MEETING PLACES
RIGHT TIME,
RIGHT PLACE A meeting or event venue plays a major factor in an attendee’s experience, which is why choosing the right space is so important. Meetings presents some exciting options you may want to consider.
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acking hygiene protocols. Difficult to access. Poor service. Bad food. No parking. If your delegates have this sort of feedback on your event venue, it may completely overshadow how informative, interactive or innovative your event is. With venue hire forming a major chunk of the costs associated with producing your event, don’t settle for what appears to be within budget without understanding what you’re in for.
SCOUT OUT YOUR VENUE There is a reason that many event organisers choose to have meetings and events at the same venue each year – they are comfortable and familiar with the space and, by the second year, they would have built a good relationship with the venue’s management team. Unless you have hosted an event at a particular venue in the past, research this extensively; do as many site visits as it takes to understand the space you are working with, inside out. Speak to other event organisers who may have used the venue in the past on their experience working with the management team. Word-of-mouth recommendations from your peers are most likely to provide you with the right information you need to decide on
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your venue. Weigh up any negative reviews and whether these were a once-off incident or whether they might be a factor in how your event takes shape.
VENUE AND INFORMATION ACCESSIBILITY ARE A BIG DEAL Making sure your venue is as central as you can manage it – for wherever the majority of your delegates are coming from – and that there is enough parking, or a drop-off zone close enough to the entrance is key. Getting lost or confused on where to go does not set the right tone for your attendees; signposting and clear directions with this information are often overlooked. Liaise with your venue on ensuring attendees can easily find their way in, out and around your venue, and try to provide as much of these details ahead of your event – either on your event app or in an informative email that goes to your attendees. If you have enough resources and a large enough budget, appoint staff on the ground to help chaperone delegates around the venue. All else failing, have a number for attendees to call where they can be assisted with this sort of information. As we have seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, information goes a long
way to providing the right level of reassurance to delegates, so take care to ensure your communication and instructions are clear and easy to understand.
PROTOCOLS ARE AN EVEN BIGGER DEAL Health, safety and hygiene protocols simply cannot be ignored. Currently, in South Africa, events taking place need to be capped at 750 people indoors and 2 000 people outdoors. Together with the mandatory wearing of masks and adherence to physical distancing of at least 1.5 m, these protocols, among others, are intended to significantly minimise the risk of infection. “The first crucial consideration when deciding on potential venues is health and safety. Given the emergence of the Covid-19 Delta and now Omicron variants, which are significantly more contagious than previous iterations, event planners must stay especially vigilant to avert potential outbreaks at the event venue. Therefore, you have to ensure that the venue you choose follows local health and safety guidelines. That is not only in theory, but the venue should have written safety protocols and policies to minimise the risk of Covid-19 infection,” writes InEvent, an events software company. Another consideration is to explore venues with outdoor spaces, as the risk of spreading infection is significantly reduced, although inclement weather may be a factor, so negotiate flexibility with your venue. As a final measure, InEvent recommends that if your venue of choice is indoors, ask if their ventilation system includes air purifiers that eliminate the presence of Covid-19.
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