6 Major Venue Management Challenges & How to Fix Them

Aug 07, 2024 Praggya Joshi

A venue is not merely a space for guests to gather, interact, and sit. The right venue, perfectly matching your event theme and equipped to orchestrate a stunning experience, is a priceless asset. 

Still, managing venues has been one of the distressing event planning challenges. Finding a budget-friendly option is just the beginning of the challenges.  If you aren't cautious, logistical nightmares can easily become a reality.  

So, to save you from potential venue hurdles, we have collated some effective solutions to make your venue management process less taxing in this blog. 

Challenge No 1: Balancing Needs with Venue Capabilities
Big and small in-person and hybrid events come with their own distinct needs. So, event planners need to find spaces that can accommodate those requirements.  

However, this poses a challenge as event planners face issues in finding venues that match their A/V, decors, aesthetic, and similar needs.  

For instance, if hosting a big conference, the venue should be spacious and equipped with high-tech equipment, such as projectors and sound systems.  

Educational events like workshops, seminars, and training sessions need venues that foster learning and concentration. They should be capable of enabling the speakers to present their knowledge.  

Needless to say, finding a space equipped with amenities for a specific event is not as easy as it may sound.  

Solution: It is necessary to confirm space, A/V equipment, internet connectivity, and amenities your event attendees need with the venue manager. Do not keep it for the last moment as a venue impacts the overall ambiance of the event significantly.  

Be clear about the number of speakers, performers, or exhibitors in your event. Also, determine your strategies for attendee engagement and interaction. The answers to these questions will help you define the venue's capabilities, which you can later communicate with the venue managers.  

Challenge 2: Finding Venues That Allows You to Show Niche-Specific Content
A niche event is a highly specialized event. Such experiences focus on a very narrow market segment and are hyper-personalized. Some examples include quirky pop-up markets, underground music festivals, or events revolving around a tech domain.  

Niche events offer attendees distinct experiences that strike a chord with their individual tastes. However, the problem again arises when finding a venue that can facilitate this kind of experience.  

For instance, a niche event like a tech startup conference gives a great platform for technology companies to demonstrate their products to relevant people. This can be about electric cars or space technology.  

But the major challenge of planning an event like this is finding spaces that allow you to showcase such content. Planners do not get the support needed from venues to create a niche-specific experience and deliver a hyper-personalized experience to boost their brand awareness. 

Solution: One of the best ways to resolve this challenge is careful research and strategic thinking. You need to deeply understand the needs of your target audience and be specific about what you will need to orchestrate the experience. Accordingly, start researching the venues that will support your needs. 

So, if you want to demonstrate content on electric cars, research venues that have hosted similar events. These can be trade shows, expos, and conferences related to electric cars. Also, check magazines, websites, and newsletters focused on your niche content. They often have advertisements or mentions of suitable venues. 

If you want to exhibit space technology, contact professional organizations and trade associations, such as the Society of Automotive Engineers and Space Foundation, who can give you some great recommendations on venues.  

Another solution is joining networking groups. Participating in industry-specific networking groups on platforms like LinkedIn is a good way to find venue suggestions from peers. 

Challenge 3: Hidden Costs of Venues
Finding affordable event venues is another one of the major challenges of planning an event. Many corporate professionals have faced these situations where the venue charged them multiple times. The sources of fees range from service charge, tax on service charge, food and beverage tax, event fee on food and beverages, and event fee tax.  

Naturally, this makes the total cost go significantly up and wreaks havoc with the planner's budget.  

What is worse is that you may not be aware of it even after multiple interactions with the venue staff. They become visible when you are handed over the venue contract.  

Solution: Increased venue costs should not, at any cost, dampen your plans of having an event at a venue capable enough to meet your needs. The best way to avoid hidden fees is to carefully read the terms and conditions in the contract.  

It may feel tedious but knowing about things like charges for receiving boxes before a certain time out from and service fees can prevent you from encountering exponential costs.  

Also, keep the following points in mind while booking venues: 

• Venues with deeply established credibility like luxury brands charge much higher than economical ones because of their exclusive ambiance. 
• Service fees of venues cover a range of services, including setup, security, and cleanup pre, post and during the event. Service fees can sometimes include administrative costs.  
• Keep tabs on what facilities charge service fee and whether they are part of the initial rental cost or billed separately. 
• Inquire about the venue's overtime policy. If it has an overtime fee you need to factor it into your budget. 
• Ensure that you understand the costs related to additional service fees or mandatory gratuities upfront to avoid nasty surprises.  
• If the venue offers catering services, ask about package deals. It will be cost-effective. 
• Never forget to compare the prices and services offered by multiple venues over your preferred option before settling on one.  

