The difference in hiring a venue finder or an event agency…
We understand that being an in-house event planner comes with vast responsibilities. One of these responsibilities is finding out what support you may need to deliver your event. If this support isn’t available in house, then you will need to look externally. External support comes in many forms. This article is going to focus on two of these in particular - event agencies and venue finders.
One off vs a long-term partnership
Venue finders typically work on commission for a one-off event. An agency however is usually looking to build a long-term partnership. An agency wants to build legacy and knowledge of your company, delivering on your expectations and working with you on future events, no matter the city or the venue. Furthermore, a venue finder will likely have relationships with venues in the city and can often give preferential treatment rather than a holistic view of the options. Venue finders often suggest hotels going off the basics such as number of delegates, your agenda, and the location requirements. An event agency will dedicate time to get to know you and find out whether you like coffee in your room in the morning, gym facilities, a venue that incorporates dancing etc, whatever it is that is unique to you and your delegates. An event agency prioritises your non-negotiables, they can communicate this with suppliers and hold suppliers accountable for the contract, ensuring what was agreed at contract stage is delivered come the day of the event.
Floor plan vs site visit
Although a venue finder can be beneficial in the fact that they have a great knowledge of venues and destinations, they often won’t incorporate a site visit. This isn’t always the case, however in most cases they won’t which means you are relying on floor plans and hotel friendly data to make decisions. An agencies job is to understand the entire logistics of the event, how your number of delegates will work in the spaces in and outside of the main conference room, the flow of the room, lighting, measurements, room layout, and more. Going on-site without meeting who you are working with can make it very difficult to ensure that everything that has been agreed during the contract stage, maybe 3,6 or 12 months prior to the event, is still feasible and able to be delivered.
Site visits are essential
Furthermore, in terms of meeting who you are working with, site visits enable you to meet all suppliers involved in your event from caterers, to venues, to AV. Not meeting prior can be incredibly daunting and allows a lot of reliance on emails and room for error and miscommunication. A site visit allows you to organise food tastings with catering suppliers and discuss menu alternatives and options with each other that can cater for everyone’s needs. Not only will this enable you to taste the food, but it will also give you an inside look into how the catering supplier operates. Furthermore, it is our industry’s shared responsibility to manage events in a sustainable manner whether that’s through sourcing local foods, controlling portions and wastage or communicating sustainability with caterers. Site visits are therefore essential so you can learn more about your supplier’s sustainability policies.
Plan B, C and D
A “force majeure’ clause is included in contracts to protect both parties from liability in the event of a major unforeseen event. The difference between a venue finder and an event agency is that an event agency will offer more protection when it comes to mitigating risk where possible, having plans b, c, and d if needed. Budgeting for that plan b is just as important as budgeting for the main event.
Planning and managing events isn’t an easy process and it’s okay to ask for external support. If you are unsure what external support may be best for you, get in touch with our friendly team!