Key Takeaways
This article highlights the most common pitfalls event planners make and shows how addressing them early can improve attendee experience, reduce risk and boost event effectiveness.
- Failing to plan for the unexpected leads to bottlenecks and attendee frustration.
- Underestimating access-control and identification issues can undermine security and attendee flow.
- Skipping budget or timeline buffers often results in rushed decisions and sub-par results.
- Ignoring branding and physical assets means missing key opportunities to reinforce your message.
- Poor integration of promotional and operational elements leaves events harder to manage and less memorable.
When it comes to planning an event, no matter what the size of it is, it will be likely that you will be thinking about a huge number of different things to make sure that everything runs smoothly and without any hiccups. However, no matter how hard you work there will be things that won’t go to plan – and if you are an event planner who wants to make sure that you avoid any mistakes, have a look at these common ones so that you aren’t affected by any of them.
Leaving Promotion Until the Last Minute
No matter what type of event you are planning, be it a small party, concert, networking exhibition or speaker series – a lack of promotion will leave with you without the most important aspect of an event: the audience. Therefore, you want to make sure that you promote the event through a variety of different channels as soon as you have the date, time and location of the event finalised. This makes sure that anyone who would be interested in the event will be able to put it in their calendars and you will be able to make early forecasts for the number of people you can expect at the event, which allows you to order the correct number of wristbands for the guests’ entry into the event.
Focus on Role-Based Access
Using different wristbands or access tokens for staff, delegates, VIPs and sponsors ensures clarity, better service and upsell potential.
Plan for Durability & Movement
For multi-day or multi-zone events, ensure wristbands, materials and workflow handle re-entry, movement and wear without fail.
Not Getting Confirmation from Suppliers
Once the venue is booked, the next step will be to rent the equipment and services needed for the event, which can be the furniture, caterers or any entertainment which will be at the event. When you have booked or rented everything you need for the event, it is then important that you stay in constant contact with these suppliers every day leading up to the event so that you make sure that you’re both on the same page in regards to the time, location and quality expected for the event. Not doing this can leave the event in turmoil as the supplies can either be in poor condition, or not even show up at all!
Not Checking the Weather
This is a point which is certainly more important in the autumn & winter months. For instance, when you have events which are outdoors, you will need plan for contingencies should it start raining, this can be done by either having a nearby indoor space or by having tents for people to go under. For the colder months you also need to make sure that you have somewhere that coats and jackets can be safely placed.
Underestimating the Size of the Event
When planning an event, it is imperative that you completely evaluate how big it is going to be. Many organisers can make the mistake of setting a lower estimate of numbers during the initial planning as they are simply looking at breaking even. But if all the marketing for the event is successful then this would mean that the turn-out will be quite high. Therefore, you need to make sure all plans are already in place with the event staff so that you can handle the demands should full capacity be reached.
Want to Avoid Common Event Planning Mistakes?
Start your event with secure, branded wristband solutions and operational tools that support access, branding, segmentation and durability—right from the start.
FAQs
Why is contingency planning so important for events?
Because events rarely go 100 % to plan—having backup options for weather, tech, materials or access control means you’re ready when things shift.
How do wristbands support better event management?
Wristbands simplify access, visually indicate roles or ticket types, reduce queueing and act as promotional items—improving flow and engagement.
What’s the benefit of treating attendee segments differently?
Recognising VIPs, sponsors, staff and general attendees via different wristbands or access paths creates perceived value, improves experience and opens revenue opportunities.