Create, customize, and manage venues and automate the entire process with Eventcombo’s venue management software. 

Challenge 4: Increasing Software Demands to Manage Event Complexity
Today, events have become more complex than before. As a result, tasks like booking and scheduling venues, allocating resources, and ensuring seamless communication between departments have become convoluted.  

 Managing multi-location venues and hosting events, whilst maintaining proper communication about every detail can be a challenge, leading to misunderstandings and waste of time.  

Moreover, gaining visibility into each venue location without having to check different places is also a hurdle.  

If your software does not have the capabilities to help you get past these challenges, it will be hard for you to manage the dynamic needs of the event.  

Solution: Robust venue management software is the need of hour to streamline the process you are struggling with and bring operational efficiency. For instance, Eventcombo's venue management software automates venue booking and scheduling processes, facilitates resource allocation for different events, and enables customers to reserve venues conveniently. It also facilitates proper communication between venue staff and clients and prevents all scope for misunderstandings and mistakes.  

The system can manage several venue rooms or areas and track their availability in real-time besides being able to handle special requests and event specifics, resulting in flawless execution.

Challenge 5: Logistical Challenges
Given the complexities managing logistics at an event venue is not easy. Some major issues that planners face include proper utilization of space, managing the flow of people, and integration of different types of signage.  

Poor floor plans make attendees feel cramped and uncomfortable, preventing them from enjoying the event. Similarly, if you do not use the directional, informational, and promotional signage, it makes the attendees grow confused and annoyed.  

Another logistical challenge pertains to catering in event venues. Planners need to coordinate with the caterers, the venue managers, and other vendors to avoid delays. It is also important to check the availability and condition of the venue areas like the kitchen, the storage, the serving spots, and waste disposal areas.  

Many planners also deal with insufficient staffing in the venue, which prevents catering tasks from getting completed on time and leads to an average experience for the attendees. 

Solution: Logistical challenges in event planning have become more complex with the increase in in-person and hybrid events. But with a few strategic steps, you can conquer them all. Here are some things to consider: 

• Venue management software with features like floor plan diagramming will help you manage venue configurations for different events. 
• If the venue does not have the details of the space layout, request the measurement and layout details. Otherwise, do an on-site visit and have the venue measured.  
• When you have a clear idea of the venue, you can place the signage properly. 
• Consider the content you will show when choosing digital signage.  
• For example, if you want passing guests to see your dynamic content from a distance, choose a large display.  
• In contrast, if it's a touchscreen kiosk, the screen should be smaller to offer an immersive experience.  
• The size of the signage screens should fit the space in the wall. 
• Communicate clearly with the caterer about your event schedule. Provide them with the exact guest list, the menu (including dietary preferences), and the service expectations. 

Challenge 6: Miscommunication with Venue Managers
Effective communication with venue managers is essential to organize a successful event. But oftentimes, disparate communication channels prevent seamless communication with the venue staff, leading to conflicts and delays.  

This makes your attendees feel lost amid activities. Poor communication throughout the event also gives a bad impression to your stakeholders. 

Solution: There is not one but many solutions to streamline communication with the venue managers.  

Firstly, stop depending on email to communicate. Instead, create a document listing your expectations and share it with the venue managers.  

It should have accessibility policies, food and beverage guidelines, inquiries about transportation and valet prices, and room capacity.  

Your relationship with the venue managers and staff from the time you select a venue till the event ends should be collaborative. It helps in eliminating miscommunication and building a healthy rapport, which leads to better cooperation and smoother communication. Also, always maintain regular communication with venue management to monitor progress and address any new concerns promptly. 

Summing up 
Event planning challenges pertaining to the venue can feel overwhelming if not resolved. We hope this blog has helped you gain insights on some practical solutions you can apply to mitigate the common challenges.  

One additional tip is to create a checklist of important things related to the venue, so you do not forget anything.  

Leveraging robust technology like venue management software brings calm to the chaos when planning an event across any type of venue.  

Feel free to check out Eventcombo's event tech to simplify and optimize your planning. Schedule a free demo today.