5 mistakes when requesting an event quote: the most common mistakes and how to avoid them
You’ve been tasked with organising an event. The date is already set, you have a rough idea of the budget, and you’ve drawn up a shortlist of event venues. Now it’s time to request quotes – ‘surely that won’t be difficult or time-consuming,’ you might think.
Yet the quotation process goes wrong more often than you might expect. Not because event managers aren’t doing their jobs properly, but because attention quickly shifts to the event itself. The programme, the speakers, the catering. Requesting quotes then feels like a formality you fit in between other tasks: send a few emails, wait to see what the venues can offer, then compare the figures.
At InnStyle, we see every day what happens when that’s the approach. After 30 years of business events and hundreds of quotation processes, we recognise the patterns within the first minute of a phone call. Nancy Jochems, account manager at InnStyle, has now organised dozens of events and sees this too. We know what’s possible when an event manager does come to us well prepared, how differently those conversations unfold, and how much better the end result is.
In this article, we outline the five most common mistakes when requesting an event quote, along with what you can do instead. This advice will save you time and revisions and help you reach a sound decision sooner. By avoiding these mistakes, you’ll make your first conversation with a venue valuable from the outset.
Why requesting an event quote takes more than you think
There’s an assumption among event managers that isn’t entirely right: requesting an event quote is simple and comes with no obligation. You send an email, the venue does the work, and you compare what comes back. That sounds logical, of course, but it’s not quite how it works.
A good quote is (unfortunately) not a standard document that a venue can pull out of a drawer in five minutes. It’s tailored to you, based on who your guests are, what you want to achieve, how you want them to feel and what makes your event unique. A venue can only provide that tailored approach if you give them the right information. So responsibility for a good quote starts with you as the event manager, not with the venue you approach.
Yet in practice, this responsibility is overlooked time and again, with all the consequences that entails. These are the five mistakes we encounter most often.
Mistake 1: you ask about availability instead of starting a conversation
Things often go wrong with the very first question: “Do you still have space for [X] people on [datum]?” One sentence, sent to ten venues at once. It seems efficient, but it isn’t quite.
Because availability isn’t a yes-or-no question - especially at a venue with several spaces of different sizes, indoors and outdoors, each with its own character and capacity. The question isn’t whether there’s space, but which space is right. And that depends entirely on what you need.
Imagine you are organising a strategy day for your management team of 25 people, where you need peace and quiet and want the entire site to yourselves. A small, intimate space overlooking the water could be just the right setting to take people out of their daily routine and encourage open conversations. But if that same venue is also hosting a large corporate event for 200 people that day, the atmosphere changes completely. So availability does not tell the whole story.
What an event venue really needs before it can help you with a quote
Before a venue can properly help you, it needs to get a picture of your event. Who are your guests and what motivates them? What do you want to achieve that day? Is it a team-building event, a client event, a kick-off or an anniversary celebration? What does the programme look like in broad terms? Will the whole group come together at any point, or will people work in smaller teams?
These questions are designed to help you better. A venue that asks these questions is already actively thinking about what your event needs - which spaces make sense, which activities are suitable and how the day can flow best. A partner like this can really help you develop your event.
'Do not start with “do you have availability?”, but with “this is what I am looking for and this is what I want to achieve.” That one difference sets the tone for everything that follows.'
Mistake 2: you approach too many venues at once
Requesting ten quotes for your business event feels like a solid starting point. It seems as though you are carefully exploring all the options and leaving nothing to chance. But in practice, it has precisely the opposite effect: for you and for the venues you approach.
A good event quote takes a venue considerable time and effort. An account manager delves into your event, considers the best room layout, finds suitable activities, coordinates internally and writes a proposal that is genuinely tailored to you. It is not a matter of filling in a template, but of doing the work by hand.
Comparing ten quotes does not give you a clear overview, but instead creates information overload, particularly for you as the organiser. Especially if the quotes are also structured in completely different ways.
Why a top 3 offers more than a list of 10 event venues
The smartest approach is to draw up a carefully considered shortlist. Think about which venues genuinely suit the atmosphere you are looking for, the size of your group and the feeling you want to create. Use your network, look at previous events and ask colleagues for recommendations. Then put together a top 3 of venues you are seriously considering and request your quotes from these.
You then have fewer venues to compare, but the quotes you receive are of much better quality. Each venue has the opportunity to really think things through with you, and you receive proposals that genuinely match what you are looking for. Ultimately, that offers much more than a stack of quotes of which you (or your management team) only take one seriously anyway.
Mistake 3: you compare event venues on price rather than value
Quote A: €125 per person. Quote B: €75 per person. The choice seems easy.
But it is not quite that simple. What exactly is included in that €75? Are staffing costs charged separately? Is AV equipment included? What are the catering options, and is there a minimum spend? And what is not included - things you will still need and that will end up on the invoice anyway?
This is one of the most underestimated pitfalls when comparing event quotes. Venues use fundamentally different pricing structures. One venue offers an all-inclusive price, so you know exactly where you stand. Another breaks the costs down into separate items: venue hire, catering, AV equipment and staffing are each listed separately. At first glance, the lowest price seems like the best deal, but once you add everything up and compare what you actually get, the picture can look very different.
How event quotes can seem misleading and how to see through them
Ask follow-up questions about every quote to understand how the costs are broken down. What exactly is included, and what is not? Are there any minimum spend requirements? How are staffing costs calculated - per hour, per half-day, or are they already included in the price? What are the costs for AV equipment, and can you source it from an external supplier?
