Picture the scene. Your manager has just returned from a Board meeting. During the course of the meeting the Board decided that everyone in the organisation must attend a full day’s training on a new legislation affecting the industry. Your manager delivers the news that he has nominated you to coordinate the training. Your office doesn’t have any training rooms so your first tasks is to source a venue that has the capacity and availability to hold a series of training courses for your colleagues. Where do you start…?
This is a common task which assistants face repeatedly throughout any given year. Most organisations do not have a dedicated event professional so the job falls to us – and what a complicated job it is! Alongside sourcing a venue, we have to think about the catering, any overnight guests, travel logistics, dietary requirements, speakers, training materials, seating plans, AV equipment… the list is endless. When it comes to organising an event I always remind assistants this is a profession in its own right. Event organisers spend all day on this stuff – we have to juggle events with the rest of our tasks. That is why I believe assistants should work with a venue finding agency because it is one aspect of the task that we can easily outsource to an expert – a good venue finding agency truly is an assistant’s best friend!
The Fabulous Collective
The Fabulous Collective are an event planning consultancy operating in London and throughout the UK. Their fabulous collection comprises Event Sweetie, which is the event management side of the business and Location Darling which is their venue and accommodation sourcing service.
Here are a few examples of how a great venue finding agency, like Location Darling, can help assistants source a great venue.
They have a vast knowledge of venues and hotels
Venue finding agencies tend to work with such a vast array of conference venues and hotels that they can really help you pin point the best location for you event. Give them a brief and they will quickly come back with a selection of venues that really do meet your criteria! How much time does this task alone save assistants? It can be pretty soul destroying contacting loads of hotels and venues only to find out on the site visit that they don’t have availability for the day you need, that don’t have the space or they cost over your budget.
Not a confident negotiator? Let them do it for you
Firstly, do assistants really have the time to negotiate with a hotel on their day delegate rate? Probably not. This again is something we can outsource. Agencies work with venues every day – they know exactly how much things costs and they know when venues are overpricing on certain aspects of the event and what can be negotiated. If you don’t have the time or the inclination to negotiate, let your venue finding agency do that for you.
Have an expert on hand during your site visit
If you have found the right venue finding agency you can pretty much guarantee all of the selected venus will be fantastic and you will want to visit every prospect. You can normally ask a dedicated member of the team to accompany you on the site visit. They will ask the venue the awkward and insightful questions you may have thought of but were too nice to ask – think of them as your pushy event mother!
Just one point of contact
The agency will be your one point of contact for everything related to the venue including catering, AV equipment, over night accommodation and everything in between! Prior to the event they can cast an expert eye over the contract before your organisation signs it and they can do the same with the venue’s invoice.
A venue finding agency will cost you nothing!
Yes that is right, this service costs you nothing. Nada. Nought. It is a free service but it is worth it’s weight in gold!
Event Sweetie
The Fabulous Collective’s expertise do not just stop at venue and accommodation sourcing. Oh no, they also organise events on your behalf. Event Sweetie will create events for you that are exciting, creative and make your guests feel special! If you have been tasked with organising your company’s newest product launch or organising a dinner for 100 clients Event Sweetie can suggest a few ideas or they can support you in every aspect of the event. Here are just some of the services they offer:
- Event styling
- Set design
- Audio visual and production
- Lighting
- Entertainment
- Props, fashion items
- Furniture
- Flowers
- Invitations
- Design and print materials
- Branding and press boards
- Chefs and caterers
- Waiting staff and bar staff
Event Sweetie will work closely with you so that you deliver the best event for your organisation. Whether you are looking for 360° event design and management or just need help finding the right venue, props or invites let The Fabulous Collective make your event planning effortless.
This post is sponsored by The Fabulous Collective. Follow the link for more information about Practically Perfect PA’s sponsored posts.
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