Every summer, there comes a peculiar phone call. Someone from HR or operations calls the venue; he or she introduces himself/herself, mentions that they are looking into venues for their Christmas party, and gets a hearty laugh in response. Because they are already three months late.
It is fair to say that the Christmas party season is a peculiar beast in Birmingham. It starts far too early, reaches its peak in November, and then fizzles out almost immediately. While it is true that the process of choosing a suitable venue begins in November, this is already too late to secure the best venues at the best times.
As mentioned above, the situation is even worse when choosing Christmas Parties Birmingham options specifically, although this issue is far from exclusive to the city in question.
Why the City Centre Turns Into a Battlefield
To understand why, let us talk briefly about the structure of Birmingham’s nightlife. Most restaurants, bars, clubs, and pubs are concentrated in the city centre, in the Broad Street, the Jewellery Quarter, the Mailbox, or Brindleyplace districts. This creates a unique mathematical challenge for companies hosting Christmas parties. There are tens or hundreds of companies with dozens of employees who wish to celebrate Christmas in a pleasant environment.
In turn, most venues have seen this pattern play itself out countless times and have developed a strategy of their own. First, most venues reserve prime dates for their regular clients, or companies with sufficient funds to pay in advance for Christmas party packages. Next, they charge whatever they can to the remaining clients who have not yet secured their venues, and they usually get what they are asking for.
Medium-sized companies are stuck in the middle of the struggle. Smaller companies can adjust to the new conditions easily; larger companies can afford to hire professional event managers or agencies that book venues for their clients several months in advance. Medium-sized businesses, however, find themselves in a difficult position. Their teams are big enough to require substantial venue capacity but not big enough to get preferential treatment.
In recent years, the Jewellery Quarter has emerged as an alternative. Venue capacities in this district are limited, usually ranging from 100 to 150 guests maximum. However, these venues usually have a certain charm, and they cost less money, thus making the choice quite obvious.
The Transport Problem No One Talks About
While it is easy to forget about this problem, it plays a crucial role in choosing a venue. To put it bluntly, Birmingham’s transport infrastructure stops functioning after 11 pm on weeknights. At such times, buses run infrequently, and trains to surrounding towns run on minimal schedules that are far from convenient for parties ending at midnight.
Thus, when choosing a venue for a Christmas party, it is necessary to consider how the attendees are going to get home. A company with staff located throughout Birmingham, Solihull, and Wolverhampton needs to consider how their staff will be able to return home. This means that, although the venue seems perfect on paper, its location might prove to be quite inconvenient.
One way to address this issue is to hire transportation services. While such an approach solves the problem, it adds an additional financial burden to the equation, not to mention the loss of flexibility for the attendees who now have to leave at the appointed time. Another solution is to arrange for an earlier finish time for the party. In turn, an event that ends at 9 pm is a very different experience from one finishing at midnight.
Alternatively, venues situated outside the immediate city centre are usually cheaper and easier to book. Moreover, they are easily accessible from the perspective of private transport. The only problem is that venues situated outside the city centre lack its charm and allure, which makes them somewhat less attractive. Furthermore, it might be challenging to convince employees to travel to another part of town to host a Christmas party.
What Really Makes Christmas Parties Worthwhile
After considering the practical aspects of Christmas parties, it becomes evident that the key element of success lies elsewhere. Ultimately, what determines whether the party was fun and worthwhile or tedious and meaningless depends on the efforts that a company has invested in organising it. Interestingly, this aspect is unrelated to expenses, contrary to popular belief.
An appropriate venue chosen in accordance with the number of attendees, food that requires consideration, and realistic finish times are far more important than additional services paid for as an afterthought. It is the companies that know how to organise Christmas parties that are looking for venues in July.
