ABCey Presents: Top 5 New San Francisco Event Venues in 2019

Planning an event but don’t know where? Today, ABCey has curated a list of the top five new San Francisco venues for your next big conference or event!

1. Palette

Palette is a restaurant and gallery that explores the relationship between food, art and community. Located in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, Palette is an 8,500 sq. ft. storied space within walking distance of the Moscone Center, Yerba Buena Gardens and the SFMOMA. With the ability to accommodate up to 225 guests, Palette is a great place for large events!

The inisde of Palette restaurant

Location: 816 Folsom Street | Book here | Contact Info |

2. DecantSF

DecantSF is the newest addition to San Francisco’s wine and beverage scene. It is available for private events such as tastings, wine list consulting for off-property events, and corporate gifting. Whether your event is small or big, DecantSF will work with you and specially customize a program just for you!

This picture details DecantSF's bar.

Location: 1168 Folsom Street | Book here | Contact Info |

3. Story on Union

Conveniently located on Union Street in the Cow Hollow neighborhood of San Francisco, Story on Union is the sweet spot for your next private event. Whether it is a cocktail party, rehearsal dinner, fundraiser or even retirement party, the options are endless! In addition, it can accomodate up to 175 people.

Such a big open space for any event you have. With a bar, it is able to accomodate to all your needs.

Location: 2136 Union Street | Book here |

4. Nommo

Opened by two acclaimed bar owners Thad Vogler and Jon Santer, Nommo was built with your event needs in mind! Nommo has a menu that appropriately spans land and sea. Not only are there seafood, but also there are cheese plates, little gem and chicory caesar salads, and desserts. With views of the Bay Bridge, this place is sure to be on your list!

This open space is modern and simplistic- great for any large event you may have

Location: 396 Harrison St. | Book here |

5. The Brixton on 2nd

The Brixton San Francisco has opened the second location of its iconic, rock ‘n roll inspired restaurant. It is a full service restaurant with a lively bar and cafe that features two separate private dining rooms available for guests, which are named after baseball players Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. If your event is small or big, this place will sure be a smash hit!

Simple and sleek- great for small and private events.

Location: 701 2nd Street at Townsend Street | Book here | Contact Info|

What are your favorite new San Francisco venues? Are there any we missed? Can ABCey help plan your next event at one of these fun spots? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter!

If you’re interested in learning more about events we’ve done for other San Francisco startups or other Fortune 500 companies, click here.


ABCey Presents: Tips for a Smooth Site Selection Process

Site selection for events can be a challenging and tedious process. However, by accomplishing the right steps, you can find the best venue for your client. ABCey has curated a list of tips for a smooth site selection process that we use to pick the perfect venue!

Make an Initial List of Sites

brainstorming - site selection

The first step in our site selection process is doing a general brainstorm of sites that seem to fit the needs of the client. Consider the location, number of guests, and venue-type when compiling the list. Leave no stone unturned and make sure you’re getting a variety of different venues. This makes your client feel like they have options and will show them that you’ve considered everything.

Create a Master Spreadsheet for Your Client

master spreadsheet - site selection

After making an initial list of sites, create a master spreadsheet with a Site Selection tab. This should incorporate all the venues you found and important information about each venue, including pros and cons. For each site, include information on availability, contacts, venue size, location, pricing, and information about the space. Make sure the client can quickly and easily see what the venue has to offer!

Put Together a Style Guide

style guide - site selection

After the master spreadsheet has been shared with your client, it’s helpful to make a style guide with the key information and images for each of your top picks.

Send an RFP to all of Your Top Venues

RFP - site selection

An RFP (request for proposal) allows you to easily communicate your event needs to outside vendors. By sending your RFP to the various venues you’re considering, you can get a clearer idea about the availability and pricing for each site. This will help you narrow down your choices. Here are some tips on creating the perfect RFP!

Set Up a Review With Your Client

Call with a client - site selection

The next step is setting up a time to chat with your client over the phone or in person to go through each venue. From there, you’ll be able to get a better sense of which sites you can eliminate and which ones are worth visiting in-person.

