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How to Plan an Event on a Budget

May 15, 2013 By Comments
people toasting at an event

photo by www.ehow.com

A seasoned event organizer knows that part of winning a piece of business means that their budgeting skills need to be sharp. In some cases it can be a deal breaker. Knowing which questions to ask a potential client can help an event organizer select the right venue.

In this post I’m going to show you why the budget planning process doesn’t have to be the toughest part of an event proposal.

The Budget Planning Process is a Key Component to an Event Proposal

For most conferences or events, it’s the social functions that can add to a planner’s overall budget. It can also be a bit of a catch 22. Most event organizers understand the importance of adding social components to a program. From the planner’s perspective, they have to make the event attractive enough so that the attendees want to come.

The budget planning process for an event begins at the initial planning stage. That’s when the meeting planner sits down and maps out the various components of their conference or event. If they have a predetermined budget, they can begin to allocate funds towards each component. Pretty soon they’ll have an understanding of which parts of the program will need to be tweaked in order to meet the event’s budget.

You might want to check out these related articles on planning an event:

How to Plan Your Budget around Your Event

A social event usually involves; on-site staff, transportation, venue rental fee, food and beverage, service and equipment charges and entertainment. You can easily understand where the cost will soon reach, or exceed, it’s budget. But rest assured, there are ways to still have a great social event without blowing your budget.

When I meet with a prospective client I always inquire about their budget. Sometimes planners are hesitant to disclose their budget (as they feel that that amount will get chewed up regardless of where the event is held). However if I know what their budget range is, I can find a suitable venue that will work within their parameters.

Here Are Three Areas Where You Can Trim an Event Budget

Transportation. Of course if you are holding your event off-site, depending on its location, you will have to provide transportation. Transportation vehicles can be expensive. Depending on the group’s size, you can easily spend $20-$30 per person on transportation.

Tip – look for venues that are within walking distance or consider hosting the event in-house (at the hotel).

Venue Rental Fee. Many groups like to host their events in unique spaces. Museums and art galleries are amongst the favorites. But, for facilities like these, there are venue rental fees on top of the food and beverage charges.

Tip – look for venues, such as restaurants with private rooms, that are elegant yet do not charge a venue rental fee on top of the food and beverage charges. Hotel ballrooms do not charge a rental fee if your event has food and beverage.

Service and Equipment Charges. Many standalone venues (such as museums and art galleries) are not equipped with kitchens. Therefore, the caterers are required to bring their own equipment and service staff for the event. They passed this charge along to the client, naturally. The cost for service and equipment can even be in excess of what the food menu would cost.

Tip – look for venues that have on-site kitchen facilities. Also, quite often, the in-house caterer has more access to the venue and can offer lower service and equipment charges because of that. Hotel ballrooms also do not charge for service and equipment.

Planning an event on a budget can be challenging. A seasoned event organizer knows which components of an event can be trimmed without affecting the impact of the event itself. Transportation, venue rental fees and service and equipment charges are three areas that can drive an event’s budget over the top. But there are venues out there where you do not have to pay these charges. An event proposal that addresses these areas has a very good chance of winning that piece of business.

 

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Planning an Event at a Hotel

October 11, 2012 By Comments
planning an event at a hotel

photo by trumphotelcollection
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When we think of hosting an event at a hotel many of us think that it will be more expensive than holding it at an off-site venue. However, as a seasoned meeting and event planner may tell you, there are a couple of ways that you can actually trim your cost by hosting an event at a hotel.

There Are Many Price Points to Consider When Planning an Event

Many event planners know that there’s more than just the cost of the menu when trying to budget for an off-site event (of the food and beverage kind). In addition to the food menu, when planning an off-site event for their group, a planner also has to factor:

  • transportation cost
  • venue rental fee
  • service and equipment charges from the caterer
  • food and beverage costs
  • liquor licensing fees
  • entertainment
  • taxes and service charges

Two Reasons Why Planning an Event at a Hotel May Save Your Budget

There are two key areas where you can trim your budget when considering a hotel for your event.

