Four Important Considerations When Booking A Facility For Special Events

17 November 2016
 Categories: , Blog

Share

Planning a seminar, conference, or other large multi-day meeting involves a lot of work upon the part of the event organizers. However, one of the biggest and most important tasks is securing a facility to host the event. If this decision is poorly made, then the event could be a huge flop. If you are responsible for locating and reserving a facility for an event, then you should know what to look for when making your search. Below are a few important considerations to keep in mind:

Building security

During this era of heightened awareness about terrorism and other large-scale violent deeds, it is important for you to know how a facility will handle security for your participants. A couple of relevant points that you will need to evaluate and discuss with facility management include:

  1. Personnel - This includes knowing what types of security personnel will be available to patrol the facility, including its exterior, and how many security officers will be on duty at a given time. In addition, you should think about how you want personnel to be dressed; for example, do you prefer uniformed officers or would you rather security personnel be dressed in plain clothes and operate with a low profile?

  2. Emergency services - Another consideration is the availability of other emergency services, such as medical care, for event participants. Some sites may have automatic defibrillators or first aid stations available, for example, and knowing this information in advance can help you evaluate sites.

Catering, food, and beverage services

Another important consideration is knowing what food services are available at the facility. You will want to know if the facility provides full-service catering or offers a less extensive option for meals, snacks and beverages. Depending on your event plans, you may wish to offer sit-down dinners or merely provide light food and drink choices, and making sure these plans mesh with what is available at the facility is key.

Room sizes and availability

Before making your final decisions concerning an events facility, you should have a firm schedule available for reference when evaluating rooms. You will need to know if the number and sizes of rooms are able to provide your participants with adequate room to present and attend. Be sure to obtain firm numbers regarding room capacity when making your decisions, and also know how flexible facilities are if you need to make changes on the fly.

Technology support

In the 21st century, the availability of technical resources is a must for most conference planners. You will need to inquire with facility management regarding their plans to provide not only the services, such as WiFi or audiovisual services, but their ability to plan and respond to shutdowns. This means that technical support personnel should also be on-site and able to help with problems that arise.

Check out facilities like Chez Shari to get started.