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Candy Adams,
CTSM, CME,
CEM, CMP, CMM,
is an independent exhibit-management
consultant, trainer, speaker, writer, and an Exhibitor conference
faculty member.
CandyAdams
@BoothMom.com
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 n event planner dies and goes to heaven. At the Pearly Gates, St. Peter invites her to take a look at hell as well, just so she knows all of her options. Hell looks good. Much better than heaven, in fact. She makes her choice, only to find herself surrounded by fire and brimstone. She looks despairingly up to the heavens and cries, "This is not the hell I saw before." "Sorry," St. Peter replies, "that was just the site inspection."
Joking aside, choosing a venue for your corporate event is one of the most important and difficult parts of planning an event. How do you distinguish between the rosy picture venues present when they're courting your business and the reality of what your guests will experience at your event?
To help you out, here are tips to conduct a comprehensive inspection. Follow this sage advice, and you're far more likely to find a suitable venue without landing yourself in the fires of event-planning hell.
Start Off Stealthily
An attendee's first impression of a property or venue sets the stage for the rest of the event. And it may be very different from your own, if you're being hosted by the venue and picked up at the airport by its VIP transportation, skipping standard front-desk check-in, sleeping in an upgraded room, being pampered with top-end amenities, and treated to specially prepared meals.
The best way to get a realistic idea of what your attendees will encounter
is to start your site inspection in "stealth mode." Fly in with plenty of time before your scheduled tour and check out the site for yourself first.
When you get to the venue, what is your first impression? Is the main entrance welcoming, with areas for your attendees to meet informally? If it's a hotel property, does a doorman greet you as you arrive and ask if you need any assistance with your bags? Is the front desk adequately staffed for the time of day, or is there self-service check-in available with assistance for those using it? Also note if the bell desk and concierge desks are staffed and find out what hours staffers are typically available.
As you walk around the property, pay attention to the venue's directional signage and access to the elevators and escalators. Can you easily find your way around? Note the location of the meeting rooms in relation to sleeping rooms, if applicable. Are all meeting rooms accessible by elevator? How many elevators are there and are any of them "express"?
Check out the overall condition of the property - including the condition and cleanliness of the carpets, curtains, furnishings, and walls in the public areas. For hotel venues, pop into rooms that are being cleaned to see if they're on par with your room and the other rooms you'll see on your tour.
Request the Right Guide
When setting up your tour, ask if the person you'd actually be working with (i.e., the convention-services manager or facilities manager) is able to conduct your tour, instead of a salesperson who will tell you anything you want to hear. The person you negotiate the contract with isn't the same individual who'll follow you through the planning process, and you need to find out if that individual is someone you want to work with.
Also request the credentials and experience levels of the person or people you'll be working with. I've had bad experiences working with unqualified facilities managers, in which I spent all my time teaching them the "language" of the hospitality industry, and hearing "I'll have to check on that and get back to you" every time I made a request or inquiry.
Do a Background Check
When you begin your official tour, ask when the last renovations of the public/
function areas were completed, and, if applicable, the date of the most recent upgrades to the sleeping-room furnishings and soft goods (bedding, curtains, bath towels, etc.).
Ask about any future plans for construction or refurbishment and if those plans might impact the dates of your event. Is the property currently up for sale or pending sale, and if so, when is the transaction to be completed? Is the property planning on changing management, and if so, when?
Find out what other organizations will be holding functions during your event at the same venue. Can you be notified if other groups contract for adjacent space during your event?
Also ask to see the list of services and pricing offered by the venue's in-house vendors, such as floral, audiovisual, telecommunications, and computer rental, and ask if any of the vendors have an exclusive contract to provide services. Exclusivity kills competition and can greatly increase the pricing of these services if you're automatically locked into the venue's contracts and mark-ups.
Picture Your Event
As you tour the function space, imagine your specific event setup. Where would you set up your event registration desk? Which meeting rooms would you use? Where would you set up your exhibit hall, hold hospitality functions, stage entertainment, or serve meals? Where would you locate staff offices and green rooms for speakers? Evaluate whether each area is adequate for your needs.
Make sure to get accurate floor plans with maximum capacities for various setups (e.g., reception, classroom, crescents, rounds, theater, etc.) and the official fire-code capacities for all meeting and function rooms, considering the AV equipment and food or serving stations you'll need in the rooms. Does the facility have overflow space if your attendance expands beyond your initial estimates? Is the overflow space real brick-and-mortar space, or is it a tent on the lawn behind the ballroom?
