Venues sell rooms. Events need infrastructure. The gap between those two is where event budgets go, and it is almost entirely closable with one site visit and the right questions.
Take this list. Ask it of the technical manager, not the sales contact — they are different people and only one of them knows the answers.
Access and load-in
- Where does a 7.5-tonne truck park, and for how long? Not "there is loading" — the actual bay, the actual restriction.
- Is there a goods lift? Dimensions, weight limit, and door width.
- What is the narrowest point on the route from the truck to the room? Measure it.
- Are there steps or a threshold? A single 15 cm step decides whether you need a ramp or six crew.
- What hours is load-in permitted? Including noise restrictions before and after.
- Is there a lift/corridor booking system shared with other events that day?
Power
- What supplies are in the room? Number of circuits, amperage, single or three phase.
- Where are the distribution points, physically, on a plan?
- Is there a generator feed or an external supply point if we exceed the house power?
- Who may connect to the board — our electrician, or must it be the house one, and at what rate?
- Is there a separate clean supply for audio?
Rigging and loads
- What are the rigging points, their positions and their rated loads? Ask for the rigging plan, not a verbal answer.
- Who is permitted to rig and do they require their own insurance and certification?
- What is the floor loading limit in kg/m²? This decides whether a vehicle, a platform or a heavy exhibit can come in.
- Is there a height restriction, and does it change under beams or sprinklers?
Room and fabric
- What may be fixed to walls, floor and ceiling? Usually: nothing.
- What is the ceiling — grid, beams, plaster, historic fabric?
- Can the room be blacked out, and if so, how long does it take?
- What is the ambient noise — plant, air handling, the room next door?
Compliance and people
- What is the licensed capacity for the layout we want, which is not the same as the room's maximum?
- What are the fire escape routes, and does our layout obstruct any of them?
- Is a venue duty manager present throughout, and are we charged for them?
How to run the site visit
Go with the person who will actually build the event, not only the person who books it. Bring a tape measure, a torch and a camera. Photograph the distribution board, the rigging plan, the loading bay, the route and the ceiling.
Write the answers into the brief the same day. An answer that lives in someone's memory is not an answer.
The one question to finish on
"What goes wrong in this room most often?"
Technical managers know, nobody asks them, and they will tell you. It is the single most valuable minute of the visit.
Related reading: a run-of-show template your team will actually use — where these answers end up.
