6. Venues

Your venue can be the most important factor in the success and overall cost of your event. Costs can range from free to VERY expensive, and what you get isn't always what you pay for (oddly enough, in the realm of venues, the opposite is often true).

When considering a venue, make sure you keep these questions top of mind:

• How many people can this space comfortably (and legally) hold?
  • Fire codes and occupancy codes are a thing. Follow them. Ask the venue for these numbers on both a room and total space level. Depending on the building, you may need to enforce them (or building staff may enforce them).
  • How big are the classrooms?
  • Will you need a central area for a keynote? Is there a single space large enough?
  • Where will attendees eat?
  • Where will sponsors be placed?
• What does the venue offer?
  • How will internet be provided? Is there enough bandwidth for speakers only, or can attendees be included?
  • If the internet is open, is it locked down in any way (e.g. many community colleges lock down open internet)
  • Is there any A/V support? What kind?
  • Is there any facilities support? What kind?

Some examples of possible venues include:

• Local Microsoft Office
  • In metropolitan areas, if there's a local Microsoft Office you may be able to use it for a tech event and in many cases it's free. However, you will need to have a Microsoft employee on hand both before and during the event to handle logistics and to essentially chaperone the event. Also, if the Microsoft office is part of a larger building, you may have to follow the building's security and insurance policies.
• Local Tech Training Facility
  • If you have a local tech training facility, these can be ideal since they are already set up for classrooms and in some cases they will allow you to use the facility in exchange for a sponsorship slot. Be sure to check with them on their food and beverage policies though. Trust me, your attendees will bring food and drinks everywhere.
• Community College
  • Community Colleges also can be a great fit because they are also set up for classrooms, sometimes provide facilities staffing and even student volunteers. If it's a tech college, even better. There's sometimes a cost associated and availability can depend on whether classes are in session.
• Convention Center
  • Convention centers often have tricky pricing, with a low space cost but requiring you to use their expensive in-house catering service for any food and beverages at the event. However, they often come with full A/V and facilities support. In general there is plenty of space for attendees and individual classroom setup isn't difficult. Make sure classrooms are separated by actual physical walls or dividers (not curtains) if a larger room will be broken up into classrooms.
• Hotel
  • Hotels are expensive and often come with expensive strings attached in the way of contract obligations (see the contracts section below). Often you will have to guarantee a certain amount of rooms will be booked, and pay the difference if you don't meet the guarantee. Like Convention Centers, Hotels generally offer full A/V and facilities support, and require you to use their onsite catering.

In general, these are arranged in terms of cost.

When considering a venue, make sure you keep these questions top of mind:

• How many people can this space comfortably (and legally) hold?
  • Fire codes and occupancy codes are a thing. Follow them. Ask the venue for these numbers on both a room and total space level. Depending on the building, you may need to enforce them (or building staff may enforce them).
  • How big are the classrooms?
  • Will you need a central area for a keynote? Is there a single space large enough?
  • Where will attendees eat?
  • Where will sponsors be placed?
• What does the venue offer?
  • How will internet be provided? Is there enough bandwidth for speakers only, or can attendees be included?
  • If the internet is open, is it locked down in any way (e.g. many community colleges lock down open internet)
  • Is there any A/V support? What kind?
  • Is there any facilities support? What kind?

###CONTRACTS and LIABILITY

Sounds scary, right? It should, at least a little.

So long as this sounds scary enough for you to read whatever contracts you are asked to sign and ask your potential venue a few questions, I'll have done my job. But trust me, not doing these things can lead to a world of hurt, not just for your event, but potentially for you personally.

Be sure to ask any potential venue the following questions:

• Do they require you to have insurance?
  • if yes, what kind and how much?
  • also, if the answer is yes, you can bet you'll be liable in case of any attendee injury or property damage occurred by the venue.
  • Many venues require that any catering service used for the event have insurance. This could impact your food choices.
• Will you be required to sign a contract?
  • if yes, THOROUGHLY READ AND UNDERSTAND THE CONTRACT. This is not a EULA.
  • if yes, immediately check the venue booking cancellation policy. The day before this date is your go/no go date.
  • for Hotels, does the contract require you to guarantee a certain number of room bookings in addition to holding the event?
  • does the contract specify any extra cleaning fees?

At the end of the day, if you don't feel confident and comfortable that your event can meet all of the criteria of any contract, DON'T SIGN IT.