Event Planner
Event Planner Salary
A quick update on current event planner salary levels
An event planner is responsible for planning a festival, special ceremonies, competitions or parties. Event planners have a large range of job responsibilities and they can work independently as well as at event management companies. As a result, an event planner salary will vary according to the venue they work in and how much they work.
Nature of event planning and job responsibilities
Usually event planners deal with the entire planning and hosting of an event. Event planning as a career itself is also quite new. Previously, there were no courses that educated people on how to manage events. Most event planners learnt on the job. However, as time passed, event planning became a degree where management, economics and other aspects of event planning were taught. There are many names for event planners. For example, they can be referred to as conference coordinators, special event planners, event coordinators, meeting managers, and convention planners. However, all these titles refer to event planners. The job responsibilities will vary considerably. They can host weddings, parties, conventions and even meetings for large or small groups of people and arrange all the facilities that are required for event. A few of the biggest responsibilities of an event planner are as follows-
• Consulting with clients to find out exactly what they need for their event.
• Planning events and coordinating with clients to ensure that they’re needs have been met.
• Finding a theme or motif for the event and setting up a project plan for the event.
• Establishing dates and timelines for the event and ensuring that the event is planned on the dates set up by the client.
• Reserving the event site, decorating it, setting up additional facilities at the site like food, snacks, seating and transportation
• Arranging for music and other accessories like speakers and alternate speakers for the event.
• Selecting music, live bands, flowers and other accessories for the event as decided by the client.
• Arranging furniture for the event like tables, chairs, tents, and other facilities.
• Hiring police, security, parking, signage, emergency and medical facilities, and cleanup after the event.
These are just a few of the responsibilities of a typical event planner. The actual responsibilities will depend on the event that has been planned, the number of people who have been invited for the event and the facilities in place for the guests who will be attending the event.
Private event planner salary
Private event planners are usually small scale workers. The job responsibilities will be the same but private or small scale event planners will have to do most of the planning and execution of the event by themselves. This means that they can afford to charge a lower amount. Other factors like the size of the event, the number of guests that are involved and the facilities that are offered to the guest will influence the event planner salary scale. For example, a birthday party for twenty 10-year-old children means that the event planner will have to arrange games, fun activities like a clown, video games, movies, popcorn, cotton candy makers, minders to watch the children etc. Food for the event will usually mean finger food and snacks that are easy to eat for children followed by fun counters like cupcake counters, candy counters etc. For a small event like this an average annual planner salary will range anywhere from $13000-$15000 to more. However, this salary range is also influenced by the activities and work that the planner is doing for the particular ceremony.
Company event planner salary
Large companies are also into event planning. However, these companies will have several event planners, interns and assistants working with them. They can deal with large as well as small events and usually, they can arrange events in a week. However, as the companies are large, they will charge a slightly higher amount for every event that is planned. They will also have specialists who deal with special events only. For example, a meeting event planner will only deal with meetings, conferences and business meets. For such events, they will be able to offer a range of services like champagne breakfasts for visiting or departing dignitaries, audio and sound equipment at the meeting, snacks and drinks, stationary support work and videoconferencing facilities etc. As the company will provide niche services for large and small companies, a typical event planner salary for such an event will be higher than normal. On an average, event planners who work with large companies get paid an average rate of about $13-$39 per hour depending on the event and the number of hours that were put into organizing the event.
Average Event Planner Salary and Job Outlook
There are several factors that will affect the salary of an event planner. Private event planner salary ranges are much lower than what companies pay for their staff. However, there is a huge demand for trained event planners in the event industry. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry is expected to grow by as much as 16% on the years 2008 to the year 2018. This is because the number of international businesses is on the increase. Companies in one part of the world will need to host meetings, conferences, international events, and parties for customers and clients and manufacturing branches located in other parts of the world. As a result, there will always be a demand for trained event planners. On an average, the event planner salary will range start at $13.02 per hour for trainees, which will increase to about $16.73- $28.43 as the trainee gains more experience. The upper 10% of event planners who are nationally well known can easily draw an hourly salary of about $36.94. As a result, the starting event planner salary will be about $27,090 which will increase to the $45,260- $59,130 range. The best event planners can draw an annual event planner salary of $76,840 – $100,000 per year or more.
