Events in the hospitality sector include business meetings, corporate events, and weddings. If you have been tasked with organising a hospitality event, there are various steps that you need to follow to execute and organise a hospitality event. From establishing your goals to finding the right venue, here is a guide on how to organise a hospitality event.
Develop Your Objectives and Goals
The first step in planning and executing a hospitality event is to determine tangible objectives and goals. You need to ask yourself why you’re organising this event and what you would like to achieve. Whether you’re planning a wedding, hosting a charity fundraiser, or a corporate event to attract clients to a business, defining the purpose of the event will help you know what steps to take next.
Establish Your Budget
One of the most crucial components of planning a hospitality event is establishing your budget. There are critical expenses that must be taken into account, including the venue, entertainment, food and drink, and décor. Even if some of these factors aren’t fixed costs yet, it’s important to be realistic with your budget to avoid overspending. You may find yourself in a situation whereby you need to make your budget stretch that little bit further.
Within your budget, you should consider whether you will have an indoor or outdoor event. If you go for an indoor event, you should consider money behind the bar for your guests, whether you lay on food and whether you have a sit-down meal or not. If you take your event outside, you have to think about the cost of plastic toilet hire to ensure that everyone is comfortable! Establishing your budget is far beyond just the insurance that will cover you for the day and the event space; it’s all of the smaller details that will make the event more expensive. However, if you budget correctly, the expense won’t phase you!
Choose the Right Date
No matter what kind of hospitality event you are holding, it’s important that you pick a date that works well with your guests. For example, if you’re organising a corporate event, many attendees may not be able to get time off work in the week to travel to your function. Establishing who your audience are from the beginning will help you pick a time and date that is suitable for all. You should also run the proposed date by key participants like presenters, speakers, and VIP guests.
Pick a Suitable Venue
Once you’ve chosen a suitable date for your hospitality event, the next step is to find a suitable venue. There are various things to consider when choosing the right venue, including accessibility, the size of the venue, insurance, and AV. If you book the venue well in advance, you may be able to save some money too. Remember that due to the coronavirus pandemic there will be restrictions that venues have in place regarding how many guests can attend.
Choose the Right Vendors
For your hospitality event to come to life, you need to work with vendors who have extensive experience. Whether it’s by hiring a catering company to keep your guests well-fed, or hiring a live band to keep your attendees entertained, keeping communication lines open is important. When it comes to powering your event, you can look into Energy Distribution Hire who house the largest stock of cables for temporary electrics in the UK. The team specialise in cable hire and work with event organisers to suit their needs. Energy Distribution are made up of highly skilled engineers who have vast experience in working on a range of projects, including small events and international music festivals.
Promote Your Event
Once you’ve found the right vendors for your hospitality event, you need to spread awareness of the proceedings. To do this effectively, you can turn to social media and set up an event page on platforms like Facebook. Social media is a cost-effective marketing tool that will let attendees know about your event. Even if you’ve found a celebrity speaker for your event or boast the best entertainment around, you still need publicity to get attendees in the door. Other components that you need to factor into your marketing strategy include email blasts, web page announcements, and press and media connections.
No matter what kind of hospitality event you are planning, it’s important that you follow all the steps above to ensure the function is successful and runs smoothly.