The meeting news speaks with Katherine West-Dargon, head of venues and partnerships at Venufindr (part of ASEMBL.GROUP) to explore how the company is positioned at the heart of event planning and redefine the meaning of venue sourcing in a modern, experience-driven industry.
Q: Have you always wanted to work at events?
A: I’ve always loved working at events. I’m a very organized person and it felt like a natural industry and work to me. My first taste in the event industry came during the placement of work experience at the British Library, where I had been enquiring events. That experience sparked my interest and at the time I wanted to be part of the industry.
I began my career at MCI, a global event agency, and initially aimed to become a project executive. However, it soon became clear that my strengths and interests were in better alignment with the partnership, particularly the role in venue sourcing. I think this is greatly influenced by my love for travel and the fact that I was lucky enough to travel widely from a young age. As part of the interview process, I had to write paragraphs at venues and destinations.
Q: Was this always your dream job?
A: Yes, this has always felt like my dream job. I’ve always loved organizing it. Growing up, I arranged gatherings for friends and led me in planning social activities naturally. My passion for travel and discovering new new destinations and hotels is perfectly in line with the nature of this role. The job is extremely rewarding by building strong relationships with suppliers and helping clients find the ideal venue. It’s the perfect blend of everything I enjoy.
Q: What is the biggest learning curve?
A: My biggest learning curve was moving towards the hotel side of the industry. He taught me how to be proactive and how to be confidently involved with clients at different levels and in a variety of industries. I have a deeper understanding of working towards targets and adjusting communications to suit the needs of a variety of clients. It helped us understand the importance of revenue, seasonality and peak periods, strengthening relationships with peers and partners across the sector.
Q: Please tell us more about Venufindr and your role in it.
A: Venufindr gives you access to the most prestigious, stylish, luxurious and functional venues in the world, making it perfect for all kinds of events, including meetings, incentives, meetings, or celebrations. Our free venue survey service saves clients both time and money and leverages the purchasing power of the group to ensure the best rates.
It offers more than just discovering at the venue. We approach each project through the lens of a project manager and provide comprehensive support to our clients through our event journey. Apart from venue procurement, we offer project management, AV, content, creative services, on-site registration, logistics, products, exhibition stands, and more. We act as our client’s sole supplier and can process procurement and payments. This is especially useful for corporate clients.
There is also a community of freelance venue finders working on the committee model. They bring their own clients and we support them by accessing our systems, databases, hotel contacts, marketing tools and training. In addition to venue procurement, you can earn commissions on all group services, including AV, content, and project management. The revenue possibilities are endless.
Q: What does your role involve?
A: My role involves mentoring and equipping the tools and confidence you need to work independently, giving them the flexibility to shape the work-life balance that suits them. They also run training sessions on sales techniques, client targeting, social media tools and more.
Our key pillars are trust, transparency, and unity, values that support everything we do and define how we work with our clients, partners and wider teams.
Q: What were the biggest challenges you faced? How did you overcome that?
A: One of the biggest challenges I faced was having to step into my current role as venue head and partnership head at Venufindr and push myself beyond my comfort zone. That drive is one of my biggest strengths, but it can be a challenge if not managed carefully.
Early on, we had to make important, cost-effective decisions about which systems to implement, allowing multiple users to work efficiently without breaching client data.
Early in my career, I used the venue directory (Gratis). It’s a great platform, but doesn’t support multi-user access without revealing sensitive data. After extensive research, we decided to implement CVENT. It is not user-friendly for client suggestions, but it is excellent at handling overseas inquiries. This has become increasingly important as it expands to the US and Asia.
Transitions required persistence, adaptability, and a lot of learning. I have committed to understanding the inside and outside of the system. I currently use both platforms. Venue Directory for the UK is Cvent for small events and large international events. With that experience, I am proud to strengthen how important a system is for data collection, enquiries tracking, and revenue management is, and push it to find the right balance.
Q: What will the future look like?
A: Over the past eight months we have achieved a lot. A growth team of new clients, new systems and 10 freelance venue finders. I will focus on three key factors in the future. It is a development of a venue’s finder community where new clients from a variety of sectors, including luxury, and clients receive exceptional service from their initial overview to final delivery.
I want to grow my team, recruit more freelance venue viewfinders and provide continuous development and support. That community aspect is important to me, creating a space where people can thrive, build careers and enjoy the flexibility this model offers.
We are also working with hotel brands to enhance client events and immersive experiences. This is effective. The venue’s viewfinder network is optimistic that it could soon grow to 20 or 30.
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