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How to plan an event: A step by step guide
- 27/09/2019
- Accomodations
Businesses and individuals are constantly looking for places to throw events, have seminars or a simple offsite meeting. But finding a place that fits your need can be a painful experience.
Whether that you need to search everywhere on the internet from Google, Facebook or asking your friends to send you places on Whatsapp, chances are that they have no idea of what your event is like and may not give you the best solution.
As specific as it goes, location scouts are looking for places that can fit 50 people seated, with natural lights, sound proof, with projector, microphones, sound system and nearby LRT station. We understand that pain as we’ve been there, done that.
Things to look for when sourcing a place
As most people’s best guess is to find a cafe, coworking space or hotel for their next seminar or event, most places are not found online easily. We’ve written down several steps that you could take when you’re checking the place out.
1. Set your dates & time
Knowing the details of the event is crucial when you’re looking to find a place. The first thing that any place would want to know BEFORE they answer you any relevant details is to know if they’re able to accommodate your business.
Feel free to set a tentative date and time for your event and be flexible with it. If you really like the place, try to find a time that the space is available to rent.
2. Know the number of people and type of event
As every space is unique on its own, the number of people that they’re able to fit is different. Also, bear in mind that the owners may only accept a certain type of event that is suitable for them.
If you’re looking to have a musical rehearsal, it is less likely that places like cafes and coworking spaces can accept your request. Your best bet is to tell them immediately the type of activity that you’re planning to have.
3. Send out requests
Once you have the 4 elements in hand, start sending out requests via phone call & email. It is also important to understand who exactly are you talking to when inquiring.
Our experience of calling these places is that, the receptionist is not the person in charge and they have no clue of what’s happening. Give yourself some time to follow up with each places that you’ve asked in 2-3 days if they have not gotten back to you.
4. Site visit or recce
After you’ve sent out requests, the owners will usually asks you to visit the place and see it for yourself. Bear in mind that most places will ask you to check their place out but it’ll costs you a significant amount of time to travel and visit.
Here’s a few thing that people would look for when doing site recce:
- Location & access
Make sure that the place exist and how to access there. How is the traffic like at your event start time? And most importantly, you can see clearly what amenities are available in the location and if you need to bring additional equipment or items.
Understand how to access the location from parking lot or main entrance is crucial, especially if the space is located inside a shopping mall or office tower. It is fairly difficult to locate if no proper guidance is provided.
- Price
For most places, they have no fixed price for space rental. But rather, they’ll take into account the usual cost they need to cover an hour of operations when you’re renting the place.
Hotels, restaurants and cafes are priced higher based on the number of people they need to serve you, plus the amount of sales that they’re not able to generate at the time. Example, if a cafe can generate RM1000 in sales every hour, booking the space will costs you at least RM1000 per hour which does not make sense for most people.
A way to solve this is to find less packed places and the price would definitely be lower as compared to these prime locations.
- Looks & amenities
Do the place look and feel exactly as you intended? Is the location able to fit the number of people that is coming for the event?
As most places will not show you a full set of photos that showcase their place, it is very difficult to judge whether these places suit your needs. As some use wide angle cameras to make their space look bigger which will give you a misjudgement if your decision is based solely on photos.
While it’s the norm to visit places before you place a booking, Chupspace provides you with a platform where you can easily do all the above by having these in mind when we build the website.
5. Understand the rules
All spaces are unique and hosts would have different rules & terms for their space. Ask the hosts if they allow parties, smoking or alcohol would be crucial to a successful planning.
Here’s a few things to ask the hosts before you book:
- Overtime charges
In case you exceed the booking hours, will there be any additional charges for it. If you think that you may need additional hours, let the host know in advance so it won’t affect the next guests.
- Additional charges
Make sure that the amenities and equipment that you need to use it included in your booking. Some places may require additional charges if you want to use the projector, additional tables & chairs and more.
- Security deposits & cleaning fees
Usually hosts will make it clear if the booking will require additional cleaning fees and security deposits for certain events like parties.
How can we simplify it?
Planning a party or event should be fun and enjoyable, that’s why Chupspace is here to make sure the planning process is simple and easy. You can find the perfect place easily through an easy to use platform, at the same time knowing availability, price & any other information that you need from booking the place.
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