It’s no doubt – venue site visits are exciting. “Field trips” as I call them are a nice break from a full day in the office.
If you are extremely visual, a venue visit is the first time the event becomes reality, and you can get a full understanding of the layout and what type of experience your guests will endure. But venue visits can be rare, especially if you plan events that aren’t local – so it’s important to get the most out of them when you can.
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SEE THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES THAT ARE MADE AT VENUE VISITS THAT WILL CREATE MORE WORK FOR YOU IN THE FUTURE:
NOT TAKING PHOTOS/VIDEO
Sure, you already have the photos the venue has provided – but be sure to snap a few of your own. Get different angles, note where things will be, how much space there is, etc. Depending on how large of a venue you’re dealing with, taking video in the perspective of a guest experience can be extremely helpful to send along to your client or team.
FORGETTING YOUR TAPE MEASURE
Yes, event planners and tape measures are like two peas in a pod. Wait, we’re not contractors… True, but when it comes to designing signage or working with tight spaces, knowing EXACTLY how much space you have in a certain part of the room can be extremely helpful when you are back in the office chatting with your vendors. The venue usually has specs for each of the rooms, but you may need more specific measurements based on the scope of event design elements.
KEEPING NOTES IN YOUR HEAD
This rule goes for bringing questions into the venue and leaving the venue visit with notes. We are only human, we WILL forget questions and notes eventually. Especially at site visits when you are taking in so much information and planning at the same time, thoughts can get jumbled. To ensure you are touching on every question, bring a notebook, type them in your phone, whatever it takes to have them concrete and easily accessible at your visit and when you get back to the office.
CONCLUDE WITHOUT DISCUSSING ACTION ITEMS
The best way to conclude a site visit is to review every ones “to-dos” from the visit to ensure everyone is on the same page. A quick recap discussing who is doing what and when it should be expected to be completed will alleviate later confusion such as, “Oh wait, I thought you were doing that, not me.” If necessary, also take this time to set up a follow-up meeting to avoid going back in forth in the future.
Trust us, we’ve learned these tips the hard way and now fully embrace them at every site visit to ensure maximum success for our events. What tips do you have for site visits? We’d love to see them in the comments below.