Here at our London venue, The HAC, we organise dozens of large corporate events such as conferences, exhibitions, parties and team building days every year, which gives us a privileged position from which to watch industry trends emerge.
Vegan menus, virtual delegates, digital name badges loaded with attendees’ contact details for enhanced networking opportunities, we’ve seen it all coming… But there’s been one trend we’ve had a particularly close eye on - the trend of holding large, multi-faceted events. This has been of particular interest to us as it’s created an upsurge in bookings because The HAC is perfectly designed to cater for such occasions.
If you’ve got a handful of different events to host over the coming year or two – maybe a conference, awards ceremony, dinner and team building away day - take a moment to read on to see if pulling all of these together in one ‘super event’ might make sense. Having hosted quite a few of these now, we’ve seen first-hand the benefits and have even got a few handy tips to help you through your event planning journey if this is your first time.
Affordability
Most venues will be able to offer you a better price on the fee to hire the rooms you require if you’re opting to host several events on one date. You might even want to book exclusive use of the entire venue which again, will most likely save you money in the long run. This could leave you some budget spare to splash out on some extras to make your events even more memorable. It might mean you can afford an influential industry keynote speaker or perhaps an upgrade from a DJ to a live band at your dinner dance.
Asking guests to only attend one event – rather than a potential three or four - will also be kinder on their pockets, or the budgets of their employers who might covering their travel and accommodation.
Delegate buy-in
If you’re combining several different elements into one event, your attendees are going to have to make a bigger time commitment to your brand, company or association. Spending longer with you and your colleagues will help your invitees become fully immersed in your messaging and will also encourage event engagement. Furthermore, increase their commitment to your future events.
It’s also worth thinking about all of those guests who may not be able to attend each of your separate events. By hosting them all in one sitting, you are likely to be able to cross-pollinate your attendee pools – for example, conference delegates who wouldn’t have made the awards ceremony or attendees of your corporate activity day who might not have committed to your dinner dance – a wider audience will boost not only your attendance figures but also increase the networking potential for your delegates.
Unmatched privacy and intimacy
Booking exclusive use of a large venue is usually only possible if you’re holding a multi-faceted event and the benefits shouldn’t be underestimated. The intimacy your guests will feel at an event which flows between different spaces within one venue will go a long way towards giving them a positive event experience.
Knowing that every other person they encounter throughout your event – in the halls, corridors and communal areas - is a potential contact, will invoke a spirit of camaraderie that’s impossible to replicate in sporadic, separate occasions.
Shifting dynamics
Hosting an event which comprises various different elements will give your guests a chance to show different sides to themselves. Social events and team building activities might push some of your more conservative attendees out of their comfort zones, but could ultimately boost their confidence to engage more in your talks and seminars.
Simple planning
If you choose to hold several events in one, you’ll reap the benefits of only having to liaise with one events team. Once they understand who you are and what it is you want from your event, you won’t have to build new relationships with different venue teams and therefore you’ll be minimising the risk of miscommunication.
Your venue team will help you seamlessly move your delegates from each element of your event, ensuring your attendees have adequate downtime in between sessions and refreshments along the way.
Things to look out for when booking a venue for a multi-faceted event:
1. Distinct spaces
Although you’ll be choosing just one venue, you’ll need to assess each space on offer separately. Try not to be swayed by amazing conference facilities if the corporate activity space isn’t up to scratch. Similarly, don’t let the wow factor of a venue’s entertaining space cloud your judgment over mediocre AV for your seminars. Each room or space needs to be perfectly suited to each part of your event, which means you will need to ask an awful lot of questions during your show round and switch hats and mindset throughout your tour.
2. Seamless flow and delegate comfort
Once you’ve decided where each of your elements will take place within a short-listed venue, ask the venue team to walk you through in the exact footsteps your guests will take when they are moved from one space to another. Find out where your attendees will be spending any downtime or relaxation periods in between sessions. These holding areas are just as important as the rooms the action will be taking place in as you will need to keep your guests comfortable for an extended period of time.
3. Catering capabilities
It’s more than likely your venue will have a catering partner and you’ll need to make sure they can cater for all the different food and drink your schedule will require. Balancing the menus throughout a long, full day is fundamental for the success of an event. The last thing you want is to give your guests a heavy lunch which gives you sluggish delegates who need a mid-afternoon nap. A good caterer will understand how to use food to fuel your guests while indulging them when the work of the day is behind them.
What we can offer at The HAC
Our large conference space, The Prince Consort Rooms, has been kitted out with high-tech, state-of-the-art AV equipment that will meet the needs of the most discerning of conference organisers. Our historic venue also has stunning, period rooms perfect for fine dining and drinks receptions and our five acres of lush, green lawns work brilliantly for large, corporate team building events and themed summer parties.
Our on-site, highly experienced events team is professional and friendly and consistently goes above and beyond in their mission to deliver exceptional events, plus we work with the renowned, award-winning catering company, Searcy’s, who’ve been preparing and serving food in the capital for over 175 years.
To get in touch to discuss your next large, multi-faceted event, please give the team a call on 020 7382 1533 or email them at