Go on Site Visits to Check Out Top Venues

site visits - site selection

Once you and your client have picked your favorite venues, make sure to visit them in-person. This can help you decide if they’re the right fit for your event. There’s no better way to get a sense of the venue and their ability to meet your needs then to set foot on the actual grounds!

Make Your Final Decision

make final decision - site selection

Hopefully the in-person site visits will help you identify your absolute top venues, so you can decide on the one you want to go with. Once you accomplish this, you can start working on the fun stuff, like figuring out event decor and can move forward with your chosen venue!

Which site selection tips did you find to be most helpful?

Did we miss anything? We’d love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter!


ABCey’s #TechTuesday – Social Tables

#TechTuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world! In today’s #TechTuesday, we present to you Social Tables, an awesome event planning software!


What is Social Tables?

Social Tables is event planning software that streamlines the floor plan and guest list creating process. We love Social Tables because of all its customizable features as well as their dedication to helping users maximize the software. It is cloud based so you can access your diagrams from anywhere and those shared on the event can get up to date changes as they are being made. Social Tables provides a customer success planner which helps you with any problems you might be having with the software. They can also coordinate with venues to get a floor plan if the software does not currently have it. We love that all these features truly let users personalize events to their needs and create very accurate representations of their upcoming event!

Creating Floor Plans

Social Tables Tech Tuesday

An awesome feature on Social Tables is their floor plan creator. You can take floor plans from the actual venue site and pull furniture etc. from the menu bar to create a realistic depiction of the floor plan. That floor plan can also come to life in a 3D rendering. Once you add tables to your layout, Social Tables also gives you the opportunity to create a seating chart. If you tend to work with a specific furniture company your customer success planner can also coordinate with the company to upload their furniture to the floor plan creator.  If you choose to share the floor plan with vendors you can give them a handy equipment list.

Managing Guest Lists

Social Tables Tech Tuesday

Social Tables also allows you to upload a guest list. You can use that guest list to seat people around tables on the floor plan. Additionally, you’re able to tag guests as “VIPs” or group certain guests together that you know should sit together. This guest list also proves helpful the day of the event. Using an iPad, you can check in guests as doors. If there are multiple entrances the guest list will automatically be updated to all tablets so you can see if guests have checked at any other entrances. If you have any VIP members you can receive texting notifications when they check in as well.

 


Have you tried Social Tables? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!


#TechTuesday: Oculus Rift For Your Next Event

#TechTuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world!


Are you watching an event or hosting a virtual business meeting? You might wonder, “Where’s the interaction? I feel as if I’m barely there!” Well, that may change soon as Oculus VR, whom produces Oculus Rift, is pushing to provide consumers affordable virtual reality. Oculus Rift is a headset that provides users the ability to be immersified into virtual reality, and will serve as a means to offer something new and immersive to live audiences. Why not feel as if you are actually there to obtain a better experience?

Oculus Rift

Despite Oculus Rift being advertised for the gaming community, it has been successfully able to extend to other areas, one being EVENTS! With the inclusion of videos and other social features, the potential is vast!

The sky’s the limit with Oculus Rift!

Many large events have often had trouble with increasing the venue size with the surplus of attendees.
Well, no longer! Oculus Rift allows visitor numbers to increase with no limit as visitors attend the event online. This boosts the attendance rate and can provide an unforgettable experience for everyone.

What should you know to prepare for such an awesome technology?

CieEvents proposes that the event management team should be aware that there may be some work involved in order to have stable and accessible virtual reality throughout the event. With both live and virtual attendance, host companies may go all in with their event budget, implementing more massive and engaging events.

How it works:

After purchasing Oculus Rift, set up the hardware by plugging in all of the required adapters and wires. Users may then install any software needed from the Oculus Website. After completing the installation, restart the computer. Any games or applications that is in the Oculus Store may be purchased on the website. The user is now able to set his/her headset to delve into virtual reality.

Oculus Store

Why we love it:

Oculus Rift grants exciting technology for the future. It would not only allow people to feel more of a connection to the event, but also provides an enhanced experience. This is not a typical event/meeting that the user would experience. It would feel more real enhancing your visual senses!

What are your thoughts on Oculus Rift? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!