01around three months in advance
Define the key details
These are the details without which no venue can provide a quote.
Magazine · Conferences & business
Planning a seminar: What makes a good room enquiry
For most seminar enquiries, attendee numbers and budget aren't yet fixed. What makes a good room enquiry, when to send it, and what matters with the day delegate rate, based on our own enquiry data.
EventButler editorial teamUpdated October 202614 min read
In brief
Seminar enquiries received by EventButler usually arrive two to three months before the date.
Enquiries mention catering more often than technology, most commonly lunch and a projector.
In most enquiries, the number of participants and the budget are still undecided, even though a venue needs exactly this information to provide a suitable quote.
A seminar enquiry is quickly written, but you'll only get a suitable quote with the right details. We analysed our seminar and meeting enquiries. It turns out that in most of them, the number of participants and the budget are still undecided. Yet these are exactly the two pieces of information a venue needs to put together a suitable quote. Here's what belongs in a good room enquiry, when you should make your enquiry, and what matters when it comes to the conference package rate.
What seminar enquiries mention and what's missing
Most commonly, enquiries are about food, especially lunch. Technology is mentioned less often, and when it is, it's usually the projector. Hybrid or video technology plays almost no role.
What's notable is what's missing: many ask for a price but don't say how much can be spent or how many people are attending. Without this information, a venue can hardly put together a serious offer. The result is follow-up questions, and it takes longer before a quote arrives.
| Information in the enquiry | Share of enquiries |
|---|---|
| Catering (at least one point) | 56 % |
| Number of participants | 49 % |
| Request for price or quote | 48 % |
| Lunch | 33 % |
| Technology (at least one point) | 30 % |
| Coffee and break catering | 25 % |
| Full-day duration | 25 % |
| Projector | 24 % |
| Breakout rooms | 16 % |
| Seating arrangement | 14 % |
| Budget | 12 % |
| Overnight stay | 8 % |
Analysis of seminar and meeting enquiries at EventButler since January 2023. Not being mentioned doesn't mean it isn't needed.
Four steps to a suitable quote
These points should be in your enquiry before you send it off:
02before the enquiry
Clarify the room and format
The format determines the room. You'll need a different room for a workshop than for a presentation in front of 80 people.
Tip: Our seating arrangement comparison shows how much space each type of seating needs.
03before the enquiry
Define technology and catering
Write down what you actually need. That way, the quotes are comparable.
04after receiving the responses
Compare enquiries and quotes
Ask several venues using the same details. Only then can you compare the quotes fairly.
Conference package or individual prices?
Many seminar hotels and conference centres offer a conference package rate per person. This usually bundles room hire, basic technology, breaks and lunch into a single price. This makes planning easier, since you calculate per participant.
However, what exactly is included varies from venue to venue, and only a few people ask about it explicitly. So always ask what's included: drinks in the room, extra technology, breakout rooms, drinks reception. With individual prices, you pay separately for the room, technology and catering. This is worthwhile mainly for short meetings without food.
You'll find more on what else affects the cost of a seminar room in the answers in our overview Seminar rooms in Switzerland.
Half day, full day or multiple days
When a duration is mentioned, it's usually a full day. Half-day and multi-day seminars are less common. Breakout rooms for workshops are a frequent request.
When it comes to group size, there are two distinct patterns: small meetings with up to 20 people, often lasting a few hours and close to the station, and conferences or management days with more than 80 people, a plenary hall and several breakout rooms. In between lies the typical seminar room for around 30 participants.
Anyone wanting to combine a seminar with a team event can plan the workshop in the morning and a team event in the afternoon.
When you should make your enquiry
Most seminar enquiries arrive two to three months before the date. Some, however, only come in a few weeks beforehand, which is cutting it close for a popular date or a large group.
Most enquiries come in at the start of the year and in spring, with November being the quietest month. For a kick-off in January, that means the enquiry should go out in October. More on this in our article Planning your 2027 kick-off.
Seminar rooms by city
Seminar rooms, conference hotels and congress centres across Switzerland, with capacities and direct enquiries.
Further reading
You'll find all seminar rooms in our overview Seminar rooms in Switzerland. For ideas on venues towards the end of the year, see the article Seminar venues for Q4. How an enquiry works with us and what happens afterwards is explained in the Help Centre.
Frequently asked questions
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