Contents
Do you think hiring an event manager to plan your company Christmas party is a splurge? Something that your senior managers will never approve? You might be surprised by how affordable a good quality events team can be and the money they can save you.
Read on for the 4 ways you can save money, give your team the best Christmas do they’ve ever had and make yourself look like the office superhero.
1) Our event planners have pre-established relationships with local event venues and suppliers, which equates to getting the very best price for your Christmas do.
WARNING: Some event planners and organisations earn commission from venues and suppliers when you book with them. Which means, they might be swaying you to choose a venue or supplier that might not be quite right or one that is more expensive than other options.
The Simplifiers don’t do this…we are 100% transparent.
Instead, our clients sign all venue and vendor contracts themselves and make payments directly. (once we’ve negotiated the contract and sorted out the details). This means you will see any and all discounts given and rest assured that you can trust your best interests and budget are our priority.
Any and all commission offers are politely declined and the savings is passed on to the clients. That’s just good business.
2) We have the time to pull quotes and find the best value for money.
We don’t just give you a set menu to choose from. Our job is to pull a selection of individual quotes from a range of companies for each element of your event. This covers everything including the venue, catering, décor with the WOW factor, aerialists or other unique entertainment that you might want.
The events team then give you (typically) three quotes along with the pros and cons of each supplier and our recommendations. This means you can choose the best value for money option and not something that looks alright and was just on page one of the google search.
In short, we put in the legwork to make sure you get the very best ROI for your Christmas party. No overspending allowed.
3) It’s our job to keep you under budget.
It’s a key part of our job as your project managers. We look out for our clients, advising on how to spread your budget to get the most for your money.
And don’t forget – we’re solely event planners . We’re not a catering company, venue, or anything else so we have no motivation to try to upsell you on any services.
4) We have time to negotiate and scour contracts – and make sure you have one in the first place!
Some suppliers in the UK operate by simply confirming booking via email or booking forms. These don’t have a signature on them, often don’t include terms and conditions and put you at risk if anything goes wrong.
The Simplifiers event planning team will check out venues and suppliers to make sure they’re credible, insured and licensed. Plus we chase up contracts, read through all of the small print and ask for any relevant changes.
We check to make sure there are no clauses that might result in you being charged more at a later date or losing your booking all together.
In many cases, you might be overpaying because a supplier is charging you for things they provide as a standard but really, you don’t need.
EXAMPLE:
The DJ is bringing lighting equipment but the venue is already equipped with great atmosphere. We’d pick up on this during the research and booking stages and ask to remove the lighting from the quote to bring down costs.
EXAMPLE:
You’ve booked a sit down dinner at a venue as part of a package deal. How is all of your money being divided up? How much is being spent on good quality food and are you actually being charged £2 per person for a rubbish cracker? Does anyone even like crackers that much?! We’d want to tailor the package to get the best value for money and eliminate unnecessary items so money can be spent on something employees will actually appreciate.
And don’t forget – it’s not just about the budget. Ask yourself…
How much is an hour of yours or a team member’s time worth? Is it more valuable to your company if you spend 60+ hours putting in the effort it takes to pull off a truly impressive event?
