We were asked by the facilitating training company to find the venue for this series of residential training courses in Newcastle. The trainer provided a comprehensive brief of the training and breakout rooms required, including dimensions, daylight, equipment and room set-ups, so we used this as the basis for our venue finding.
Delegates would be arriving by car or train, so it was essential that the venue was close to good road and rail links and have ample parking.
Our venue finders were able to use their local knowledge and Newcastle venue contacts to find suitable available space matching the trainer’s room model. The best way of pricing each training course was with a 24hr Rate for Day 1 and a Day Delegate Rate for Day 2 – as we were proposing to book a number of successive dates we were able to negotiate a considerable discount from the venues’ published rates, and with some complimentary added extras such as breakfast rolls on arrival, additional flip charts and a room upgrade for the trainer.
Space at the available venues was provisionally held and information was presented to the client in a detailed proposal including full specs of the training and breakout rooms (location, dimensions, capacity, daylight, special features etc.), images and floor plans to demonstrate how the proposed spaces would work together. Full cost analyses were also provided, which included the savings achieved, helping the client to manage their training budget.
The trainer had worked previously at one of the Newcastle hotels we proposed so the client was happy to confirm without the need for a site visit. The training room at this venue was modern and spacious with lots of daylight, so fit the brief perfectly. The 2 breakout rooms were opposite the training room making movement between the rooms very easy.
The delegate rates agreed were dependent on all dates being booked concurrently – we arranged for the contract issued to include all dates and agreed a schedule for stage payments in liaison with the client.
Having secured the venue and negotiated terms for payment, we helped and advised the client in the run up to each training course; communicating timings, final numbers, rooming list (and subsequent amendments) and dinner arrangements and reviewing the function sheets on the client’s behalf to ensure no details were missed.
Our venue finders worked closely with the training company’s brief to find the ideal venue and negotiate cost-effective rates for this training programme.
