News and Articles
Five Stars or Right Fit? What Corporate Event Venues Actually Need
Somewhere between the brief landing in your inbox and someone saying “let’s do something five-star,” a quiet problem starts. The venue everyone pictures and the venue the event actually needs are rarely the same thing, and the gap almost always turns up on the...
Spotlight on the Parklands Country Gardens & Lodges, Blackheath
Quick Facts Event Spaces: The Karawerra Meeting Room — a large, country-style function space with natural light and sweeping garden views — plus the Lakeview Restaurant for group dining and the manicured estate grounds for outdoor events and team activities. Capacity:...
Spotlight on the Hydro Majestic Blue Mountains
Quick Facts Event Spaces: Six unique meeting and dining spaces including the Grand Majestic Ballroom, Delmonte conference and dining rooms, Wintergarden Restaurant, Hargraves Garden, and Majestic Point Lookout — all with uninterrupted views across the Megalong Valley....
Spotlight on the Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa
Quick Facts Event Spaces: Four recently refurbished meeting rooms plus a pillarless main function room, with outdoor event options across the Courtyard, Oak Lawn, and Pine Forest — all with views across the World Heritage-listed Jamison Valley. Capacity: Up to 120...
Everything You Think You Know About Venue Sourcing Agents Is Probably Wrong
Here's a scenario we see more than we'd like. A planner reaches out to three venues. A week and a half later, they've heard back from none of them. They're stressed, their timeline is tightening, and they're wondering why on earth venue sourcing is this hard. That's...
The Premium Feeling Has Nothing to Do With the Room Rate
A four-star hotel doesn't automatically mean a four-star experience. Plenty of corporate events have been held in impressive venues and left attendees completely unmoved — while others, in humbler spaces, have been remembered for years. The difference rarely comes...
Spotlight on the QT Auckland
Quick Facts Event Spaces: Four conference and event spaces totalling 240sqm — the Limáni Rooms (individually or combined), a Private Dining Room at Esther, and the Rooftop at QT — all set within QT's signature design-led aesthetic on the Viaduct Harbour. Capacity: Up...
Spotlight on the Cordis Auckland
Quick Facts Event Spaces: 20 event spaces across New Zealand's largest hotel by room count and event space facility — from intimate boardrooms for 8 through to one of Auckland's largest pillarless ballrooms. Capacity: Up to 800 guests banquet-style in The Great Room;...
Spotlight on the Grand Millennium Hotel Auckland
Quick Facts Event Spaces: 16 flexible function venues offering over 1,500sqm of dedicated event space with the capacity to host more than 1,000 guests — from intimate boardrooms through to Auckland's largest ballroom. Capacity: Grand Ballroom accommodates up to 1,000...
Spotlight on the Pullman Auckland City
Quick Facts Event Spaces: 16 function spaces including a grand ballroom and dedicated exhibition floor, offering over 3,000sqm of event space — from intimate boardrooms through to large-scale conferences, gala dinners, and trade shows. Capacity: Up to 1,000 delegates...
Spotlight on the InterContinental Coogee Beach
Quick Facts Event Spaces: 13 flexible event spaces including a pillar-free Grand Ballroom, a collection of meeting rooms, a private boardroom, pre-function areas, and an outdoor event terrace on the newly opened Leisure Deck — all purpose-built during a full 2025...
Why “Unique” Is the Hardest Venue Brief to Get Right
Planners spend weeks on content, speakers, and run sheets. The venue gets sorted somewhere in between. But ask anyone who’s run a genuinely memorable offsite — the room shaped the day more than any agenda item. The challenge is that venue briefs have gotten vaguer....
Spotlight on Kimpton Margot Sydney
Quick Facts Event Spaces: Six light-filled meeting rooms ranging from 28m² to 344m², plus Luke's Kitchen, Harper Rooftop Bar, The Wilmot Bar, and The Cellar — each a distinct setting suited to different event formats. Capacity: Up to 290 guests across the main...
Spotlight on Doltone House
Quick Facts Event Spaces: Over 50 individual and interconnecting event spaces across five Sydney locations — Jones Bay Wharf, Darling Island Wharf, Hyde Park, Sylvania Waters, and Western Sydney — each with its own character and scale Capacity: From intimate boardroom...
Spotlight on Silkari Mirage at Newport
Quick Facts Event Spaces: Four versatile conference and event rooms — Hawkesbury Room, Mirage Room, Bayview Room, and Pittwater Restaurant & Terrace — plus a Poolside Terrace, all set against Pittwater Harbour views. Capacity: Up to 130 theatre-style in the...
Spotlight on QT Sydney
Quick Facts Event Spaces: A collection of character-filled, design-led private venues including Market Room, George Room, Studio Q, Screening Room + Reel Bar, Gilt Lounge, and The Laneway — each with a distinct atmosphere suited to different event formats. Capacity:...
Spotlight on The Mulia Bali
Quick Facts Event Spaces: Two grand ballrooms, 15 purpose-built conference rooms, plus a collection of distinctive outdoor and indoor-outdoor venues including Unity Garden, Eden Garden, and The Mulia Glass House. Capacity: Up to 5,000 delegates across the full...
The Hidden Cost of Sourcing Your Own Venues (It’s Not Just the Hours)
Everyone knows outsourcing venue sourcing saves time. That’s the pitch, and it’s true. But the planners who get the most out of it aren’t just saving hours — they’re protecting themselves from something harder to see. They’re covering the gaps they don’t even know are...
It’s Not Early, It’s Smart: Why the Savvy Planners Are Locking In Christmas Parties Now
Christmas parties are creeping onto the calendar earlier than ever — and we don’t mean decorations in department stores. Across Australia, venues are already seeing their prime December dates disappear before winter has even begun. The New Normal: Christmas Planning...
Spotlight on InterContinental Sydney Double Bay
Quick Facts Event Spaces: A collection of elegant, light-filled function spaces including a grand ballroom, private dining rooms and terrace-style venues. Capacity: Up to 300 guests cocktail-style and 200 banquet-style (varies by space). Accommodation: Luxury bayside...
Spotlight on Crown Towers Sydney
Quick Facts Event Spaces: A collection of premium, architecturally designed venues including grand ballrooms, luxury boardrooms and private dining spaces. Capacity: Up to 350 guests cocktail-style and 220 banquet-style (varies by space). Accommodation: Ultra-luxury...
Spotlight on Capella Sydney
Quick Facts Event Spaces: A refined collection of heritage-meets-modern event spaces, including a grand ballroom, intimate meeting rooms and private dining areas. Capacity: Up to 200 guests cocktail-style and 120 banquet-style (varies by space). Accommodation: Luxury...
Lessons from 30+ Years in Hotels: What It Really Takes to Deliver the Perfect Event
You can learn a lot about events from a run sheet. But you learn far more by working inside a hotel. By standing at reception. By coordinating conferences. By rotating through operations. By negotiating contracts from both sides of the table. By supervising an event...
Reset & Reprioritise: How Smart Event Planners Protect Their Time in the New Year
January has a certain energy to it. New notebooks. Clean inbox intentions. Promises to “do things differently this year.” And yet, for many event planners and executive assistants, the year begins exactly how the last one ended: too many requests, too little notice,...
