How to Book an External Venue

Although there are many good spaces on campus, there will be occasions when you want to use an external venue for something specific. Examples may include booking a club, a theatre or a boat. There are lots of different things to consider, and this guide will help you make the right decisions and aid your planning.

Step 1

Find your venue, and make sure it suits your needs. As you are off campus, the president will be responsible for everyone and will need to check and follow health and safety procedures. Ask if the venue provides security (if you need it), and most importantly, when you can use it and what they expect of you. If you’ve hired it for an evening, do they expect you to clean everything before you leave? Make sure that the costs are reasonable and check that there are no hidden costs.

Step 2

As always, make sure that you have followed the correct procedures in terms of getting expenditure approved. You may need to complete an Activity Registration Form – check this guide for more information.

Where is the money coming from? Ticket sales? Your non-Grant or Grant Accounts? Other college sources? Are you going to make money for the event from selling tickets, or is it for charity? Please see our organising events pages for more information.

Step 3

When you are happy with the terms of use, ask the Manager of the Venue to provide you with an agreement or a contract, and ask them to sign it first if possible. This should be the treasurer’s job, as they have responsibility for your Club or Society spending.

This contract should include exactly what the external venue/company is providing and what the fee is in return. The contract should submitted via our online webform. The Union will not sign the contract if the expenditure has not been authorised, so make sure you follow the appropriate financial procedures.

Do not sign the contract yourself!  If you do, you are personally entering into an agreement with the company, and therefore will be personally liable for any costs. All agreements and contracts must be signed by the Activities Officer.

Step 4

Once you have had confirmation that the contract has been signed and that (if necessary) your Activity Registration Form has been approved, you will need to pay for the venue. If you need to pay in advance, submit a Purchase Request Form and the Finance Department will pay it for you. Do this in plenty of time, and check the guide on How to spend money from your Club or Society Account for more information on how to do this.

Step 5

Hold your event and be careful to treat the venue with respect – venues will usually charge you if you break or damage anything!