How to Make Event Planners Happy

Whether you are trying to attract small events or large-scale meetings at your hotel or restaurant, you have a lot of competition for the attention of the event planners. So how do you make your space more appealing to the folks who are making these decisions? The secret is to keep event planners happy – that means they’ll be more likely to use your venue over and over again. It’s much easier to retain clients than it is to find new ones, so here are some tips to help ensure that you keep event planners happy enough to come use your space again.

Offer Rewards

It has become pretty common to offer a reward to groups who are planning an event at your space – so if you’re not doing so, you’re already behind the competition. Event planners love showing their clients that they are getting them a great deal, so think of what you could offer that will appeal to specific groups. Money-saving opportunities and free stuff always helps.

Higher Commissions

Event planners often work on commission, so one way to entice them is to offer a higher commission than your competitors. Doing so is kind of a win-win for you and the event planner – they will be encouraged to bring more people to the event so you’ll get to benefit from the additional guests.

Reliable Wi-Fi

Having reliable Wi-Fi, which is sometimes a problem at hotels and restaurants, is crucial if you want to have a happy event planner. Skift released a report on Wi-Fi that states that the increase in wearables and connected devices can be a strain on hotel Wi-Fi networks during big meetings and conventions. You have to make sure your Wi-Fi setup can support your attendees throughout the conference.

Communicate Well

Prompt, clear communication is a must with event planners. They often have to make quick decisions and can’t sit and wait a day or two to get an email or phone call from you. Make yourself available to them during business hours and try to always respond within an hour to any requests or questions they might have. Event Management software like Tripleseat has made this step so simple by creating a centralized location for all the back and forth.

Provide Accurate Estimates

Try to make your estimates as accurate as possible so there aren’t any hidden costs or surprises to the event planner afterward. If costs are more than expected, the planner will have to charge their clients more money – and that doesn’t make anyone happy.

Stay One Step Ahead

Consider all the possibilities that could go wrong during an event and figure out how you would manage them. What if your speaker system goes out? What if the fridge is on the fritz? Things like this can completely ruin an event and, while you can’t foresee the unexpected, it’s a good idea to try and plan for as many potential pitfalls as possible and know how you will rush to the rescue and save the day.

Offer Help With Marketing

One of the biggest challenges event planners face is getting people to attend the event. That’s why you should offer to help with marketing if you have the capacity to do so. This could be as simple as putting up posters in your space announcing the event to including a listing for the event in your newsletter or mailings.

A happy event planner means a repeat client for you. Follow these tips to make sure they are thrilled with your space and plan future events with you.