Behind the Brief: Finding a Conference Venue for 400 Delegates
Every venue search starts with a conversation.
Sometimes it’s a detailed event brief. Sometimes it’s a phone call that begins with, “We’ve been asked to organise our annual conference… and we don’t know where to start.”
This brief was somewhere in the middle.
The client needed a venue in London for around 400 delegates. They wanted a full-day conference with breakout sessions, space for exhibitors, plenty of natural light and good transport links for guests travelling from across the UK.
On paper, it sounded straightforward.
In reality, there were hundreds of potential venues—and only a handful that genuinely met the brief.
The first thing we do isn’t search for venues. We ask questions.
How important is the location? Do delegates need accommodation? Are there any accessibility requirements? What’s the balance between presentations and networking? Are there any venues you’ve already ruled out?
The answers quickly started to shape the shortlist.
One venue looked perfect online but had limited breakout space, which would have meant delegates constantly moving between floors. Another had an excellent auditorium but very little exhibition space, making it difficult for sponsors to engage with guests during the breaks.
Both were good venues.
Neither was right for this event.
As we refined the brief, a clearer picture emerged. The client wanted delegates to feel energised rather than confined. Natural daylight became more important than we’d originally thought. Networking areas needed to feel open and connected to the main conference space, and registration had to cope comfortably with 400 arrivals in a short window.
Those details ruled out more venues than the budget ever did.
In the end, we presented a shortlist of four carefully selected venues. Each met the practical requirements, but each also offered a slightly different experience—from a purpose-built conference centre to a contemporary event space with flexible breakout areas.
The client arranged site visits to two venues and chose the one that hadn’t been their original favourite from the photographs.
Why?
Because once they walked through the building, they could immediately imagine how their delegates would move through the day. Registration felt effortless, the breakout rooms were close together and the networking space naturally encouraged conversation.
It simply worked.
That’s something you can never fully understand from a website.
From the Venue Finder’s Notebook
People often assume venue finding is about knowing lots of venues.
In truth, it’s about understanding the brief.
When we get the brief right, the shortlist almost creates itself. The challenge isn’t finding a venue—it’s finding the venue that will make the event feel effortless for everyone attending.
That’s why we spend as much time asking questions as we do searching for venues.
— Carrie Larwood, Managing Director, Function Fixers