Event management businesses are responsible for organizing festivals, cultural events, shows, conferences, weddings, sporting events, exhibitions, meetings, and fundraising ceremonies besides other events. It is a growing industry in which many people all over the world are venturing into it today. It has various stages and each stage should be taken carefully to make the planned event a success. Despite being one popular business favored by investors these days, the event management business has its challenges.
To begin with, the event management business requires a lot of money within a short period and it is uncertain whether that large amount of money will be recovered soon (Lyn 4). Most events are attended by many people and security is a matter of concern. In addition to security, participants of an event need food, entertainment, and drinks, and in some cases transportation and accommodation. Most events are expensive to organize like sporting events which attract a large number of people. As a result financial risk is one challenge affecting this business.
Risks and uncertainties are other factors affecting the event management business. Natural factors such as heavy rain, fire outbreaks are out of control. Power failure on the day of the event is another unpredictable occurrence that may disrupt an event. These uncertainties may bring in a lot of confusion and lead to the cancellation of an event. Galal, Eleri, and Nigel argues that most insurance companies do not cater for the entire damage if the risk occurs and a portion of the damage is catered for by the event manager and this is a major challenge to investors who are willing to start the event management business(28)
The event management business is affected by competition just like other businesses. These businesses are established very fast in many countries with new investors getting into the business day by day. As a result, the level of competition by people selling the same products or offering the same services is on the increase. Small scale businesses do not cope well with this kind of competition and maybe close down. (Krzysztof and Rob 251). Some competitors have better marketing potential and offer better services/products than their opponents and hence are favored by more.
Lack of a dependable labor force can be a big challenge to the event management business as argued by Krzysztof and Rob (249). Maintaining a good labor force may be hard work for most event managers. Workers need training, a special type of clothing for certain events, protective clothing, tools, and equipment in various events. Due to this workers will demand extra pay, long service leaves, and will need insurance cover. As a result, the amount of money spent on labor will increase.
Employees of event Management businesses are mostly women and complain of getting low salaries which don’t satisfy their needs. As a result, most employees quit jobs as soon as they get greener pastures. In summary, the event management business is faced with challenges such as high capital and high expenditures. Natural calamities which may occur and cause postponement of an event lead to wastage of time and money. On the other hand, the level of marketing maybe not be well-developed in some firms and this is a development constraint.
Various destinations for events may not be easily available particularly for a large audience and some may need some preliminary studies to find out their potential for event hosting. Lastly, competition is a major drawback in this business. This business requires a qualified event manager together with a team of talented workers with a range of skills to carefully plan to decrease possible challenges and execute an event to the highest level.
Works cited
Galal, Salem, Eleri Jones and Nigel Morgan. An overview of events Management.
Festivals and Events management. Web.
Krzysztof, Celuch and Rob Davidson. “Chapter 16: Human Resources in the Business Events”. Industry International Perspectives of Festivals and Events. (2009) 251-252.print.
Lyn, Van Der Wagen, Event Management: Strategy & Planning. Cambridge International College. Web.