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We’re back again for our final edition of our 3 part series! Today we’re sharing all the details of the best part of corporate event planning - the event, of course! This final post is related to our Barcelona corporate event last summer. The 18-hour work days, the corporate lunches, the VIP dinners, the speeches… Without further ado, let’s dive into part 3 of Barcelona Event Planning.
As we mentioned before, our client chose the final location to be Barcelona for their annual corporate event. Their hotel of choice was the Hotel Arts, right on the beach. The location couldn’t be any better, and the amenities and service are impeccable at this hotel. As the attendees of this event arrived at different times, we had to be strategic about organising transfers.
We organised transfers firstly for the internal event team, as they arrived early to set up before the event. We arranged the various transfers, as well as all of their hotel check-ins, room organisations, and distribution of the team. The next day, the action really started to take off!
Average time, on and off the whole day - 9 hours.
After every attendee was checked in, we began to help with the pre-event tasks and an early 6am wake up call. Overall we spent about 3 hours organising and planning the event agenda.
To give you a bit of insight, here are a few tasks from our agenda:
- Check areas for lunch and set up signage
- Have team ready with handhelds for Q&A on Demographics Presentation
- Human signage - direct people towards elevator and stairs
- Event team – man the event desk throughout the breakout session
- Welcome guests on 1st floor and direct to restaurant and terrace for seating
Though the company already has a team of event directors and assistants, we are still the main point of contact throughout the events. You could call us professional, multilingual corporate event intermediaries. That’s a mouthful, isn’t it?
After we’ve organised the day, we then begin to set up. We start by helping with the venue staff, solving any problems or miscommunications that might come about, and physically offer our 24/7 event-time service. Although it doesn’t happen frequently, sometimes language barriers create absolute chaotic situations. For example, the setup crew wanted to communicate that equipment should be left in a certain area, and the client, in reality, asked for the exact opposite.
Whenever our client needed us throughout the event, we were there within a matter of minutes to find a solution. As we want to offer dynamic service, we have to be physically present at the event location.
Total pre-event setup time - 24 hours.
On Day 1 of 24-hour support we begin to see the fruits of our labour come to life. After another early wake-up call and a lot of coffee, and we’re ready to take on the event! Below you can find a few of the tasks our team took care of that day:
Manage the logistics for check-ins and airport transfers throughout the morning
Run to the supermarket and buy fresh fruit for the event team office
Order and pick up signs from a print shop
Buy local gifts for a VIP giveaway
Communicate various issues to the technician
Action every client request to the hotel (printing, more croissants and milk, lower the air conditioning, can catering keep the noise down? etc.)
Generally we have to stay ahead of the agenda. Are the coffee breaks spaces ready? Is the lunch good to go? Are there enough chairs in the plenary room? We could go on and on.
These are just a few examples of the various tasks that our 24-hour support covers. Though our jobs might be chaotic during the event, it’s so everything else goes smoothly. When we’re running around like mad men, it means our client is able to focus on the event. On top of our own service, we have to make sure that the contracted venues are working with the same efficiency. Everyone has to be on the same page for collaborative projects to work properly!
After Day 1 of the event, Day 2 was a similar story, except even more fun! Here is where we got to see all of the event organisers and attendees let loose and enjoy what our gorgeous city has to offer.
This was the most exhilarating part of the entire corporate event. After the internal event had successfully taken place, the delegates were ready to enjoy Barcelona. Our small team organised a dinner for over 350 delegates at Opium, right by the beach. We helped with the overall setup of the dinner, made sure the venue understood the client’s vision, and set up signs and table settings. We then helped move the delegates from the hotel to the club, ensuring they were able to network and mingle comfortably. We were there for any questions either the delegates or the events team had, and stayed until the event ended at 11:00pm.
We don’t stop until the job is done, and done right. Working in the corporate event industry almost guarantees that some things will go wrong, but we do our best to solve them as soon as we can.
There were miscommunications between the events team and the airport transfers, which could have resulted in missing their flights. However, were able to act quickly and solve the issue before it was too late. We stayed onsite until the whole team had shipped out, and even then there was still work to do.
We organise all invoices from each venue, restaurant, hotel and transfer company. By doing this for the client, it means that they don’t have hundreds of different invoices to pay and keep track of. Just think of us as professional intermediaries, human ibuprofen, and that relaxing glass of wine you can enjoy after a long, hard day at work.
This has been a lot of reading, and we’re impressed that you’ve made it this far! Congratulations - you now know more than the average person about Barcelona corporate event support and logistics!
Ready to have your own corporate event? Let’s discuss your vision today - email [email protected]. Also, in case you can’t tell from these posts, we really love to chat! Call us on the line that works best for you to start organising your event logistics!
French line (say bonjour to Julie, she’s trés jolie!): +33 4 20 88 01 30
English line (Jason will greet you with a smile through the phone!): +1 818 926 4850
Spanish line (a simple buenos días goes a long way with Olivia): +34 931 785 300