Gallery Hire, 1 Adelaide Rd

The event space shown in the Sharesy website photographs looked very good, and the venue appeared suitable for our planned event. When I first spoke with the event vendor, he was flexible, helpful, and positive about the booking. A few days after confirming the booking, I contacted the vendor to clarify several important practical details relating to the venue. These included the building alarm system, Wi-Fi access, available equipment, lighting, rubbish and recycling arrangements, and other facilities that would support the smooth running of the event. Unfortunately, I did not receive a response until approximately one week to eight days later. This delay had a negative impact on our event planning, particularly because other suppliers and event participants needed access to this information in advance. It may be that the vendor did not fully appreciate how important these details were to the overall planning process. Unfortunately, the event itself had to be postponed because some of the event speakers became unavailable due to illness and an urgent family matter. The vendor was sympathetic when this was explained. I then asked for clarification regarding the venue’s policy on postponements or rescheduling, but to date, we have not received a response. The rating given reflects the vendor’s inconsistent communication. While the vendor was initially helpful, responses were not always prompt, and important information was not always provided in good time. If you are looking for a venue with complementary facilities such as tables, chairs, equipment, or other support items, it would be advisable to confirm these details well in advance. Based on our experience, you may need to bring your own items, as confirmation may not be provided quickly and the venue may not supply them. It would be helpful if the vendor provided a standard, professional PDF or Word document setting out the key facilities, features, access arrangements, venue conditions, and any additional costs associated with using the space. This could be emailed to customers shortly after booking and would make the process more professional, transparent, and streamlined. We booked the venue for three hours on a Saturday morning. However, the vendor later stated that such a short booking was not really worthwhile for them. This was important information, but it was not clearly stated on the website before booking. If bookings need to be for a minimum of five hours to be viable for the venue, then this should be clearly listed before customers make a booking. We were also informed very close to the event date that a £250 cleaning and security deposit was required to cover any potential damage. Again, this should have been communicated much earlier, ideally immediately after booking, so that it could be factored into the event budget. As things stand, we have had to write off the cost of the event booking and treat this as a learning experience. We have lost our booking money completely as event vendor has not responded to any possibility of event postponement / rescheduling the event. The vendor has not responded to confirm whether the postponed event can be rearranged, and it now seems unlikely that we will receive a partial refund. Overall, the venue itself may have potential, but clearer communication, earlier disclosure of additional costs, and a more structured customer information process and better policies, including for situations like ours would significantly improve the service.