During 2018 we managed conferences and award ceremonies at multiple venues in London, Birmingham, Norwich, Farnborough and many more locations around the UK
Choosing a venue for a client is based on many criteria. The simplest being its size and availability, a conference for 1,000 delegates will have a limited number of venues that actually have capacity – and many of these are booked well in advance. An event with an audience of 300 delegates will have a huge selection of appropriate venues available to it.
But it’s not just the size of the venue that matters – location is key, where is the audience coming from and how accessible is the venue by public transport. Another factor is ‘interest level’, if the audience is not an internal one and a key ROI criteria is attendance levels – then a standard hotel conference centre may not be an inducement to attend.
Our three favourite venues from 2018 are in no particular order…
Rothamsted Conference Centre
Location: Harpenden, Hertfordshire
Transport links: Ten minutes from the M1 and only 25 minutes from St.Pancras
Capacity: Around 200 in the auditorium, with catering space adjacent
Extras: Almost unlimited parking, three great break out spaces.
Why we like it: Ideal for a conference based on Agriculture, Food or broadly Science. A countryside location but very accessible for driving or public transport – it’s also just 10 minutes from Luton Airport.
Crystal Docklands
Location: Royal Victoria Dock, London
Transport links: One minute from the DLR, or come by cable car
Capacity: Around 220 in the auditorium, with catering space adjacent
Extras: Seven great breakout spaces, a permanent exhibition on sustainability.
Why we like it: Extremely professional event team. Ideal for any conference with a sustainability focus. Airy and light. The addition of the floating Good Hotel moored 100 yards away makes accommodation really easy to arrange.
Farnborough International
Location: Farnborough Airport, Hampshire
Transport links: 30 minutes into London by train, easily accessible from the M3
Capacity: Almost unlimited with the addition of the new halls
Extras: Unlimited parking, great in house team
Why we like it: Its enormous – and with the addition of the new halls is the most flexible space in the UK. Despite its size, the range of rooms also allows for great conferences for 2-300 delegates. One drawback – no hotel on site.
Find out more about our conference venue finding.
