It’s time to plan your event. Whether you have organized dozens or perhaps you are new to it, checklists will help you get started and stay focused. Finding the right venue is crucial to the success of your event.  This checklist will get you pointed in the right direction.

How to Choose the Right Venue

Before you get started in your search, take careful consideration of the timing and geographical location. These variables will impact your venue selection.

Timing - when will your event take place? Sounds obvious, right? Because timing will influence many decisions consider the following:

• Is the weather conducive to the time of year for the event?
• Is this time of year most convenient for colleagues and industry professionals to attend?
• Which of the venues will have the appropriate space available at the time?
• When is the best time for your management team to hold the event?

Location - where do you want your event to take place? Once you have selected your date(s) you can decide on location. Here are a few things to ponder before diving into your research:

• Consider geographical region, logistics and costs. Will it be convenient for your company and others invited?
• Is the venue appropriate for other recreational activities you’d like to have available?
• Is the space the right size for your group? Atmosphere is important. Avoid booking a space that holds 300 when you only need space for 30.
• What would appeal to your attendees? Does it reflect your high standards and your attendees’ expectations?
• Know your practical needs. Can the venue accommodate your production, entertainment, A/V, sound and other technical needs?
• And, before you make your venue selection, always conduct a site inspection.

The Venues

Convention centers

From the very beginning, these spaces are designed to host exhibitions and large gatherings. They are typically easy to access near interstates and convenient to airports and hotels. Onsite parking is usually available. If you are planning a convention in the near future, be sure to begin planning early. Some experts advise starting two to five years prior to your event to secure dates. Accommodations are typically found offsite.

Hotels and Motels

These sites can accommodate a range in event sizes and occasions. Small privately-owned operations may be ideal for your smaller events and, on the other end of the spectrum, large multinational hotel chains may be more suitable for larger gatherings with access to world-class facilities.

Conference centers

Designed specifically for meeting spaces, conference centers can be located in a variety places. The locations may be affiliated with corporate training centers, universities, resorts or even airports. Some venues offer or include accommodations.

Retreat centers

So you have decided to set a specific tone for your event. Perhaps a retreat center has just what you are looking for. These settings work well for smaller groups needing a quieter environment. Ideally, used to encourage personal growth, fuller discussions and communication, or strategic decision-making.

Resorts

If a more relaxed pace is what you are shooting for, consider a resort with accommodations and meeting space. The bonus for your attendees will be the recreational aspect these types of venues can provide.

Boats

Switch it up by chartering a boat. Many are available with meeting spaces and dining facilities.

Restaurants

Quick and readily available, restaurants are a popular way to bring people together. Many have private rooms that can accommodate small to large groups.

References and further reading:

• Ehow. Jan. 3, 2011.  http://www.ehow.com 
•  Corporate Events Guide. Dec. 29, 2010. www.corporateeventsguide.co.nz
•  Rowley, Leanne (2000). Step by Step: Planning a Convention. Alaska Business Monthly.  http://www.allbusiness.com. 

Wow your attendees with a new palette of interaction at your next event with the latest in digital technology — United Kingdom-based Lumacoustic’s Yrwall.

YrWall, the creation of founders Tim Williams and Tom Hogan, is an interactive tool for creating digital, virtual graffiti on a large screen using a modified spray paint can. But instead of paint, when the cap is pressed the can ‘sprays’ infra red light, which is tracked by a computer as it moves across the screen, according to its website. The digital paint appears wherever the can is sprayed, just like spraying paint on a real wall.

The Yrwall, pronounced “your wall,” has been featured at prominent events last year such as the Chevrolet Spark Unscheduled Tour, Virgin London Marathon and Google Jam 2010.

“We supply the graffiti wall, two staff and a whole host of add on services such as live t-shirt printing to a huge array of events like product launches, conferences, exhibitions, trade shows and even bar mitzvahs and weddings,” said Williams, who is looking to take the product global this year. Yrwall has a strong presence currently in the UK, Europe and the United States.

The tool boasts a wide variety of paint colors as well as animated stars, swirls, drip effect paint and stencils. Going further, the Yrwall can customize spray patterns and stencils to create the user’s name, picture or logo.

Designs are saved as a standard jpeg format so can be used to create all sorts of mementos such as stickers, t-shirts and photos. Lumacoustics can supply a separate kiosk PC and screen to enable a user to manipulate their image before emailing or printing.  The firm also can provide multiple YrWalls for an event for graffiti “battles” between artists.

Designs can be shared around the world via email, Facebook or Twitter directly from the YrWall itself and using the spray can to enter details on an onscreen keyboard.

“The feedback we get from clients, from Google to private party planners, is fantastic and that they want us to come up with more and more ways to excite and engage guests at event - its an exciting place to be right now,” Williams said.

There was once a time, I remember it painfully, when I was planning events and our guests were registering via phone and email. It never seemed like that big of a deal until the moment the registrations came rolling in. The phone was constantly ringing followed by jotting down names and various meal selections and other special requests. At one point, I remember really questioning whether I had heard from certain parties or not. That was then…

Now, with the onset of online event registration, I can happily say, like so many others who have discovered these online tools, I’ve been relieved of that tedious task. This piece of technology is like ibuprofen for the mind. And EventWax makes it simple. Fill out the template. Customize it for your event. Watch the registration take care of itself. Voila! You’re done.

Happily event planning ever after!

In with our new pricing structure.  Just a little reminder that beginning Jan. 1, 2011, a tiny 2 percent service fee will be placed on tickets sold.  See complete details on our pricing page.

Free events remain free!

Have a great 2011 event!

With the new EventWax, gone is the need to bookmark your private login page. Now, to login to your account, simply do it from the top of the homepage.

Better, EventWax will remember who you are the next time you visit the home page.

Now when you view an event within your EventWax dashboard, you’ll see a new tab: Bookings. The bookings tab displays all the important stuff about the event’s ticket purchases.

Every time someone completes the registration process and purchases 1 or more tickets, a “booking” is created for those tickets. The bookings tab shows interesting things, such as:

• Who booked the tickets
• How many of each type were booked
• Total cost or amount you collected for the booking
• PayPal payment status
• EventWax fees for that booking.

Take a look:

At the end of each month, EventWax automatically charges your credit card on file for your previous month’s booking fees.

Use the “Receipts” tab to view your receipt history.

Then, view the details of any of your receipts.

EventWax users, we’ve watched you seamlessly create and organize your events since 2006. Well, we decided to spiffy things up around here. Welcome, first, to blog.eventwax.com.

In this corner, we’ll chat about the happenings around the new EventWax and open a dialogue with all of you about your event planning experiences, questions and successes.

You also may have noticed it’s the same simple and quick registration tool, but with a new and friendlier interface. It’s so easy to move around the site.

And, yes, we are now charging a small fee for our service on your paid events. But all your free events will remain free. The pricing is simple. A 2 percent fee is added on to the total ticket charge. See the details on our pricing page—coming soon.

So, loyal EventWax users, it’s great to have you. And welcome event planners visiting for the first time. It’s really quick and easy. You’ll see…