What separates a great venue finding agent from a mediocre one?

Corporate events can often turn out to be predictable humdrum affairs that attendees are obliged to enjoy but can come out of feeling like they haven’t seen anything new. This predictability is the key thing that any good event organiser will wish to abolish from their projects. The best organisers all have it; an intuition – often born out of extensive experience – for what makes a corporate event enjoyable and memorable for its attendees.With a history of collaborating talented event organisers - as well as having built a workforce of our own - we can say, with confidence, what separates a great event organiser from a mediocre one.When undertaking a new project, any event agent worth their salt will know:To plan well in advanceThe best venues are in demand – fact! A great organiser will be keen to narrow the options early on, so they’re ideally positioned to book early (and avoid settling for second best).What type of event they’re hostingNothing affects venue choice more and while some factors that decide a suitable venue are plain common sense. A better organiser will know to predict what might happen. Will there be dancing? Will there be an impromptu speech? These are subtle things that could be considered beforehand.What they want to achieve from the eventThey never lose sight of their overarching aim and outcome of the event. This vision is grounded very much in the needs of their clients. In other words, they organise the event through the eyes of their customer (but can also bring into play their own visions, where necessary).The size of the gatheringThey will be keen to know the predicted numbers as early as possible - as they will be highly aware of the pitfalls of not having enough space to fill or, perhaps worse; exceeding the venues capacity and creating a cramped, uncomfortable environment.How accessible the venue is for attendeesAn often overlooked factor that isn’t lost on a great venue finder, is where the attendees are coming from and how they’re getting to the venue. If they’re international; where is the nearest airport? If they’re driving, are there sufficient car parking arrangements?How far they can push their budgetThe cost of booking the venue is often the biggest single expense an organiser will have to make. It can doom the event if the organisers get seduced into paying out for the “perfect” venue without considering if the remaining budget is enough to cover everything else. Obvious, perhaps, but it happens. A good organiser knows when to walk away - however tempting the venue – if the price isn’t right.The relevant details of a venueAgain, obvious but so often overlooked factors such as whether the venue has air-conditioning (if the event’s happening in July), how well does natural sunlight enter the space (if the events happening in the day and they’re viewing at night).To visit prospective venues in advanceA great event organisers doesn’t underestimate the importance of speaking to the staff at the venue, checking out the bar prices and getting an overall feel for the place. This is where it pays to contact a venue finding service or private agent to do the work for you, rather than doing it yourself. Non-professionals struggle for time, but professional event organisers can invest the time necessary to do such things. After all, it is their job.