Organising a conference

If you have been asked to find a venue and organise a conference, there are certain key points you will need to know and decisions that you will have to take before you can make the booking.

The first, most important point is the number of delegates attending, because it makes a big difference to the size of room and all the arrangements.

The next thing to decide is what you actually want to achieve with your conference. There are different types of conference: a board meeting, a sales launch, a training session and so on. They are very different from each other.

Then you must decide how long your conference is to last and what time of year you want to hold it. The type of activities and functions can be dependent on the weather.

Another point is where the conference is to take place. So you must know where the people will come from. Transport requirements are very important, for example, air, rail or road connections and adequate car parking facilities.

And, of course, you need to know who is actually paying for the conference. Usually the company pays for the main part of the conference and the delegates pay for their drinks and telephone calls and other peripherals.

If you have decided on all that and you have found your venue, you will have to think about the things that you will require while you are there: things like the conference room size, the conference room lay-out (informal style, with desks, rows like in a lecture, theatre or syndicate rooms). Then you are to come to your conference equipment, for example, for the presentation you will need overhead projectors, flip charts or slide projectors. You also need to know what refreshments your delegates will require in or outside the room, when, where and at what time they will need a coffee break or lunch.

You need to find out the dining requirements, for example, private dining, small table in the main dining room, public restaurant, gala dinner on the last evening and so on.

Then you can get down to the menu arrangements. This is very much determined by how much time you have for lunch. At lunch time delegates often have from forty-five minutes to an hour, and so it may be a fast buffet service. In the evening the meal can be a more formal one. If the delegates need to work through lunch, you can have a finger buffet brought in.

Another thing to consider is accommodation and how many delegates will require it. Perhaps some of the guests are very important people, and you will want to put them into better rooms than the ordinary delegates. So you must work out a rooming list.

And finally, the delegates may want to have some leisure time activities organised. Perhaps they want to go out and see the local sights, perhaps they want an organised sporting activity or to go to a local pub. They may want a disco or a casino set up or a party.

So when you have all this information you can go about booking.