Private Hire Event Checklist

Use this checklist to manage private hire enquiries from quote to confirmation, deposits, room setup, catering, bar, AV, staffing, access, event-day delivery, and post-event follow-up. It pairs with the venue booking enquiry form for structured intake and with venue booking guides for software depth — built for venue GMs, commercial leads, and ops producers.

Private hire is high-touch and high-risk: one missed deposit, wrong room setup, or catering headcount error becomes a reputational and financial incident. Checklists do not replace judgment — they make ownership explicit so Saturday is not negotiated by radio between sales, catering, and security.

Qualify before you site-visit: budget band, decision date, competing holds, and technical feasibility. Every quote should reference the enquiry ID so revisions are auditable. Promoters and agencies booking your rooms still need your house rules captured on the record — not in a forwarded thread.

Holds need expiry and release rules; contracts need version control; deposits need dates finance can see. Track cancellation terms and force majeure triggers at booking — not when the client asks to move. Lost-deal reasons should be coded so marketing sees true conversion, not optimism.

Commercial caveat: Deposit and cancellation terms should be reviewed by qualified commercial and legal advisers for your venue type and jurisdiction — this checklist is operational, not legal advice.

Confirm layout (theatre, banquet, cabaret), dance floor, staging, and accessibility routes. Capacity is a licence and safety constraint — not whatever the client hopes to squeeze in. Publish floorplans to catering, AV, and security from the same version ops approved.

Capture menus, dietary requirements, service style, bar model (open, cash, minimum spend), and final numbers deadline. Kitchen and bar need the same guest count security uses — reconcile the night before. Package inclusions should match what sales quoted line by line.

List in-house vs hirer-supplied AV, entertainment curfews, and rigging constraints. External suppliers need insurance, induction, and load-in windows on the same calendar as the hirer. If a ticketed show shares the building, note noise and access interactions explicitly.

Assign an event-day owner and publish escalation: security, duty manager, tech, catering lead. Access instructions should cover vehicles, contractor badges, and guest arrival — including accessibility and late arrival policy. Brief staff on who may authorise overruns or upgrades on the night.

Send hirer-facing confirmations: times, dress code if relevant, parking, contacts, and contingency numbers. Wayfinding on the night should match what was sold — no surprise room moves without a comms owner. Corporate and wedding programmes especially need polite clarity on noise and end times.

Close finance: extras, damages, overtime, bar reconciliation, and invoice timing. Debrief ops and catering while memory is fresh. Tag repeat hirers for nurture — private hire LTV often beats one-off ticket nights. Report utilisation and yield by daypart for leadership.

EventSuite connects enquiries, holds, bookings, events, payments, and reporting so private hire does not fracture across inboxes. Use the enquiry form for intake, this checklist for delivery, and the venue guides to choose platform depth — then book a demo to map your rooms and handoffs.