Most ministries with events at Ridgecrest plan for all their attendees to stay on campus for the duration of the event.  But sometimes situations arise where events have a few guests who plan on staying off campus.  This could be a high-profile speaker who doesn’t want to stay at the same venue as the guests or a local family who wants to attend an event but sleep at home.  How does this work?  As the Event Planner, is this something that you want to allow?  Here are some questions to consider:

1. Will this interfere with your minimum room responsibility?  Most venues include a minimum room responsibility clause in their contract.  If you don’t use a certain percentage of your contracted housing, then you will owe the difference between the amount used and the minimum room responsibility.  Will allowing guests the option of staying off campus reduce your number of on-campus guests?  If so, you may not want to allow this as an option.  Do you just have 1 or 2 off-campus guests, and it won’t interfere with your housing minimum?  Then, maybe it’s ok. 

2. What are the venue’s policies regarding off-campus guests?  Are they allowed to come on campus and attend the event?  Do they need to register beforehand with the venue?  Is there a fee they will need to pay?  At Ridgecrest, we require off-campus guests to register with us or the Event Planner in advance, and there is a per event fee that applies to all guests staying off campus.
3. What about meals?  Are off-campus guests on their own for meals, or do you need to factor them into your meal plan?  Are there a-la-carte meals available for guests to purchase on-site?  These are all great questions to ask your venue contact.
4. Is your meeting space large enough to accommodate extra attendees?  Do you have a large meeting space that will hold all of your on-site guests as well as your off-campus guests? Or, would allowing off-campus guests cause you to pay more for a larger space?  
5. Will it distract your other guests or detract from what you are trying to accomplish?  If the purpose of your event is fellowship, there is value in having all your guests stay at the same place for the entire event.  It’s part of the shared experience and helps foster connection.  If your event is a large training event with guests from multiple churches, then distracting guests likely isn’t a factor.
6. Will it be extra hassle for you?  Do not forget to factor in the extra amount of work that allowing off-campus guests may cause you.  If you allow one couple to stay off campus, will you have 4 more that want to do the same?  Will there be extra paperwork or communication?  Is it worth it?  

If you are considering inviting off-campus attendees to your event, make sure you research the venue’s policies and evaluate whether it’s the best choice for your event.  For some events, it may be a feasible option, but for others it may be best for all guests to stay in the designated event lodging.  If your next event is at Ridgecrest and you aren’t sure what will work best, we would be happy to talk through the options with you.  Call our Sales Team at 866.768.9048, or click here to complete an RFP.