5 Things to Consider when Booking a Meeting Venue

Whether you are experienced at booking meetings or its your first time, it can be a minefield with many challenges when booking a meeting, conference or training venue.

There are thousands of potential venues across the country, we hope our short blog will help you in your search for the perfect one. Remember, it’s imperative to choose a venue that is in line with your brand, company ethos and credibility you want to portray.

1. Location

Probably the most important factor. You want to make it easy for guests and delegates, try to find somewhere central for everyone with good rail and road links. Nothing worse than people getting lost turning up flustered or not even showing up at all!

2. Space

Size and layout are important, there are a variety of meeting room layouts from theatre to classroom, make sure you choose one conducive to your meeting or training to encourage the most productivity and engagement. On hot days you will want to make sure there is air con, the last thing you want is people falling asleep in a stuffy room! A light and airy room with daylight and a green view will keep people focused and up beat.

3. Facilities

Think about what you are trying to achieve throughout the day, will you need wifi, a flip chart or projector? Always worth checking with the venue first to see what is available and whether it is included in the price or extra.

4. Catering

At a minimum it is a nice touch to provide arrival and break time tea, coffee and biscuits, and there should always be a good supply of water throughout the day to keep everyone refreshed and focused. If it is a full day meeting or there aren’t many local eateries or anywhere to grab a quick bite, its worth providing lunch, especially if people have travelled a distance to get to you. Most decent venues will have a range of catering choices from a cold sandwich buffet to hot meals.

5. Cost

This is the first thing to consider, you need a budget whether you or your boss is in charge of deciding what that is, decide what is reasonable and stick to it. Workout what you need it to include as there can be vast differences in prices from venue to venue.

Good luck!