Posted on
January 29, 2018
10 Ways to Save Money on Your Next Event
- DON’T OVERTHINK YOUR F&B – Put yourself in your attendee’s shoes. Keep the food “manageable” but respectable. Carving stations mean more labor costs. Open bars can be a flood gate of expenses. Stay focused on what you want your event to accomplish.
- NEGOTIATE ALL OF YOUR COSTS UP FRONT – Make sure that all of your f&b, labor, AV, entertainment and rental costs are all negotiated up front. You don’t ANY surprises when you see the bill.
- WORK WITH THE EXECUTIVE CHEF – Be upfront and honest with the Executive Chef on your budget and what you’re looking for. You will be surprised by what they can do for you if you just ask.
- STAY CLOSE – If you’re using an off-site venue, try and stay close to your main venue/hotel or use the hotel’s indoor or outdoor event space. Transportation is a huge cost that you may be able to avoid.
- STAY INTERACTIVE – If you’re doing multiple breakouts for your event, keep the breakouts smaller and more interactive and use the hotel’s public space if needed. Less A/V means less cost.
- LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR – Make sure you’re checking your venue/cities calendar when booking and consider local entertainment, local shows, local festivals, etc as this can help save costs but still keep your attendees happy.
- LOCAL TRANSPORTATION – Make sure to use local bus, subway, train, etc in the city that you are in. Transportation is another huge cost that may not always be needed with the right city/venue.
- PROFIT FROM YOUR STATUS – Work with the venues that will work with your status. Gov’t rated hotel rooms, non-profit status, tax-exempt status, etc. Make sure you know what exemptions your group may qualify for.
- BE FLEXIBLE – Just because you host your reception or dinner on one certain night doesn’t mean it has to be that way every year! If date/time availability offer discounts, be flexible to save your bottom line.
- BE SOCIAL IMMEDIATELY – Make sure to give your attendees the social medial platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc) that they need to help promote your event as soon as possible to help drive registration and revenues.