When deciding on a venue, there are many different factors to take into consideration. It can be difficult to decide which event space amenities are most important, and which ones are just nice-to-haves. We have put together a list of 5 amenities we think are essential to make sure that your event is a huge success.
1. Knowledgeable and Committed Venue Staff
The venue’s sales/production staff is your main point of contact leading up to your event. It is important that the venue’s staff has experience and is knowledgeable about the venue capabilities so that they can help guide you in planning your ideal event. A great venue staff will offer suggestions for ways in which to improve your event, as well as anticipate various day-of needs prior to your event.
The venue’s day-of event staff is one of the most important parts to running a flawless event. It is important for a venue to hire courteous and professional staff that routinely work at the venue and have a deep knowledge of the venue facilities and event procedures.
2. Excellent Tech and Tech Support
a) High speed, reliable Internet access (wired/wireless).
In a time when everyone is connected to devices and social media 24/7, high speed, reliable internet access is a non-negotiable for events. Your event needs reliable internet access to ensure that attendees can remain connected throughout an event, whether it’s checking emails or publicizing the event through social media. Some things to take into consideration:
Make sure that the venue’s internet capabilities can support your guests’ connectivity needs. This means ensuring that the venue has sufficient internet bandwidth to support your guest count, and that the internet signal is strong throughout the venue
Check that the venue has a backup internet connection in case one of the connections fails during an event.
Check that the venue’s internet connection can support specific capabilities you might need for your event. These capabilities could include live streaming your event, running a WebEx, or playing online media during a presentation.
b) A/V technician assistance pre-event and during the event
Having an A/V technician on site the day of your event is essential for making sure your technical run of show goes smoothly. The tech will be there to mic up presenters, run PowerPoint presentations, and overall make sure that the tech runs seamlessly. If there are any technical issues during your event, you need to be sure that someone will be on site to solve them.
It is also very important to be in touch with the A/V tech pre-event so that she can anticipate your event needs and ensure that the venue is equipped with all of the technology needed for your event. This may include upgrading your internet connection, ensuring an adequate number of microphones for the day of your event, setting up specialty lighting, or testing media files prior to your event.
c) High quality A/V equipment at the venue
Having high quality A/V equipment at the venue is a huge convenience and can save a lot on technical costs. With a good inventory of A/V equipment on site, you can make last minute technical adjustments the day of the event, whether it’s realizing you need an additional microphone, or adding spotlights on your presenters.
Additionally, it is important that the venue’s A/V equipment is high quality and well maintained. You want to ensure that guests focus on your event content, and not the feedback from a microphone, or a fuzzy, flickering image on the projection screen.
d) Lighting options
The ability of intentional lighting to transform an event’s look and feel cannot be overstated. Lighting can set the mood for your event, using brighter lighting to promote a more focused, energetic feel, or dimmer lighting to set a more casual mood for a night time event. Lights can also be used to brand your event with company logo gobos, or to wash the walls with a particular color (perhaps your brand’s color). It is also important that the lighting positioning is flexible so that you can adjust the lighting for your precise event needs.
Lastly, you should make sure that the venue has adequate specialty lights on site to accommodate your event needs. Lights are expensive, so it will help your budget if the venue has sufficient the lighting equipment on site
3. Ability to display indoor and outdoor signage
The ability to display indoor and outdoor signage is important for so many reasons. You should check that the venue has adequate space outside of the venue to display signs, as well as adequate wall space inside of the venue to hang signs. Here are some reasons that signage is so important:
Outdoor signage ensures that attendees can find the venue easily. This means that attendees will not be frustrated while searching for the venue, and will arrive on time for the start of the event.
Signage provides a great branding opportunity for your company. By having signage outside of the venue, people passing by will see your brand and be aware of your event. Signage indoors will transform the venue into your company’s look and feel, and inspire attendees by making the venue come to life with your company’s mission.
Signage will help with press for your event and company. Signage serves as a great backdrop for photos that will be used both in traditional press and social media posts.
4. Adequately sized and convenient restrooms
A venue should have restrooms that are large enough to accommodate your guest count. Adequately sized are often overlooked until the day of your event when the size of restrooms is too small and there is a long line of people waiting. This creates guest frustration and can also delay your event’s run of show. Additionally, restrooms should be conveniently accessible.
5. Large enough kitchen area for food prep and dishwashing
It is important for a venue to have enough space in the kitchen to properly prepare and store food. There should be adequate room for multiple staff members to work in the kitchen at one time. Additionally, the kitchen should have a large refrigerator to keep food fresh, and an industrial-sized dishwasher to clean dish-ware throughout the event.
If you are curious about additional event space amenities that can really make your next event come alive be sure to download our eBook: "30 Features an Event Space in New York City Should Have."