Venue Catastrophe!

Venue Catastrophe!!! How to avoid it, and why it’s important.


“Sorry, Closed due to crop rot from the rain” The sign reads the day of our event.Many members said it wasn’t my fault; the venue should have called me (they knew we were coming), but it was partly my fault. Had I followed the advice below, I would have avoided the whole problem………Sometimes organizers become so focused on our members that we tend to forget to maintain contact with our venues; or worse, never make contact to begin with. Venue relationships are important. Take these steps to ensure you carry good relationships with your venues, and your group will benefit.

1. Check it out! Visit during business hours and ask yourself these questions: Is it clean, friendly, and inviting? How is the service/staff? Is it easy to find? Does it have enough space (parking and seating)? Can members pay individually the day of?

2. Call them! Introduce your group, explain what day you plan to use the facility, and double check all their information. Don’t trust websites. One time my venue’s business hours changed, and their snack bar was out of business! Turns out, their website’s last update was two years ago! Write down the name of the person you spoke with: many times when this information has become handy.

3. Remind them! About two days before the event call them. This could have prevented the ‘crop rot disappointment’ I referred to earlier. Give them your head count, and remind them what day and time, especially for smaller places like coffee shops or libraries. I know one coffee shop owner was a little upset when we planned an event at her facility and never told her. A bike group also met up there that day; The shop wound up understaffed and out of space. As a result some bikers were upset because they had no place to sit.

4. Arrive early. Make sure everything is set for your group. Make small talk with the owner: doesn’t have to be much; after all they are working. It may even land you a sponsor.

5. Send your thank you card. It doesn’t reallly have to be a card; it can be an email, a couple pictures, or whatever! It will make your group stand out; Keep in mind the more memorable your group is; the more flexible the venue will be with you.

6. Keep in Touch. I try to update my venue information quarterly. I do this because there may be seasonal venues or venues we haven’t used in a longtime, and touching base solidifies your relationship. Again you don’t want the venue to forget your group!

One other thing that I’ve also found to be handy: Have a backup of list. Thankfully, our pumpkin patch catastrophe wasn’t a complete disaster because of this. If you maintain a good venue relationship with your backup list, they may even allow you to just show up last minute!