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[E325]Event Planning For Dummies

by Frank Lucer, Fra

Bad food can tarnish a meeting. Lackluster entertainment can damper the mood of a conference. But, if you choose the wrong venue for your event, the mistake can prevent you from accomplishing the goals of your client. What's more, the wrong choice can hamper further planning efforts. For example, if you're organizing a product launch and select a site with a low ceiling, that severely limits your choices of entertainment. Other mistakes can lead to lodging or transportation issues, space limitations, and low attendance. Below, I'll share 4 event planning tips that you should consider when selecting your next venue.

Tip #1 - Explore Multiple Cities

Chances are, you already realize that high-traffic cities (for example, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, etc.) have peak times during certain parts of the year. Venue rental rates rise, traffic becomes congested, and lodging becomes cost-prohibitive. Depending upon the type of event you're planning, there will likely be several alternative sites in nearby cities that will suit your needs perfectly.

Tip #2 - Understand Your Value

Convention halls, hotels, and other places value your event highly. Every time a large conference is organized in their facility, it results in more revenue for them. Attendees rent hotel rooms, eat in the restaurants, and spend money in the gift shops. If you've been a professional planner for years, you'll be able to make a reasonable estimate regarding the number of people who will attend. The more people that you can bring, the more value you represent to the facility operator. And that value should be represented in the rate you negotiate.

Tip #3 - Adjust The Schedule

In a lot of the highest-profile cities (such as Las Vegas), conferences, trade shows, and other productions are centered around a couple of weeks during the year. As a result of the increased foot traffic, rates skyrocket. However, when the conventions and conferences leave town, the rates plummet again. If possible, try to adjust the dates of your events to take advantage of the lower pricing. Facility operators will be happy to share with you when the peak and off-peak times are. Remember, they're interested in boosting their revenue during the times when most of their business dries up.

Tip #4 - Outline Your Needs

Often, taking advantage of the best pricing requires making a decision as quickly as possible. When you submit your RFP, be thorough regarding what you'll need for your event. If you don't provide the facility staff with adequate details, the manager won't be able to quickly respond with a bid. That delays negotiations. Instead, give the manager as much information as possible about the equipment you'll need, the room size, access to food and beverages, and other requirements. That way, you can avoid wasting valuable time.

Making The Right Selection

A lot of planners, including experienced professionals, often make poor choices when selecting the venue for their events. Sometimes, they don't prepare well and choose a site that either fails to meet their needs or is cost-prohibitive to registrants. Other times, they fail to provide their requirements to the facility manager and are disappointed when they visit the site. These types of mistakes can lead to reduced attendance, lower satisfaction among attendees, and operational problems during conferences.

Invest the time to review and apply the 4 tips I've described. When the time comes to negotiate rates for your next conference or seminar, you'll be prepared to take advantage of better pricing while providing your attendees with a stimulating conference or seminar experience.

If you are concerned about your finances and cannot afford the services of a professional event planner, there are plenty of affordable planning options and ideas to make your event just as memorable and fun. Here are a few ideas:

One easy way you can cut cost is the time of day you decide to have your event. For events such as weddings or birthdays or baby showers, holding them in the afternoon definitely puts less of a dent to your pocketbook. You would definitely have lower expenses for afternoon events which require less food and catering such as light snacks and beverages such as punch or tea or coffee, as opposed to full course meals and full bar for evening events.

Another factor to consider for event planning is whether you need to hire a caterer. For small events, you could probably get away with most of the planning and cooking by yourself. However, for bigger sized events, caterers can provide invaluable assistance.

If your event planning budget is really tight, then probably the best idea for slashing cost in the food area is to host a potluck where every guest supplies either food or drinks, with some bringing salad or entree, and others bringing soda or wine. The event planner needs to communicate and coordinate closely with the guests so that there is a nice variety of food and drinks with something for everyone, and also so that guests do not bring similar dishes. This is a wonderful way to include all the guests in the event planning process, and guests usually delight in the fact that they are able to contribute and be a part of the party.

Food is not the only area where you can save on. You can also focus on other areas such as the entertainment or the decoration. For example, for children's birthday parties you can ask parents, friends or relatives to entertain the kids with simple songs or magic tricks, or to make balloon animals or to hold water fights.

Decorations also do not have to break the bank. For example, for children's parties you can buy a bunch of balloons and streamers. Or for a garden party, instead of buying expensive outdoor lighting that you probably will never use again, you can buy a couple of outdoor torches and use the outdoor lights that usually adorn your trees and bushes on special occasions in your garden to create beautiful, soft lighting. Your guests will never know the difference between expensive and cheap lighting, and probably won't even care as long as the ambience is cozy and the party fun.

Putting careful thought into planning the event would allow your dollar to go a long way yet still allow you to hold an event that is great fun for everyone.

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About Author

Both Frank Lucer & Susan Jan are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Frank Lucer has sinced written about articles on various topics from Customer Service, Computers and The Internet and Finances. Looking for a serious review of from the perspective of an event planner? Check out http://www.eventsible.com. Frank Lucer's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.

Susan Jan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Data Recovery, Travel Insurance and Watches Reviews. If you need to hire an visit