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Any savvy shopper knows that there’s a difference between price and value. There are ways for meeting planners to negotiate the best price on a venue, but it’s equally important to know how to determine the true value of a venue during the discovery phase. When speaking with potential venues for your next event, it helps to be armed with questions that allow you to dig deeper.
“It’s really important to ask a few things in the sourcing time period,” says Kara Dao, COO at <a target="_blank" href="https://jdc-events.com/">JDC Events</a>. “Properties want to disclose as much as possible to a planner, so ask it all directly.”
There are questions that give you the core parameters of a venue (cost, capacity, facilities, etc.), but the goal of the preliminary questions below is to uncover what might not be shared up-front. This doesn’t mean trying to extract inappropriate value from venues or to drive down the price of their services. Instead, it’s about asking the questions that will give you the full picture so you know everything that the venue has to offer.
Consider these five questions to get more value from venues.
<h3>Value-Driving Question #1: “Can You Explain the Specifics of Your Accessibility Efforts?”</h3>
You want your event to be enjoyable and available to all who attend. To that end, ask the venue how it accommodates people with physical limitations. Expect to get information on features such as ramps, elevators, automatic doors, wheelchair entrances, ADA-compliant restrooms, handicap parking, and on-hand staff to help attendees. Then, you can share this information with attendees before the event so that they’re prepared.
Another question to ask in terms of accessibility: “Are there any renovations happening currently?” You could find that certain accommodations are temporarily unavailable or that accessible entrances are affected.
<h3>Value-Driving Question #2: “How Many Other Groups Are You Hosting at the Same Time as My Group?”</h3>
Dao points out the importance of knowing what level of support you’ll be getting from the venue’s staff and how that might impact your event. That way, you’ll know that on-site staff will be there to help manage registrations, monitor service quality, assist if any problems arise, and support breakout sessions or other activities.
“What you really want to know is, ‘Who else am I competing with for those individuals’ attention? And what’s the impact of that?’” Dao says.
<h3>Value-Driving Question #3: “What Additional Fees Will I Be Charged?”</h3>
In some cases, Dao says, add-on fees have increased since the pandemic due to additional costs of keeping venues safe, and meeting planners need to be aware of them. Dao recommends being direct when asking this question, assuring venues that they won’t be eliminated as a choice out of hand because of add-on fees, but making it clear that you need to know so you can plan your budget accordingly.
<h3>Value-Driving Question #4: “What Can This Venue Offer That Nobody Else in Your Area Can?”</h3>
Of course you want your event to be special, so ask venues what makes them special. Venues will be eager to talk about their unique services that make them stand out above the rest.
<h3>Value-Driving Question #5: “What’s the Realistic Comfortable Capacity in Your Meeting Spaces?”</h3>
There’ll be a maximum capacity listed, but getting clarification on what the venue recommends could help you make attendees comfortable.
“Venues often want to present a large number but are not compensating for things such as a large space for AV to set up or an expanded stage or social distancing,” Dao says. “Diving into what those numbers actually look like in implementation is important.”

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Getting the Full Picture of a Venue Is the Key to Picking One That’s Right for Your Event.

Five Questions That Will Give You More Value From Your Venue

By now, you’re probably an expert at communicating COVID-19 protocols to your attendees. But a recent survey from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) shows that for people who are traveling to events, that information might not be quite enough.
The GBTA <a href="https://www.gbta.org/blog/travel-program-communication-during-covid-19-and-beyond-what-business-travelers-want-to-know-and-how-they-want-to-hear-it/">surveyed</a> more than 500 business travelers about their communication needs in today’s ever-changing travel environment. The results: Nearly half of all business travelers say they need more COVID-specific travel information of some sort. The issue isn’t necessarily that the information isn’t available to them; it’s that the information is spread out, forcing meeting attendees to learn what they need piecemeal from a variety of sources.
Give your attendees what they need to know in one consolidated place, and you’ll prime them to enjoy your meeting without worry—which sets up your event for success. Here’s what to include:
● &nbsp;Regional information.What is the current COVID-19 situation in the region where the meeting will be? What local regulations do attendees need to know about masks, limited capacity, and changes in local service? What are the entry requirements for the host country?
● &nbsp;Travel partners’ COVID-19 policies.Airlines, airports, <a href="https://clean.marriott.com/">hotels</a>, restaurants, shuttles, car rental outlets, ride-sharing and taxi services—42% of business travelers say they want more information on what travel suppliers are doing to reduce the spread. You don’t have to include the policies of, say, every single airline that serves your destination, but if your event has designated or preferred travel suppliers, include information from them. Let your attendees know two things: 1) what actions they need to take to use these suppliers (such as wearing face coverings or showing proof of vaccination), and 2) what travel suppliers are doing to protect their staff and their customers (such as sanitation efforts and vaccination policies).
● &nbsp;Emergency resources.What should attendees do if they test positive for COVID-19 after the event? What should they do if they start experiencing symptoms during the event? Who should they contact, and what steps do they need to take to protect all attendees?
● &nbsp;Your event’s COVID-19 policies.Chances are, you’re already including these details in your communications. But including your policies in a larger set of information about travel suppliers and regional guidelines will give your attendees everything they need to know in one place.
As for the medium, business travelers prefer email, with 81% saying that email is one of the top five communication modes they want their own companies to use when sharing COVID-19 information. But text messaging was up there too, at 51%. And tech-savvy planners who have an event-specific app should take note: Business travelers prefer text messages over push notifications.
With the passing of each day, we’re inching toward normalcy. But until we’re truly out of this pandemic, comprehensive communication will help set your attendees’ minds at ease — helping you bring people together with care.

A recent survey shows that while there’s no shortage of COVID-19 information, travelers are still having to search for what they need to know. Here’s how to close that gap.

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