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If you’ve ever been to a corporate event, haven’t you wondered, “who put all of this together?” We’re here to answer that very question. This time we’re going to dive even deeper into the chaotic world of corporate event planning. Sit back and relax, because we’re going to take you through Part 2 of our tell-all series!
The corporate event venue search is far from easy, and as you’ll remember in our last post, Akommo devoted over 150 hours of work to this search, completely free of charge. If you can believe it, the hours our team put in for free continue!
After Part 1 of the process is finished, we begin to search for smaller private venues for VIP dinners and lunches. This includes repeating the search again, but this time within smaller parameters and requirements. For example, we’re going to show you the brief that we send out to up to 10 restaurants, major event venues, and catering companies:
Date: 20 June
City: Barcelona
Pax: 500
Format: banquet
Request: AV
Schedule:
19:00 - 19:45: open bar (could we reserve the bar for 30 minutes or have drinks in the private room?)
20:00: dinner begins
22:00: dinner finishes (3 courses and wine)
As simple as that, right? Wrong. We have to then organise all responses, review all proposals that each potential options offer, and compare prices and offering. Then we arrange them in a presentable manner to show the client.
We then coordinate a call with the client, discuss the options they like best, explain why we think certain venues are better than others for the event, and then begin the process of elimination. We narrow it down to the top 3 spots, and then begin organising tastings for the client’s second site visit.
The agenda is created, the transportation logistics are sorted, and we’re one step closer to narrowing down the details for the event.
Total time: search for main dinner event spaces, VIP spaces, organising and presenting options for client, then organising tastings with selected restaurants - 45 hours total.
At this point, we are still working without a single payment.
After organising the client’s flight and transportation details for the second site visit, we have the client do a second visit and tasting at the top 2 major dinner event venue sites that we researched in Part 1.
On our end, this entails organising a tasting menu at each restaurant, negotiating discounted or complimentary rates for the meal, and should the client wish, accompanying them to the tasting. This comes quite in handy when working in Spain or France, as we are able to translate.
We then take the client to the top 3 VIP dinner venues, and begin to create a clearer vision of what the private dinner event will look like.
Although it’s another cost incurred on already-free services, we think it’s completely worth it to go with the client to as many sites as possible to provide an extra level of assurance and support.
Total time: arranging logistics for the client’s travels, attending the visits and dinner tastings with the client, offering in-person support as well as translations if necessary - 30 hours total.
We are so convinced by how thoroughly we work that we are still working without charging the client anything. Because repetition is, well, repetitive, here’s a little spoiler alert! Ready? We don’t actually charge the client until the event has taken place.
After the client has carried out all of the main venue site visits, it’s time to make the decision! We really enjoy this part, because we’re able to see the moment when the client falls in love with their event.
The second round of selections means that the client decides where all the primary and internal events will take place. This also includes deciding on the final restaurants or venues.
Until the client makes this decision, however, we must stay in frequent communication with all of the potential venues. We have to ensure that we don’t lose our reservations!
Our team negotiates the best possible final rates, as well as any extra services or additions to the proposals from the restaurants and venues.
We then request formal contracts, spend hours reviewing the fine print and making sure nothing is missing, and begin the signing and payment process.
Total time: negotiating the best rates, presenting those newly-negotiated rates, maintaining our first options, revising all of the contracts, and processing new payments - 15 hours total.
As the event gets closer and closer, we start finalising the details. To be fair, that’s really what corporate event planning comes down to in the end - the small details.
Honestly, this is the least glamorous and most tedious part of corporate event planning. We go over room details, checking that every single attendee has been accommodated correctly. This means room type, dates, and any special requests have to be accounted for. Now imagine doing this 500 times. We take care of this task, because we know just how much time it takes.
We organise the client’s event team hotel arrangements, as well as finalising all of their transportation details. This requires an additional search and comparing of rates for the hotels nearby.
Total time: around 40 hours.
Once we have all venue, accommodation and transportation logistics sorted, the only thing left to do is wait for the event itself!
In total, Part 2 of corporate event planning takes around 130 hours of free service.
Check out the third and final part of our Event Planning Trilogy!
Our objective is to offer as much support and assistance before, during, and after corporate events. We do our best to make corporate event planning stress- and headache-free. Essentially, we’re like human ibuprofen.
Get in touch, we’d love to offer you 500 hours of impeccable free service!
Next week we’ll get into the fun part - the actual event! Stay tuned, and feel free to leave a comment!