How to plan venue and supplier visits for an event

Site visits turn a venue brochure into a plan you can run. Visit shortlisted venues with the client, then go back with the key suppliers — caterer, audio-visual crew, decorator — to check rooms, power, access and timings on the ground. Hold a tasting with the caterer and the client before the menu is fixed. At each visit, note measurements, constraints and decisions, photograph everything, and share a short summary so nobody relies on memory on the day.

Visit at the time of day the event will happen if you can; a room that's bright in the morning may be dark by the evening session.

Go back with the audio-visual crew to check power points and capacity, screen positions, sight lines, internet bandwidth and the in-house equipment. With the decorator, check ceiling heights, fixing points and fire rules on materials. Agree with the venue the times for delivery, set-up and get-out, and which entrance and lift suppliers use.

Arrange a tasting with the caterer and the client once the format is clear. Confirm the service style, the timing of each course or break, dietary options, drinks and staffing. Note the decisions and the deadline for final numbers.

If part of the event is outdoors, visit those spaces too and agree a wet-weather plan: a covered area, a marquee, or a room held in reserve. Check the ground for heavy equipment, lighting after dark, and how guests move between inside and outside. Note the date by which the plan B must be confirmed with the venue, and who decides on the day.

Group visits to the same venue on the same day where possible: the client in the morning, the technical crew in the afternoon. Venues have their own events, so ask for their available windows first. Give suppliers enough notice; a good technician or caterer is booked by others too.

A few days before the event, walk the venue again with the venue manager and your run sheet in hand. Confirm the timings, the contacts, the layout and any last changes. It's the visit that catches the details everyone thought someone else had handled.

For events with guests from far away, visit the nearby hotels and check the route and travel time to the venue, parking, and drop-off points for coaches or taxis.

After each visit, send a short note to the client and the suppliers concerned: what was seen, what was decided, what's still open and by when. Keep photos and floor plans in one shared folder. This record becomes the base for the run sheet and avoids contradictory instructions on the day.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. Create services such as "Venue visit with client" and "Final walk-through", and for each visit open a slot at the agreed time and book the client into it yourself from your calendar, with the venue address and the people attending in the booking note. Add the client's email so they receive a confirmation with a calendar file containing the note. Your bookings show in Google, iPhone or Mac calendars, alongside your other events.

Here visits are priced at €0 because they are part of your fee; set your own durations and prices. If a venue moves a visit, reschedule it from your bookings list and tell the client yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.