How many times have you worked on an event where the location doesn’t meet the requirements needed for your event? The ballroom had columns that made it hard for participants to see the stage, or your boss picked the location for the golf course, but it doesn’t have enough square footage to accommodate your needs.
All of us have been there! But you can avoid this challenge—by asking the right questions before you pick a location.
Before the “where” of the meeting, you need to know why your meeting is being held in the first place. That is, what are the goals or the purpose?
Before the “where” of the meeting, you need to know why your meeting is being held in the first place. That is, what are the goals or the purpose? What is the desired behavior change you are looking to create? What should people who attend know, feel and do when the meeting is over?
These factors will be instrumental in helping you decide which type of venue or location would be the best fit for your participants.
So, you need to spend time understanding your stakeholders. Why are you hosting the meeting? Why are people coming and where are they coming from? What are they expecting, do they have special needs, are they bringing family or guests? Where has the meeting been held in the past? Why didn’t people come last time?
Related Certificate Course: Meeting & Event Strategist
Compile as much data as you can about the age, gender, country of origin, language ability, level of subject matter expertise—anything at all that makes your audience unique. This combination of demographics creates what is known as a group or attendee profile.
Now that you have collected all this information, the data will guide the decisions you make not only regarding site selection, but also on room set up, food and beverage, event technology and speaker selection.
