Tips on Opening your own Banquet Hall

By: Jason Petrina



If you live in an area where large social events are frequently held, you can capitalize on those events by opening a banquet hall. Many important social events are typically held in banquet halls, including wedding receptions, birthday parties and corporate events. Frequently, these halls are booked months in advance, so there is generally plenty of room for competition if you can offer a nice local and good service.

Obviously, the first order of business in opening a banquet hall is in finding a location. By contacting your local real estate agent you can find out if there are any suitable properties already on the market, but be aware that you need to have some vision in order to determine whether a property will work for your needs or not. One of the most important considerations is whether the facility is large enough to serve as a banquet hall. Banquet halls typically have the capacity to comfortably seat 250 people or more, so there needs to be plenty of space.

If you also plant to offer catering services, the facility should also have a large kitchen area or at least an area that can be retro-fitted for a kitchen. Suitable restroom facilities are also important and to avoid problems with traffic jams, the site should have sufficient parking space. If the site is large enough, you may also be able to offer the availability of two smaller banquet rooms by installing a ‘folding’ wall. This can allow you to maximize the profit potential of your site by hosting two events concurrently.

You will also need a good supply of equipment to get started. At an absolute minimum you will need plenty of folding chairs and a good supply of various size and shaped tables. Some events prefer round tables while others like the flexibility of traditional banquet tables. By checking to find out if any rental companies are going out of business, you may be able to pick up some equipment at a reduced price.

Other items you may wish to keep on hand include a large supply of matched glasses, goblets, dinnerware, flatware and table linens such as table cloths, table runners and napkins. White is always a good choice for both tableware and table linens and in the case of the latter, stains can be easily bleached away.

Whether you wish to decorate your banquet hall in a particular style is really an individual choice. In some cases, a banquet hall that is already permanently decorated can be an attractive option to many potential customers because it means they will need to spend less of their own budget on decorating. On the other hand, if you decorate your site in a particular style or theme this may detract some prospective customers who feel that the existing decorations may clash with the theme they had in mind for their own event. Therefore, if you do choose to install decorations such as murals, it’s a good idea to be as neutral as possible. Tall columns and elegant lighting make a nice compliment to virtually any theme.

After word gets around, there’s a good chance that your banquet hall will be booked most of the time, but in the beginning you’ll need to make plans to market your new site. Weddings are by far the most common event to be held in banquet halls, but don’t overlook other opportunities such as baby showers, religious events, social club functions, Bar Mitzvahs and business meetings. If you can offer your services in correlation with other services, such as a caterer, this can be a great way to get your business off to the right start.


Jason Petrina is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com