However large your event is, selecting the right corporate event venue is a major part of the planning process. The venue has a major impact on the overall experience of the guests attending. A great venue is accessible, fits within your budget and has the luxury feel needed to fit with your company’s image and brand profile. Picking the right corporate event space can feel overwhelming, so the Embassy Grand team has prepared a blog with our tips to choose the perfect corporate event venue!
What type of layout does your event require? Is mingling before, during or after the event a key requirement? Is having separation between the area for networking and refreshments and presentations key to the event? What is the in hall, lobby and outdoor / parking capacity needed to suit your event type? The dedicated coordinators at Embassy Grand would be pleased to help you plan out your event agenda and then map it to one of our many indoor or outdoor configurations options.
It is important to have your draft Agenda in hand when you walk through any facility. As you view each room, think about the order of each activity in your event plan and where each activity should take place. Ensure that there is adequate spacing and transition between each element of the agenda. For example, consider whether there should be special sections for different portions of the event such as breakout rooms in the case of corporate presentations. For presentation oriented events, consider whether there need to be elevated stages or focused presentation areas.
It is important to map out both the location in which each activity will be stationed as well as the specific in-house and external vendors that would be needed to make each portion of your event a reality.
The Embassy Grand team is the most experienced event planning and coordination team in the business. We have worked with the largest corporations headquartered in Toronto, Vaughan, Mississauga, Brampton and Oakville for years in delivering top notch corporate event, corporate presentation and seminar experiences and we would love to do the same for your corporate event!
It is important that your venue be widely accessible to all of your attendees. While most venues are wheelchair accessible, many venues are not well suited to ensuring a pleasant arrival and departure experience including: 1) ease of / access to free parking on site, 2) ease of and access to hotel accommodations on site, 3) a covered canopy to ensure smooth drop off and pick up, even in a rainstorm or thunderstorm! The Embassy Grand prides itself on not only being larger than any other banquet hall or convention centre in the Brampton or Vaughan area, but also on being the most accessible. We have the largest free parking lot in the GTA for banquets, an on-site hotel, and a covered grand canopy which makes it easy for you guests to be dropped and picked up from the front entrances, either with or without valet service.
The acoustic capabilities of any event space can have a significant impact on the event. The composition of the walls, dividers and carpets are a key consideration that can impact how sound reverberates, as well as the quality of the speakers and amplifiers. While scouting the venue, ask to hear music played over the speakers and keep in mind that a large number of people and props can affect the overall sound quality. The lighting system is equally important; features like pin spot lighting, moving heads and high resolution projectors and screens dramatically impact the quality of your event – especially if it includes presentation elements.
At the Embassy Grand, through our third party audiovisual partner, we have installed the most recent state of the art sound and lighting system in Canada which is professionally operated by AV experts, committed to ensuring that every detail of the audiovisual experience is tailored to your event.
We highly recommend that you seek out event testimonials! While a venue’s Instagram page and website are a good start, we recommend that you ask for a list of similar planners and organizations that have completed events to ensure you are confident that you are dealing with a professional venue that has a track record of being able to successfully coordinate and execute your event!
At the Embassy Grand, we pride ourselves on being routinely trusted to host events for the largest organizations in Canada such as TD Bank, Royal Bank, Canadian Tire, Best Buy, Desjardins, The Liberal Party and Conservative Party, Desjardins and Sick Kids hospital. We would be pleased to provide detailed testimonials to help you get comfortable with our capabilities and experience in executing your event.
It has been said many times, one of the most critical elements of any piece of real estate is location, location, location! The same is true for event space venues! It is key that a venue is within a reasonable distance and proximity to where your attendees are coming more. If you have significant numbers of guests coming from other cities, accessibility to hotel accommodations and Pearson airport is key.
The Embassy Grand is not only the leading and largest banquet facility in Canada but also the most centrally located. Located just 10 minutes north of Pearson Airport, near highway 50 near the confluence of Brampton, Vaughan, Mississauga and Toronto, the Embassy Grand Convention Centre is easily accessible wherever your guests are coming from. We also have a large partner hotel on site and would be pleased to help you book preferred rate packages for your attendees.
Your event speakers / presenters need an appropriate lounge area to collect themselves before presenting! The Embassy Grand has a number of private suites and boardrooms that will ensure that your speakers are fully rested, relaxed and ready to go when the time comes for them to get on stage. This includes rooms such as our main boardroom that have full TV and laptop plug in capabilities to make any last minute changes to corporate presentations or to complete any final dress rehearsals!
Your event should be an extension of your brand, and the venue is no exception. When you tour a venue, imagine where the check-in area will be, where signage might be displayed, or where an interactive social media wall might be placed. Even with the best event app and event content, a stodgy, uninspired space will deflate the experience. Make sure the venue is the right space to make an emotional connection with your attendees so you can build brand loyalty and keep them coming back year after year.
People love treats! Yummy food and special drinks appeal to the senses, keep people comfortable and can serve as conversation starters. Food and beverages are usually an important part of an event, and you want to be sure that the space can accommodate your needs. It’s a good idea to have an idea of what you’ll serve as you tour venues. Will the venue provide a kitchen and staff so that food and drink can be included in your total package? Or, will third party catering be your best bet? If you’re planning to serve alcohol, don’t forget to ensure that the venue has the proper license.
Choose a venue that is focused on the environment and sustainability. Ask the venue what their carbon footprint reduction plan looks like and ensure that their environmental ethics and values are aligned with yours!
Like other leading organizations in Canada, The Embassy Grand is pleased to have signed a pledge to be carbon neutral by 2050. Specifically, this includes everything to sourcing the fresh vegetables, fruits, meats and dairy used by our chefs from as many local farm fresh sources as possible, switching our pick up and delivery vehicles to electric, batching together orders to lower emissions and eventually even adding a photovoltaic commercial roof! Just like your organization, the Embassy Grand takes its Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) responsibilities seriously.