Hotel Panorama
How to organize a conference – 7 things to remember
Have you been tasked with planning a large business or scientific meeting? In that case, you need to give it your all and prevent any situation where anything gets out of your control! Working on an important event for you can be challenging, requiring creativity and an unconventional approach, but it will definitely be rewarding. How to organize a business conference? Just remember these seven basic tips that we present below!
What you need to know before getting to the details
You are responsible for inviting many people. They should arrive "ready," sit in the designated place, listen to the speakers, and actively participate in discussions. As you can easily guess, organizing business conferences requires efficient logistics, so before you start scheduling dates, carefully consider what your plan of action should be. How many people do you want to invite? Are you interested in the nearest available date, or are you willing to wait even a few months? Do you want to handle everything yourself or hire an event company? What, where, for how much, and in what way? These are the questions you need to answer before you start. Here are 7 tips to help you tie everything up perfectly!
- Set the conference plan. You need to know how many people you want to invite and how the tables in the conference and banquet rooms should be arranged (will tables be needed, or will chairs alone suffice?), and whether a separate banquet room will be necessary, or if there will only be a brief, small refreshment. Consider what topics you will discuss, choose speakers, and determine the time for their presentations. This will allow you to roughly estimate how long the meeting will last, and whether it needs to be extended over two or three days. First clarify what is important to you, then search for companies that can tailor their offer to your expectations.
- Inform the speakers. They are the pillar of a business conference, so give them time to prepare their presentations – even several months. Find people respected in the industry, present your idea for the meeting's subject matter, and offer appropriate compensation. Before doing this, research the industry – read about what participants would like to hear and tailor the meeting's character accordingly.
- Determine the budget. Let's be honest, money allows you to organize a business conference on a grand scale and thus earn from it through paid entries. Try to find sponsors for the event and specify how much you can spend. You can try to increase the number of participant seats, and also look for a venue that will accommodate you by lowering the price in exchange for booking a specific number of overnight stays or ordering catering.
- Set the date and location. These are interconnected, because to organize a business, trade, or press conference, you must choose the right room, and it must be available on your chosen date. A good choice is definitely opting for hotel offers, which not only have a strong conference base and lodging facilities but also the possibility of preparing catering on site. It is worth determining how many rooms will be available at this time so you can offer participants accommodation included in the ticket price.
- Think about catering. Contrary to appearances, this is not a minor detail, because people who intend to train in their industry for many hours will certainly feel hungry after an hour or two. You cannot allow them to leave the room in search of snacks, as this would create chaos. Organizing a conference includes preparing a plan that includes presentations and breaks – for coffee or refreshments, and even a formal banquet to conclude the event. Choosing an event at a hotel guarantees that all the food can be prepared on site by the chef and delivered at a specific hour – fresh and perfectly arranged.
- Don’t forget about promotion! Organizing business conferences or any other involves the need to obtain preliminary declarations from people interested in purchasing a ticket. Therefore, you must release information about the event – by purchasing ads on social media, posting announcements on industry portals, spreading the word by word of mouth, or even calling potential companies with invitations.
- Collaborate with an experienced event organizer at the hotel. It is very important to be independent in your work but also to know when to seek support. The person responsible for organizing business conferences at a given hotel will know best what rooms and equipment are available, what the strengths and weaknesses of the venue are, and how to address various problems that may arise during the event. Establish cooperation with them and be open to suggestions. Keep a close watch from start to finish!
The job of a conference organizer of all types mainly involves making phone calls, browsing catalogs and offers on the internet, negotiating prices, informing about the event, and making decisions. It’s a very broad range of duties, but completing them brings a lot of satisfaction! To ensure everything goes according to plan, you need to keep your finger on the pulse. That means – don’t be afraid to call, confirm, ask for attendance confirmation, remind sponsors about the decision deadline, arrange a catering tasting, or personally visit the hotel to check the facilities. How to organize such an event efficiently? Above all, by planning – the more details you write down, the better!
Is it worth organizing industry conferences?
This task requires creativity, but also planning skills and marketing knowledge. You need to know which topics might interest potential participants and which speakers are respected in the industry and will attract potential ticket buyers with their presence. Definitely, organizing business conferences is not an easy but very rewarding task. It allows you to expand your network, practice negotiation skills, and prove yourself as a person who efficiently puts out fires. If the event brings profit and satisfaction – it is certainly worth investing in!
Why is it worth choosing the conference offers of hotels?
The larger the event, the harder it is to find a room of a specific size, the right number of chairs, or proper sound equipment that meets the needs. Moreover, it can also be difficult to find accommodation nearby – and you must consider that many people will decide to come to the event from afar, so they will probably be interested in lodging. How to organize a business conference that will suit everyone? Opt for a proven offer of hotels located in charming places – those where there are many things to see during free time after all the presentations. In addition, they have their own accommodation and catering facilities, which significantly facilitate logistics and can also help reduce the event costs!
Choose a conference at a hotel outside the city and enjoy the benefits of this decision!
It cannot be denied that besides the opportunity to exchange views and experiences among industry professionals, organizing a conference also serves to make money. If you plan everything well in advance and follow your intentions step by step, you will certainly manage to attract crowds. Rely on a bit of creativity and let it work, and you will definitely draw people to your event who will help you achieve success! Remember – the more effort you put in, the more satisfying the result of your work will be. Use our seven tips for organizing events and do everything you can to make them successful!