5 Must-Have Qualities of a Good Event Venue

Your next big event is coming up soon but you’re not sure where you want to host it. You know that the event venue can either make or break your event.

A simple search for “best event venues near me” might not be all you need to find the place that you want to have your event.

There are specific things you need to look for in order to make sure your event goes off without a hitch. If you haven’t hosted an event before, use our experience to help you find the perfect place.

Continue reading this article as we go over five must-have qualities for a good event venue.

Choosing Your Event Venue

Whether you’re holding a personal or business event, it can be stressful to make all the decisions coming up to the event. The day or night of the event may have you even more on edge.

Finding places like these venues in your location can help put your mind at ease.

1. Location

You may have found the “perfect venue” but take a look at the address. Where is it located in relation to where most of your guests will be coming from?

If you book a location that is difficult to come to, you might find that your guest list doesn’t take the trek.

On the other hand, most of your visitors might be from out of town. If you know most of the people on your guest list will be coming from out of town, you can make your life a lot easier by picking a venue that is close to hotels and airports.

You might even find a hotel within an airport that will be easy for you to book. There are often many nice rooms you can get for various numbers of people and that way guest won’t have to rent a car or call an Uber or Lyft.

2. Food & Beverage Minimums

As you’re booking the venue, check the fine print to see what the food and beverage minimums are. Often the venue isn’t the most expensive part of the event that you’re planning.

Making sure you’re going to need as much food and beverages as you’re required to pay for is important or else you’ll be shelling out cash for something you’re not using.

If you aren’t getting food and beverages from the event venue, you don’t have to worry about this as much since you’re likely hiring an outside caterer.

3. Parking

Does the event venue have its own parking? Do they offer valet parking?

If the venue doesn’t have its own parking or valet parking, how far of a walk is it for attendees and is there a shuttle they can use to get to the venue?

In case the venue does not have parking, you do still have options. There are likely to be parking lots nearby that you can reserve. You can either eat the cost yourself or put it in the price of the ticket.

Uber and Lyft are a good option but you should get a group discount for your event. You don’t want your guests having to take care of their own rides. One way to do this easily is by giving them a promo code that will give them the discount or full payment.

If you’re having an upscale event, you may choose to offer your own valet parking even if it isn’t offered by the venue. You can hire a company that offers this service specifically or you may look for volunteers to take care of this important task.

4. Amenities

Depending on the type of event you’re putting on, there may be different amenities that you need. Make sure to write down your list of must-haves or the event. You can also make a wish list of things that would be nice to have as well.

Think about whether you’ll need a kitchen if the venue offers its own tables and chairs as well as anything else you’d like to have in the room.

5. Layout

Before booking any venues, you should ask for a floor plan layout. The way the venue is laid out will make a big impact on how your event will go.

Depending on the layout, you’ll be able to direct the flow of traffic. You want to make sure the areas where there is going to be high traffic have enough room.

If you’ll have a registration line, you want to ensure this area has plenty of room since it can take a little while to get everyone processed.

Do you plan on having a speaker at your event? You need to find out if there is a good place for a stage and if you can easily set up tables and chairs to view the event.

While you might not be able to find a venue that has the exact layout you want, most venues do a good job at being as easy to access as possible. See if there is an option to open up the room or put up separations to make the venue work better for what you want.

Become an Event Planning Master

Now that you know how to pick a good event venue, you can keep upping your skills. Look through our blog for other articles on event planning, finances and more today.

Our blog is packed full of information that can help you navigate through life and business so don’t miss out.