If you are planning you company Christmas event this year and want to do something privately rather than the standard ‘joiner nights’ to show your team how much they are appreciated and that you mirror the effort they put in day to day by producing a fun, immersive corporate party experience here’s some tips to help you on your way.
- Select an event theme first, before anything else, as the theme you select will determine the style of venue to look for as first choice…So many people make the mistake of getting a venue first then having to change the theme as the venue is so way off the style you needed.
- Check ceiling height in all areas you are proposing to use. For a themed event to be immersive the props and backdrops need to be larger than life, with low ceilings this can prevent the impact of such large props being used and your event looking a bit lackluster. You can prop hire these in various places in case. This rule also comes into play if you are planning to have any exciting live entertainment such as aerial acts, acrobats, circus, greatest showman performance or anything that needs a high clearance to perform. I recommend a minimum height of 3 metres to be ideal for a themed event.
- Props and backdrops will arrive in a van no doubt, so ensure that the venue has safe parking as close to an entrance to the hotel as possible. Prop hire if possible.
- Ensure that there is clear access from the van to the room. Access to the room from the same floor as where the van is parked is always best, but should the hotel have the ideal area on an upper or lower level floor, make sure you check the service lift available and the routes available if using this lift. To be of any use this lift would ideally be large enough for a car to fit in, rather than a passenger lift. Please be aware that if a lift is involved this can double the loading / unloading time at the set up and strip out stages. I have seen so many times where the lift service has not been checked or the client has just hoped it will be sufficient and the event has suffered as a consequence.
- Corporate Event Theming done well takes time, so ensure you have allocated at least 4 hours plus for a set up period. This of course will be dependent on how much there is to set up, but so many times have we found out before the event that there is no access to the room till 5.00pm and the event needs to be ready for 7.00pm. Hotels will sell the days if they can so you’ll need to be prepared to book the room for the daytime too.
- Removing the theme at the end of the corporate event takes less time, but certainly allows a minimum 2 hours. This mainly affects venues that have to pay for extra security to stay such as football clubs and museums.