7 Tips for Finding a Safe and Private Event Space
So what should you look for when it comes to a safe and private event space? There’s no need to stress out. Here are helpful tips to keep in mind.
Hosting a private business event in the age of COVID is no small feat. Depending on the size of your event and whether it’s hosted indoors or outdoors, you need to take note of the current county and state precautions and safety measures for mega-events, gather and verify everyone’s negative tests or digital vaccine records, properly screen incoming guests, and optionally continue to provide social distancing guidelines to ease the worries of some guests.
And that’s before you’ve accounted for food and beverages, technical equipment checks, capacities, bathrooms, parking, accessibility, online event RSVPs, map directions, and much more. So, let’s go through seven simple tips to help you find the perfect space to host your private event.
1. Safety in the Age of COVID
California’s economy may currently be open, but there are still certain rules and regulations for so-called mega-events (more than 1,000 people indoors/10,000 people outdoors), and we all acknowledge that the virus continues to be a major public health concern throughout the world.
Countries and regions throughout the world continue to employ different rules to limit the spread of the virus, from mask wearing to social distancing, until infections drop drastically, or a vaccination quota is reached.
If you wish to ease tensions and concerns in your private event, you can help account for COVID by providing private rooms for smaller groups to interact, looking for venues with open terraces or an open roof, ensure that the venue has high-quality HVAC, offer to screen guests even if your event is only hosting a few dozen people, and encourage responsible contact tracing.
The larger the event, the more important the insurance. Event cancellation insurance becomes crucial for some companies that cannot afford to invest in a major business event, only for it to be canceled as an uptick in infections forces things to lockdown again. This is made even worse when flying in people from across the country, or the world, alongside a myriad of catering costs and other fees.
2. Host in a Central and Safe Location
If you are hosting an event meant for a group of people from out of town, then making sure it isn’t in an obscure location is a great place to start.
Pick some place easy to get to from nearby hotels and the local urban center, with enough parking for all event visitors or a nearby parking building. Mind the layout of the event venue and get printed and digital copies ready for everyone at the event to navigate their way to it. Don’t underestimate the importance of accessibility, especially for wheelchair users.
Provide a map to help event visitors get to the venue from the airport, the hotel, and other locations. Make digital plans of the layout of the venue in relation to where everyone is going to be seated, where the entertainment is, and where presentations might take place, for organizational and security purposes.
3. Mind Your Amenities
Once you’ve narrowed down your criteria for venue locations, it’s time to sort by amenities. What will your event need? Where are your priorities for this event? Are you putting ambiance and entertainment over presentation tools and high-speed internet? Do you need more seats or more floor?
List your necessities in order of importance based on the kind of event you plan to be hosting.
4. A Hint of Exclusivity
If your event is going to be private and designed to cater to a small and specific audience – such as a startup company – then it makes sense to pick a small and private venue.
Why bother with a small hall at the local convention center when you can go with something much more pleasant? All while matching the aesthetic and ambiance to the design philosophy and team culture of the business.
Of course, it’s important in turn to match a smaller venue with the requirements of good parking, easy access, and a central location. Coworking spaces are a great example of this. Rooms and space rentable at short notice with multiple amenities and catering.
5. Figure Out Your Capacities
Another important factor to help narrow down your selection is your guest list and capacities. If you are expecting at most 200 people, you can’t assume that 50 aren’t going to show up and pick a venue too small for the event.
On the other hand, it might not make much sense to rent a space for a thousand if only a dozen people are RSVP’d. It’s always better to go for a venue that’s just a bit bigger than it must be. No one can fine you for being under capacity – but there are consequences for being way over capacity.
6. Know Your Audience
There are venues and there are venues. It’s always been said that, when it comes to real estate, it’s all about the location, location, location – events are much the same.
There’s certainly some kind of flair to hosting a business event at a beach resort, but that might be a poor space to host an event that will mainly center around tech presentations. Even when choosing between different corporate venues, the design choice and ambiance of a venue matter greatly.
What would best fit your company? What is the event going to be for? What venue suits your event branding?
7. Costs
A coworking space might not end up being the solution to all your problems, but it’s just one of many suggestions on how to host a small and private business event without breaking the bank or going too cheap. And meeting your budget is one of the most important factors for choosing an event space.
Coworking spaces not only allow you to fit more of everything else into your budget – they make the ideal space for any private corporate event and offer a perfectly flexible floor plan.
Finding Your Private Event Space
Finding the right venue for a safe and private event is about figuring out your budget, matching it to what you need in terms of space, ambiance, amenities, location, and security measures.