At an in depth series of presentations at the MICE Academy’s Breakfast Briefing on Site Inspections for Venue Personnel in early August initiated by Cardinal Leisure – MICE Buyers (end-users) commented on their sharp eye regarding the standard of venue maintenance when considering a potential venue for a specific booking. Visual impact such as questionable wall marks, scuffed carpeting, smudged window panes, dirt, dust and the like can be a turn-off for the potential client.
Unless recently upgraded, the other side of the coin – with a seriously astute buyer- at a pristine venue would be to suspiciously question why the venue does not appear to be used for too many events. MICE venue management may indeed be seen to raise their eyes helplessly to the heavens as there does not appear to be a satisfactory middle road. Yet there most certainly is an acceptable way forward.
Firstly there are the facts. The average venue with good marketing and sales in place is likely to be booked for approximately 200 days in any given year. The number of days is assessed as follows:
- With 365 days in a year and 52 weeks in a year – the down times could be week-ends which reduces the 365 bookable days by 100 days;
- Taking account of holidays throughout any given year plus traditionally poor trading months – the figure could be conservatively reduced by 50 days;
- No account has been taken for the time-consuming set-up and break-down.
- When questioning a venue’s price structure – it is worth noting that operating costs are over 365 days not 200 days.
Secondly there should be ongoing observations by the operating personnel. A ‘snag’ list for noting-down any aspects requiring maintenance and placing in an appropriate yet secure system should be established. Thereafter checking on a regular basis by management as part of the weekly meetings agenda schedule would go a long way to ensuring the maintenance items do not ‘fall off the radar’.
Lastly when there is a site inspection – venue personnel should refer to the ongoing maintenance scheduling for any ‘less-than-satisfactory’ aspects that may be observed during the inspection.
The MICE Academy is aware of the contractual conditions regarding signing-off venue conditions prior to usage for the larger events with various sub-contractors constantly traversing the venue’s precinct.
The bottom-line message for venues remains: do not ignore the obvious venue’s physical negatives while ensuring that the process is in-hand to correct through a well-regulated maintenance plan. If there is no maintenance plan then it is about time venues had an effective one.
