Every individual is creative in the cosmopolitan city of Dubai, and can be a great event planner if time and budgets allow. However, there are advantages of having a skilled events planner on your back, you’re always going to be at peace of mind while a skilled events person gets things tracked without breaking a sweat.

Be it a product presentation for your distributors or a large scale conference, it is important to understand how you could share tasks with your event planner and save costs while keeping up the degree of formality in your event. Here are some points that we think you should always discuss with your events planner.

• Budget creation which will allow logistical decision making. This estimate resource plan must be a smart calculation based on the number of delegates, venue options in mind, catering cuisine (available from food packs to international buffet options available in all hotels) and degree of ceremony.
• Giving yourself enough time in hand before the event, understand how much of the work you want to delegate to an outsourced professional. A certified events planner will evidently know it all, but delegate tasks only which you are able to supervise. Some of them could be – venue hunting, budget creation, renting audio visual equipment, creating a theme, planning the entertainment keeping the degree of formality in mind, arranging decorations, managing guest lists, valet parking/airport transfers, ensuring comfortable accommodation for outbound guests, designing flyers or engraving corporate gifts, etc.
• If it’s your first time planning an event, make sure to research through past event portfolios, reference guides, or consult an events professional (nobody charges for consultation, advice is a free gift available almost everywhere)
• Have a casual chat with your attendees and learn about their past experiences from events they’ve attended, and what could they expect out of your event (this also helps in connecting with your delegates prior to the event)
• Learn about the hotel charges carefully to avoid confusions post-show, and not ending up paying too much money. Explain your plans to them in detail and ask what more you could do in the budgets you’ve planned. Ask what your venue manager/events planner could do to reassure your costs won’t run over (at least not without prior agreement) and that you will have every basic necessity in your venue.
• While interviewing the events planner, do ask how he or she would handle potential catastrophes such as an shortage of food situation, or the entertainer not showing up, or a sudden downpour (in case of an outdoor event)
• Request if you could drop by one of your planner’s events in progress or request references of previous clients and call them to ask about their experience with the planner.
• Discuss the scope of work with the planner in detail much prior to the show. Describe their responsibilities and confirm payment information in advance in a written, signed agreement.
• Don’t always be a cost-saver; allow some leverage to elevating budgets while planning an event so you’re not cutting down on the last-minute fabulous ideas while on-site. Remember, initial sketches can bring out good ideas in you, but while working on-site, the better than the best comes out of you.
• Most importantly, keep everything in written to avoid confusion/delay last minute. In addition, always have a back-up of another events company who is able to take charge if something goes wrong with the first one.