There are so many things to consider when looking for a venue for your workshop or seminar.  You not only need to look at the type of venue but also at the staff.  You need to find out if they will provide the kind of service that you need as this will reflect upon your business as the host venue for your workshop.  It is therefore important that you don’t only look at the ‘bricks and mortar’ it is the whole package that makes this a great experience for your attendees.

In the previous Workshop Series – The Planning, there were questions around how many attendees, could they get to the venue by public transport, was car parking available …  Going forward, each of the posts in the Workshop Series will follow a similar format, so be prepared for more questions that you need to deal with in order to help make your workshop a success.

  • What is my budget?
  • Am I providing light refreshments, no refreshments, water, mints?
  • Does the venue prepare food on site or do they need to send out for it?
  • Will venue staff help me set up and pull down?
  • Is someone assigned to be my go-to person?
  • Will the venue allow me to set up a registration table and where.  Do I get a say in that?
  • Do I have to inform attendees of the evacuation points, amenities etc in case of an emergency or does the venue handle this (extremely important to cover off safety at the beginning of every workshop)?
  • Can the venue accept a shipment of workshop materials prior to the event? (So I don’t have to try and get everything there myself).
  • Does the venue have disabled access?
  • Does the venue have a first aid officer onsite and available during the workshop?

This list gives you an example of some of the questions you should at least be asking or considering.

Getting your venue just right for your workshop is a huge hurdle and can be a daunting task if you don’t know what questions to ask first.  Spend some time researching venues or if you are outsourcing this, ensure that who ever is dealing with this follows a strict criteria that you need to set down and it begins with these questions.

Do you have anymore questions you would add?

Leave me a comment below.