Venue Rental Fee – quite often when you are hosting a food and beverage function at a hotel the room (venue) is provided to you with no room rental fee. This has been an incentive that many hotels have been offering for some time now. Hotels consider it to be a value added feature when booking a function inside of their property. When you compare it to what some off-site venues charge for room rental you will soon realize that you’re in a position to trim several thousand dollars off of your budget.

Service and Equipment Charges – many people (of course not the seasoned meeting and event planners) don’t realize that when they select an off-site venue, especially ones where there is no kitchen facility, the caterer will need to bring their own equipment. Depending on the venue this could include the china, cutlery, as well as equipment required to keep the food warm before serving. What a lot of people don’t realize is that the service and equipment charges can equal as much as the menu cost itself. Hotels, for the most part, do not charge additional costs for service and equipment.

At first thought many people consider hotels to be more expensive than off-site venues to host events. You may be surprised to find out that, when comparing apples to apples, hotels may just be the venue to help bring your event within budget.

 

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Event Planning-Why Can’t We All Just Get along

June 8, 2012 By Comments
event planning with Barack Obama and Mitt Romney

photo by onpointpolitics.com

Have you ever had one of those days where it seems every time you ask a supplier or colleague a question you keep getting pushed back? I’m sure you have those days where you want to run to the top of the mountain and just scream your lungs out. But, that’s what God invented wine for.

I used to have the saying – that I would enjoy working with people if people weren’t involved. Now we all know that in the world of event planning a large part of our job is relying on the competence of other people. That’s why this industry can be a nail biting experience for a lot of people.

The Current Do-Nothing Congress Is an Example of What Not to Do in Event Planning

do-nothing Congress

photo by yubanet.com

Lately, in the US, it seems that nothing is getting done in yet another do-nothing Congress. These people (I just can’t use the word adult and Congress in the same sentence) seem more hell-bent on obstructing legislation just because the other side brought it to the floor. If you look at the way our government works and compare it to the event planning industry you can easily see how our political system is truly dysfunctional. Comparing Congress to event planners, Congress fails miserably. After all, isn’t it their job to make sure that events (and in Congress’s case the events are the day-to-day running of the country) are executed properly? It’s not that I’m saying there shouldn’t be any debating – quite the contrary. Debating any potential legislation is exactly what we need so that, in the end, hopefully the best gets past.

Unless you’re living under a rock you know that this is a presidential election year here in the US. Which got me wondering wouldn’t it be nice, just for once, to see Barack Obama and Mitt Romney plan an event and get along. Well, apparently NBC’s Jay Leno thought the same thing. Albeit in a humorous way.

So take a look at the video below. Here you’ll see Mitt Romney and Barack Obama having a good time doing the remix of “Call Me Maybe”. Okay so maybe it’s not really them together, but one can wish can’t I?

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Infographic – 5 Helpful Tips When Planning Your Wedding

May 23, 2012 By Comments

5 Helpful Tips When Planning Your Wedding infographicAre you planning a wedding for you or someone close to you? Not sure where to start? What do you do? Don’t get overwhelmed! This chart cleverly shows the top 5 key attributes to consider when thinking about the details involved in planning an amazing wedding. Let our planning experts help you look like a professional. Click here for more info on wedding plans.

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Mother’s Day Event Planning Tips

May 13, 2012 By Comments
event planning tips for Mother's Day

photo by kitsilano.ca

As our website name indicates we like to talk about planning events. And with Mother’s Day upon us we thought we would give you some event planning tips for this very important day. Mother’s Day, of course, is a day where we recognize and celebrate one of the most important woman in our lives.

