A beautiful venue does not guarantee a successful event; the answers you get before signing do. Below are twelve questions to ask an event venue, just as useful for a hotel function room, a manor house on the edge of the city or an interwar house in central Bucharest. Some seem minor; those are precisely the ones that decide how the evening turns out.
Questions to ask an event venue: why they come before booking
Before signing, any uncertainty is settled with a sentence added to the quote; afterwards, it is settled with a compromise. That is why the answers that matter — exclusivity, times, capacities, fees, clauses — must go into the written quote, not just the phone conversation.
There is another, subtler reason: the way a venue answers tells you almost everything about how it will work under pressure. A reply to a simple question that takes a week to arrive is, in itself, an answer.
1. Is our event the only one in the building that day?
Ask to be told exactly what "exclusivity" means: the whole building and the courtyard, or only the room you have booked. Some venues host several events in parallel, with a shared entrance and shared parking, and the event next door sends someone else's bass into your room and stray guests into the corridors. Some private houses work with one event at a time — Vila Tătărescu operates on a private-event basis, with one event at a time — but do not assume anything: the wording must go into the contract.
2. From what time do we have access for set-up, and by when must the space be cleared?
These are three different times, not one: supplier access, the start of the event and the moment everything must be out of the building. It is worth finding out whether set-up is charged separately and whether the decor can stay overnight. An elaborate set design needs half a day, not forty minutes, and the finishing time determines what your suppliers cost.
3. What is the real capacity for our format?
The capacity of a room is not one number but several: the same room holds one group theatre-style, a larger one standing and a smaller one seated at tables. Ask directly how many people fit in the format you want, with the stage, the dance floor and the buffet included in the calculation.
As a reference point, Vila Tătărescu publishes its figures by format: 40 people theatre-style, 80 seated at tables, 100 for a cocktail reception in the salons and 150 for a cocktail reception in the 800 m² courtyard, while board meetings are held in groups of 10–20. The breakdown by room is shown under capacities for each format. A venue that does not give you figures by format leaves you to find out only on the day of the event whether the room suits your group.
4. What technical equipment is included, and what is hired separately?
Ask for the list, not adjectives: what sound system there is, how many microphones and of what kind, which screens, whether the speaker can share their screen from their own laptop, whether a technician stays on site for the duration of the event. It matters for both budget and risk: a missing adaptor at presentation time costs more than any saving.
5. In-house or external catering?
Find out from the start whether the venue has its own kitchen and service, whether it works with a closed list of approved suppliers or whether it accepts any company you bring. When the list is closed, ask for it before booking; when an external supplier is accepted, clarify the access fee and the facilities the makeshift kitchen will have.
Drinks come under this heading too: an in-house bar or one brought in, corkage, the birthday cake, vegetarian menus and allergies.
6. What electrical power is available, and what internet connection is there?
How many independent circuits there are, where the sockets are in relation to the stage and the catering area, what happens if the power goes out — all of this should be clarified in advance. Also say what you are bringing: cooking equipment, lighting and large screens draw a lot of power, and a tripped fuse halfway through a speech stops the evening.
For the internet, it matters whether the network is dedicated or shared, whether there is a cable connection for live streaming and whether the signal also reaches the courtyard. Video recording and card payments at the bar depend on the same answer.
7. Where do guests park?
Ask for numbers: how many spaces the venue has of its own, at what cost, which public car parks are nearby, what zone restrictions apply in the evening. Add the logistics: where the set-up lorry comes in, where the catering vehicle waits, how a guest with reduced mobility gets into the building. The detail matters most in the city centre, where guests can lose twenty minutes circling side streets.
8. Who are the venue's neighbours, and until what time is noise allowed?
In a residential area, the time at which the music has to move indoors is a contract matter, not a detail. Clarify whether there are volume limits for the courtyard and whether the venue takes responsibility for relations with the neighbours. A party stopped abruptly spoils an otherwise successful evening.
9. What happens if it rains?
Any event that uses a courtyard or a garden needs a wet-weather plan in writing. Ask where the group moves to, what capacity the back-up space has — almost always smaller —, who makes the decision, by what time, and whether the move brings extra costs: a marquee, heating, furniture. It is also worth knowing what state the outdoor space is left in: the answer decides what your guests' route to the room looks like after an hour of rain.
10. What happens if we cancel or reschedule?
Read the clause before paying the deposit and clarify it point by point: what amounts are retained depending on when you cancel, whether the deposit can be moved to another date, what happens if it is the venue that cancels and how force majeure is handled. It is not a formality; it is the part of the contract that protects you when things go wrong. Check the tax implications of the deposit with your accountant before signing.
11. Who coordinates on the day of the event, and on what number can they be reached?
Ask for a name, not a job title. Ask whether the person who gave you the quote is the same one who will be there on the day, whether they stay for the whole event and who receives the suppliers at set-up. Events are decided by last-minute details: a speaker running late, a table moved, a shower of rain. A dedicated event manager who knows the house and the evening's programme sorts out on the spot what would otherwise land with you, in the middle of the reception.
12. What cannot be done in the building, especially in a listed historic monument?
It is the question asked least often and most often regretted when it was not asked. Ask for the list of restrictions in writing, before ordering the decor: open flames and candles, fireworks and stage smoke, confetti, fixings in walls or joinery, banners on the façade, moving furniture or works of art, areas closed to the public, weight limits.
In a listed historic monument, the restrictions are not a host's whims: work affecting the structure, the woodwork or the decoration is regulated, and the venue can tell you exactly what is and is not allowed. If you have doubts about contractual liability, check the clause with your legal adviser. The house at 19 Polonă Street, listed as LMI B-II-m-B-19435, has in its salon a fireplace made by Milița Petrașcu, a pupil of Brâncuși — the kind of piece you do not lean a loudspeaker against.
The short list to check before signing
- Exclusivity, written into the contract.
- Access, set-up and clear-out times.
- Capacity for your format, not the general figure.
- The technical equipment included and a technician on site.
- Catering rules and fees for external suppliers.
- Electrical power, back-up supply, internet.
- Guest parking and supplier access.
- The time the music stops.
- The wet-weather plan and the decision deadline.
- The cancellation and rescheduling clause.
- The name of the coordinator on the day.
- The building's list of restrictions.
If you get concrete answers to all twelve, that venue deserves your trust. And if you would like to ask us the same questions, write to us; you can also see the house before booking, on the guided tour.
We answer all of them in writing, in the offer. Tell us your date and guest count.