‘The more the organisers can do to create an ideal learning environment the better.’

LOOKING AT YOUR OPTIONS

More often than not delegates will be attending a conference in order to learn something and/or to exchange information.

This does not mean the provision of schoolmasters and blackboards, but an environment as comfortable and distraction-free as possible. Delegates arriving after perhaps a long and testing journey need to be able to enter a calm atmosphere, and be able to relax and shut out the outside world. The venue, its location, and the demeanour of the conference and venue staff all have a large part to play in this.

Choosing the venue to suit your budget

Conference venues come in all shapes and sizes with varying facilities and with equally varied budgets.

• Modern, purpose-built conference centres have the latest in audio visual equipment.
• Training centres belonging to large corporations are leased out when not in use.
• Country houses offer numerous outdoor activities within their grounds.
• Hotels have the benefit of overnight accommodation and sometimes leisure facilities for delegates.

If you are working on a tight budget, civic centres and council-owned buildings such as sports and leisure centres can be a very economical option. In these venues the charge is often based upon room hire cost and the catering is supplied by an outside caterer who retains a contract with the council. The facilities will vary from very basic sports halls to grand Victorian council chambers.

Making use of universities

Universities offer a choice of conference facilities at a reasonable cost. These can vary from basic lecture theatres with hard wooden benches and graffiti-covered desks (thankfully more of a rarity these days) to state-of-the-art, purpose-built conference suites with individual cushioned seating. A major advantage of university facilities is that during the vacation periods the student accommodation can be booked at an extremely reasonable price. Again, the standard of this accommodation can vary enormously from university to university.

Considering somewhere unusual

Other more unusual venues include football stadiums and race courses. Again, these often offer excellent value for money and due to the nature of their core business have superb car parking and dining facilities, and are often well signposted on roads in the surrounding area. Museums can also provide a venue with a difference. Having refreshments on a gallery overlooking a display of dinosaur skeletons can provide unexpected but much appreciated interest for the delegates, and their often tiered theatres can be of a very high standard.

MAKING SENSE OF THE BROCHURE

Almost every conference facility will produce a leaflet or brochure describing their facilities to would-be organisers. Remember that the purpose of providing this information is to present the venue in the best possible light, so use the information purely as a guideline on which to base your further enquiries.

Knowing what to look for

Whether you are booking a four star hotel, a leisure centre or a university complex the brochure should give you:

• contact information
• an overview of the venue itself
• room capacity according to layout required.

Use the information wisely – a room capacity of 100 delegates may be fine if front projection is being used, but for back projection that number could reduce dramatically. A hall advertised as being suitable for 200 delegates may appear at first glance to look perfect, until you realise that those delegates are going to have to share two toilets during the 15-minute coffee break.

• Use your brochure to short-list the venues that appear suitable.

ASSESSING VENUE-FINDING OPTIONS

In every town there will be dozens of potential venues, with capacities varying from ten people to 1,000. So how do you know where to start looking?

Venue-finding services

Professional venue-finding services can be found listed in Yellow Pages directories and in trade journals (see Further Reading). They can dramatically cut down the time and money you need to spend on making initial enquiries. The service is usually free as they are financed by commission payable when the client makes the booking. It is likely that they will have a wealth of knowledge about different types of venues, and will usually locate a selection of potential venues for you to view. Often they will arrange for a brochure to be sent to you and make appointments for viewing on your behalf.

Considering the pros and cons of using a venue-finding service

• Sometimes the choice of venues on their books is limited to those who pay to be there, which can mean that the service may be biased.
• Venue-finding services will also often negotiate costs with venues on your behalf. They will already have a good idea of how far below the published delegate price a particular venue is likely to go.

Venue-finding software

There are various software packages on the market, some of which are available free of charge, from which you can download onto your own computer a short-list of potentially suitable venues. Again these may be limited to the companies who pay to have their information included but the choice is extensive.

Using a local council conference bureau

Most local councils now have dedicated conference departments, usually attached to the tourism bureau, whose job it is to attract conferences and events to their area. The standard of service varies enormously, from simply providing brochures to arranging hosted visits, arranging partner programmes and making hotel bookings. The staff can be less biased than privately run venue-finding services as they are not subject to private financing. The British Association of Conference Destinations produces an excellent handbook containing contact details of its members (see Useful Addresses).

VIEWING A POTENTIAL VENUE

It is essential to book an appointment before visiting a venue so that your point of contact is able to devote his/ her time to you. Arrive a few minutes early to enable you to assess your own first impression of the facility. Imagine you are a delegate, entering for the first time. Remember that in the role of organiser you are going to get to know the building and staff very well before and during the event, but your delegates will pretty much take the venue at face value for their shortened stay.

Observing the staff

Sit back and observe how the staff interact with each other.