Event Planning Tips on Mother’s Day-Make the Gift Personal and about Her

I remember when I was a young boy in school. Our teachers would help us make our gifts for Mother’s Day (and Father’s Day too). Then we would hurry home and be so excited to present them with this homemade wonder. And, if your parents were like my parents, they would go on and on about how homemade gifts were the best possible gifts for them. Then, as I got older, I would start to purchase my gifts. I know they like their bought gifts but I couldn’t help wondering: did they like those homemade ones more than the ones that I was buying them.

From all of the research I did on gifts (well, truth be told, in all of my discussions with my mother) I think I have an understanding as to why mom loves the homemade gifts. You see, what she loves most about those gifts that didn’t cost much money was that they were personal for her and only her. It’s not that she doesn’t like to receive flowers on occasion, it’s just that a unique homemade gift has that extra special meaning to her. Now, I’m not suggesting that everybody crack open the scissors and construction paper and start making something special for mom. Rather, my suggestion is that her gift from you should be something that has special meaning for her. Sometimes it can be something as simple as a little pampering at a local spa, or treat your mom to one of her favorite meals prepared by you.

Event Planning Tips on Mother’s Day-When You Have To Buy Something Keep It Personal

Now I also realize that it’s not always possible to be with your mom because you may not be in the same town on Mother’s Day. So my suggestion for those who do look to buy mom that special gift is to make sure the gift matches her needs or likes. Being from the meetings and conventions industry I can tell you firsthand the top of all event planning tips is that you do it for the people you are planning for not what you would like.

The very popular gifts.com site has a great selection for Mother’s Day. What I like about the Mother’s Day page is that it breaks the gifts down into various categories as well as various price ranges. In other words it’s very easy for you to find the right gift in your price range.

Mother’s Day is just one day out of many that we should be taking a moment to thank our mothers for all that they have done in our lives. The best event planning tips for Mother’s Day include making sure that the event or gift is something that is near and dear to your mom’s heart.

From all of us here @plananevent.org we wish all of you moms out there the best day possible -Happy Mother’s Day!

 

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Planning an Event? Can We Meet about That?

May 8, 2012 By Comments

photo by mammon. typepad.com

Anyone that’s been involved with planning an event knows all too well that event planning and meetings often go hand-in-hand. When I worked in hotels we used to joke that we would have meetings just to plan our next meeting. While I know that sounds a bit foolish, believe it or not we would sometimes get so wrapped up in the planning that we would be left wondering if we have enough time for the event itself.

As we often do here at Plan an Event, the following short video is meant to take a lighthearted approach to showcase how the events industry can sometimes become overwhelmed in meetings. And I’m sure our industry is not alone.

So if you need a break from planning an event or rather planning a meeting regarding your event, grab a coffee and hopefully this will give you your chuckle for the day. But don’t take too long – after all, we don’t want you missing your next meeting.

Nothing Ltd. – watch more funny videos

 

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How to Tell if Your Event Planning was a Success (hint – are their eyes open?)

April 11, 2012 By Comments

photo by frigginrandom.com

All of the event planning is done. Now you just have to wait and see how the meeting or event unfolds. But how do you tell if your meeting and event planning was successful? Well, one way is to look into the audience. Are they sleeping or are they awake and taking notes. If you see people dozing off, then chances are you didn’t do enough to keep them engaged. Or you invited the wrong attendees to your meeting.

We’re sure you’ll get a little chuckle when watching the video below.  Let’s just say this is an example of what we don’t want happening in any of your meetings or events  as a result of all your event planning efforts.

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Planning an Event This Easter Weekend?

April 8, 2012 By Comments

photo by collectpics.com

When we think of Easter we often associate it with planning an event around children (well apart from the religious aspect of Easter that is). Planning an event can sometimes be a hassle at the best of times. There is one thing that’s certain in life and that’s that if something can go wrong, usually something will go wrong. Otherwise known as “Murphy’s Law”.

So for this Easter weekend we thought we’d share a video compilation of Easter event planning gone wrong. While our laughing maybe at the expense of the the kids in the video, it’s important that we remember we are laughing with them and not at them. Okay, so maybe were laughing at them… But how could we resist.

