, you don’t want to cram attendees in and struggle for seating.
Make a list of attendees and remember that some may cancel at the last minute. Choose a venue that is spacious without being too big and that can be flexible on numbers if necessary.
Suitable Venue Style
A hedge fund’s style will be different from an eco-start up’s style when it comes to venue choice. Even though the venue is a separate business to yours, it will still be representing your business when you host your meeting there.
This means that you’ll want to choose a type of venue that complements your brand and type of meeting.
From traditional and sleek to fun and unusual, use your brand style to guide your venue choice. An ultra-modern company may not be best represented by a traditional hotel complete with chandeliers and gilt-framed oil paintings.
Accommodation Options
For attendees who will be coming from far away, accommodation options will be an important factor. Is there a wide variety of accommodation choices near your shortlisted venues? If you’re considering a hotel’s conference room, does the hotel have rooms available for your dates?
Ensuring there’s nearby accommodation to fit a range of budgets is important if your attendees will be paying for their own rooms. You want your attendees to be as comfortable as possible, and that includes providing options to suit any budget.
Appropriate Facilities
Technical glitches are an event organizer’s nightmare, so check with your shortlisted venues about their facilities. Will you need a microphone? A projector? Will you need to connect a laptop to their presentation system?
If you’re having a guest speaker, you’ll also need to check what they might need.
Checking technical facilities before you book is the best way to find out ahead of time if there’ll be any compatibility issues. This gives you a chance to address them before it’s too late.
Catering Requirements
We’re not saying your attendees will RSVP just for the food, but planning for catering is a priority. Check if venues offer catering or whether you’ll need to hire outside help.
You’ll need to organize a menu, cater for every attendee, and check for allergies and dietary requirements. Choosing a venue that can accommodate your catering needs will take a huge weight off your shoulders.
Choose the Best Venue for Your Corporate Meeting
The best venue for your corporate meeting will be a venue that ticks all your boxes. Every business and meeting is unique, but the fundamental planning is the same.
Always ask about technical facilities, parking availability, catering options, and capacity. When you make sure that the venue has everything you need and fits in with the ethos and style of your business, you won’t get any nasty surprises.
What’s more, your attendees will have a smooth, hassle-free meeting and your effort will leave them feeling satisfied and positive.
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Thanks for mentioning to choose a venue that can be spacious and not too big with flexibility on numbers if needed. My brother is thinking about looking at hotel conference rooms next week because he wants to hold a seminar about his profession. I think it’s a good investment to look for a reputable location that can be flexible and big enough to accommodate the number of guests he wants to invite.