How to prepare for a site visit to an event venue

You’ve put together a shortlist for your next event, and your first venue visits are already in your diary. You don’t want a quick tour where someone walks you through all the spaces and tells you how many people they hold - you want to know whether a venue can genuinely support your programme, share your ideas and ask questions that will really help you move forward.

I’m Nancy, and I’ve been an account manager at InnStyle for over three years now. In that time, I’ve guided hundreds of event managers from their first enquiry through to signing the proposal, and the venue visit is the stage of that process I’m most often involved in. It’s also the moment when I get the clearest sense of whether an event will really resonate with guests.

In this article, I’ll take you through what a visit to InnStyle looks like, what you need to arrange beforehand, which questions to ask and what I need from you to put together a focused proposal. At the end, you’ll find a checklist you can also share with colleagues who are coming along.

What a venue visit to InnStyle involves

No two visits to InnStyle are exactly alike. Some follow a proposal you’ve already received, while others take place before anything has been put on paper. I’m finding that more and more people visit without a specific proposal in place, simply to get a feel for whether the venue suits what they have in mind.

I always begin a visit by getting to know you. I first sit down with the event organisers to hear about the company they represent and their role within it, before we turn to the event itself. That might feel like a waste of time when you only want to see the spaces, but it determines how focused the rest of the visit will be. Afterwards, you tour the spaces, or we first discuss the proposal you’ve already received, and at the end we sit down again to decide what should go into the proposal or what might need adjusting.

''I don’t think there’s a better way to convince an event manager than for them to actually visit the venue. When they come in, they often walk straight to the window and take in our view over the Maarsseveense Plassen.''

The venue itself and a face-to-face conversation do what a photo or website simply can’t.

How to prepare for your venue visit

You’ll get the most out of a venue visit if you come with some answers ready. The number of guests isn’t the only thing that matters. A hundred guests with five cars inside the building for a product presentation need something different from a hundred guests seated theatre-style, and those two scenarios lead me to recommend different spaces. Have you only just started organising your event? Then it helps to take a broader look at everything you’ll need to tackle first, for example with this checklist for organising an event, before preparing specifically for your venue visit.

Also, think about your objective. Is your main aim to connect, engage or inform? Knowing this means I can suggest options that suit your goal during the visit, rather than waiting until I put together a proposal afterwards. An indication of your budget also helps, however awkward that conversation may sometimes feel. Without it, you risk getting excited about an approach that simply turns out not to be feasible. With an indication, I can help you explore what is possible within those limits and where you might have room to adjust.

Also distinguish between what is a must-have for you (something you cannot do without) and what is a nice-to-have (a welcome addition, but not a dealbreaker if it is missing). Is sustainability important to your organisation, or does your branding need to be clearly visible in the space? It is best to mention points like these before your visit, so you can check them during the tour rather than finding out afterwards that they were not possible.

Which questions make the difference between a good proposal and an average one

The questions you ask largely determine how much you get out of the visit. I see a clear difference between organisers who already know what they want and visitors who are mainly looking around.

''An ambitious event manager is already running through the programme in their head during the tour: how does the guest enter, which way do they go to the bar? As a result, they ask much more focused questions.''

Several questions come up time and again:

• How will guests be welcomed? Will your guests arrive individually or two hundred at once, and what does that mean for their first impression of your event?
• Why is this space the best fit for my event? A good answer goes beyond capacity. It is not just important that the space can actually accommodate four hundred people, but above all that it is the right fit in terms of the technical facilities you need and an inspiring view. So do not just ask whether a space is big enough, but also why this particular space is the right choice and whether it aligns with your objective.
• How will guests move around throughout the day? Which routes will your guests take from one space to another, and where will they meet in between?
• How are the technical arrangements handled? How do the technical facilities at InnStyle work, and who provides support during the event?
• Who will be my point of contact during the event itself? At InnStyle, several roles work together throughout the process, from account manager to event director, and it helps to be clear about who will be by your side on the day.
• How accessible is the building? Particularly if guests with physical disabilities will be attending the event, you will want to know this as early as possible.
• Do you have experience with similar events? Feel free to ask about previous events of a similar size or type, and ask for photos or videos showing what a space actually looked like during a similar event. That gives you a better impression than an empty room with chairs.

What I need from you to put together a good proposal

A venue visit is a two-way conversation. While you ask questions to decide whether a venue is right for you, I gather the information I need to follow up after the visit with a proposal that really meets your needs.

I want to know the date you would like to hold the event, roughly what the programme will look like and what budget you have in mind. More importantly, I want to know what you will ultimately base your decision on. Is it price, atmosphere or flexibility in the programme? And will you take into account what matters to the financial decision-maker , even if they are not the person visiting the venue? The person organising the event might think it is important for everyone to arrive by public transport, while the final decision-maker is not concerned about that at all. Highlighting these differences early on prevents a proposal from falling through later over the wrong issue.

Is a venue visit free of any obligation?

Yes, and that remains the case even if you do not yet have a specific event planned. A visit without a clear date or programme is still valuable to me. Especially if you are still comparing several venues through a platform such as locaties.nl , provided the conversation focuses on your organisation and how you work rather than on one specific event. In those conversations, I explore what your company does, how many events it organises each year and what role you play in them, so we have a foundation in place for when a specific event does come up.

''At InnStyle, we do not just want to show you the venue, but explore together how we can create a gathering that works on a practical level and makes an impact.''

You are not expected to make any commitments during the visit, but I will give your needs serious thought, even if a deal is still a long way off.

Checklist: everything you need for your venue visit

Print this checklist or forward it to colleagues who are coming with you.

Before your visit, make sure you are clear on:

• Guest numbers and any relevant considerations (cars, public transport, mobility aids)
  
• The objective of your event
  
• An indicative budget
  
• Must-haves versus nice-to-haves (such as sustainability or branding)
  
• A rough outline of your programme, so you can get a feel for how the spaces would work for it
  

During your visit, ask about:

• How your guests will be welcomed
  
• Why a particular space is the best fit for your event
  
• How people will move through the venue during the day
  
• How technical support is arranged
  
• Who your point of contact will be during the event
  
• The building’s accessibility
  
• Experience with similar events, including photos or videos
  

Do not forget to share:

• The date on which you want to hold the event
  
• What you will base your final decision on
  
• The decision-maker’s wishes, even if they differ from yours
  

From a tour to a proposal that fits

A good venue visit feels less like a tour and more like a discussion in which your programme takes clearer shape. That works best if you have a few answers ready: how many guests are coming, what you want to achieve and roughly what your budget is. The more specific you are, the more focused my input can be during the visit, and the more precise the proposal that follows.

If you have any doubts during the visit, say so straight away.

''Voice your doubts during the visit, rather than afterwards by email. That way, we can still show you things that will put your mind at ease. That’s harder to do digitally.''

Walk through the spaces with your programme already in mind, just as you would view a house by thinking about what you would do with it yourself rather than looking at the existing furniture.

I have now guided hundreds of event managers through this process and know which questions make the difference between a proposal that sits on a shelf and one that gets signed.

If, after your visit, you know InnStyle is the right place but would also like to know what needs extra attention in autumn before you confirm your booking, read more about booking a business event venue in autumn.

Want to experience a well-prepared visit for yourself? Arrange a no-obligation venue visit at InnStyle and bring the checklist along.