26 Feb How to Choose the Right Event Location
When it comes to event planning, you will have to make many decisions. One of the major ones is finding the proper venue to host your event. It will affect the kind of carnival rides you can hire, if at all. More importantly, the venue you pick will relate directly to how much your attendees enjoy the event and the costs attached to it. Is it an open ground? Will you need extra accessories like tents? These questions and more must be answered.
Admittedly, it can begin to sound intimidating. Fortunately, you are not left flailing in the dark. You can learn from people who have experience planning large events. Here are five things to think about when choosing a venue:
The location
For a local event, you want to find a venue that will be a reasonable distance from your target audience. If many people are travelling from far, then you might consider a place near hotels or the airport. The point here is to pick a location that your attendees will find easy to access. While at it, consider also the location in relation to what you need to make the event successful. For example, will you hire carnival rides? How far will they have to be transported? Be sure to provide your attendees with directions that are easy to navigate.
Parking and capacity
Is there a parking space in the venue you are considering? How big is it? Are there alternative parking areas your attendees can access? You can reserve a nearby parking lot if you predict that the one you want will not be sufficient. The capacity of the venue will also need to go into consideration. For starters, you want your audience to be comfortable, and secondly, you need to be able to check the safety and fire codes for the building. Make room for adjustments in case the attendees are more than expected.
Amenities and services
Does the venue you are looking for have a kitchen? Is it sufficient to serve your audience? Note that facilities like kitchens will often mean that you pay more for some venues. Consider whether your options offer things like chairs, tables, and linens. Is there are setup crew? Knowing these factors in advance will help you know who you need in your event team.
Layout
In event planning, you have to be aware of the kind of activities you hope to have from the beginning. If you need to have carnival rides, for example, it will decide the kind of layout you go for in your choice of venue. As you narrow down your selection, go through all your options at least once and note where the important parts like power outlets are. Think about the flow of traffic in your event. Where will the registration/entrance be? Which places will be highly populated? Answer these questions the best you can early enough but leave room for changes.
Insurance
There are locations that will not even do business with you if you have no insurance. Other places require an amount of liability in addition to being insured for the event. In event planning, you have to factor all these things in. Try to get an agent to ask for general liability insurance if you deem it necessary. As insurance is often delicate, be sure that you begin your inquiries early enough, when you still have time to change your mind about a specific venue.
How Joylands can help
Joylands can help you to make your event successful. We can advise you on the layout and the amount of space you need if you want to hire big rides. Some rides require certain heights and they require a minimum distance from things like electric posts as a requirement which we can advise you on. So if you are planning an event, contact the team at Joylands today to see how we can help you find the perfect location for your event.