With so many venues on the London events’ scene, there has been an emergence of venue finding companies on the market. One such company Venue Search London has gone from strength to strength since its inauguration just over two years ago. We spoke to Ros Shelley, Project Director of Venue Search London about the companys’ success.

Venue Search London will be hosting a seminar at the next London Christmas Party Show. Click here for more details

Tell us about Venue Search London (VSL), how long has the company been operating, how/why did it begin?
VSL started back in January 2014. It was started as we felt there was a real gap in the market for a truly unbiased free venue finding service.

Why do you think there is need for venue search companies in London?
There are so many fantastic spaces in London and new venues that are opening all of the time so it just isn’t possible for someone to know all of them, unless it is their job! Knowing so many amazing venues in London means that we can save the client so much time and ensure that they are only provided with the most suitable venues for their event and hopefully some that they would otherwise have never even heard of! 

There are a few other venue search websites in the industry, what makes Venue Search London different?
We offer a personalised service to our clients. We call and qualify every single enquiry that we receive so that we can really ensure that we fully understand what our client is looking to achieve so that our venue suggestions are spot on. We have been and visited every single venue that we have listed on our website so we really do know and understand all of these venues, so we can honestly recommend them.

You are a relatively young company having only recently celebrated your second birthday but are growing at an amazing rate. What’s your secret?
I would say our team and our clients. We have a fantastic team who work tirelessly and we always keep our clients requirements at the forefront of our mind. We are never complacent thinking we’ve seen every venue. We constantly are out and about refreshing our knowledge always with the aim to exceed our clients expectations.

Looking back, do you have any advice for other internet start-ups?
Always remember that people buy people!

London is a very dynamic city that is constantly changing. How do you keep on top of all the new venues and supplier’s in the market?
It is so important to have our fingers on the pulse of all the latest openings and refurbs, of which in London is constant! We subscribe to a lot of industry news but we are always out and about in London keeping our nose to the ground – we have a knack for being the first in to view new spaces, even if that does mean visiting the venue with a hard hat and high vis jacket on! It’s not all champagne and canapés…

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
It is such a fast paced project that one days challenge is another days success story but I would say it’s when we get a great email or a call from one of our lovely clients after their event, asking us to ‘top their event from last year!’

If you weren’t a Venue Search website in London which other city in the world would you like to base your website?
Venue Search New York has rather a nice ring to it!

You featured in the seminar programme at the last London Summer Event Show and have another seminar planned for the London Christmas Party Show. Why do you like working with these shows?
We love the fact that it’s a relatively small and very targeted show, all of the venues and suppliers that exhibit are perfect for our requirements and there are always new venues that we wouldn’t otherwise have heard of and the same with small suppliers.

And the most important question we like to ask all our experts….LCPS as you know is focused around christmas, what is your favourite Christmas Food?
I would have to say my Mum’s Christmas roast – well that and the pigs in blanket! I don’t think it’s possible for the best caterer in the world to be able to compete!!