Organizing events always starts with budgeting. And this is nothing to be surprised with, because only with the correct distribution of available financial resources, which are rarely abundant, one can count on efficiency and achievement of everything planned.
What should be considered first of all when organizing business events, such as a conference?
Choosing a venue is an important organizational moment.
The largest expense item, as a rule, is a venue. In addition, you have to plan the budget for catering, that is, food, and equipment rental. If all the necessary equipment, such as sound system, projector, etc. can be rented at the venue, then the amount of these expenses depends on the class of the selected conference room - whether it is a hotel, a business center or, for example, an educational establishment.
Planning and organization of the event starts with compilation of a list of venues having an appropriate configuration (i.e. size, class, availability of additional infrastructure), and then the selection of the most suitable one from this list. All the associated costs are calculated next. As a rule, these include (indicated in the order of descending of their share in total costs):
- catering (lunch and coffee breaks)
- simultaneous interpretation (if necessary)
- rental of equipment for simultaneous interpretation (if necessary)
- rental of a conference communication system (if necessary)
- rental of a sound system rental of laptops, projectors and screens
- rental of flip charts.
In some cases organization of events also requires the support to be provided to participants, like transfer from the airport, booking of hotel rooms, and although the amount of these costs is very, very significant, however, it is usually directly tied to the prices of service providers, i.e. these budget items are to be put separately from other expenses.
Often the customer asks to save on what he considers relatively unimportant, for example, on simultaneous interpretation and equipment for simultaneous interpretation. However, one must understand that this activity is narrowly specialized, requiring high professionalism and skills, i.e. the most professional interpreters must be selected, which is not always the the cheapest available option. At the same time, no matter how good the translator is, if the equipment is junk, then the listeners are unlikely to understand and grasp all the ideas that he is trying to get across and the message of the event will be lost for them, i.e. all other expenses will also be wasted. In addition, more expensive infrared equipment has much better protection from bugging and tapping than radio.
In general, it should be noted that budgeting in organization of events and conferences requires a lot of experience in this area, relevant contacts and market knowledge. As a rule, in order not to overpay, it is better to entrust this to a professional agency.