Taking advantage of recession specials at restaurant venues can be a great way to offer your event guests fine food,
great ambiance and plenty of space for mingling—all at a price within your budget. Even if some of your
potential restaurant options don't offer an official such special, it's likely that they can work out a group rate
deal. Due to budget crunches, even pricier restaurants are willing to negotiate for your business.
Now that you've received some great quotes from potential venues, how do you decide on the best one for your event? The following factors are among those that should be considered when making the final selection:
• Size. You don't want dinner guests to feel isolated from each other, just as you don't want reception attendees to barely be able to take a step without bumping into someone. Make sure a restaurant's meeting space/private dining area can accommodate your group comfortably in the correct configuration.
Use tools such as Cvent's meeting space calculator to estimate how many people can fit in a room in different arrangements such as banquet and reception seating.
• Location. Now more than ever, guests are not willing to pay for a two-hour round-trip drive to an hour-long dinner event. Try to pick a restaurant within a half-hour radius of the majority of your guests.
If your restaurant venue will be used as one event item in a multi-day conference, consider picking a restaurant near the conference center and/or hotel—this will eliminate transportation costs on your part as well.
• Typical business. The restaurant's regular schedule can have an impact on your event's success. What are the restaurant's peak times and days of the week? How much staff do they have on hand at these times, and, more importantly, how many servers, etc., will they be able to lend to your event?
Also important to consider is whether or not any other events will be held at your desired time and date. Ask your venue how they propose to manage food service so as to make sure your event runs on time and the food is served hot.
Now that you've received some great quotes from potential venues, how do you decide on the best one for your event? The following factors are among those that should be considered when making the final selection:
• Size. You don't want dinner guests to feel isolated from each other, just as you don't want reception attendees to barely be able to take a step without bumping into someone. Make sure a restaurant's meeting space/private dining area can accommodate your group comfortably in the correct configuration.
Use tools such as Cvent's meeting space calculator to estimate how many people can fit in a room in different arrangements such as banquet and reception seating.
• Location. Now more than ever, guests are not willing to pay for a two-hour round-trip drive to an hour-long dinner event. Try to pick a restaurant within a half-hour radius of the majority of your guests.
If your restaurant venue will be used as one event item in a multi-day conference, consider picking a restaurant near the conference center and/or hotel—this will eliminate transportation costs on your part as well.
• Typical business. The restaurant's regular schedule can have an impact on your event's success. What are the restaurant's peak times and days of the week? How much staff do they have on hand at these times, and, more importantly, how many servers, etc., will they be able to lend to your event?
Also important to consider is whether or not any other events will be held at your desired time and date. Ask your venue how they propose to manage food service so as to make sure your event runs on time and the food is served hot.
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