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1.CAREFULLY DEFINE YOUR OBJECTIVES

Venue contracts are notoriously opaque and deliberately so, many venues quote low hoping to make their mark up on extra items which are added down the line, catering, audio-visual etc. Someone like the London Stock Exchange has a particularly bad reputation in this respect. It really pays to think through carefully what you need in a venue.

2.THINK ABOUT WHERE YOU WANT AND WHERE YOU NEED TO BE

Prices within London vary enormously, to give you an idea etc.venues prices can vary by 50% depending on location and then again by a similar percentage depending on day of the week. Its worth defining your geographical locations as tightly as possible.

3.DAY OF THE WEEK AND TIME OF YEAR

Nearly all venues are cheaper on a Monday or Friday, the are also cheaper during school holidays etc. Next year venues are bound to be cheaper on days when England and playing in the world cup etc. This sort of dynamic pricing cab be seen at venues like Church House and Inmarsat

4.WORRY ABOUT ADD ONS

Simple add-ons can be an absolute killer, at a venue like Conway Hall the price of AV can easily be as much as the price of the room.

5.VISIT THE VENUE BEFORE BOOKING

This is absolutely key, simple things which you might assume to be the case often aren’t in this world. Did you know for example the 15 Northumberland Avenue doesn’t have any natural light, or that DeVere venues Holborn or DeVere W1 will charge you for a private dining room

6.USE A SPECIALIST VENUE

Venues like resource for London on the Holloway Road, or Cavendish Venues in Central London.

7.USE A LOCAL AGENT

If you are going to use an agent like www.thevenuebooker.co.uk use a local agent, there are is a far greater chance they will have actually seen the venue, its simply not credible to assume that the large regionally based agencies banks Sadler, Zibrant, Conference Care etc will have actually seen the spaces.

8.USE A KNOWLEDGABLE AGENT

This is a world with low barriers to entry, there are lots of agents out there who have never booked space as a principal and or have never worked for a venue, in which case they really are only a human version of Google, you are far better with someone who has experience in the industry and can truly help you avoid the pitfalls. The likes of Capita Business Travel spring to mind.

9.Use a specialist agent