One of the questions our clients ask most often at project kick-off, or during our first consultancy meeting, is how we source and compare venues that will be a good fit for their event.
We have distilled our 19 years of event planning and venue scouting experience into a tool we use to audit spaces and choose the best solution for our clients. We call it the venue selection matrix.
The best way to showcase our thought process is to walk you through our biggest event of 2026, the International Maternal Newborn Health Conference (IMNHC). Our client was Jhpiego, the selected venue was the Edge Convention Centre in Nairobi, and the total count was 1,800 delegates over four days. The Edge was one of four venues that went through the matrix for this event, and it earned the recommendation. Here are the six factors the matrix scores, and how each one played out.
1. Meeting suitability
Does the venue comfortably accommodate the event programme, and does it tie in well with the attendee audience? Does it have sufficient room for the plenary and the breakout rooms? How is the technical infrastructure, starting with internet bandwidth? What audio visual equipment is available in-house, and what do we need to bring in to supplement it? What are the venue's requirements on setup and build time? What menus are available, and are they suitable for the meeting?
At IMNHC the programme needed more than thirty spaces in use at once. Ballroom 1 and 2 held the opening plenary for 1,200 delegates, then split into two breakout rooms of 680 and 645 when the airwall closed. Around them ran ten more breakout rooms seating 70 to 300, fifty exhibition stands in two tents on the event deck, nine country delegation rooms, five sponsor offices, a speaker preparation room, and even a clinic and a lactation room. The Edge accommodated all of it comfortably, with lunch areas over and above, and still gave us sufficient time to build before doors opened and to break down after.
2. Accommodation quality
Can the venue meet the accommodation requirements for the event? This covers the capacity required, whether the hotel can extend a block room rate or share a block booking link, and whether there is an option for early and late check-ins to accommodate the different arrival times of attendees. Can the kitchen provide for the different dietary needs of the group?
The Edge is a convention centre rather than a hotel, so for IMNHC accommodation came from the hotels around it. We negotiated attendee rates with Eka Hotel, The Boma, Emara and Ole Sereni among others, and because most of these hotels are easily within the vicinity of the Edge, 1,800 delegates started each morning minutes from the venue rather than across town.
3. Transport and logistics
This factor centres on the attendees' travel to and from the airport. What is the cost of airport transfers? Is the venue near major highways like the Nairobi Expressway? Is there sufficient parking for event shuttles? Does the venue offer a complimentary shuttle service?
The Edge is about a twelve-minute drive from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and sits close to the Nairobi Expressway, with more than a thousand parking spaces on site for event shuttles and drivers. The hotels nearby were also willing to provide complimentary shuttles for delegates, which simplified the daily movement of 1,800 people considerably.
4. Activities and extras
What does the venue offer beyond the meeting rooms? Some venues have great views of the national park. Others are next to malls, which gives attendees the convenience of shopping. Some can arrange excursions that are a special treat for attendees after the event.
The Edge sits beside Nairobi National Park, and several of the delegate hotels share that view. For an international delegate, waking up to the park before a day of sessions is the kind of extra no agenda can provide, and it is part of what they remember about a conference in Kenya.
5. Value for money
Are we getting the best rate? Is the venue willing to work within the budget we have set aside? What is the maximum discount they can give? And if they are unable to extend a discount, what value-add can they offer instead? Value-adds we typically negotiate include subsidised venue setup costs or complimentaries like a secretariat office.
At IMNHC the biggest value-add the Edge extended was time: four full days of setup. This was a high-stakes event with government involvement, and having adequate build days worked strongly in our favour. The venue also extended complimentary rooms.
6. The Waridi Factor
The final factor is ours alone. Here we weigh the pros and cons of the venue based on our past working experience with it. We look at customer service, willingness to extend favourable rates and response time, and we review past event editions held at the venue. How confident are we that the venue understands our brief and will deliver to our requirements?
For IMNHC, the Waridi Factor rested on three things. The Edge had hosted government-affiliated events before, and government was involved in this one, so the venue understood the weight of the brief. The space navigates easily, so 1,800 delegates could find their way between floors and sessions without confusion. And it has generous natural light, which makes long conference days feel lighter. None of that appears on a brochure, and all of it appears on our sheet.
How the scores come together
Each factor has a score, and the scores are tallied. For our venue sourcing service we typically put four venues through the matrix and weigh them against all six factors. Along with the scores we share comprehensive planner notes that describe each space in detail, with links to the venues, so the client can see exactly what we saw and why the recommendation stands.
One thing worth saying plainly: different venues work for different events. The Edge was the right answer for this brief, with its scale, its build time and its government experience. A 200-person leadership retreat or a product launch would score a different winner. The matrix does not have a favourite venue. It has a favourite process.
Put the matrix to work
The matrix, and the 19 years of venue knowledge behind it, is what our venue sourcing service brings to your event: needs assessment, shortlisting, a scored comparison, site visits with you, and negotiation through to booking.
Planning a conference in Kenya or the wider region? Start with a brief at waridievents.com/contact, or read about the service at waridievents.com/services/venue-sourcing.
