Planning an event is full of countless decisions, but there is one that will have the biggest impact on your event’s overall success. The venue! Everything from the date of the event, speaker options and attendees’ experience will depend on your selection for an event venue.
Here are our guidelines of key considerations to help ease this critical decision:
1. Location, Location, LocationA convenient location means different things for different events. For an event with attendees within a limited geographic range, a venue within a reasonable distance from most attendees’ homes or places of work is recommended. However, if many attendees will be traveling from out of town, hosting the event at a venue near the airport or their hotels makes sense.
No matter the case, you should always also consider traffic, transportation, and parking options.
Located at the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, St. Bonaventure University provides a panoramic backdrop for your event any time of year. The 500-acre campus is nestled between the village of Allegany and the City of Olean in an expansive region of natural beauty known as the Southern Tier.
St. Bonaventure is a fairly isolated location, which encourages attendees to better focus on the task at hand without the distractions of a bustling nightlife or entertainment district. While there are hotel options in town, our campus also offers on-site residence halls and townhouses for events interested in keeping guests in one easy location.
Guests can arrive at the university by car, bus or commercial airlines, which land in nearby Buffalo, N.Y. and Erie, P.A.
This may go without saying, but you need to know this before you can realistically select any venue. Your choice should have enough space for attendees and equipment. Attendees include guests, speakers, performers, support personnel, volunteers and anyone else who will have a role in your event.
From modern lecture halls to spacious atriums to serene chapels, St. Bonavenue offers a variety of special event venues for large and small events!
3. Services and AmenitiesVenues provide different levels of service and amenities. When booking your event, make sure that the venue will be able to meet your specific needs. Create a list of your requirements and compare it with the list provided by the venue.
These may include:
With St. Bonavenue, you can count on a wide selection of on-site services to elevate your event, including catering, advanced A/V technology, equipment rentals, lodging and event management. Our on-campus industrial kitchen can handle customized menus with ease, while a majority of our venues include standard tables and chairs for no additional fee. If your event needs overnight accommodations, we can also provide simple residence halls and townhouses, which can serve as convenient and budget-friendly accommodations for your group. Plus, our event management team can guide you every step of the way from initial consultation to production plans to day-of support.
A venue’s design will often dictate how sound travels through the room. For example, a low ceiling may bring a cozier feel, but may also make it louder if it’s a crowded event. While acoustics alone won’t spoil your event, it’s important to have specific conversations about the auditory needs of your event.
Our on-site, trained technicians understand our acoustics inside and out. Plus, we’ll get to know the unique goals and objectives of your program to wow your guests with crystal clear sound. We offer state-of-the-art equipment including dance/DJ lights, bluetooth speakers, vocal microphones and more. Every A/V package is custom built around the particular event and includes a designated A/V technician to ensure everything looks and sounds as it should.
5. Layout OptionsEven though you’ll likely be locking down your venue early in the process, it’s important to choose one with a rough idea of what types of activities you’re planning and how you envision guests navigating the space.
Will your event include a guest speaker? If so, you’ll want a stage or a designated spot to place a rented stage. Will you need areas for smaller groups to break out into? Will there be a bar? Ask yourself these questions then bring them up with venue representatives as you tour potential spaces.
You’ll also need to think about the kind of flow you’ll want. What areas will have high traffic? The registration table? The front doors? Keep this in mind when choosing your venue, realizing that how you set up the tables, chairs and decor will greatly affect this.
With over 25+ venues, St. Bonavenue can accommodate highly specific layout needs. Plus, our venues can be arranged in various formations from half-moon to theater to living room-style to ensure attendees are always engaged with the program.
Does the venue have ample parking for your guests? Hopefully the answer is YES!
If not, you will need to consider:
As a college campus, St. Bonavenue offers ample parking in walking distance to all spaces for no additional fee.
7. AccessibilityAccessibility refers to the possibility that everyone, especially those with special needs, can access the building and amenities for your event.
Depending on the needs of your guests, your venue may have to provide:
St. Bonavenue strives to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including those with disabilities, to engage fully.
Taking care to create an accessible event benefits not only individuals with visible or known disabilities, but also helps to ensure that all participants/attendees, including individuals with non-obvious disabilities and/or chronic health conditions, and people of all ages and body types, are able to fully participate in the event. Please contact us at (716) 375-7808 with any questions.
With St. Bonavenue, it’s more than exceptional venues, it’s the personalized support you need to host an event your guests will never forget. To discuss your special occasion with us, fill out a form and we’ll contact you within two business days to get your event rolling!
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