It Depends

To quote the character M. Gustave H from the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel, “Of course it depends, of course it depends…” I was at a FAM recently (a familiarization trip) and the theme for the trip was “it depends.” The ambiguous answers from host venues were less than helpful. Of course their final answers will depend on how many are in attendance, what time of year, or what support services I’d need, but to answer everything with “it depends” while sourcing a location, doesn’t give me a ballpark figure of whether or not the venues will work for my group. I wrote another blog called “A Walkable City” about the helpfulness of information needed to create an executive summary or convince the “powers that be” to take the plunge and get something on the books.

After 20 years, this is not the first time I sourced a venue for an event, however, it was one of the most cryptic. What is the square footage of this space? How can I configure this arena to meet my needs? Do I need to hire union workers in this non-union facility? What is the current cost of a gallon of coffee? Do I need to rent screens and projectors or are they included in the price of my space rental? If I have an F&B minimum do I also need to pay for the meeting space? “It depends” seemed to be the answer for everything.

When visiting a city, more specifically their venues like convention centers, arenas, hotel meeting spaces, etc. the last thing we need to hear is “possibly” or “conceivably.” As planners, we KNOW it depends. There has to be some common denominator we can use to gauge the information needed relevant to our event. What is the overall square footage? I realize it will depend on the setup. That’s my responsibility to calculate. Providing me with the size of your staging and round tables, and letting me see what your chairs look like is all helpful information. I can calculate how much floor space to allot for the stage based on our design, and if the chairs are bulky or padded, I may want to put less around a table which impacts capacity.

The price of a gallon of coffee can be astronomical. If your price per gallon is significantly less than others, and we plan to add coffee breaks for 500 people on three days, not only can I calculate if the event can afford this luxury, it may be a swing vote in your favor. During these trips, we’re rarely crafting a contract on the spot; we’re talking potential future business. I can’t determine if your city and venues are right for my group if every time I ask a question about the space-time-cost-continuum the answer is obscure.

I love FAM trips. They allow me to visit potential cities and see venues I may not have ever thought to look at for my groups. To justify the time and cost of attending one, providing me with an arsenal of evidence I can bring back to the team and the decision-makers is better for both of us.

Have you experience these enigma FAM trips? I’d love to hear how you handled it.
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