There are a few faux pas that will irk your guests so much they won’t be in attendance next time, if they haven’t already left the event that is. Here’s what you need to avoid to make sure this doesn’t happen to you:
1 Lack of Wi-Fi
Social media addicts, business people and phubbers will be far from impressed if there’s no Wi-Fi available at your event. What’s more, guests won’t be able to visit your website, follow you on Twitter or Google the guest speaker. Think of all the opportunities you and your guests will be missing out on if there’s no Wi-Fi.
2 No disabled access
Every host needs to make sure that ALL of their guests’ needs are catered to meaning that ALL of their guests leave having had a great time with no added obstacles.
3 Damaging the environment
By not making your event green you’ll be making many of your guests blue. It’s not just a small group of eco-activists that care about the environment nowadays, lots of people genuinely care about our planet.
4 Disclosing contact information
Data protection and privacy are further issues that are gaining attention. We are only just starting to realise that we basically sign over our souls when we don’t read the Terms & Conditions for websites like Facebook. And there is no one more hated than the cold caller who seems to pick people’s details out of thin air. With this in mind, let’s just say your guests won’t be very happy if you give away their details to marketers.
5 Lack of clear direction
This is of course important when thinking about the overall purpose or schedule, but even more so in the literal sense. To put it simply, your guests will feel lost if they don’t know where they’re going.
6 A long-winded RSVP process
We all have enough paperwork to take care of, we don’t want to complete a three-page questionnaire just so we can attend a conference. And faxing or posting something you’ve had to download and print is just nightmarish. Get an online registration form, it’s that simple.
7 Running out of things
Sometimes this can’t be helped. But that doesn’t mean your guests will be able to take it on the chin when you run out of white wine.
8 Letting your Uncle Bob dj
You might be tempted to hire friends, relatives, acquaintances or your next door neighbour to provide the entertainment or help with catering. But if you want a professional event always hire the best person for the job rather than a personal contact.
9 Freaking out
Let’s state the obvious, planning an event and seeing it through is highly stressful. A whole manner of things could go wrong, but what your guests will remember is how you dealt with those things. The last thing you want is a shrieking events manager running around like a headless chicken. Keep calm and collected and roll with the punches.
10 Not saying goodbye
Or thank you for that matter! Not only do first impressions count, so do final impressions and essentially you want to make a good lasting impression with guests, staff, vendors etc.
Finally, forgetting to enjoy the event you’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into organising, is certainly something to be avoided!
This post was brought to you by Four Candles, Berkshire and the South East’s leading furniture and equipment hire company. Image: Evil Erin
1 Lack of Wi-Fi
Social media addicts, business people and phubbers will be far from impressed if there’s no Wi-Fi available at your event. What’s more, guests won’t be able to visit your website, follow you on Twitter or Google the guest speaker. Think of all the opportunities you and your guests will be missing out on if there’s no Wi-Fi.
2 No disabled access
Every host needs to make sure that ALL of their guests’ needs are catered to meaning that ALL of their guests leave having had a great time with no added obstacles.
3 Damaging the environment
By not making your event green you’ll be making many of your guests blue. It’s not just a small group of eco-activists that care about the environment nowadays, lots of people genuinely care about our planet.
4 Disclosing contact information
Data protection and privacy are further issues that are gaining attention. We are only just starting to realise that we basically sign over our souls when we don’t read the Terms & Conditions for websites like Facebook. And there is no one more hated than the cold caller who seems to pick people’s details out of thin air. With this in mind, let’s just say your guests won’t be very happy if you give away their details to marketers.
5 Lack of clear direction
This is of course important when thinking about the overall purpose or schedule, but even more so in the literal sense. To put it simply, your guests will feel lost if they don’t know where they’re going.
6 A long-winded RSVP process
We all have enough paperwork to take care of, we don’t want to complete a three-page questionnaire just so we can attend a conference. And faxing or posting something you’ve had to download and print is just nightmarish. Get an online registration form, it’s that simple.
7 Running out of things
Sometimes this can’t be helped. But that doesn’t mean your guests will be able to take it on the chin when you run out of white wine.
8 Letting your Uncle Bob dj
You might be tempted to hire friends, relatives, acquaintances or your next door neighbour to provide the entertainment or help with catering. But if you want a professional event always hire the best person for the job rather than a personal contact.
9 Freaking out
Let’s state the obvious, planning an event and seeing it through is highly stressful. A whole manner of things could go wrong, but what your guests will remember is how you dealt with those things. The last thing you want is a shrieking events manager running around like a headless chicken. Keep calm and collected and roll with the punches.
10 Not saying goodbye
Or thank you for that matter! Not only do first impressions count, so do final impressions and essentially you want to make a good lasting impression with guests, staff, vendors etc.
Finally, forgetting to enjoy the event you’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into organising, is certainly something to be avoided!
This post was brought to you by Four Candles, Berkshire and the South East’s leading furniture and equipment hire company. Image: Evil Erin