• Are they cheerful and respectful of one another, or is there underlying discontent?
• How are they dealing with other visitors to the venue?

Before you visit, draw up a list of the essential items that you will require for your particular event. These are items that cannot be compromised upon, however much you are impressed with the venue. Also take a checklist of general items, such as the one in Figure 2, so that you can later compare notes on the various venues you look at.

ASSESSING THE FACILITIES

Getting there

It may be the intention to take your delegates to a venue off the beaten track so that they are in serene surroundings with little to distract them but the glorious countryside all around. On the other hand, you may be expecting them to travel into a city from various regions of the country and back again on the same day, in which case ease of locating the venue will be of great importance. Consider the following factors:

• 1.How easy did you find it to locate the venue on your first visit?
• 2.Is the venue reasonably close to the motorway network or main-line railway station?
• 3.Will your delegates be driving into a city centre during rush-hour and if so, will the venue still be easy to find?
• 4.Is there adequate signage already or can you put your own up?

Assessing the car parking facilities

• Does the facility have adequate car parking? If not, where is the nearest public car park?
• Is there a car park charge? Do you need to give/ purchase tokens?
• Does the hotel have a discount arrangement with the nearest public car park?
• Does the car park appear to be safe, i.e. is it manned, is it in an area where cars are likely to be vulnerable to trouble-makers?

Assessing the suitability of the conference registration area

Ask where the registration desk is usually situated at that particular venue. If the area is not clearly visible to delegates entering the venue, make a note of the fact that adequate signs will be required to point them in the right direction. Ensure that you will have room enough for yourself, staff who may be assisting you, and your delegate packs.

Assessing the rooms

When considering the suitability of any room, be it a large conference room or a small syndicate room, ensure there is adequate space to be able to accommodate the seating plan you are intending using. The most common types are:

• theatre
• classroom
• boardroom
• U-shaped.

These are illustrated in Figure 3. Ask the advice of the hotel or venue staff, who will be very familiar with each style and what works best in their particular rooms.

Working out your needs

How many rooms are you going to require? This will depend on your programme for the event. You may require just one room set in theatre style, or you may be planning to have the delegates split up into smaller groups for workshops or smaller meetings. If this is the case you will need to have rooms available which are adequate in size, location and content.

In an ideal world the smaller rooms (or breakout/syndicate rooms as they are often called) would be located on the same floor and as close as possible to the main conference room. However, this is often not the case and delegates may have to walk or go by a lift to other floors within the building. If this is the case, are there adequate stairs and/or lifts to be able to cope with the number of people you are expecting? Is there disabled/wheelchair access?

These considerations are important not only in terms of delegate care but to allow you to keep to the schedule. Make a note that adequate signs will be required to ensure delegates don’t get lost en route and/or make use of directional staff/stewards.

Other room considerations

• Be aware that the rooms take time to be set up by the venue staff. It may not be possible to run a 500-delegate conference during the day and then follow it by a formal dinner for 500 in the evening in the same room. Discuss your options with the venue staff.
• Ask about heating/air conditioning – depending on the time of year, you will certainly need either one or the other.
• Is there a separate room that can be allocated as a speaker room? This is somewhere for the speakers to have some peace and quiet away from the delegates, maybe to run through their slides to make sure they are in the right order and not upside-down, and generally to collect themselves before their talk.

The seating arrangements

If you are expecting a large number of delegates, check that all the seating will be as seen, and not topped up with ‘cheap seats’. Sitting still all day is hard enough for most people, but sitting still on uncomfortable chairs is close to impossible!

• Check whether the seating is cushioned and comfortable or hard and uncomfortable.

The ceiling height

Some conference facilities, particularly those on lower ground floors, have particularly low ceilings and little or no natural daylight. If you are expecting a large number of delegates you will need to assess whether this will feel too claustrophobic and, if you are planning on using audio visual equipment, whether the ceiling will allow the use of a screen suitable for your needs. Conversely, the room may have such a high ceiling that the acoustics are difficult to work with.

Assessing the sound

Consider whether microphones will be required in the room and whether there is a sound system already in place.

Looking at the lighting

The quality of lighting can have a dramatic effect on the event. Ambient lighting is usually favoured, with a spotlight on the speaker. Consider the following:

• When the lights go down to darken the room, is your speaker going to disappear too? Will he/she be able to see his/her notes? If not, a lectern light will be needed.
• Will the audience be able to see to take notes or refer to other literature?
• Where is the control point for the lights situated? In some very modern facilities the control panel is built into the speaker’s lectern so they can control the lighting as they see fit; however, by far the most common is a panel at the back of the room.

If you are going to use audio visual equipment you may need to darken the room to a suitable degree. Most modern facilities are able to accommodate blackout, however, some older buildings, such as assembly and state rooms, may have high ornate windows with no blinds or shutters.

