Facilities and Services at Venues

Facilities and services at venues

Venue facilities

Room type

Purpose-built venues usually feature a range of rooms and room types that are available to hire. Some rooms are general in nature and can be adapted to suit a variety of configurations (eg seating, stage set up, dance floors, etc). Other rooms (eg theatres) are configured in such a way that certain aspects cannot be changed.

Room types may include:

· meeting rooms

· halls

· auditoriums

· exhibition halls

· theatres.

Many venues also offer ‘spaces’ as a feature of their venue facilities and these can be included as a type of room for your event. These may include:

· outdoor space such as a veranda, patio, deck, etc

· mezzanine areas

· walkways

· foyers.

Other rooms in venues may include:

· pre-function areas—generally adjacent to major meeting areas that are used for registration, morning and afternoon tea, pre-dinner drinks and occasionally a small exhibition

· breakout rooms—smaller rooms that allow delegates to disperse into smaller groups. Ideally these should be close to the main meeting room as otherwise issues of administration and staffing may be affected.

Capacity

Capacity is determined by the type of venue and the volume of guests, staff, contractors, performers and other personnel. In many venues, seating or the availability of floor space determines the capacity. However, this can vary dramatically with a varied configuration for an event. Some sites have fixed seating while others allow organiser free reign within legal and locale restraints.

Room or site shape

The shape of the venue or site is crucial to what can de done there. Some venues are long and narrow, eg grandstands. Others are semi-circular and some have very high ceilings. The shape of the room will impact on space. These factors will influence audiovisual delivery and sight lines. Some sites are bound by trees, lakes, slopes, buildings and roadways. It is generally an expensive challenge trying to adapt a site to suit an event. Issues of site security also need to be considered. Is the site protected by fencing or any other barriers?

Accessibility

Ensure that the venue has sufficient access to allow for the installation and removal of staging or infrastructure of the event. When considering multiple venues, proximity is important. Guests must be able to easily move from one location to another, through clear signage or specific transport options. Additionally, the special needs and access requirements (such as wheelchair access, prams etc) must be considered.

The availability or costs of the venue may necessitate overnight bump in and bump out.

Transport to and from the event, including taxi, rail, bus, ferry, car and air, all need to be considered. For major events, streets may need to closed, traffic diverted, etc and special permission may be required from the relevant traffic authority. A traffic management and safety plan would be required in this case.

Parking availability is an important consideration for event and venue site selection. Parking areas should provide for good vehicle and pedestrian movement, and clear links to public transport options. Special parking also needs to be provided for the media, performers/ entertainers/ teams, disabled guests, and operational teams.

Room specifications

Specifications may include the dimensions of the room (height, width and area) as well as floor loadings (the weight of equipment/material that the floor can safely carry), floor covering, and lighting.

Technology/AV

With technology and audiovisual (AV) becoming an essential in many events, it is important to know what the venue has available. Technology and the associated equipment is becoming increasingly sophisticated so you need to be assured that the venue can provide appropriate power to run your event. Technology may include:

· power: single-phase or three-phase

· air-conditioning

· lighting

· sound

· projection screens

· telephone

· ethernet and internet

· whiteboards

· fibre optics

· public address system.

The venue may require the use of their technician and equipment or may allow you to bring in additional specialist equipment.

Other features

Venues offer a wide variety of features—and the nature of the venue will determine the specific features. These may include:

· water (supply and drainage)

· goods lift

· electronic security locks

· surveillance cameras

· loading dock

· provision for VIPs, including special access, corporate hospitality, amenities and parking.

Toilets are an essential feature and most venues provide adequate toilet facilities but notice needs to taken of their location as well as the issue of accessibility.

Venue services

Event planning team

Major venues have a large in-house team of specialist staff that can greatly assist the organisers of events. These include event managers, event services managers, wedding planners, experienced supervisors and well-trained staff.

They are able to assist with a number of compliance issues including the assessment of venue risk, emergency planning and licensing as well as activities such as ticketing, merchandising and marketing. At most smaller venues and sites, these services are generally supplied by contractors or the event company themselves.

Sites occasionally provide specialist staff, particularly if the sites are managed by government, but these are limited to staging and environmental management.

Both venues and sites generally allow the use of contractors selected by the event company but there a selected few that only allow their preferred suppliers access and permission to operate at the venue or site

Food and beverage

The provision of food and beverage services is often one of the major differences between venues. Many of the larger venues see this as one of their core provisions and crucial in their positioning strategies. Comprehensive menus are complemented by extensive beverage possibilities and cater for every conceivable type of function. Relevant licensing and permits already exist, removing this compliance issue for the organisers of events.

The issue of sponsored food and beverage needs careful consideration. In some cases, a sponsor provides products for the venue, eg a beer sponsor may operate the beverage outlets. All current sponsorship arrangements and signage need to be discussed to ensure that there is no clash between existing venue arrangements and the needs of the particular event and its sponsors

Communications

Large and sophisticated venues often offer a full service to the event organiser. This could include design and production services including floor, light and sound plans, technical direction, theming, display, decoration, stage management and telecommunication services.

Smaller venues and most sites are generally serviced by contractors in the supply of the above services.

Parking

Some venues and sites provide parking services other than just as a facility. Valet parking, front door drop-off and shuttle buses are examples of this service.

Security

General venue security is normally provided by most purpose-built meeting facilities as part of the hire of the venue. This service can be ramped up or supplemented by contractors at a cost, subject to the needs of the event. Compliance issues, such as security plans, can usually be provided by the venue.

Cleaning and waste removal

Most venues and some sites provide cleaning services as part of hire of the facility. This would include the cleaning of the venue and its amenities as well as the removal of waste.

Other services

These may include:

· concierge—generally a service only provided at the larger venues. Their services include the provision of a cloak, information and a central point of contact for couriers, guest speakers and venue patrons.

· secretariat—usually only provided at the largest of purpose-built meeting facilities. This service, generally at a cost, provides the organisers of events with office facilities and staff.

Develop venue/site specifications – Solo Activity 1