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Venue fees can add up quickly and put a serious dent in your event or party budget. Knowing how to negotiate and reduce your venue fees can save you lots of money that you can put into making a greater event or saving your clients money on their events and parties. Today we will be showing you some effective yet simple ways that you can effectively reduce your venue fees.
1. Be Clear About Your Budget With The Venue
Typically, when you meet with venues to discuss needs and rates, they will have a pre-prepared rack rate of prices that may even be beyond your current budget. By starting off by making your budget clear, you are able to give the venue a clear idea of what you can afford and are better able to negotiate a lower rate by being transparent. If your budget is lower than they typically accept, try asking for their help in finding ways to reduce the fees and let your interest in their venue be known. If it’s higher than you need, then you know you should have a surplus which gives you more options. Be transparent and don’t be afraid to ask for a lower price if need be.
2. Show Your Track Record
If you have a decent track record for throwing events or parties, be sure to let the venue know. The more they value the event, the more likely they will be flexible with pricing and availability. Having a great track record helps with achieving this outcome as well as having notable figures, press or attention in the event that the venue can benefit from. Put yourself in their shoes and think about how your reputation or event can potentially help them.
3. Be Flexible With The Date (If Possible)
If the event is something you can promote within a shorter time frame, it’s definitely worth keeping a high level of flexibility around the date and time of your event. By being flexible, you are able to take advantage of less busy times for the venue where you can negotiate for a much lower rate. If you are going to do this, be sure to provide yourself enough of a time frame to promote the event. By being flexible you can potentially save a lot on booking fees, ask next time you book an event.
4. Be Creative With The Food And Beverage Spend
Did you know it’s possible to book a venue space for your event without having to even pay for the space itself? Surprisingly, it’s not as complicated as you’d think to pull it off. The key is to consider how many people will be attending the event and how much food and beverages they will need or buy. If you are buying the food and beverages from the venue and the amount is high enough, you can likely get a heavily reduced or even fully discounted booking fee for the venue. You can also negotiate this if the anticipated amount of food and beverages that will be purchased by your attendees is high enough. Leveraging this can save you a lot of money with not too much effort.
5. Book Multiple Events With The Venue
If you will be doing more events, it may be worth considering negotiating a reduced fee for repeat business. If you use the same venue multiple times over then they are more likely to offer you good deals, especially if you will continue to do the events with them. In cases where you don’t do multiple events throughout the year, you can negotiate a reduced fee for doing your annual or semi-annual event at the same venue. This can save you thousands of dollars in booking fees. Be sure to consider this option if you plan on doing more than one event or party.
6. Share What You Can Offer The Venue
Will you be heavily promoting the event with press? Will there be any notable figures, even if just local, that will be at the event? Will you be heavily promoting and marketing the event to people who can become patrons of the venue? If so, then you can use all of those things as leverage when it comes to negotiating your fees. If you can get the venue significant press and exposure, they may even let you book for free if not at a heavily reduced rate.
AV Lab LLC will bring your event’s vision to life and impress your guests with the best Audio Visual equipment for your event experience. If you want to know more, Contact Us, and we will be happy to discuss your event.
