Event Transportation -

Why You Shouldn't Plan It Last

Typically we’ve found that event planners view transportation as an afterthought during the event planning process. As such, whatever budget is left at the end of the planning process is typically crammed into transportation.

Why?

Perhaps this occurs because over time planners have realized their questions and design needs are met with blank stares by transportation companies. As a result, we typically see event and wedding planners handling the logistics, routing, scheduling of the entire transportation program and handing a manifest or spreadsheet to be executed blindly.

Consequently, if the planners are handling everything other than supplying the vehicles, then they’re only concerned with one thing - the vehicles. From there, the vehicles are viewed as a commodity. Finding whoever can supply the van, minibus, or coach at the remaining event budget is the goal.

But what if things were different?

What if special event transportation was viewed the same way as say, the tent company? With a tent company, you discuss the aesthetic, the placement, listen to concerns about the wind and the ground underneath, and continue to discuss together until a mutual solution is agreed upon. The same should be true for ground transportation.

In reality, the attendee’s first and last impression of the event begins and ends with transportation. A bad beginning sets a negative tone for everything that follows, and a bad exit overshadows an otherwise positive experience. That’s why transportation should be a part of the event, not an added on service.

Here’s an example:

Recently we were contacted by a corporate event planner needing transportation for a major company’s annual sales conference. They needed:

• To transport hundreds of attendees from the airport (arriving at different times) to a remote off-site location.

• Transportation during the 4 day conference to shuttle attendees back and forth from the hotel to their corporate party. We proposed specialty vehicles that allowed attendees to get the party started on the way to the event.

• On the departure date, they needed to bring attendees back to the airport (all at different times) and also a select few back to their corporate office.

After speaking with our team multiple times and looking over the proposals we laid out they knew it was (now) critically important to secure the transportation. They realized the transportation would also enhance the experience of the entire event and needed to add more to the budget to do so.

As mentioned above, history has lended itself to view event transportation as a commodity because many design and aesthetic requests are met with blank stares. That has forced event planners to only view event transportation from a vehicle-only perspective.

However, if you prioritize transportation during the beginning stages and work with a great partner such as an Event Transportation Management Agency - then your attendees will have a remarkable experience from beginning to end.