3 steps to a successful venue walk-through

Written by

zkipster

Copied!

url

Rare is the event that runs perfectly and without a hitch. Great event planners set themselves apart with their ability to anticipate potential mishaps at their events.

Organizing a proper venue walk-through can prevent a lot of stress and cut down on last minute issues. When zkipster hosted a product launch for a new feature release it was a lot of fun for everyone involved but, while the event went smoothly, the lead up involved a lot of preparation and pieces to assemble.

One of the most important pieces in the successful event puzzle was the venue walk-through. We assembled our main event planning players for our walk-through, and it felt a bit like the strategy meeting army commanders would hold before going into battle!

Here are some of our findings and things to watch out for that will help make your event walk-though - and ultimately, your event - a success.

1. Assemble all your big players

zkipster_walk_through_assemble_team — zkipster co-founder David Becker with the Maison O GM during our venue walk-through

Gather all the people crucial to your event's execution in one room. For the venue walk-through at our event space, Maison O, we made sure the GM (General Manager) was on hand, as well as the venue's A/V (audio/visual) guy, our event team, and our PR team.

The GM was able to answer our questions about finding staff for the event, the A/V guy cleared up our questions on tech setup and, because all of our team members were at the venue together, we were better able to envision a theme for our launch.

After a round of collaborative thinking inspired by the venue and its separate spaces, one of which was styled to look like a Japanese classroom, we all agreed that "Class in Session" was the way to go.

2. Put yourself in your guests' shoes during your venue walk-through

zkipster_class_in_session_walk_through_subway — The Stardust Lounge Tokyo Subway Room at Maison O

We began our venue walk-through at the beginning, by picking which entrance guests would walk through. We decided on a side entrance so that guest check-in would be as smooth and efficient as possible without disrupting the regular dinner flow at the venue's restaurant.

We encourage you to walk through your venue from beginning to end, as though you were a guest moving through your event. Visualize what guests will do and where they will do it. Ask yourself, where will guests arrive? How does the space flow? And most importantly, where are there likely to be bottlenecks, and how can they be kept to a minimum?

For example, as there was a bar right at the foot of the stairs leading to our event space, we predicted that guests would cluster around the entrance waiting for a drink. So, to avoid crowding, we made sure there was a staff member on the other side of the room encouraging guests to come over for a specialty drink.

3. Know your venue

zkipster_class_in_session_walk_through_2-resized-600 — The Stardust Lounge Japanese Classroom at Maison O

Now is the time to ask all the nitty gritty, detailed questions. Our venue, Maison O, had its own distinctive look and layout, not all of which was to our liking. Our main concern was that there were too many chairs, which would make the space feel crowded, but luckily the GM found an area to store this excess furniture.

Some venues will be able to accommodate requests like this, and some will not. Find out if and where there is extra space to store unwanted items and/or extra furniture. Also, inquire if there is an event taking place after yours that will require you to vacate immediately, or if can guests linger once your event has technically finished.