Site inspections are usually the last step a meeting planner takes before making a decision about a hotel or meeting venue.
If it’s a massive resort, it can sometimes take several hours to complete with several distractions along the way. While it’s helpful to have an event-specific checklist, here are five questions every meeting planner must ask before leaving a site inspection.
What’s the legal capacity?
Almost all event venues have a set maximum occupancy limit, and knowing that number will help give you a better idea of exactly what can legally be allowed in a space. Especially if ticket sales are involved, this capped number is important.
What is the meeting space flow from the guest rooms and/or elevator to the meeting room?
This is crucial in regard to efficiency. If there are several obstacles—a pool, lobby or other large public space—between the guest rooms and the meeting rooms, this could be reason enough not to book. Same goes for slow or limited elevators, especially if you’re working with a big group.
What is the Wi-Fi capacity, and how much does it cost?
The Wi-Fi question becomes more and more important for groups, especially any group involved in the tech industry. If Wi-Fi is not included in a venue’s rental fee, ask how much it will be based on the bandwidth your group requires. Use mobile apps such as speedtest.net to determine the bandwidth onsite.
What equipment is available on site?
Always ask the hotel if they have partner vendors or equipment already available to help make your job easier in terms of rentals and additional vendor hires. This could save you an exponential amount of time and ultimately make you choose one venue over another.
What other activities are happening at the hotel during your event?
If your event is not taking up all the meeting space, it’s crucial to know what meetings are occurring at the same time. If, say, there’s a conference of speaker suppliers, you can expect it to be louder than the average group. You’ll also want to know if nighttime activities or daytime pool parties are being hosted that could disrupt the group. On the other hand, you may want to know the added activity options to offer attendees.
