Have you ever wondered why Event Management companies even exist? Can’t anyone just book a venue and manage an event themselves?

Let’s say it’s a small family gathering at a hotel. You get cake, ask the hotel to arrange for a buffet and buy some décor. Presumably most people can manage this on their own but even this simple event can get messed up if you don’t know how to negotiate with the hotel to get the venue and F&B offerings at the right price and with the right combination of dishes. You could end up spending a lot more on décor since you don’t have an on-going relationship with the vendors. How about creating the invitation, arranging the party program, keeping track of RSVPs? Do you even have the time to do all the running around to get things set up in time? This is an example of a tiny personal event so if this is going to be problematic, just think of more elaborate events and the complexities involved in getting every element booked at the right price, ensuring on-time deliveries, setting up the agenda, collating attendee confirmations, sticking to the event budget and a whole string of other factors. To get everything arranged on time, on budget, sans errors are just some of the reasons why you need to engage the skilled services of an Event Management company.

Ok, let’s say you decide to employ the services of an Event Management company. You then wonder – how much will it cost? The question is simple but the answer is not as straight forward unfortunately. Pricing depends on numerous factors so a meeting for 20 people would vary drastically compared to an exhibition with 20 vendors booths. Every event is different and so pricing would need to be calculated and can’t just be standard across the board. Let’s go through some of the factors that may affect pricing.

• What kind of event will it be and what’s the end goal? Will it be a private party, conference, music festival, sports event, wedding or seminar?

• How many people will be attending?

• What type of venue is required? Indoor, Outdoor or maybe a specialized type of venue such as a stadium.

• Does the venue have all the required services such as F&B, seating, air-conditioning, etc. or will they have to be outsourced?

• Is seating to be provided or is it an all-standing event such as a music show?

• Are travel arrangements to be managed as part of the logistics?

• What is the event duration? Will it be a few hours, full day or over a number of days?

• If the event is a seminar or similar, will there be panelists or breakout workshops?

• Will there be a gala dinner or other meals to be organized?

• Will there be sponsors?

• If it’s an exhibition, how many booths will be required?

• If it’s a seminar or conference, will delegate packs need to be created or will documents be uploaded online?

• Is it a free event or will tickets need to be sold? If tickets are to be sold, does the Event Management company need to handle website creation and online registration?

• Is an event app required to enhance attendee interactions, document uploads, and panelists/speakers/exhibitors/sponsors information upload