Best Conference Venues in Manchester

Where to start when hiring a Manchester Conference Venue

Well, starting right here would be a strong point. We have some of the best conference venues Manchester has to offer, all available to hire via our digital marketplace. We’re proud of the range we have to choose from, but picking your perfect venue from such a wide berth can take some time, especially if you’re not entirely clear on what it is that you’re looking for. Therefore, you should establish exactly what your requirements are.

Working Out Attendance

The first thing you need to establish before looking for Manchester conference venues is exactly how many people you are expecting to attend. You want to give people enough space to comfortably explore and enjoy your conference, but likewise don’t want to end up paying over the odds for a venue with more space than you’re ever going to use. Make sure that you count all of your guests, as well as the speakers, and any other support staff that you will require.

Identify Your Other Key Characteristics

As well as the size of the venue, you should also identify the other key characteristics that you require from it. For example, if your Manchester conference venue needs to have simultaneous group discussions, you will want to choose somewhere with breakout areas and the appropriate acoustics. Similarly, if you are going to have one person addressing an audience of 100 or more, then you’ll need an appropriate sound system.

How Formal?

One thing that’s a certainty: our conference venues for hire in Manchester offer a great deal of variety. While some are glamorous and swanky, others are more rustic and unassuming, so decide the kind of atmosphere you want to create from your conference before picking some venues to consider.

Whether you want to create a laid-back vibe that suits mingling with your clients or a formal gathering among industry leaders, we definitely have an appropriate space for you.

How to Budget Properly

Before you can put together your final shortlist of potential properties, you need to know exactly how much money you have to spend. Remember that the costs of the venue are just one thing that you need to consider. For example, if you are going for a hirer deal - meaning that you pay to hire out space in the venue and nothing more - then you will also need to factor in the costs of catering. 

On the other hand, some of our conference venues for hire in Manchester offer a minimum spend deal; which means that as long as you reach the minimum threshold on food and drinks, you can essentially have the venue space for nothing.

The value of the minimum spend can vary widely between different venues, with some charging as little as £50 a day and others going into the tens of thousands of pounds. Needless to say, the price will scale with the number of expected attendees.

The situation is the same when you consider the properties that operate on a simple hiring fee. These are usually given in the form of a cost per hour, often with discounts available if you purchase an entire day.

If you are going to have people attending from around the country, you might also need to factor in the costs of reimbursing their travel expenses. These are the types of costs that will add up quicker than you might think, so get on top of them as early as possible.

What to consider when you hire a Manchester conference venue

If you are expecting attendees to be coming from far and wide, it makes sense to choose a venue that offers good public transport links. With a multitude of venues available from right around town, it might be wisest to hire a conference venue in Manchester city centre if people are travelling great distances to be there.

As well as making sure that your venue is easily accessible for attendees, you should also check to make sure that the layout of the venue is conducive to the kind of conference that you want to run. If your conference is mostly going to consist of individual speakers addressing the audience, you don't need anything complicated in terms of layout. On the other hand, if you are planning a conference that will see attendees moving around in groups and talking to one another, you will want a venue that can provide you with plenty of space.

Some venues can easily be converted or adjusted depending on your individual needs, but while some spaces are versatile, others are entirely rigid. It is therefore important to know exactly what you are looking for.

Finally, if you are able to select a date for your conference in Manchester, that’s a real bonus. Remember that travelling in during the weekend or during the weekday rush hour can be more expensive and generally more difficult. On the other hand, if you can schedule your conference for a weekday afternoon, you will find the transport networks easier to navigate.

That’s quite enough talk for now. Here on VenueScanner we have a glut of the best Manchester conference venues around, and we’ve made it easy for you to find your perfect fit. Once you’ve mapped out your plan it’s time to get browsing; our easy-to-use search filters give you unfettered access to the great venues of this great city. Let’s get started, shall we?