What we do
Take the lot, or take the part that isn't working.
Most venues appoint us for the full arrangement: we become the events department and the committee stops running one. Some come to us for a single piece that isn't working — a diary that won't fill, a handover after an events manager leaves, or a straight answer on whether the building should be doing this at all.
Filling a diary that has gaps in it
A diary with gaps in it is rarely a marketing problem alone. We look at what the building is worth, what it is being sold for, and who is actually buying — then go and find the bookers who should be. Most of the money is in the midweek and shoulder dates, which is where we start.
- Positioning and pricing, set with the committee and reviewed against what sells
- Photography and the listings that agencies and bookers search
- Direct approaches to agencies, corporate bookers and repeat clients
- A focus on midweek and shoulder dates rather than the weekends that sell themselves
We run your events operation end to end
This is what most venues appoint us for. A named OMB team becomes the venue's events department: the address enquiries go to, the people who run viewings, hold the contracts, book the suppliers, staff the events and are in the building on the night. The committee stops being the escalation point for a marquee that has not arrived.
- Enquiry handling, viewings, quotes and contracting
- Supplier appointment and management, on terms the board has seen
- Staffing and on-the-night delivery
- Written reporting into the board or trustees on their own meeting cycle
On-the-day management for confirmed bookings
Some venues sell perfectly well and come unstuck on the day. This is the floor: the run sheet, the caterers, the suppliers coming through the door in the right order, and the client having one person to ask. It suits a venue with a strong diary and a thin team, or one covering a gap.
- A run sheet agreed with the client before the day
- Catering and supplier liaison, access and timings
- The client relationship on the night
- A handover back to the venue after the event
A read on whether events work for your venue
Before a committee commits to an events programme, it is worth knowing whether the building can carry one. We will tell you if it cannot. The work is short and the answer is written down: what the space realistically holds, what it could earn, what it would need spending on, and where the licensing and neighbour risks sit.
- Realistic capacity, by event type rather than by floor plan
- Likely revenue, and what it depends on
- What the space needs before it can be sold
- Licensing, noise and neighbour risk, stated plainly
How an appointment works
Four steps, and you can stop after any of them.
An initial conversation
An hour, usually at the venue. You tell us what the building does now and what the committee is unhappy with; we tell you whether we think we can help. Nothing is charged for this and nothing is signed.
A written proposal
What we would take on, who from our team would run it, what we would change first, and the commercial structure — how we are paid, what it costs the venue, and what happens to supplier commissions. It is written for a committee to read together.
A handover period
We take on the diary as it stands, including bookings made before us, and we talk to the people who have been holding it together. Nothing in the calendar is dropped and no client is handed a new contact without warning.
Reporting from then on
The board or trustees get the diary, the pipeline and the numbers in writing, on their own meeting cycle, with a named person to ask about any of it.
What we commit to
The three things committees ask us first.
Your members come first
Member and congregation use goes into the diary before anything is put on sale, and it stays there. Regatta weeks, services, fixtures, club nights and the bar on a Friday are not dates we can sell, and we do not come back later asking for them. A venue that has quietly stopped feeling like the members' building has been sold badly, not sold well.
You keep control of your building
The committee sets what the venue will and will not host, and we work inside that. Prices are agreed with you, not set behind you. Supplier terms are written down and visible, including anything we are paid by a supplier. You see the diary and the numbers on your own reporting cycle, and the answer to "who booked this and on what terms" is always one email away.
No punitive exit
If the arrangement stops working, you can end it on reasonable notice without a penalty designed to make leaving unattractive. Confirmed bookings stay with the venue, the client relationships come back to you, and we hand over the diary and the supplier list in a usable state. We would rather be re-appointed than contractually difficult to remove.
Enquire
Tell us about your venue.
Capacity, current setup, and what isn't working. We'll come back with a straight view on whether we're the right fit — and we'll say so if we aren't.