The benefits of using an event agency in the new norm

Organising an event is stressful at the best of times but in the ‘new norm’ you have additional measures and guidelines to adhere to such as keeping track of guidelines and safety requirements for the potential host city, region and country. 

Combined with a whole new way of thinking about event spaces and layouts for your hybrid or in-person event means there is much more to consider than before.

Whilst for some getting an event agency like Bien Venue, involved may seem like an unnecessary move, but if you have ever been entrusted with organizing an event for your company, you know what is important and how much knowledge and experience can contribute to a smooth process.

Bien Venue can offer you the support you need to plan and hold an event effectively and effortlessly, working consultatively to pro-actively make recommendations on both the logistics and location for your planned conference.

Location, location, location – not anymore?

Location for many is often a key part of sourcing a venue. However some of your delegates may be anxious about attending an event in a city centre or having to use public transport, so the normal key location criteria adapts to encourage delegate confidence.

Whether you know exactly where you want to host your event, or you have complete freedom when it comes to location, events agencies can help.

We specialise in narrowing down your search and suggesting the most suitable locations and venues based on your requirements and the current government guidelines.

Here at Bien Venue, we are often asked for venue recommendations based local transport links, ease of access to the building, how much accommodation is on-site or close by, wet weather options, cancellation policies… to name a few.

As part of our service, we always go one step further when conducting venue searches by including a Wildcard option as part of the proposal, giving our clients the chance to consider something completely outside of the box!

Adapting, guidelines and flexibility

Bien Venue understand that event planning is now filled with new challenges and concerns for many. By outsourcing your venue finding requirement to an event agency like Bien Venue you are putting elements of your event in the hands of professionals.

Social distancing has changed not just how your event can be held but also what you are looking for. Bien Venue are recommending our clients have an open approach to logistics and the event space.

Social distancing guidelines means the venue in which you hosted your ‘best event’ in last year may no longer be suitable and if you are looking at a venue for a managers meeting it might not be possible to accommodate it in your desired layout.

Delegates will expect an event environment to exceed normal expectations, with venues needing to offer socially distanced space with higher levels of cleanliness.

Bien Venue work with both our clients and venue partners to consider every detail of the event and will tailor the brief to ensure current guideline compliance and, if necessary, offer you alternative ideas and solutions to ensure your event is safe and a success.

Money Saving

Whatever your budget when it comes to organising an event, Bien Venue understand how important it is to see an element of cost-saving.

An events agency will be able to assist you with budget planning, making sure all elements of the event have been accounted for and you’re not paying top dollar for everything.

Venues often offer multi-booking deals when it comes to venue hire, which generally means the more events you give them, the better the rates will be. This can be difficult if you only host a handful of events each year. However an events agency can use their overall buying power to negotiate on your behalf, achieving much more competitive rates.

In the past sourcing a venue focused on key factors such as budget, destination, location and venue style. All those components still need to be considered, safety and health measurements in place have become a vital part of event planning.

Finding a balance between extra travel time, potential additional costs for a residential meeting, and meeting the expectations of all attendees, this can be a struggle to an unexperienced meeting planner but is part of what the  Bien Venue dedicated specialists can advise you on.

Time saving

From initial venue research to negotiating costs, arranging site inspections, drawing up contracts and co-ordinating suppliers. Event planning can take up a lot of time!

Bien Venue have a team of dedicated consultants, who are ready to take on some of your workload, freeing you up to focus on the most important tasks at hand.

As an event agency we don’t just source venues and organize a COVID safe virtual site visits but we also support with risk assessments tailored to your event. Working alongside the venue and their risk assessments to ensure your event provides confidence for both you and your delegates.

Technology, Virtual and Hybrid

Safety, technology, creativity, and innovation are incredibly important but ultimately events are about connecting groups of people in a meaningful way and driving the right business outcomes.

At Bien Venue ‘Our Team is your Team’ – we put you and your goals at the centre of everything and build the event strategy around it.

Hybrid events are the buzz word in the events industry at the moment and will be integral to the future of conferences. Bien Venue have undertaken an in-depth review into hybrid solutions to enhance conferences, meetings and events. We now have a number of preferred partners to assist in successfully delivering these solutions to our clients. We have three potential ways we can support our clients with a hybrid event:

  • Hybrid audio visual equipment solutions
    • Small meetings: ideal for a live meeting with a requirement for a handful of delegates to attend via a platform such as Zoom
    • Full audio-visual production and staging – suitable for larger conferences
    • Virtual solutions / green screen: ideal for either recording a series of presentations. Or if you have a virtual event and require an area to present from
  • Hybrid event recommendations and logistics – from our research and growing knowledge of hybrid events we can propose and recommend the best solution to achieve your event objectives
  • Hybrid/Virtual event platforms – ideal if you are running a conference with both live and virtual guests as these platforms allow delegates to network with each other, the virtual guests to join in a Q&A and meet with any exhibitors.

At the time of writing this blog, business events for up to 30 delegates in a COVID secure venue can take place in England as set out in the government updated w/c 21st September.

Looking for support with your next event? Bien Venue would love to hear from you or use our free online venue finding tool on our website – www.bvevents.co.uk

Bien Venue have re-identified our strapline alongside ‘Our Team is Your Team’ to include ‘Event Management – Professional, Pro Active with a Personal touch’.

It’s not just workshops, training, conferences, or off site meetings we can arrange but also away days, hybrid events, Christmas parties including virtual, private dining, team building both live and virtual and incentives as well as managing and venue liaison for schedules of events and offering a full event management service. We also offer accommodation booking platforms for both corporate bookers and event specific allocation of bedrooms.