Venues

Ask for a quote, and also a viewing of the venue. Email the committee about the price and when to view the venue.

What to look for in a potential venue?

  • Can accommodate 250 (max) in one room.
  • 3 large halls that can hold up to 50-80 people each.
  • 1 large hall that can host a plenary session
    • Preferably no joining of existing halls as re-organising the rooms for setting up for plenary session or individual rooms for each track takes considerable amount of time.
  • Allows outside catering.
  • Allows us to being in our own entertainment (optional).
  • Good wireless for a tech conference. Radisson Blu held up quite well.

Venues we used in the past

  • 2010: Dublin School of English / Capacity: 100
    • Boticelli was the hired caterers for tea/coffee, breakfast and lunch.
  • 2011: Radisson Blu Royal Hotel / Capacity: 180
    • Hotel provided food, no outside caterers allowed.
  • 2012: Radisson Blu Royal Hotel / Capacity: 200
    • Hotel provided food, no outside caterers allowed.

Venues we enquired in the past

  • Dublin Conference Centre (really expensive, no outside catering, but has all the tech requirements)
  • Camden Court Hotel
    • Reasonable, the lobby area is a bit awkward though. The hall size is fine, but need to be split up for rooms and put back together, so not ideal.
    • [TODO] More details and link to 2012 prices.
  • Ballsbridge Hotel
    • A bit further out, big halls but smaller rooms might be a problem for workshops.
    • [TODO] More details and link to 2012 prices.
  • [TODO] Add more venues

Sample enquiry email:

Hi <INSERT_NAME>,

My name is <INSERT_NAME>, and I am one of the organisers for PyCon Ireland <YEAR>.
PyCon Ireland is an annual technology conference and this year will be our fourth year running it.
We are a non-profit organisation, and I would like to enquire about your venue about availability and cost for our next conference.

PyCon Ireland <YEAR> will be held on Sat XX - Sun XX <MONTH> <YEAR>.

We will be expecting 250 t0 300 (max) delegates.

Details on what we requre are as follows:-
- 3 large halls to fit 50-80 ppl each. (Theatre style)
- Seperately, 1 large hall/theatre to accommodate up to 300 ppl for plenary session. (Theatre style)
- 2 training rooms for up to 30 ppl (Classroom style)
- Projectors
- A/V setup?
  - Can we bring our own A/V team?
- Podium with mic
- Food - x2 Breaks, Lunch and Dinner on Sat / x1 break & Lunch on Sun
  - Are we allowed to bring in our own  external catering for breaks, lunch and/or dinner?
  - Are we allowed to bring in own craft beer?
- Green room for organisers and equipment.
- Lobby/Concourse area for breaks, sponsor stands (outside halls where talks are held)
- Wi-Fi - hold up to multiple devices for tech-heavy conference
- Power leads
- Deals with accommodation
- Option to allow us to bring in entertainment on Saturday evening.

Kindest Regards,

<INSERT_NAME>, PyCon Ireland <YEAR>
(http://python.ie/pycon/)