22 Reasons to use a Venue Finder – part 3

DeSouza Associates pride ourselves on the great service we provide our clients and we feel we do a great job – we just have to shout about it!

Indeed!

What we particularly pride ourselves on is the willingness to negotiate hard on behalf of our clients.  We don’t just accept the first rate offered by venues and will always work hard to keep costs within your budget.

We also have excellent relationships with venues and the senior contacts who work there, which once again means we do our best to get you the best possible rates.

I think it’s also worth a comment here regarding bedroom rates and why sometimes it would appear that one can see lower rates for accommodation advertised on various online sites – the devil is in the detail!  These rates are often non-refundable, non-changeable and may even be a room-only rate, so no breakfast is included.  We’re always very clear on what the quoted rates include and the cancellation terms too.

We’re not tied in with any specific venue groups or individual properties so we’ll always strive to recommend the venues which most match your brief and budget.

Occasionally, it’s impossible! In these circumstances, we’ll speak to you and suggest alternative options or perhaps recommend a change to your event brief or format which might be the room layout or set-up time or dinner package etc. which might then reduce the total cost of your event.

We do also often throw in what we would call a ‘wild card’ venue option as we’ve learned over the years that on so many occasions even though a client may not have requested a particular style of venue (ie it doesn’t tick all their boxes) they often love the wild card we suggest and end up confirming it.  Thinking outside the box is positive!

Another point that is probably self-explanatory, but we will expand just a little for those of reading this blog who may not be so familiar with venue finders.

We have worked with a number of our clients for many, many years and often they will pick up the phone for advice on one thing or another relating to their event.

As indicated above, not being tied to any specific venue group but being an independent and boutique venue finding agency, we always have our client’s interests at the heart of what we do.

As all members of the DeSouza Associates team have worked in the hospitality industry for a large number of years, we can offer advice which is not only impartial but also based on wide experience.

The venue finding agency market is well established in the UK.  This is how venue finders such as DeSouza Associates are able to offer a free venue finding service as we earn our revenue in commission from venues which is paid to agencies after the event has taken place and after our clients have paid the venue invoice in full.

Overall, venue finders are much valued by hotels and non-hotel venues as we generate a large volume of business for venues.  We really are part of the sales team for thousands of venues!

Following on from the above, as we’re your extension to the ‘venues team’ and we’re holding the venue options on your behalf, we field all chase up calls and emails.

We’ll update you on a regular, timely and in an appropriate manner, regarding any updates on the option status.  So, for example, over the course of the option when the booking moves from second to first option, we’ll let you know immediately.   We therefore save you, our client, much of your time

This is probably self-explanatory however worth a couple of lines.

We note on our venue system your likes and dislikes which could be something very simple such as ‘the meeting room must have natural daylight’ to ‘8-hr chairs’ required for meetings (as opposed to banqueting chairs) to ‘no basement spaces’.

Alternatively, it might be something more complex but none-the-less if it’s important to our client, we will note it down.  We’ll also check on an on-going basis that your requirements remain the same.  When bookers within an organisation change, their likes and dislikes can often change and quite dramatically too at times!

On rare occasions we may put forward venues or spaces which may not tick all your boxes but we’ll speak to you and explain why.

Being a small and cohesive team, we follow-up each and every event with our clients.  Therefore, we build up our knowledge of venues and spaces and perhaps what to be aware of the next time we book the same venue for another client.

We obviously never disclose client names but will always share with you whatever insights we may have which will assist you with your venue decision or during the event itself.

DeSouza Associates can help you with venues not only in the UK but in Europe and further afield too.  We have a lot of knowledge and experience particularly in booking hotels and other venues across the major European cities and hubs.

We also work closely with Destination Management Companies (DMC’s) who have additional local knowledge of more unusual venues. They can also assist with offsite activities such as dinners and  local ‘experiences’ plus teambuilding and incentive activities in your chosen international destination

We can help in liaising with both venue/supplier and client to ensure nothing is forgotten and can help you with the pre-organising and onsite running of the event too.

Nothing is too small or too big, we will work on all kinds of events and help negotiate competitive rates.

Our team has years of experience of booking venues for clients so we know some great contacts and also built up relationships over the years with our suppliers.

Our database has over 70,000 venues and is constantly being updated. It has a vast range of venues and includes major hotel chains, training centres, conference brands and many funky, unusual and unique properties.

We are not tied into any partnerships, specific chains or venues. This ensures that you are proposed the venues that match your brief and budget.