Actividades: Give a warm welcome A warm welcome is not as easy as it sounds. Letting your guests see a familiar face upon arrival marks a sense of familiarity and warmth compared to seeing only strangers. That personal touch immediately makes all guests feel important and welcome at the event - the hosts cared that you came. Get your managers or salespeople to be at the event 30 minutes before doors open to get briefed and to be on hand to greet customers as they enter. When hosts cannot greet guests themselves, engage staff to take on welcome duties. In many cases, you will find yourself busy talking to a guest when another guest arrives… it could be a good idea to pause the conversation and introduce the newcomer to the other guest (people love to network!). In many cases, you and another person may be talking when a guest arrived. Make a pause and greet the arriving guest and introduce him to the person you were talking with, this facilitates networking and no one is left alone. Make some effort to be personal: address your guest by their name (can be a challenge with 500 guests) or better still, make some notes or remember in some ways, certain details about the guests to make them feel special and to start a conversation. It may even be worth it to plan beforehand, the topics that you can comment with each guests. Nametags are another ingredient: it gives people a basis for conversation or guests may just find someone they know only through the phone… the name tags enables them to know each other. Apart from the friendly faces, give your guests a map of the venue and the event program so that your guests are empowered with information and could head straight for what interested them most. Provide service. Have waiters to pass by the guests with trays of drinks so that they have time to explore around and enjoy without having to wait in queue to get a beverage. Place clear signages. Nothing is more upsetting than being lost in an event. Make sure that you provide directional signages and staff in different areas to guide the guests. Feed the guests Most guests arrive for an event expecting some form of food or snacks. The selection doesn't have to be terribly diverse, nor does it have to be particularly sophisticated, but it does have to be good and easy to get to. Ensure ease of access by serving food in several different ways, such as tray-passed hors d'oeuvre, buffets and carving stations. Ideally, food should be acquired quickly and not require use of utensils. For example, you can serve salads in a paper cone - a great and inexpensive way to give guests healthy, good food quickly and without a mess, or carved meat on baguette slices - again, simple yet delicious fast food. Pace your entertainment In most events, you will find guests with different profile present: high management and lower level assistants and you are constantly being challenged to providing a suitable entertainment. You have to make sure that everyone is being well entertained. Don't be shy to have some "quiet time" with no organised activities. Since the key reason for events is to provide a networking environment, it is important to leave quality time and space to foster connections. For example, the first 90 minutes of a three-hour party can actually be a quiet time when guests can network with each other outside of the meeting rooms. Hire many smaller vignettes of diverse performers to reach guests in a more intimate setting and you can combine different type of performers (a comedian, a mime artist, a moving jazz band, etc.), in this way, you can get as close as providing something for everyone at the event. Don't forget to dress up the venue, but keep it limited. Lighting is one of the most effective ways to provide an ambience and is not as expensive compared to hard props. Remember, if your guests feel good at your event, they will come back!