Five Things To Consider When Selecting Your Conference Venue

As I’m certain you’ve heard on more than one occasion (you’re likely growing tired of hearing it by now), location is everything when planning an event – especially a corporate conference. Generally, the people attending these events are going to be discussing some fairly important stuff – a bad venue can leave a dark cloud hanging over the entire affair, something which can, in the worst case scenario, effectively derail the entire gathering. You want to do whatever it takes to ensure this doesn’t happen.

Here are just a few of the things you’ll need to take into account when selecting a venue for your conference.

Where In The World Is It Situated?

It’s all well and good to want to host a conference in Dubai, but you need to make sure all the people attending it are on-board with flying there. Plus, you’re probably going to have to take travel expenses into account for your budget – most people aren’t going to want to spend personal money on travel expenses for a business trip, right? It’s not just a matter of cost, either.

You need to consider the political climate of your location. An area which last year was a great corporate getaway could have shut down this year for any of a wide number of different reasons – you simply don’t know without doing your homework.  I will say this, though: the last thing you want is to send your guests into an unstable, potentially hostile locale.

How Close Is It To The Airport? Hotels? Transit? Shopping Centers?

Another important factor to consider is the location of your venue within the host city – you need to take convenience into account here. Is it near the airport? If not, is it close to some form of readily-available transportation? What about hotels – will your guests be able to stay near or in the venue, or will they have to trek halfway across the city in order to get some rest? Lastly, you’ll need to consider leisure. Where is your venue located in terms of major shopping centers and tourists attractions? Your guests need something to do in their down time, after all.

Is This The Sort Of Place Where Conferences Are Ordinarily Hosted?

This is an important one – but how important is entirely up to the event planner. Is the venue you’ve selected the sort of place where a corporate conference would ordinarily be hosted? Does the venue owner have trained staff ready to assist you with set-up, take-down, and equipment management, or are they effectively flying blind?  Do they have the necessary amenities for your conference, or will you need to secure them yourself?

While there’s something to be said for getting creative with where you host your conference, you need to make certain you aren’t running it somewhere completely unsuitable.

When Are You Planning To Host It?

Not every venue is open year-round. It seems positively basic, but you need to consider when you want to run your show. Certain location aren’t going to be open year-round, after all; don’t set your heart on a particular location for a June conference if it’s only open during December.

Is There Another Venue Available For Less?

Last, but certainly not least, think about your budget. Ask yourself honestly – could I find another, equally-awesome venue for a lower price? If your answer was yes, then maybe you should think about reworking your current plans a little.