There are many elements that combine to make a successful event and many specialist companies and event planners that have expertise to pull most of these together to make a stunning and memorable occasion. There is, however, one element that when VIP event planning is often overlooked or at least left until last to arrange, that can be the crucial link that makes an event either a huge success or a stressful disaster.
So what is this crucial element that can help to make or break the smooth running of any event? It’s the provision of dedicated transport options, linked together with an understanding of local logistics and foresight planning. With the benefit of early involvement the efficient movement of delegates and VIP guests can be managed to keep costs effectively within budget. Large events in particular can be a complex and challenging entity that needs careful planning and constant management. Even after almost 20 years of experience in VIP event planning support via providing transport logistics, there remains one constant element and that is that everything keeps changing! The secret is to expect change at every stage and prepare accordingly, always having a contingency plan to cope with the unexpected, because believe me, you’ll need one!
I remember some years ago being asked by the planning committee to present our proposal for the provision of both VIP official cars and coaches for The Tall Ships Race visit to Newcastle in 2005. Once I’d finished, they then began to explain some of the more detailed planning they’d already undertaken. I explained how impressed I was with how much work had already gone into organising the event, but said that with that done, they should now expect everything to start changing. A knowing smile went around the room, as they appreciated I was right and it was then I knew we had a pretty good chance of being selected to provide our services.
On another more recent occasion when we were supporting VIP event planning I was contacted by an industry colleague who was desperate to get transport arranged for a pharmaceutical company conference of around 300 delegates in Aviemore, Scotland. He’d already made some enquiries, but with only 3 weeks to go, all his usual contacts were already fully booked. I asked him to give me 48 hours and I’m pleased to say that proved to be just enough time for me to organise my resources and those of some local partners to fulfil this requirement. As expected, of course, once we had the initial plan in place, everything began to change with some delegates changing flights and train times etc. Even as the conference was about to start, I received a call to advise that one of the guest speakers was now arriving in a couple of hours at Edinburgh Airport instead of Inverness! This is definitely when the contingency planning had been invaluable and the passenger did make her appearance on time.
It’s many years of experience with all sizes of event and in locations across the entire country that has taught us the secrets of smoothing the way to successful VIP event planning. There again, they’re not really secrets. It’s down to planning, attention to detail, checking and double checking and always being ready to adapt to change. In other words a lot of hard work and long hours, but hugely rewarding when an event is successfully completed.
If you need to book a VIP chauffeur or any executive travel you can do so easily via our online booking system.
If you would like to discuss any VIP or executive travel plans then we’d love to hear from so contact us here.
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