For organisers of any kind of event, it’s imperative to plan early. This helps you secure the best venues, give your guest list plenty of notice and finalise all those details and finishing touches that will make your event a success. So, is it too early to start planning conferences for 2016? Definitely not – in fact, if you haven’t started yet, you might not have enough time!
It’s all about the venue – book it early
Conference venues with the largest capacities and in the most convenient locations get booked up very early, sometimes years in advance. You’ll need to move swiftly and have a lot of the big decisions finalised if you want to secure your ideal venue.
However, if you haven’t started planning a decade in advance and the venue you wanted has been booked up, there are plenty of other solutions available.
An idea that you may not have considered is to use a temporary structure for your conference, one that you can locate practically anywhere you want (provided there is enough floor space). SaddleSpan event tents are frequently used for conferences, having both a large capacity and the flexibility to accommodate the varying needs of different events. They’re modular systems, so can be reconfigured to suit your needs. So, if you need a few large ‘zones’ rather than one massive space, you can choose a modular tent, such as the SaddleSpan S5000 tent (max capacity 2,800 people) to help you organise your event.
This solution not only gets you a unique venue, one which helps set your conference apart from other events, but it also gets you the location you want. Simply find a site with a big enough footprint for your tent, and you’re all set. These tents can be customised, lit, furnished and decorated very easily, and you can even put down flooring to add extra comfort to the interiors.
What you should be planning now for 2016 events
Securing your conference venue now is the most crucial thing to do, but there are plenty of other items you need to be checking off your ‘to-do’ list, however early it may seem. You need to book your essential services and vendors, from security and transport to catering and bar teams, because availability can be tight for these, especially if your event is a big one.
With all of these essentials ticked off your list, you can now spend your time organising the content of your conference, setting the agenda and booking key note speeches. Don’t forget your guest list either – this should be done at least in draft form as soon as possible. Give delegates plenty of time to respond to your invite and complete the registration process (this is another thing you’ll need to set up in advance). You can then send them timely reminders as the event draws nearer.
Whatever you do, don’t leave important details to the last minute – start planning your 2016 conference right now!
