Megatent Events Venue Redux

This is their second location, after leaving their old site in Meralco Avenue. They are now in Libis, along E. Rodriguez Jr., northbound.

I wasn’t able to check them out in their first location, so I have no idea if this is the exact same tent that they transferred to this Libis site. This one is has a total floor area of 1,716.60 sq. m., including the lobby. They have a covered drop off point at the entrance. The tent is at the left side of the property, with ample parking space on either side and a much bigger open space for parking across it. During daytime, which was when we did our ocular inspection of the place, the perimeter of the property is a bit shabby, with construction debris and overgrown grass, but I guess it all fades into darkness at night, which is when most events in this venue happens.

Ingress can be very easy in this venue because of a large roll up door at the rear side of the tent. Perhaps trucks can drive in to unload. There are no fancy carpeting to take care of, in fact the flooring is just your basic polished concrete.

As with most tent venues in Metro Manila, they also have swags of cloth draped on the ceiling. They tend to be very popular for wedding and debut receptions and proms. But we were told that if the client wants to, they can be readily taken down for a less fancy setup, more appropriate for corporate events that require less feminine ambiance.

Unless guests are given proper directions, complete with a site map, locating the tent can be very tricky. Its entrance is almost right across the last U-Turn slot along E. Rodriguez Jr. southbound near Green Meadows, so guests are not advised to take that turn. Instead, they will have to drive all the way til under the Ortigas C5 Fly-Over and make a U-Turn there.

MALLing up north...

One of our regular venue for our Black & Decker Fathers' Day celebrations is the Annex of SM City Fairview. We've done the rounds of SM Malls from Megamall to Southmall, but it's here in Fairview where we get to go back (several times) to do these events.

"Location, location, location" -- as proof that it really matters where you hold events like these, especially for sales and marketing purposes, this year we were given a space in that large activity area at the far end of the annex building for the first three days, then we transferred to the smaller space in between SM Hypermarket and Starbucks on the last day. More power tools were sold on the last day than all of the sales for the first three days combined.

Our original location near the escalator beside BDO.

"Build It, It's Yours" Booth - mall goers get to build small woodworking projects (tools, materials and tech assistance provided by Black & Decker) and take home the fruits of their labor. 

This second location is actually our first preference, this is where we have been doing events in this mall over the years. But last minute adjustments brought us to that bigger space, which also has heavy foot traffic, but just didn't measure up to our original location in terms of bringing in the sales.

In terms of ease of ingress and egress, the mall administration is quite supportive. During our ingress, our first location was quite accessible from the nearest RDU (Receiving and Dispatching Unit). Our truck had ample space for unloading all our materials, and a ramp connected the loading deck to the rest of the mall. On the last day, we are allowed to egress through the nearest mall entrance (near Starbucks), so our truck only had to drive up to this spot to load up.

Based on previous experience with this mall's crowd, we kept the layout "open" -- with as less barricades as possible, save for the critical backstage and production areas. It is an observed fact that mall goers in general rarely venture into areas that are heavily barricaded, even if you continually announce that they can come in for free. And even if some of our display and announcement panels were quite taller than the mall barricades, they are more inclined to come in, as long as they don't see those barriers (either the metal ones covered with logo-printed "sleeves" or the retractable belt barriers).

Just putting it out there...

We have been around. We've done events in various venues in and around the metro. After years of going around these ballrooms, halls and tents, we've seen quite a range in terms of functionality and practicality. Some venues offer real value-for-money with the best location, rates, ample parking space and, our main criteria, their consideration of trade partners like us (event planners and technical suppliers) in their overall planning and design. While most venues really make our jobs easier by providing strategic access points for ingress and egress, there are those that require some creative solutions and often times, more elbow grease to get the job done.

So we're putting out this blog, to help out those who are looking for the venue to match their events. We are reviewing these ballrooms, halls and tents from the technical standpoint, hoping that our two-cents worth will somehow help improve their present conditions, and perhaps, some design considerations be included in planning for future venues.

We also encourage you to share your stories. Tell us all about your recent event, particularly the venue and the service you got. Email your stories to events8888@gmail.com.

Some of the pictures posted here are from ocular inspections of the venues prior to booking them for the event, while others are from the actual setup we have made.

Deck adjacent to the Grand Ballroom, InterContinental Hotel Manila

Grand Ballroom, InterContinental Hotel, Manila

Ballroom Lobby, InterContinental Hotel Manila

Hallway to Resorts World Casino, Manila Marriot Hotel

Grand Ballroom, Manila Marriot Hotel

Ballroom Lobby, Manila Marriot Hotel