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Booking your 2020 Christmas Party - Top Tips in testing times

Tuesday 21 April 2020

 london christmas party venue  london christmas party tips

With the understandable risk of further regulation over our ability to deliver safe events, here are a few thoughts on how to secure your Christmas party venue with confidence.  There is no doubt that a December get together may be a welcome celebration, so here are a few thoughts from our team...

Here are our top five recommendations and things to consider when choosing your 2020 London Christmas Party venue:


1)  Make sure that you have a suitable postponement clause in your venue contract for your office Christmas Party, in case social distancing rules make it impossible or ill-advised to stage such an event this December.  In most cases we have found that London venues are happy to accept that you can move your event into next year with minimum or no penalties, which will give you the flexibility to use the budget for your 2021 company Christmas Party in London or maybe a conference or summer event.

2)  Ensure that you have a low level of minimum guest numbers guaranteed, so that if your total acceptances are less than you thought, you will not be hit by a higher minimum number guarantees in your contract.  It is much easier to negotiate the cost of additional guests than it is to fight a signed contract.

3)  Book a venue that has the ability to deliver a full range of catering service styles for your anticipated numbers.  It is far too early to tell what might be viewed as safe best practice here, but if you book a smaller venue that cannot cater for a seated dinner, this could be a regrettable decision as we find out more about the safe operation of these events.

4)  Check the venue's financial stability.  This year, more than ever, the risk of paying a 40% deposit now and not getting your event due to a venue going into administration is heightened.  Here at Venue Search London, we have several Red Flag venues already off our recommended list and have a pretty good handle on which venues and groups are safest to book with.  

5)  Shop around.  This may well be a "softer market" 2020 London Christmas Party Season, so make sure you have got the very best offers from a shortlist of venues that are deemed safe to book with.  But don't be fooled by venues offering discounts for easy payment of large deposits, for the reasons stated above.


However, our very best tip, if you will excuse the plug here, is to use a free venue finding service to navigate your way through these choppy waters! Our lovely team of free venue finding experts here at Venue Search London have placed over £5m of London Christmas party events into the best London venues, so call us now on 0207 870 9305 or send us your brief via our enquiry form and leave the rest to us.


In the meantime, please stay safe wherever you are.