HOW TO
How to stop a five-star event getting a one-star review in the parking lot
You’ve booked the chef. The lighting designer has opinions about candle height. The florist has been briefed down to the stem. And then someone looks at the total and says, “Uh uh. People can pay for their own parking.”
The problem with this mentality is that guests don’t take in all elements of your event with equal intensity. They experience it in order: arrival first, a trip to the bathroom next, then welcome drinks and canapés. But if the first 20 minutes are spent circling a basement in Sandton, even the wagyu may not win them back.
Here’s where not to trim:
Parking, vouchers included
Your guest has dressed up, left the office early and survived the N1. The last thing they need is a boom gate that wants a card and a blood sample. Pre-paid parking vouchers, reserved bays and clear directions to the right entrance say “Welcome, we’re expecting you.” And if parking’s off-site, organise a shuttle service.
Bathrooms
Every guest will visit the loo at least once. You don’t need embroidered dressing gowns, but you should have fresh flowers, good (and enough) hand wash and lotion, proper towels, flattering light and someone checking in often or standing by.
Staff
Cutting two waiters looks tidy on the spreadsheet, but on the night it can turn into a queue at the bar and empty glasses during the keynote. Staff numbers determine how long your guests will wait for everything, so budget for enough people. Hot tip: Station someone at the entrance who knows where cloakrooms/other facilities are.
Getting home
The event ends when guests get home, not when the DJ packs up or the last huddle of people finally heads toward the parking lot. Ensure lit walkways, a proper e-hailing pickup point, security staff who can escort people to their cars and a backup plan (plus umbrellas) if it starts pouring at 23:00.
The unglamorous stuff
Guests are excellent at spotting what’s missing, but they usually tell each other, not you. Think about the “would’ve been nice if they’d…” first, before they have a chance to say it, like water on tables, charging points, good Wi-Fi that works, somewhere to leave a jacket, clearly marked bins, etc.
Guests will remember the wagyu. But they’ll also remember walking to a dark parking lot in heels or almost slipping on the wet bathroom floor. If you can budget for marbled meat, you can budget for the other things too.
#RewindRewireReveal
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EYES ON
Your iPod called. It wants to be a mirror on the wall.
If you weren’t at Decorex Joburg this year, you missed out. Yes, the best of SA design was there. But one stand took the full four days to finish. On purpose.
While everyone else was polished and ready for day one, Caleb Mashile of Rand Tree Studios turned his stand into a slow reveal, adding something every day until the last. And it had a vibe. Walking in felt like stepping into a memory: warm, funky and full of things you forgot you missed. The kind of stand you mean to walk past, then stay at long enough to miss lunch and write your a message on the couch.
Haven’t heard of Rand Tree Studios? They’re the new kids on the block, doing industrial design, interiors, custom fabrication and product development. And they make everything in-house. Feel it for yourself: https://randtreestudios.co.za
BY THE WAY
This month’s riddle:
They don’t click or disappear between couch cushions, but one pinch and the next slide magically appears. What are they?
Gesture-controlled presentation tools.
Instead of a clicker, the speaker’s hand gestures do the work. Doublepoint’s WowMouse Presenter app, for example, turns an Android smartwatch into a remote for PowerPoint and Google Slides, so a small movement sends you forwards, backwards or into a pause.
Other setups use cameras to track the presenter’s palms, letting them push a timeline across the screen and hover over a moment to pull up the story behind it. For speakers, this means free hands and no fumbling. For the tech desk, it means fewer clickers dying mid-keynote. Lekker.
