The three ways venues charge
- Room hire
- A fee for the room. Food and drinks are on top, from the venue or a caterer.
- Minimum spend
- No room fee, but your group has to spend a set amount on food and drink. Ask what happens if you don’t reach it.
- Per head
- A set price for each guest, usually for food and sometimes drinks, for a set number of hours.
Turn each into one total
- Use the same number of guests and the same hours for every venue.
- Add the room fee, the food and the drinks you’d really order.
- Add what goes on top: a service charge, cleaning, security, staff, equipment, a weekend or public holiday rate.
- For a minimum spend, take whichever is higher: the minimum, or what you expect your guests to spend.
- Check whether each price includes tax.
- Divide by your guests to see the price per head, as a check.
The venue cost per head calculator does this in the browser from numbers you type. It does not look up a venue’s price.
A worked example
Made-up round numbers, to show the method: 60 guests, 7pm to midnight, in whatever currency your venues quote.
| Venue | How they charge | What you’d pay |
|---|---|---|
| Venue A | Room hire of 1,000, plus a food and drinks package at 40 a head (60 × 40 = 2,400) | 3,400 |
| Venue B | A minimum spend of 3,000 on food and drink, no room fee. Your group would spend about 2,700, so you pay the minimum | 3,000 |
| Venue C | 50 a head for food and three hours of drinks (60 × 50 = 3,000), plus a 10% service charge (300) | 3,300 |
Venue B is the lowest total, and if your group spends more than 3,000, you get it all for what you’d have spent anyway. Venue C looks close, but its drinks stop after three hours of a five-hour night, so ask what the last two hours cost before you decide.
What to weigh besides the total
- What’s included: staff, a microphone, a screen, tables and chairs.
- The deposit: how much, and when it’s refunded.
- The hours: when you can set up, and when the night has to end.
- The room: yours alone, or shared with other guests.
- Getting there: parking and public transport for your guests.
Keep it in one place
Put every answer in the same table: the date they can do, the total, what’s included and what they need from you. Where a venue didn’t say, write that down rather than guess, and ask.
Eventier does this from the venues’ replies: it pulls out the date, the quote, what’s included and what they need from you, and lays them side by side. Where a reply doesn’t say, it says so.
Questions
What is a minimum spend?
An amount your group has to spend on food and drink, instead of a fee for the room. Ask what happens if you don’t reach it: you may be charged the difference.
Is a price per head always easiest?
It’s the easiest to budget, because the total moves with your guest list. Check what it includes, and for how many hours.
Should I get every quote in writing?
Yes. A written quote is what you compare, and what the final bill should match.