You might be concerned that it might be hard to organise a memorable event, but there is a substantial offer out there, and ambitious event venues are willing to provide that something special that will leave an everlasting impression in your crowd.
So, when you start planning your next event, do take your time to research what your city can offer and choose wisely from the array of inviting and inspiring ideas on offer.
Also, don’t hesitate to ask for help from the event professionals. After all, that’s what they are there for, and you should go for a place that understands your specific needs based on the kind of event you want to host.
Start your planning from the most important aspects:
1. Food: What should you bring to the table?
There isn’t a universal recipe for 2019, but there are two apparent trends:
- If the venue mostly caters for international guests, menus will generally be about the local cuisine. Hotels typically offer an international breakfast and more of a local lunch and dinner menu.
- When the venue’s clientele is mostly local, menus tend to include an inspiring array of different international cuisines.
What would you like your guests to experience? Popular event venues nowadays compete with their food offerings, and your choice should be based on what you believe the invitees would most appreciate. No matter how beautiful and innovative the venue, or how well the event is organised, if the food lacks in creativity, the day’s inspiration will fall short. F&B does hold a special place in everyone’s heart. Right?
2. The Event Space: What kind of place should you choose for your next event?
Well, it depends. Of course; how many guests in total do you expect to have? What type of event? The one thing that is for certain: you should go for an innovative and original space. Studies show that the types of furniture, décor and general ambience do hold the secret to the success of your event. It’s all about the ‘wow-factor,’ as someone enters a room, about making people wanting to stay and not to run away, or to start making excuses to leave.
Traditional, old fashioned, or stuffy hotel meeting or ballrooms are not the places to be in 2019. Choose from inspiring, colourful, modern and edgy spaces. Or go outside! (if the weather permits of course!) It could even be an event on the move, such as a treasure hunt, or a competition, in which your participants are divided into teams. Whatever the plan, the word ‘boring’ should never be on the lips of the participants. Check out a few examples of the event rooms at HUONE, such as Caravan Room, Rainbow Room or Theatre Room to get the feel of what inspiring meeting and event spaces look like!
3. Entertainment: How to inspire your crowd?
People build up their memories based on what they experience. In many cities, old warehouses have been transformed into incredible meeting and event venues. Imagine organising an event where a DJ makes everyone dance the night away in an old remodelled warehouse? Or in the cold countries, taking your guests on a clear night under the moonlight for a sledge ride, followed by a Swiss-style fondue serving. What a memorable experience!
Here are some examples on how we create memorable experiences for you and your crowd at HUONE:
English pub night
Do you remember those smoky pubs that were still so popular back in the ‘90s? Experience English pub night with quizzes, a jump in the past, in Cellar Room at HUONE Jätkäsaari, just without the unhealthy smoke effect!
Murder mystery
How about Agatha Christie’s mysteries? Become a Hercule Poirot for a night and try to solve a murder mystery in Dragon’s Den Room at HUONE Kamppi.
Fashion show
If you are in Singapore, hosting a fashion show in the Runway Room could be a unique idea for your event. Get your team on board! Everybody will enjoy being a fashion model for a night.
4. Seating or standing: Dare to go for more casual!
In the past, seating at round tables used to be the only way to go when organising an event. That, unfortunately, prevented guests from socialising with many others at different tables. Then, standing buffet-style events came along, people were free to network and to walk around, but the challenge was that eventually, everyone would start to look for a chair. It can get quite tiresome to stand around for hours, especially if you are in your beautiful, yet the most uncomfortable, killer high heels!
While these events are still fashionable, they could be paired with some casual seating arrangements. Consider placing bean bags or pillows around, or create inviting nooks for those that need to sit and recharge their batteries. It is trendy to bring a homey, living room feeling to space; no stiffness nor strict seating chart with names, but an added cosiness factor, hygge, as they say in Denmark.
5. Personalisation: Ask what they want!
Some events fail; and very often, the lack of understanding of the participants’ needs is often the crucial reason. It is, therefore, vital to understand what kind of group you are organising the event for. Events equal experiences today, and there is no way back to the time when just any food or any space would be good enough. As much as it might create more work for those in charge of organising the event, the beauty is that sky indeed is the limit! People want to experience new things, with much less pre-conceptualised views of how events should be like.
So, how do you find out what participants’ expect from the event? It’s simple. Ask them! It will help you to deliver more to the point event, and it will make participants feel that their ideas and suggestions are heard. The key to the personalisation is to realise that no event is the same.
Remember to act on, and follow through what you find out; it is critical to delivering on your promises. For instance, make sure various dietary restrictions are taken into consideration when planning your F&B. The same goes if there are people with physical impairments, making sure the place is accessible to everybody.
Need more inspiration? Do talk to us and ask more! At HUONE, we specialise in giving personalised advice for organising impactful events that are enjoyable and inspiring!