Planners know better than anyone the challenges of finding the perfect venue. Not only are attendees drawn to exciting locations, but the venue you choose can impact every aspect of your event.
From room capacity and audio-visual capabilities to must-see local attractions, your venue sets the stage for your entire event. With so much pressure to find the right venue and so much of your budget allocated to booking your event space, there’s enough pressure on you.
Let us help with these tips to source successfully in 2024!
1. Establish Your Event Goals
Before you begin your venue search, it’s crucial to establish your goals for your event. Whether your ROI is based on attendance, sales leads, revenue, or otherwise, your goals should inform you venue selection.
If you want to maximize in-person attendance, you’ll need to design an event at a great location that can sell itself to attendees. If you’re prioritizing cost savings (like so many are), you’ll need to consider how much of your event budget is dedicated to your venue and how you can maximize that budget.
To save time (and money) on your search, and to be sure you’re only finding venues that are within budget, use a venue sourcing tool to help you narrow and filter your search with ease.
2. Begin Your Search Early
Event venues are at a premium, which means spaces fill up fast, and planners are left floundering. Especially if you’re planning a large event, to avoid missing out on venues and ensure you get the best deals, start your search early.
This remains true whether you're planning an event 40 days from now or a full year from now—you can't go wrong by getting as early a start as possible. Not only will you have more options available, but you'll have more time to negotiate, and you won't have to worry as much about RFP response times, which might not be as quick as you'd like.
3. Decide Which Types of Event Spaces You Need
Not all event spaces are created equal. Need a banquet hall for your event? Want a venue that has room blocks available? Just looking for a simple meeting space? Define the scope of your event, determine what spaces your venue must have to meet your needs, and then apply those priorities to your search.
Of course, that’s easier said than done, right? Not necessarily. It's true that 23% of planners say understanding how a venue's event space will meet their needs is the most challenging element of venue sourcing, and what's more, 21% say the most difficult part is researching an event space's specs, capabilities, and amenities. using a venue sourcing tool to filter your search can help immensely.
Pro Tip: With online event diagramming and seating software, you can render photorealistic 3D event spaces that help you visualize room layout options, manage room capacity, and evaluate venues without expensive site visits!
4. Know Your Demographic
Knowing your attendees can really pay off when it comes time to choose an event venue. Ask yourself who your attendees are, what they stand to gain from your event, and how you can make their experience better.
- Think about where the majority of your attendees are based – can you find a venue that’s local for many?
- What type of nearby attractions would your attendees enjoy?
- Have you hosted an event in the past that attendees enjoyed? What about the venue worked for them?
- What accessibility features do you need to consider to make your event inclusive for all attendees?
When you think of your event venue from your attendees’ perspectives, you can implement these considerations to refine your venue search.
💡Learn more about Cvent accessibility solutions here.
5. Analyze Previous Event Performance
A great way to take the pulse of your attendees is to look into feedback from previous events. Post-event surveys are crucial to ensuring you're taking the pulse of your attendees and crafting experiences they're excited to attend, and they provide the perfect opportunity to discover what attendees might (or might not) have liked about your previous venues.
Use these event insights to find out what suggestions attendees had for improvements. Perhaps you should be focused on increasing accessibility at your event venue or finding a venue that prioritizes sustainability. Maybe attendees thought the venue was too hot or cold. Whatever the case may be, all feedback is great for helping you make an informed sourcing decision.
6. Consider Booking Multiple Event Spaces
Having trouble finding an affordable venue that meets all your needs? Consider looking into multiple nearby venues that can offer you the space you need. If you need to rent a banquet hall in one venue and meeting rooms in another, it could save you some budget if you’re booking rooms or sections of an event space rather than the entire space.
This can also offer your attendees some much-appreciated variety over a multi-day event, letting them explore more of the location where you’re holding your event!
7. Save on Unique Venues and Destinations
Increasingly, planners are turning to unique venues and destinations for their events. In fact, 49% of planners say they're sourcing unique venues in 2025, up from only 17% in 2023. Why? Cost is a big factor, as unique venues can offer opportunities for savings that more traditional venues can't, but there's also a trend toward creating more engaging attendee experiences. A unique venue or a destination that offers unique experiences is a great way to get attendees interested in your event, engage them while they're attending, and save some money on one of your largest expenses.
What's more, unique venues often offer greater flexibility, allowing for custom space layouts, more customized pricing, and in-house food and beverage options. Some unique venue options you might consider include:
- Convention centers
- Restaurants
- Sports stadiums/arenas
- Art galleries
- Cruise ships
- Bars/nightclubs
- Golf courses/country clubs
8. Hybrid Event? Make Sure Your Venue Can Hack It
If you’re planning a hybrid event to engage both in-person and virtual attendees, your event venue must be equipped for an experience that meets the needs of both audiences without sacrificing engagement for either.
Consider what types of spaces your venue must have if you’re planning to live-stream part or all of your event. Does your venue already have audio-visual equipment that can get you started, or will you need to completely outfit the space?
Once you know what your event space needs for a successful hybrid event, use those criteria to narrow down your venue search.
9. Consider Your Relationship with Venue Staff
While you might find a beautiful venue that appears to have everything you could ever want (and is in budget!), but if you can't form a good rapport with the venue staff during your sourcing and negotiation process, there's a good chance this relationship will impact the rest of your experience.
After all, if you're having trouble communicating, can't get straight answers, are hitting a wall where negotiations are concerned, or don't seem to work well with the venue staff in the lead-up to your event, your event (and attendees) will likely suffer the consequences.
On the flip side, if you find a venue that's flexible in their accommodations, is willing to negotiate their price, and wants to make your job easier, it might be worth spending a little extra to secure the venue. That good venue-planner relationship is well worth the extra cost when you consider all you'll gain.
10. Use Venue Sourcing Technology to Search
Perhaps you aren’t starting your venue search using a search engine, but if you are, stop it—right now. Just kidding… kind of.
In all seriousness, with all the amazing event technology out there, there’s no reason to be spending days sourcing venues. Not only is it a waste of your time, but it’s also a waste of money if you can’t effectively compare your options.
With the right venue sourcing technology, you can access a searchable database of venues, filter your search, compare venues across the same criteria, and quickly draft a list of possible venues that have everything you’re looking for.
Once you have a list of possible venues, you can then send RFPs directly to multiple venues and compare contracts as they come in—all from the same venue sourcing platform.
Next Steps in Your Venue Sourcing Journey
Now that you’ve gotten started in your search, it’s time to start sending out RFPs so you can move toward selecting and booking your venue!
Want some insight into the RFP process? Check out our guide to the RFP process! Once you’ve narrowed down your options, it’s time to negotiate. Make sure you have the best venue negotiation strategies up your sleeve!