Choosing Event Venues: Why Location Matters

Accessibility 

Accessibility is a multifaceted topic that covers everything from event location and logistics, to the materials used throughout a conference or the design of your floorplan. 

If you want to learn more about accessibility in these areas, check out our guide on How to Make Your Event Accessible and Inclusive to All. 

But, focusing on event location, accessibility can mean several different things… 

Transport options 

Accessible event locations are heavily dictated by the ability for your attendees to get to the venue: no-one will attend if they can’t get there. So, whether you’re hosting a large-scale event, or one open to the public, choosing a venue that’s far removed from transportation options is never a good idea. 

Instead, to maximise the accessibility of your event or conference, you need to choose a venue with close transport links and good connections with the rest of the country. 

Take our own ACC Liverpool campus as an example. Situated in the heart of Liverpool, our venue is easily accessible by a wide range of public transport methods. Within a reasonable distance of two international airports, 20 minutes away from the UK motorway network, and with a collection of train stations serving the local areas and beyond, Travelling Here is a breeze. It’s even easy to get around Liverpool itself to arrive at our venue, with plenty of buses, bikes, and taxis available – or stretch your legs and walk from the city centre to our doors. 

Having plenty of available transport options is a boon for any event location to make it easier for people to attend. So, when you’re choosing your event location, make sure you consider the logistics of how people can get to you. 

Wider accessibility requirements 

Once your attendees have arrived, there are also the practical accessibility requirements to consider – which will influence your choice of event location. These include, but are not limited to: 

• Drop-off and pick-up points for wheelchair or mobility aid users. 

• Accessible facilities within the venue, such as: 

• Accessible toilets. 

• Hearing loops and caption capture for deaf or HoH attendees. 

• Braille interpretation. 

• Accessible seating, with accompanying space for personal assistants. 
• Accessible parking options close to the venue. 

Top tip: interested in Accessible Entertainment? Explore our accessibility information at ACC Liverpool. 

Event requirements 

Outside of accessibility, event location, and venue choice, will also affect more general aspects of your event – and how successful it will be. Choosing the right event location offers you better opportunities to make your event or conference stand out, and attract more engaged attendees. 

Audience 

You can’t have an event without an audience – and you’d be surprised how much your event location can play a part in bringing people to your event or conference. Depending on the interests of your target audience, different locations will appeal more. For example: 

• Young people may be more likely to attend an event location that has more to offer in terms of entertainment. 

• Certain locations are affiliated with specific areas of social interest. For example, Liverpool and Manchester are closely connected to the music scene, Edinburgh has a long history of medical teaching and innovation, etc. 
• Your event itself might have a connection with an area, so it would make sense to host it there. 

If you’re hosting professional conferences, or local business events, the sensible option is to host your event in the areas where your audiences/attendees are. By choosing a geographically close event location, it’s easier for people to attend – and also potentially more sustainable, as you can reduce attendee carbon emissions. 

Venue amenities 

Event location isn’t just limited to geography – choosing the right venue within that location is vital to ensure your event can even take place. When choosing where to host your event, you need to consider: 

• Capacity: does the area you’re interested in have a venue that can meet your capacity needs? Can it grow with you, or will you be limited by the space available? 

• Technical requirements: are there in-house Production or IT services that you can use? Do they meet the requirements of your event? 

• Venue adaptability: does your event location have the flexibility and adaptability to arrange the floor plan you want? Are there breakout rooms, or smaller conference spaces, for you to use? 

Accommodation 

Wherever you choose to host your event, you need to ensure there is appropriate accommodation available for all attendees who need it. Depending on where your attendees are coming from, many will choose to stay one night to split the journey and make it more enjoyable (and reduce the time-pressure or tiredness caused by long commutes). 

So, when you’re deciding on an appropriate event location, you need to choose somewhere with plenty of hotels and accommodation arrangements. Here at ACC Liverpool for example, we have a fantastic selection of Hotels near our venue for you (and attendees) to choose from. Or, you can choose to take advantage of our inter-connected Pullman Hotel, which is conveniently integrated into our campus for supreme ease.  

All of these hotels mean your attendees will never be stuck for a place to stay. With 9,550 rooms to stay in across a range of Liverpool hotels – and a whopping 3,481 of these within 1km of our venue – there are plenty of benefits to choosing us for your event location. 

Top tip: choosing an event location close to the majority of your attendees may reduce the requirement for overnight accommodation.  

Outside the event 

The events and conference landscape has been changing over the past several years, and people are looking for more from their experience. Choosing an exciting event location is an easy way to enhance attendee experience with your event or conference – particularly because of an increase in so-called ‘bleisure travel’. 

What is bleisure travel? 

A portmanteau of the words business and leisure, bleisure is an increasingly common phenomenon where people combine their business or work travel with leisure time, exploring the places their job may take them. Bleisure travel is a great way to encourage a more sustainable work-life balance, allowing people to enjoy their downtime in a new place. 

When it comes to planning and choosing your event location, thinking about bleisure options can help people get more from your event – and be more willing to attend. So, you need to choose an event location that has more to offer than simply access to a venue. 

We’re a superb example of this. The ACC Liverpool campus sits on the iconic waterfront of Liverpool, which is arguably the best city in the North West, if not the whole of the UK (we might be a little biassed). When you choose us as your event location, you not only get an amazing event venue, we’re also the perfect gateway into bleisure travel; with fantastic hidden green spaces, amazing shopping and restaurants, and plenty of cultural heritage to experience, it’s easy to Fall In Love With Liverpool. 

Choose ACC Liverpool for your next event or conference 

Situated in the heart of the fantastic city of Liverpool, we’ve been offering amazing event and conference experiences since we opened in 2008. And, if you need any more convincing, there are loads of reasons to choose us; with excellent In-House Expertise, a Flexible Space, and superb Sustainability efforts, we’re an event location with a lot to offer you. 

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