The moral of the story – maybe don’t put all your eggs in one basket (sorry I just couldn’t refuse the opportunity to use that expression, especially today).

 

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A Funny Way of Being Introduced at a Planning Meeting

April 5, 2012 By Comments

photo by blog.timesunion.com

Our upbringing helps us navigate through different situations that life gives us. Almost instinctively we know how to react when presented with various scenarios in our life. Or do we? Anyone involved with planning a meeting would tell you that upon entering the meeting room the usual protocol is to be introduced to anyone that you don’t know, you approach them shake their hand and engage in small talk.

But what would you do if, upon entering the meeting room, the person you were being introduced to gave you a big kiss instead of shaking your hand? Would you return the gesture? Or, if you’re like me, would you turn bright red and be at a loss for words.

A Unique Way of Communicating in a Planning Meeting

The video below, at first, everything looks like a normal planning meeting about to get underway. But as you’ll see, once the attendees arrive, they have a very unique way of greeting each other. While, at first, you might think this is an organization that you want to apply with, it really is showing us that spreading germs can be done more through a handshake than from an actual kiss. Let’s just say that this video by science world has certainly got their point across. So, the next time someone comes up to you before your meeting starts and kisses you instead of shaking your hand, you’ll know that they may just have the common cold. But before you return the favor, maybe make sure the person on the receiving end has seen this video first.

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What Are Your Expectations of a Meeting Planners Guide?

March 30, 2012 By Comments

photo by flickrhivemind.net

I keep hearing a lot of talk about how important a meeting planners guide is. While I don’t doubt that, it does make me wonder what exactly are planners’ expectations of a meeting planners guide. There are certainly no shortage of meeting planners guides to choose from. But, we thought for this post that we would review some of, what we consider to be, the key items that a meeting planners guide should cover.

Meeting Planners Guide Can Help You Develop a Checklist

We’ve often talked about how a meeting planner has to wear many different hats. So it only stands to reason that a good meeting planners guide will help a planner breakdown the various components of a meeting into workable objectives. So let’s review some of these “hats”, as it were, that a meeting planner is required to wear from time to time.

Important Items That a Meeting Planners Guide Should Include Are:

Planning. While this may seem like an obvious item, planning is crucial especially at the early stages of organizing and executing a meeting.

Budgets. With planning, budgets almost go hand-in-hand. Budgets are crucial, especially in the planning stages as it will help ascertain which components of the meeting are necessary versus components which can be eliminated should the budget not accommodate these items. Budgets help a planner determine what they need to achieve in order for the meeting to be a success and, in some cases, a revenue producer.

Meeting Room Set up and Requirements. A meeting planner needs to know all of the various meeting room set up configurations like the back of their hands. This is probably one of the earlier items that a new meeting planner learns as it is crucial in determining the type and size of meeting required. In addition, requirements can include items such as audiovisual needs and the type of speakers , etc.

Negotiating. This is probably one hat that sets seasoned meeting planners apart from the crowd. A good negotiator knows how to arrive at their desired results without offending or burning any bridges. A good negotiator also has to know what they are prepared to give up in order to achieve their overall results.

Contract. I remember studying contracts in my law classes in school. I dreaded those classes. But, lo and behold, understanding contracts has become a vital part of the meetings and events industry. So now I have to thank those professors for giving me the ability to read and understand contracts.

Suppliers. Many planners tend to think of suppliers as additional expenses to their budget. However, talk to a season planner about how they use their local suppliers and they’ll tell you quite often they request that their suppliers develop a program that works within the budget parameters assigned. Think of suppliers as the local experts in their field.

The above items will probably be found in most good meeting planners guides. Unfortunately the meeting planners guide cannot do the task for a meeting planner, rather they are designed to provide the planner with a map of key items that need to be addressed in order to make their meetings and events successful.

 

 

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