Selecting the venue is a vital step in successful event planning. We spoke to June Glackin, Founder of Junie Poonie Events who shares her five top considerations.
The venue can make the difference between a memorable occasion and a logistical nightmare. With over 15 years of industry experience, stylist, designer, and event planner June Glackin understands the red flags to look for. She gives us her ‘five C’s’ to keep in mind during when deciding on a venue to ensure your choice will align with your client’s vision.
Communication
June believes that one of the most important factors to consider is whether the communication from venue staff is up to scratch in order to address client concerns promptly and ensure seamless service: “If there’s poor communication from a venue, that’s a huge red flag for me. If your client has questions that you don’t know the answer to, you need those to be covered and the communication to always be on it so that you can provide the best service for your client.”
Collaboration
Just because a venue has an impressive events space or photographs well, doesn’t mean that it’s the right one. June tells us why aesthetic isn’t everything and why working as a team matters: “There are some really incredible venues that I won’t work with anymore because their team didn’t collaborate with me. If a venue is hosting my client, we must become a team.”
“A venue’s team can’t have an us vs. them mentality, if they said to me that a sink needed unblocking or the toilet rolls needed filling, I’d do it! But I expect the same from them in return, if I’m on hand for any task, they should be as well – regardless of what needs doing. If the team doesn’t match the standard of the vibe and aesthetic of a venue, it isn’t going to work.”
Customer journey
It’s a good idea to step away from thinking as an event planner and put yourself in the shoes of your delegates to think about the little, hidden moments that you might otherwise forget: “I like to be able to go to the venue to walk through what the client is going to see and feel. I look at things such as what the car park is like and if there’ll be enough staff on to make sure all delegates are welcome at the same time. Don’t just look at it from a stylist perspective, logistics and thinking about how the event is going to work are so important. It’s vital that you scour the venue for tiny touchpoints as you would from a customer service perspective.”
One of the most important aspects that often gets overlooked when selecting a venue is the toilet! I’ll always check this when I visit a potential venue because every delegate is guaranteed to be in there at some point. And when you think about a night out, most of the key conversations happen in there!”
Corporate experience
Venues have a huge part to play in providing the human experience, and June believes their offerings should be able to cater to a range of event types:
“If a client told me they wanted their event in a boardroom, I’d never put it in a boardroom. I try and push clients to be all about the people and souls that are at an event, rather than the corporate style of it. You have the make sure that the human experience is being met.
“It isn’t necessarily about bending the rules but making new and different things happen to create a better experience by getting clients and venues out of what they’re used to. I’m all about immersive and experiential experiences, and if a venue doesn’t have the option for this – it goes back to collaboration – they should be able make it happen.”
Carpet and curtains
Finally, June thinks the décor of a venue shouldn’t detract from your budget: “It sounds random at first, but there’s nothing worse than having to spend budget on covering horrible carpet. Some venues are still in the era of having a paisley carpet because they think it will hide all sins – but it just puts people off. I’d rather be spending the budget on something that’s experiential or something that will elevate an event, rather than hiding a bad carpet. This also applies to curtains; I’ve been known to take curtains down myself at a venue!”