Questions to Ask a Kerala Auditorium Before You Pay the Advance

The quoted hall rate is almost never the amount you end up paying. The difference shows up as air conditioning charged by the hour, a generator you did not know you needed, and a cleaning fee mentioned for the first time as you are leaving.

Ask these questions before you pay the advance, and get the answers written into the booking rather than agreed on the phone. Once the advance is paid your position is weaker, and every clarification after that point becomes a negotiation instead of a condition. Print this list and take it with you when you visit.

The list to take with you

Power and backup

1. What is the connected load available, and is it enough for our sound, lighting and any equipment we bring?

2. Is there a generator on site, is it included, and who pays for fuel?

3. How long does the changeover take when mains power fails, and does the sound system restart automatically?

4. Are there enough power points near the stage, and where exactly are they?

5. Who is the electrician on duty during our event, and are they present the whole time?

Air conditioning

6. Is air conditioning included in the quoted rate or charged separately?

7. If it is charged by the hour, when does the clock start: at our arrival, at the announced start time, or when the unit is switched on?

8. How long before the programme does it need to run for the hall to be comfortable, and is that time charged?

9. What happens to the charge if the power fails and it runs on generator?

Sound, light and stage

10. Does the hall own the sound system, and are we required to use it?

11. If we bring our own vendor, is there an extra fee for doing so?

12. Who operates the in house system, is that person included, and what are their hours?

13. Is the stage lighting included, and what exactly does the standard setup consist of?

14. Are there restrictions on what can be fixed to the stage, the walls or the backdrop?

15. Is there a projector and screen, and does it work with the connectors we have?

Time and overtime

16. What time can we enter the venue for setup, and is setup time charged?

17. What is the hard finish time, and what is the overtime charge after it?

18. Is there another booking before or after ours on the same day, and how much gap is there?

19. How much time do we get for clearing out, and what happens if we run over?

Cleaning, damage and deposit

20. Who cleans the hall before and after, and is that included?

That last one is where twenty questions turns into twenty five, because the answer usually opens up several more. Ask who removes waste from the premises, whether decorations must be taken down the same night, what the security deposit covers, what counts as damage, and how long the deposit takes to come back.

The questions people forget

These are not on most checklists and each of them has ruined somebody's evening.

• Parking. How many vehicles, and what happens when it is full? Is there a charge, and who collects it? Autos and bus routes matter as much as the car park.
• Toilets. How many, are they cleaned during the event, and is there a water supply issue at any time of day?
• Food. Is outside catering allowed, is there a kitchen or pantry, and is there a fee for serving food?
• Noise limits. Is there a time after which amplified sound must stop, and has the hall had complaints before?
• Keys and access. Who opens the hall on the day, what is their phone number, and who is the backup if they do not arrive?
• Green room. Is there one, does it lock, and does it have a working fan and mirror?
• Rain. Is the approach to the entrance covered? A wet walk from the gate changes the whole first impression.
• Cancellation. If we cancel, how much of the advance comes back, and by when?
• Their cancellation. What happens if the hall becomes unavailable, and what compensation applies?

How to use the answers

Take the answers back to your cost sheet and add every chargeable item to the fixed costs. The hall rate alone is not a venue cost. Hall plus air conditioning hours plus generator fuel plus cleaning plus overtime risk is the venue cost. Backwater and beach venues hide their extras in different places, but the exercise is the same.

Then put the important answers in writing. An email listing what was agreed, sent to the venue with a request to confirm, is enough. If they will not confirm in writing what they said in person, that is information too.

Visit at the right hour

See the hall at the same time of day your event will run. A venue that is fine at eleven in the morning can be hot at four in the afternoon, dark at the entrance at seven, and impossible to park at on a weekend evening.

Walk the route your audience will walk, from where they will park to where they will sit. Count the chairs while you are there, because seating follows real turnout rather than the capacity on the brochure. Most of the problems you can still fix are visible on that walk.