What Do You Look for in an Event Planning Guide?

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Of course everybody has a preference for what information they want to get from an event planning guide. But that got me wondering – is there an event planning guide that is considered to be the top in the industry? Well, at this stage of the quest, I’d have to say there is not one type guide that stands out from another. That’s not to say that there are better event planning guides out there. It’s just that I’m finding out that meeting and event planners are very unique in their work styles.

An Event Planning Guide Should Be Customizable

If you’ve read a few of our blogs here, then you know that we often talk about event planning guides and checklists. It is our quest, through our research for our blogs, to always be on the lookout for what is considered the top in the industry. But what we are finding out for an event planning guide is that people want different information based on the types of groups that they are working for.

Microsoft has an excellent event planning resource where you can choose and customize templates to match your workload. You can also find valuable resources on Amazon as well that reference event planning guides.

What Information Do Planners Look for in an Event Planning Guide?

For planners, what they are looking for depends on their clients’ needs. The customization usually comes at the event planning checklist side of things. The feedback that I get from a lot of planners regarding an event planning guide is that they like to get as much information as they need to make an informed decision by glancing at the guide. For example, let’s say a planner is trying to book an off-site venue for 100 people. When they look at an event planning guide what they’re looking for are venues that; would be able to accommodate their numbers (so capacity would be important), whether or not they have private facilities, an indication of the price range, whether or not they are allowed to bring in outside caterers, times that the venue can be rented, and the distance from where they are staying (a reference map).

Another important aspect for an event planning guide is that their contact information is as current as possible. For print guides there will be a little more tolerance for outdated information. But only for a period of several months to a year maximum. For an online guide, updated contact information should be relevant. As a matter of fact it would have a negative impact on the venue if their contact information was out of date online.

For a meeting planner, an event planning guide should provide an “at a glance” overview of the venue. It should be enough information that allows the planner to make an informed decision on whether or not the venue is a right fit for their group. The more that a meeting planner has to research, thus taking up valuable time, the more likely it is that the meeting planner might look at other venues.

Related articles

• Event Planning Conference Software (plananevent.org)
• Finding a Good Meeting Planner Template on Microsoft Office (plananevent.org)
• You Don’t Have To Re-Create the Wheel to Get Good Event Planning Forms (plananevent.org)
• How a Meeting and Event Planner Uses a CVB (plananevent.org)
• Do You Use Meeting Planner Software? (plananevent.org)