'Create a comparison checklist based on the same elements, not just the total at the bottom of the page. Only when you know you are comparing like with like can you make an informed choice.'
Mistake 3B: you compare different types of venues
There is a second dimension where comparing event venues can go wrong: the type of venue itself. An exclusive event venue fully equipped for business events is fundamentally different from a hotel with a meeting room or a trendy café that also hosts private parties. Neither is better or worse than the other, but they are different choices, with different pros and cons and a completely different experience for your guests. If you compare those venues on price alone, you will never get a fair picture.
Mistake 4: you do not share your budget when requesting a quote
This may well be the most common mistake when requesting an event quote, and also the most understandable. Sharing your budget feels like leaving yourself exposed. You do not want the venue to price its quote right at your maximum, or inflate the offer because they know how much you have to spend. So you say nothing and wait to see what comes back.
But what comes back is a quote that is not based on anything.
Without an indication of your budget, a venue is guessing. They put together a proposal based on assumptions - sometimes too high, sometimes too low, rarely spot on. You don't get a tailored proposal, but a standard one that might happen to fit. Or it might not. The result is a quote you have to send back, asking whether things could be done differently, followed by a second round of questions and adjustments. That takes up everyone's time. Time you could have saved by being open from the start.
Why being transparent about your investment works in your favour when requesting event quotes
Sharing your budget is not a weakness. It's the smartest move you can make, and it gets you a much better proposal.
If a venue knows how much you're investing, they can really think about how best to use that amount. Do you want to get people actively involved and send them home feeling energised? Then the choices will lean towards outdoor activities and a dynamic programme. Do you want to impress with a beautifully presented dinner and an intimate atmosphere? Then the priorities shift. Both are possible, but only if the venue knows what they have to work with.
Don't see your budget as an expense that gets “used up”, but as an investment that delivers a return. You'll see that investment reflected in your target audience's behaviour and your brand reputation. A well-prepared event at the right venue with the right activities delivers more than an event where every item has been cut back. The strongest event managers we speak to at InnStyle think exactly this way: they invest deliberately and know what it ultimately delivers.
Mistake 5: you lack a clear objective when organising a business event
How many people? Check. What date? Check. Which space? That too. But just as importantly: why are you actually organising this event?
If the answer is “team building” or “annual event”, you're not there yet. That's a category, not an objective. And the difference between the two is bigger than it seems.
An objective is about what you want to achieve for the people attending. Do you want colleagues who have worked together for years but barely know each other to feel a genuine connection? Do you want a new strategic plan to resonate with your management team - not just intellectually, but emotionally too? Do you want to surprise your clients and give them an experience they will always associate with you? Or do you simply want people to go home at the end of the day with more energy than they arrived with?
All these objectives are valid. But they lead to completely different events and, in turn, completely different quotes.
What happens when an event venue doesn't know what you want to achieve
Without a clear objective, a venue lacks the context to really think things through with you. They can offer spaces and arrange catering, but the activities that reinforce your message, the layout that creates the right group dynamics, the small details that make the difference between an event that feels fleeting and one that stays with people: for those, they need your story.
Take, for example, a group of colleagues who work closely together but barely get to connect in the day-to-day rush. If you explain that, a venue can actively respond - with activities that encourage collaboration in a playful way, with a programme that makes room for genuine conversations, with a setting that helps people switch out of work mode. That is very different from a standard day of meetings with lunch included.
'With a clear objective, the conversation with an event venue changes completely. It is no longer about square metres and menus, but about impact. And that is the kind of conversation that will make a difference.'
What a strong request for a business event quote looks like in practice
We immediately recognise the event managers who get the most out of the quotation process. They do not come with a list of venues and a date. They come with a story.
They know who is coming and what those people need. They have an objective that goes beyond “a fun day”. They have thought about the atmosphere, the programme and what they want people to feel as they drive home at the end of the day. They have an indicative budget - not as a hard limit, but as a starting point. And they have shortlisted event venues that truly fit what they are looking for.
That makes the first conversation with a venue valuable straight away. Not a tentative conversation where both sides are trying to understand what the other means, but a conversation where you think together about how to make this event really work. Where the venue starts sharing ideas, offering inspiration and building on your plans during the very first phone call.
The result? An event quote that is truly tailored to your event. Less back-and-forth throughout the process. Fewer surprises afterwards. And, ultimately, an event that people talk about for a long time. Not because everything was perfectly planned, but because real thought went into what those people needed.
Checklist: what to have ready for a good event quote
Ready to approach event venues? Go through this list before you pick up the phone or send an email. The more you have ticked off, the better the first conversation will be.
About your event
About your audience
About your objective
About your budget
About your shortlist
Preparation makes all the difference when requesting event quotes
A good quote starts not with the venue, but with you as the event manager. If you want to save time and energy and take a focused approach to your search, you need to be aware of this. Approaching the process this way makes things easier on many fronts: for you, for the internal decision-making process, and for the venue that wants to offer a truly bespoke service.
Because that is ultimately what makes the difference. Not the venue with the most beautiful brochure, but the partnership that develops when both sides know what is at stake and what is possible. Share your objective, be open about your budget, narrow your shortlist down to a genuine top 3 and start the conversation. That is the difference between a quote you tick off and an event that makes an impact.
At InnStyle, we have been working closely with event managers for 30 years who want exactly this: a venue that not only offers space, but truly understands what your business event needs. From the initial enquiry to the final detail, we make sure everything is right, so you can focus on what really matters.
Ready to start that conversation? Request a quote through our website, and we will make sure the first conversation adds value to your event straight away.
