If you aren’t a private event host just yet, you’ve probably been the “unofficial” event planner for your family and friends. You are most likely known for the best dinners and house parties, or for bringing people together at work meetings. 

At some point you probably asked yourself, “Could I do this for a living?” or, “Could this be my side hustle?”. There’s a very good chance the answer is a resounding “yes!”, especially if you have the right tools. 

So, if you are your friends’ go-to party planner or your office’s unofficial reference for corporate gatherings, we have some expert tips for you!

What is the best “first step” in private event hosting for newbies?

We get it, it’s hard to know where to start! But remember, in many ways you’ve done this before. Let’s take it slow: 

Question: What’s the first thing you do when you’re planning to throw a birthday party, let’s say?

Answer: You go through your contacts and organize your guest list.

Well, you will want to do the same thing as a first-time private event host. For your first event, keep it simple. 

Gather venue experience

Try a low-stakes private event in a cafe or community space. Take detailed notes of your experience working with even the smallest venue (this will come in super handy in the future). 

Research sponsors

While you’re practicing hosting trial events, start to research possible sponsors, as sponsored events can give you a lot of support in any phase of your private event planning career. You can bring sponsors into your event planning business when the opportunity presents itself. 

Budget right

Next, you will want to tighten your budgeting skills. Many people already have a great handle on it, but it doesn’t hurt to learn and apply more.

If you need more help, watch out for our article about event ticket pricing, coming soon on The Future of Events! 

Find your niche

Lastly, get clear with your passions: is there a niche market that sparks your interest more than others? Knowing the answer to this question early on will give you lots of insight into developing your brand as an event host.

Ready to host your first ticketed event? Pay2Stay’s got you covered!

Remember those contacts you organized? It’s time to start leveraging your guest list!

This isn’t nearly as scary as it sounds with the right tools and techniques. What you want to do now is invite your guests to events with technology that caters to private, exclusive events. 

Pay2Stay is that type of app: exclusively for private events with specialized features like built-in identity verification from invite to check-in and check-out. 

Another healthy habit you’ll want to get into as a private event organizer is to stay in touch and in good standing with your guests. Through this sincere communication, you’ll also want to build trust with your contacts. 

Safety and exclusivity often go hand-in-hand with private events. Again, Pay2Stay being created with private event hosts in mind, ticket purchases, accepting invites, checking in, and receiving proper refunds are about as transparent, secure and exclusive as it gets. 

Your guests will not have to worry about anyone trying to steal their ticket or their contact information during any part of the process. 

That leads us to pricing! 

Pricing your event correctly is of utmost importance, even if you’re early in your hosting career. Suppose you already have security and trust built into your relationship with your guests, it’s important that you have a way to sell and price tickets with integrity.

Time-based, flat rates, and hybrid ticket pricing are all available with Pay2Stay. 

Why is this so important? Because so many ticketing apps only have one pricing model for tickets (typically just a one-time fee) which gives hosts very little flexibility with pricing. This, in turn, may affect conversion rates among potential attendees with refund pain points.

Using a ticketing system with various pricing models equips you to price your events with creativity and market insights. The other perk of ethical pricing and automated refund management is that you’re poised to gain an even greater reputation as an event host. 

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and feedback!

Without any help, you may have been planning your nephew’s birthday every year since he was born, but that doesn’t mean you have to plan and host events alone forever! 

Explore co-hosting

Think about splitting duties and profits with a co-host. Collaborations are a great idea for almost any kind of exclusive event you might be hosting. 

Do you have individuals in your contact list with similar interests and values as yours? Sharing responsibilities together could be the start of a great business relationship, not to mention a sharing of resources and pooling of talents! 

Onboarding co-hosts into your event planning business can be complicated if you don’t have the right technology. 

Thankfully with Pay2Stay you can be a thousand miles away and monitor every single activity happening on the day of your event through the co-host feature. 

The best part of this is that you maintain total control over your funds while your co-host does what they do best to take some workload off your shoulders. 

All as you navigate your growth as a private events planner.

A little known secret of building your team is that if you use technology that makes money handling low-stress, you’ll build a stronger relationship with all of your collaborators. Not to mention you’ll be laying the groundwork for trust and maybe even a little happiness on the job!

Encourage and value guest feedback

Another way you can find added support as a host is to get feedback from your guests. Your guests, as mentioned above, are worthy beyond measure. These are some of the most important relationships you will forge as a private event planner. 

Truth be told, attendees are often eager to share their experience with you after an event. All you have to do is ask! You will learn invaluable information, from suggestions to highlights to insights into elements of your presentation. 

These delectable tidbits of information are usually invisible to those who are working so hard behind the scenes. From there, you can use what you’ve been told to improve your events over time. 

Become your own event’s guest. Yep, it’s possible!

You know what they say, laughter is contagious! Well, so is enthusiasm and fun at private events.

You’re not only going to have a great time by letting yourself enjoy your own parties, but doing this will also benefit your business overall. 

How? Professional party planner Soffia Wardy says it best as she reminds event hosts to “relax and enjoy the party” and underlines the importance to not “get bogged down with details or stress about things being perfect”. 

As a host, YOU set the tone for your events. Procrastinating is something you want to avoid at all costs. If you manage your time and efforts leading up to the event by leveraging a ticketing app like Pay2Stay, D-day should be less stressful. 

Basically, you should aspire to be so stress-free that you get to be a guest at your own event. Of course, in between two gulps, your eagle eye may notice some tiny details that could always be improved. Take note of changes you’d like to make in the future while firmly remaining in the presence and soaking in the bubbly atmosphere. 

Redefining success for yourself as an event planner

We love to see people taking their natural knack for planning to the next level; and better yet, monetizing their talent and having some fun along the way! 

Taking small, practical steps towards being a marketable, hirable professional to arrange other people’s events will help you grow your confidence AND your budding business hosting your own events. 

We know you’ve got an array of event hosting ideas brewing in your imagination. The steps above should offer you a great starting point to successfully transition from an event planner to a private event host.

Small to medium private events are the future, and the world needs more skillful event planners like you turn into profitable event hosts!