It is frustrating when you finally find a venue for a conference, and someone else has already booked the place. You wish that you had called earlier, so you would have had the chance to get that place. Before you give up, these are a few things you need to do.
Confirm if the other party has already paid the reservation fee
You can ask the venue management if the other party has already booked the place and finalised the payment. If they say yes, it might be difficult for you to take it away from them; otherwise, you can offer to pay right now to book the venue. It is not cheating since the other party has to pay the initial fees first before they can finalise the reservation. You might even offer a 75% payment even if the requirement is only half the total cost, to secure the venue first.
Talk to the other party
You can ask the venue management who reserved the place. Try to talk to the other party and see if you can talk them into giving up the place for you. Perhaps, they have fewer attendees, and a different venue would still be suitable for their event. If you only have that place as the perfect option for your event, you need to explain this to the other party and let them know how desperate you are.
Try a different date
Perhaps, it is time to give up if the other party has already decided that they will grab the chance. However, you can still take the spot provided that you are willing to do the event on a different date. Look for the closest dates when the venue is free. Ask the people in your team along with the management if you can book the conference on a different date. Once they say yes, you cannot drag heels as you did before.
Look for a similar venue
Perhaps, you need to keep searching, and you will find a different place that could accommodate all the attendees. It might even be in a nearby town or city. As long as it is within driving distance and is reasonable enough, you could have the event there. Some attendees might even feel glad to have a change of scenery. For instance, you can check out conference venues Oxfordshire offers since there are several options available.
Learn from the experience
It is frustrating when you are at the stage where you wish that you could turn the clock back. You have no choice since someone already took the place you wanted. You need to prepare for other possibilities.
When you are going to organise an event the next time, you have to prioritise the venue. If you only have a few weeks left to prepare, you can decline to organise the event since you know that the perfect sites will no longer be available. You do not want to set yourself up to fail.
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