Top 5 Money Saving Tips to Maximise Your Conference or Meeting Venue Budget

Written on 23rd February 2011 by Matthew

Sourcing a venue for a company event seems straightforward enough, but how can you make sure you get the best deals and maximise your budget?  Below are 5 tips to help you save cash and get more for your money.

1 - Select cheaper days of the week

Typically Tuesday to Thursday are venues busiest days so if you are flexible on dates then look at Mondays and Fridays. Availability will be better and venues will be more willing to negotiate on the price on these days.

2 - Save space, save money

Selecting the right room set up for your event can have a significant impact on the venues available to you and their price as layout determines the size of the room you require. Space saving set ups like theatre style use up to half the space of a room set up cabaret style.  Your requirements may mean you are fixed to a specific set up, but if you do have flexibility then go for a space saving layout. This could save you a significant amount on room hire or give you a great negotiation point on day delegate rates.

3 - Be realistic on who is coming

Being realistic on the number of people attending your event can save you a lot of money. All too often people book their venue for the highest possible denominator only to have much fewer people on the day. Typical attendance figures are 10% lower than the highest possible turnouts so think about booking your venue for this number. What if more people turn up? Plan this with the venue. Tell them what you are doing and ask what impact more people will have, how they will accommodate them and how much extra you will pay for them. Venues may charge extra costs for additional people on the day but in most cases it will pay dividends.

4 - Get enough proposals

Make sure you get enough proposals to make an informed decision. Three proposals is quite often seen as enough but I would always encourage people to get at least five. Comparisons can be more easily drawn from this amount and you can use the information from the unsuccessful proposals as negotiation tools.

5 - Think about more than just money off

When negotiating, don’t just think about getting money off the price, but what extras the venue can throw in. If a venue will not budge on price, ask them to include things like an upgraded lunch and refreshments, AV equipment and even event management support.