The staging

You may wish to have your speakers seated on a staged area, especially if you are expecting a large audience.

• Does the venue have its own staging, either permanently fixed or in movable blocks?
• Is there an extra charge for this or is it included in the cost?

Toilets and cloakroom facilities

No one likes queuing for toilets, especially if they only have 15 minutes in which to get a coffee, stretch their legs and dash to the loo! Adequate bathroom facilities are essential, not only for delegate comfort but to ensure that you will physically be able to keep to your scheduled programme. Queues will be inevitable, but keep them within reason.

• Are there adequate disabled facilities?

Particularly in the winter months you may find that delegates wish to leave overcoats and, maybe, overnight bags, etc.

• Is a secure cloakroom facility available, and if so it is it staffed and is there a charge for this service?
• It may be that a coat rack will be sufficient placed behind the registration desk; is one available for this?

Fire escapes

Do not take anyone else’s word for it, check yourself to see that the fire escapes are clear of clutter and that they do conform to safety requirements.

Storage facilities

Is there safe and secure storage space for your own and exhibitors’ boxes, etc?

The exhibition space

If you are running an exhibition alongside your conference, or even just displaying information on behalf of the sponsors, ensure that adequate space is available, ideally in the area that will be used for refreshments and not far away from the main conference room. You need to ensure there is room for the actual stands, space for delegates to wander around freely and safely and to establish any Health and Safety regulations which may be enforced by the venue/local authority.

• Are there plenty of electricity sockets?
• Will the exhibitors need a telephone socket? Can this be billed individually by the venue?
• If displaying posters, will suitable display boards be available and what kind of attachment will you need to provide to secure the posters or other graphics to them?
• Are there chairs, tables and table covers available for exhibitors’ use?

Identifying obstructions

Have a good look around the potential conference room and see if there are any obstructions that may create problems if not addressed. The most common are pillars situated in unfortunate places that are sure to block the delegates’ view, and low-hung chandeliers that look beautiful but may get in the way of the projection equipment. The problems can usually be resolved, or at least worked around.

Assessing the facilities available for disabled delegates

• If the conference rooms are not on the ground floor, is there a suitable sized lift to take anyone using a wheelchair to the appropriate floor?
• Are the disabled toilets within a reasonable distance?
• If you are expecting delegates who may be hard of hearing, has a deaf-loop system been installed?

Assessing the catering facilities

The venue should be able to provide you with a selection of sample menus to give you an idea of what they can provide, for what cost.

• Take a look at the suggested eating area – if it is a fixed restaurant, is it within a reasonable distance from the conference room?
• Will the delegates be taking lunch with other visitors to the venue?
• Is the restaurant located in an area where the delegates are likely to wander back to the exhibition area to the awaiting stand-holders, or are they more likely to wander off to somewhere more interesting?
• What refreshments are included in the price?
• If only morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea are provided, how much extra will you be required to pay for coffee on arrival?
• Do you intend for lunch to be taken seated or standing up?
• If seated, will there be room for all of your delegates to eat at one sitting?
• With adequate warning is the venue able to cater for specialised diets, e.g. vegetarians, diabetics, etc?
• Very importantly, do the serving staff look cheerful and are they helpful?
• Is the bar area tidy and well stocked?

The accommodation

If you are intending using a hotel facility or any other facility where accommodation is offered and the delegates will be staying overnight, ensure that you also get to view a selection of bedrooms. Consider the following:

• If in a busy city centre are the windows double-glazed?
• What items are available in the rooms?
• Business delegates like to have access to a telephone and many hotels these days also have modem points in the rooms.
• Are tea and coffee-making facilities in the rooms?
• Is a trouser press/iron/hairdryer/skirt hanger provided?

If the venue you are contemplating using does not offer accommodation, the local tourist bureau will be able to help you locate somewhere suitably close to the venue and within your budget. Whilst visiting the venue itself, take time to look at the choice of accommodation available.

ESTABLISHING WHAT IS INCLUDED

Venues vary enormously as to what is included in the price. Traditional hotel and conference centre venues tend to offer both a day delegate rate (sometimes called an 8-hour rate), which could include morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea and use of the conference room. Venues such as hotels that offer accommodation may be able to offer you a 24-hour delegate rate which usually includes dinner, bed and breakfast as well as the morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea and use of the conference room. There is normally room for at least some negotiation on both day and 24-hour delegate rates.

Ensuring equipment availability

You will need to ascertain whether the price also includes the hire of the lecterns, microphones, spotlights, screens and staging. If not, find out exactly what items are available, what condition they are in, and how much they will cost to hire. If you are going to use an audio visual technician they may prefer to use their own equipment which is likely to be regularly tested and upgraded, rather than the hotel’s own possibly outdated and rather temperamental projector.