How long in advance do we need to book?
When do we need to book?
The question we get all the time is “how far in advance do we need to schedule our event?”.
The answer is simple. As soon as you know you want to do it.
There’s no better answer than that. Sometimes you can call the week before your event and the entertainment option you want will be available. Sometimes you can ask for a date 6 months out and the date is already sold out.
It happens fairly often that someone puts in hours of work to research an event, find a location, and convince a committee on what the proper entertainment choice is, only to have waited a day or two too long and find that the date they’d been wanting is no longer available.
What to do to hold a date
Ask. It’s that simple. If you’re close enough to a decision that you need a date to be held – just ask.
We, here at To Go Events do three different kinds of holds.
- Courtesy hold. Generally, we do this if we have gotten a request for details that someone with a serious interest in moving forward would request or if we have a phone meeting scheduled. This is done on our end alone and is completely informal.
- Pencil hold. This is a request made specifically for us to hold a date in “pencil” for a week while decisions are being made. This will make sure that you get the “right of first refusal” if someone else requests a conflicting contract. If that happens, we’ll contact you and may need a decision quickly.
- Contract requested hold. Once a contract is requested it is due back with a retainer fee within 2 weeks. Dates are formally held and other contracts refused during that interim time between request and the contract being returned with the retainer fee. Note: if you request a contract, please only do so in good faith of moving forward.
LOCKED IN DATES
An event is locked in once a retainer fee (generally 20% – though it may be higher for trade shows or multi-day events or dates with high travel costs) and signed contract are received. At that point, unless we are notified to the contrary, we will be at your event to perform the services requested.
We work on a first contract requested basis and we honor that first contract. That means, that even if a “better” or “higher paying, higher profile” event comes along, we honor your contract first. Not all companies or entertainers will do that.
