How to select the best event seating chart software for you
A critical and often underrated component of event planning and management that can have a huge effect on audience engagement is event design and, if you have an event that involves reserved seating, event table layouts and/or seating charts. And although you can sketch out your design ideas on a sheet of paper, to have a truly representational, to-scale rendering of your event layout and seating capacity for distributing to clients, staff, participants, volunteers and vendors, a digital seating chart planner gives you the tools you need to build professional designs that impress and leave no room for error.
With that said, when you are creating event table layouts and seating charts, there are four primary criteria that you should look for when starting to evaluate online seating chart generators.
- Accuracy - You want your seating charts and floor plans to represent what you will get in real-life so that you aren’t cramming too much equipment, tables or chairs into the allotted space. In addition, you want a tool that lets you include as many event details as possible regarding layout elements like different table shapes or architectural characteristics of your room or space, whether you are hosting your event in a banquet hall or concert hall.
- Aesthetics - Because we are usually showing seating chart arrangements and event designs to our team, peers and clients, we want to make a big impression and don’t want them to look slapdash. A full-featured event seating plan software platform lets you precisely and colorfully render everything from detailed wedding seating charts with guest table assignments to galas or corporate events that have designated seating for general admission and VIP audience members.
- Time - We are all pressed for time, and although we want our event seating charts to look professionally designed and be accurate, they shouldn’t take hours to build. The best seating chart makers give you the tools to create highly accurate and aesthetically pleasing designs in a short span of time (usually less than an hour).
- Ease-of-Use - Most popular event floor plan tools offer drag-and-drop functionality so you can simply place elements on the layout or drop attendees onto selected seats (or drag them off seats to remove them). But the best event seating chart software platforms contain features like auto-format for building table layout grids instantly, reusable seating plan templates, libraries of favorite elements and other features that simplify building seating charts. In addition, some table plan software apps are also mobile-friendly and can be used on both computers and mobile devices.
So what should you look for when evaluating such a tool for building the perfect seating plan? Consider these seven attributes.
1. Guest List Management
What comes before adding guests to seats in a layout? Managing contact information for those guests in an organized fashion so your seating plans are detail-rich with items like names, RSVP status and meal choices. Guest list managers can also come with features like at-the-door check-in apps and Excel file downloads. And for wedding planners, there are also handy features like table number labeling for easily identifying at what table each guest is seated; downloadable place cards and escort cards; and separate lists for rehearsal dinner, wedding ceremony and wedding reception.
2. Registrations and RSVPs
And what comes before a guest list full of rich information? Collecting that information via customizable event websites equipped with event registration / ticketing and RSVP forms that electronically feed that data into your guest list. An added bonus is the ability to collect registration payments and detailed responses to custom questions; the ability to set up multiple ticket types; and even allowing registrants to select their preferred seat.
3. Flexibility of Event Type
Top event seating planner tools allow you to build layouts for any type of event, including wedding seating charts, banquet table setups and seating plans for dinners, banquet style galas, parties, conferences, concerts, classrooms and corporate meetings and events.
4. Adaptable to Any Venue and Space
Do your event spaces typically have unique contours and dimensions? Solid event seating plan software will allow you to easily replicate those dimensions so you can build restaurant seating charts for patrons as well as seating plans for hotel meeting rooms and ballrooms, reception halls, conference centers, wineries and even arena-like layouts for concert halls and theaters.
5. Large Library of Elements
Any seating chart maker worth its weight should offer a variety of table and chair element options (including options for round tables, half-tables and head tables), but the more advanced ones will also offer architectural elements like walls, floors and doors; staging elements like podiums and lighting; A/V elements like amplification systems; and exposition elements like trade show booths and aisles.
6. Virtual Collaboration
This is where Web-based event seating planner apps excel because they have the flexibility to allow others to access to seating charts via the Internet to provide feedback and even create and edit shared designs. This allows an entire team of planners and vendors (like caterers and rental crews) to see designs ahead of time. An added bonus are features that offer 3D walkthroughs to enable users to fully visualize the setup from one or more focal points as well as other integrated event software tools for collaboratively managing budgets, timelines, etc.
7. Customization
If you are seeking to make an impression on vendors or internal / external clients, customizations will help you sell through your ideas. Such features can include customizable colors and fonts as well as background uploads. A timesaving feature to look out for is the ability to create seating chart templates for designs or setups you use repeatedly.
As you can see, the best event seating chart software programs offer a wide variety of features to simplify the process of building seating plans while providing maximum flexibility so you can add many details and integrate with other event management tools that you may need.