Ask lots of questions regarding Internet access and the cost of both wired and wireless Internet connectivity
if it will be an integral part of your event, as costs vary greatly. Get your internal technical team involved if necessary to make sure that you've assessed all Internet requirements.
Visit the meeting rooms you would use during your event. Are they all on the same level of the facility, or different floors? What type of signage or reader boards are used to direct attendees? Are there restrooms near the meeting areas?
Keep an eye on the usability of rooms based on your AV needs, such as built-in sound systems, data ports, electrical capacity for both AV and attendees' laptops, and potential
location of AV screens. Check for visual obstructions such as supports and hanging light fixtures and issues with sound bleeding from adjacent rooms, especially if the rooms are separated only by folding walls.
Temperature always seems to be a "hot button" (pun intended) with attendees. How is temperature in the function areas and meeting rooms controlled, and is each room on a separate thermostat? Who controls it?
Go Behind the Scenes
Don't restrict your visit to just what the venue wants to show you; ask for an impromptu tour of the "back of house" and look for cleanliness and organization. Depending on the type of meeting, check the access to the property's shipping docks, the proximity and capacity of freight elevators, the facility's freight receiving and material-handling capability, and the location and security of storage space.
Discuss the venue's inventory of meeting furnishings such as linen, props, centerpieces, etc. to make sure it has an adequate supply for your event. Check the condition of these furnishings to ensure they meet your standards, as many venues have extended the life of these items in an effort to save money.
Conduct a Taste Test
The quality of the food and beverage
matters to your attendees. You don't want the bone-dry salmon to be the most memorable part of your event. Consider the venue's standard menus and ask if you can work with the venue's chef or outside caterers on custom menus for themed events and for attendees with special dietary requirements. Consider setting up a tasting of some of the items you'd like to serve to check food quality and presentation. What is the venue's guarantee of food quality?
Since food and beverage costs will be a major part of your event budget, ask for not only a menu pricing but also a list of any additional fees that will be charged, such as administrative
fees; staffing fees for additional staff (e.g., bartenders or baristas); buy-out fees for using your own food or beverage providers; percentages for tips, gratuities, and sales tax; and food and beverage minimums based on your use of meeting and sleeping rooms. Also ask about the ratio of food-
servers to guests for the various types of events to assure that staffing will be adequate.
Find out what other restaurant options are available for attendees on site and nearby. Can these restaurants be bought out for group events for your exclusive use? Is there a lobby kiosk or gift shop that sells coffee, bottled water, and snacks?
At hotel venues, I order room service while doing a site inspection to test the quality of the phone staff, availability of menu items, promptness of delivery, and food quality.
Meet the Staff
Hotels and other venues have been hit hard by the recession and have cut back on their staffing in most areas, including registration/front desk, maintenance, housekeeping, bell services, and food and beverage. Find out the ratio of staff to guest rooms and the average length of
employment of the staff. Longevity is a good indicator that the staff is treated well and will treat your guests well in turn. It is especially important to find out how long the facility's general manager and department heads have worked there. Ask what hours the various services provided during your event will be available.
Ask to meet key employees at the venues and keep a list of all the people you're introduced to. Make sure to meet the banquet manager and captain, as well as the people who manage the furnishings (e.g., lecterns, tables, chairs, risers, steps, etc.), linens, décor, room setup, and meal service. They will be important points of contact during your event to keep everything running smoothly.
Also ask if the venue's employees are part of a collective-bargaining agreement (members of a union).
If so, when is their current contract
expiring? What restrictions are in place under the contract that would impact your ability to set up your meeting?
Ask for References
Always ask your sales representative for the contact information of three event planners who have recently held similar events at the venue. Use the industry grapevine online through LISTSERVs such as MeCo (www.meetingscommunity.org) and MiForum (groups.google.com/group/MiForum) and through LinkedIn groups in the hospitality and event industry to gain firsthand insight and knowledge of venues.
If the opportunity arises during your site inspection, introduce yourself to other meeting planners onsite who can give you insight into their overall dealings with the venue.
Take Diligent Notes
Make sure you use the same system to gather information at each venue you visit. I like to make a spreadsheet to compare the venues I'm considering, with plenty of room for jotting notes. I also make a SWOT analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the venues I review. Take notes and photos of each property to help refresh your memory as you move through the analysis and decision-making process.
Although your hundreds of questions may leave your tour guide a tad exhausted, careful inspections and a detailed analysis should help you detect any fire and brimstone behind the pearly exterior of any potential event venue.e
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