How 360 Reduces The Event Planning Lifecycle, Saving Over 23%+ For Businesses

Recent research by Stova and Cvent shows that 40% of event planners’ time is wasted on administrative tasks that don’t add inherent value. 

Hire Space 360 minimises these administrative tasks, so event planners can focus on the value-add parts of their roles, and deliver bigger and better events.  

Here we look at each stage of the event planning lifecycle, and how savings can be generated at each stage. 

We look at the first three key stages of the lifecycle (Brief, Sourcing, and Contracting) and for illustrative purposes, take the example of a medium-sized event: a 150-person day conference, with a drinks reception, held in London, UK. 

1. Brief

Getting your event brief right is critical. A poorly drafted or incomplete brief, or one that targets the wrong venues from the outset, can waste hours for the event planner. 

Traditionally, a planner would normally spend 7 hours on the brief stage for this 150-person conference: 

• 2 hours creating and refining the brief 
• 5 hours researching venues

With Hire Space 360, that brief stage is reduced to 2 hours: 

• 1 hour populating and iterating a responsive briefing tool
• 1 hour reviewing and selecting instant venue suggestions 

Glassdoor data shows that the average salary for an event planner is £39,028. With central company costs added (such as pension, national insurance, office costs and other benefits), that cost is £57,095. 

This translates to an hourly rate of approximately £27.45, assuming a standard 40-hour work week over 52 weeks in a year. 

So, for this one event alone, there’s a company saving of £137 (5 hours saving x £27.45)

More importantly, the event planner can invest the extra 5 hours on early-stage value-added tasks, such as improving marketing materials to attendees or putting a case together to convince that dream speaker to give the keynote. 

2. Sourcing

The sourcing stage is often the most time-consuming, especially when venues are under-resourced and may be slow to respond, and with a lot of back-and-forth. 

Traditionally a planner would normally spend over 12 hours on the sourcing stage for this 150-person conference:  

• 2 hours finding contact details for venues, and sending the initial brief
• 2 hours chasing venues for responses 
• 2 hours interpreting and comparing venue quotes 
• 4 hours creating shortlists/proposals to share with event stakeholders, and chasing responses 
• 2 hours negotiating rates 

With Hire Space 360, that brief stage is reduced to 3 hours: 

• 15 minutes sending the brief to the venues, in one click
• 15 minutes creating sharable shortlists/proposals from venue quotes, again in one click
• 1 hour reviewing responses to automated venue-chasers
• 1-hour chasing responses from event stakeholders, who all have instant access to the proposal
• 30 minutes reviewing best-price-guarantee quotes 

Using the same Glassdoor cost benchmarking above, this equates to a saving of £247 (9 hours saving x £27.45).

With that time saved, the event planner can be doing valuable mid-stage value-add tasks, such as developing the event agenda and schedule or designing event materials such as programs and signage. Ultimately, with such efficiency gains and by removing repetitive low-value-added tasks, the event planner can handle more inquiries, improve efficiency, and ultimately increase team well-being.

3. Contracting

The contracting stage can be the most frustrating for planners. They’ve chosen their venue and can start planning the event, but are still in a precarious position waiting for the contract to be agreed upon. Completing this stage quickly and accurately is essential for the success of the event. 

Traditionally, a planner would normally spend 11 hours on the sourcing stage for this 150-person conference:

• 2 hours chasing the venue for the contract 
• 4 hours reviewing the contract and editing back and forth with the venue 
• 1 hour chasing for internal sign-off from legal / procurement
• 4 hours of legal team time reviewing and finalising the contract 

With Hire Space 360, that brief stage is reduced significantly, to 30 minutes: 

• 30 mins reviewing a one-page order form for the event, having given Hire Space the green light that you want to book. 

In terms of event planner time savings (looking at the first three stages without Hire Space 360 above), this equates to a saving of 6.5 hours - or £178.43 (6.5 x 27.45). 

Then, you need to factor in the legal team time. According to Glassdoor, the average salary of an in-house lawyer is £68,157. Or, with company costs, that’s £100,191. Or, as an hourly rate, that’s £48.17. 

So, the total saving on the legal time amounts to £192.68 (4x £48.17). 

This means that the total saving for the company at the Contracting stage is £371.11 (£178.43 + £192.68). 

And, with the extra time, the event planner can be doing valuable mid-stage value-add tasks, such as finalising production specifications and determining the show running order or obtaining the optimal event insurance coverage.

Total Savings

Adding all these savings together, when using Hire Space 360 you will save 24.5 hours and £948.06. 

For a company planning 20 similar events per year, that’s a saving of 490 hours, or £18,961. 

That’s before a later stage for payments, delivery, and reporting savings are applied. We’ll cover that in a separate article.

All of this means happy companies, and happy event planners - who have more time to be strategic and build more impactful event programs.

Hire Space 360 streamlines the event planning cycle, allowing planners to focus on high-impact activities. By simplifying the Brief, Sourcing, and Contracting stages, substantial time and cost savings are achieved, enhancing overall efficiency and event quality.

For more Hire Space 360 content, check out all our latest blogs here.

Author

Edward Poland

Co-founder of Hire Space. Making event planning a joy with the UK’s leading live venue marketplace.

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