What do you want to do?
Are we talking about a sporting event? Something related to music? Though the main categories they consider are conferences and meetings, exhibitions and trade shows, incentive travel, corporate hospitality, outdoor events, festivals and cultural events, music events and sports events.
Who do you want to do it with?
Unless you’re planning a globe trekking solo adventure, you might think about going away with someone – your mum, your dad, your grandparents, your mates, your other half…your pet fish? The same goes for organizing your event. If it’s going to be a success, you’re going to need a solid team behind you.
Set a date
So now you’ve got your dream team together and you’re raring to go, you’ve got to set a date. Be realistic. That goes for both your luxury break and your potential music festival – allow plenty of time to do the organizational things you need to do and remember that often the further you book in advance, the cheaper things can be.
Where do want to end up?
This is an important element in your journey that you and your team should take into serious consideration. Best not to hire the town hall in a quiet residential area if you’re going to be giving away copious amounts of champagne and hiring a decent DJ. In much the same way as you probably wouldn’t hold a corporate event in a forest in the middle of nowhere – goodness knows where you’d get ice from in a crisis.
How much can you spend?
The million-dollar question, if you’ll forgive the monetary reference. Sometimes, the budget will be the first port of call on your journey.
How will you get there?
Transport is often something you think of a little further down the road. Getting from airports to hotels, to attractions and even just to a decent bar is not something to be taken lightly. Not all holiday destinations and venues can be reached by public transport, just like not all cities are necessarily that well connected to wifi.
What do you need?
Will you need projectors? Sound equipment? What equipment will other people be bringing. My point is that you might not need to source everything, but you should make sure that all bases are covered. You might find that you have to change venues to accommodate technical needs.
What’s your catering plan?
Package holiday? Full board or half board? Self-catering? a) food is a basic need and b) your catering plan, or lack thereof, can massively influence other aspects of your trip to success. Just ensure that whatever the plan, nobody gets hangry.
Where are you going to stay?
Often with organized events group bookings in hotels are required, just like with the family getaway and on a first come first served basis, unless you are working alongside an events company who has already made reservations. Remember to think about distance from the proposed activities, food requirements and group numbers.
How will you document your adventure?
Surprisingly, but will you consider going on holiday without your camera? Then it shouldn’t even cross your mind to not hire a photographer, or video-maker to document your success. It’s basic marketing. Instagram is as much as a personal marketing tool as it is a business one. Especially these days, it’s like if it’s not on Facebook then it didn’t happen.
