I can’t say this enough: the person working at the hotel is not your event planner. A venue coordinator and your own planner are two completely different jobs, and knowing the difference will save you a lot of stress.
I know this because I used to be that person. Before I started The Event Bar, I was the Catering Sales Manager at Hilton Los Angeles Universal City. Couples and families would sit across from me and say, “So you’ll take care of everything, right?” And I did take care of everything the hotel was responsible for. That was my job, and my job was the hotel.
Here’s the easiest way to think about it. A venue coordinator is like the venue’s lawyer, there to defend the venue. Your planner is your personal lawyer, and we’re there to defend you.
Venue coordinators are great and I love working with them. But their job is protecting the property: the room, the minimums, the contract, the load-in times and the rules. They’re also there to make sure you have the number of guests you signed for. If more people show up, they will charge you for it. Your planner is the one who will usually try to cover for you and figure it out. So when there’s overtime, or a charge you didn’t expect, or a guest count that went up, who do you think the venue coordinator is representing? It’s not you. That’s nothing personal, it’s just their job.
A venue coordinator is the venue’s lawyer. Your planner is your personal lawyer. Always remember who you’re talking to.
Your planner is the one reading your contract before you sign it and catching what’s missing on the BEO. We’re the ones telling you ahead of time that the in-house AV company charges for power, so you don’t get mad when you see it on the bill. We manage every vendor the venue doesn’t touch, build a timeline for your whole day, and handle your family. None of that is the venue’s job.
And here’s the one that makes people crazy. A lot of clients get super annoyed after talking to the venue coordinator in the middle of planning, because they feel blindsided. The coordinator doesn’t know about things their planner is working on. But think about it: your planner usually doesn’t send the final details to the venue until right before the event. The coordinator isn’t hiding anything. They just don’t have the information yet. So spare yourself from getting upset. If you have a planner, don’t talk to the venue coordinator. Let us handle it. That’s what you hired us for.
BTW, WHO’S PLANNING YOUR EVENT? #THEVENTBAR
