For years, hotels have been the go-to choice for corporate events, conferences and training days. However, businesses are increasingly looking beyond the traditional hotel setting and choosing dedicated venues such as our multi-purpose conference centre in Milton Keynes. Here’s a look at the reasons behind this shift.
The drawbacks of hotel venues
Hotel venues may look the business in website images and brochures, but they often have hidden drawbacks.
Shared spaces
The conference floor may be yours for the day, but the surrounding corridors, reception areas and catering spaces will be shared with other guests and busy staff. This hustle and bustle can mean that your event feels more disjointed and prone to noise and distractions.
Hotels are hospitality-first venues, and if you find there’s a large group dinner or wedding going on shortly afterwards, this can mean your event doesn’t get the full attention of staff.
Generic layouts
The hotel conferencing suite is usually designed as a generic function room to double up as a wedding venue or for general private hire use. This means that it lacks useful/essential features such as small meeting rooms, breakout zones, dedicated training rooms with integrated technology, and exhibition space.
Hidden costs
Hotel venues often charge extra for things such as parking, WiFi, and AV equipment hire, which are typically included as standard in dedicated conference venue packages.
What businesses are booking instead
Forward-thinking businesses are turning to purpose-build conferencing and event venues that are designed to meet their needs. Here’s why:
Distraction-free environments
A dedicated conference venue means that you will be on the same page as everyone else using the space: professionals rather than holidaymakers or overexcited wedding parties. The staff will be 100 per cent focused on your needs and will have the expertise to resolve any issues quickly.
Flexible layouts and room sizes
Dedicated venues are built to accommodate a variety of set-ups, from full-scale conference halls and exhibitions to small meetings, and offer flexible layouts such as classroom-style, theatre, U-shape or workshop desk clusters. That means that smaller groups won’t feel overwhelmed and deenergised in a large room, and bigger groups will never feel cramped.
If you want to run a series of events across the year with variable numbers of attendees, you’ll have a scalable solution rather than being tied to the more fixed rooms offered by a hotel.
Tech-ready facilities
The integration of technology is no longer optional: large screens, hybrid streaming capabilities, AV systems and fast reliable WiFi key to the success of today’s events. At a dedicated venue, these facilities, plus technical support if you need it, is usually a standard feature.
So, there you have it: a dedicated events venue is more professional, flexible, tech-ready, and has transparent pricing systems. This helps you to host more successful and well-received events.
