Recently, I went to a party to celebrate the opening of a “new rooftop event space” at an Atlanta office building along with many other event planners and vendors. Atlanta doesn’t have much of a skyline, but that wasn’t what bothered me. What bothered me is that they wanted people to experience their space, atmosphere, food and drink. Well … they had three out of four, but they were missing the fourth: THE FOOD.

They have their own kitchen, so you would think part of the selling experience would include the culinary side of the venue. But the hosts obviously didn’t want to pay to spotlight their menu offerings. I’ve got news for them … in Atlanta, the view alone is not going to sell the space. I would rather have seen them forgo the inexpensive champagne and offer a sampling, so planners could walk away with a clear understanding of what the kitchen can do. Instead, I left a perfectly serviceable space with no idea of what the presentations look like, what type of equipment they have or even how creative their chef is.

You don’t need much talent to pour a glass of wine, but you do need some talent with the culinary. Folks, if you are planning on hosting an opening event, you need to focus on presenting the food experience along with the space, because planners want to see, experience and buy the entire package.

That is my story for now and I am sticking to it.