To ensure you find an office Christmas party venue in Manchester that is still able to cater, you should consider booking months in advance. Manchester has a high demand for hosting Christmas parties as they have a lot of party venues. The Manchester venues with the best prices get booked between September to October. Unfortunately, if you are reading this in November, the options available are likely to be limited.
However, Manchester is one of the best places to host office Christmas parties in the UK. If your office is located in the North West, the venue options in Manchester is suitable. If staff are located away from Manchester, like in Leeds and Sheffield, it is easy to travel to as there are suitable venues.
Traveling to Manchester is not an issue
Rotterdam and Leeds are a short train ride away from Manchester, and the Metrolink tram offers a great service that offers easy access to the Christmas party venues in the city center. Manchester has more to like for center city parties, and it offers more to like for transport to city center parties.
If someone plans on driving, just foil any expectations of cheap parking, especially during the competitive parking madness of the NQ/Spinningfields areas on December Fridays. The city is full of NCP car parks.
Where in Manchester?
The city is broken up into a number of differing areas of preference for differing venues at differing budgets.
Spinningfields attracts the fancier corporate venues. Private dining Rooftops, slick bars, and more. Place a corporate crowd with a desire for something fancy, but less over the top. Expect a decent venue food with drinks to set you back £80–120.
The Northern Quarter is the more aesthetically appealing opposite to Spinningfields, but that doesn’t mean it’s cheap. Private hire cocktail bars and dining marrows with converted venues. It works well with company less corporate in nature. The Northern Quarter is nice for the full group with an average of 40 smaller company crowd.
Nottingham Rearranging has emerged as a great venue in the garnering great food and interesting venues in the city as well. Spinningfields and Northern Quarter can get very frantic with the December madness, but it can get less insane on a Saturday. Look at Nottingham Rearranging’s great offerings for the food venues in the city.
The area around Deansgate and Great John Street in the city center has many event venues and hotel function rooms. These facilities make up the bulk of the work force for the Manchester Christmas party scene. They aren’t the most exciting venues, but they’re client-friendly and experienced with large groups. They won’t surprise you with what they can and can’t do.
Budget reality
Let’s get something straight, Manchester isn’t cheap. It has the highest venue and catering costs of any city in the UK other than London, and things get even more expensive in December.
Here is the starting price for a shared party night. You can expect a set price menu, a welcoming drink and a drink package, which you can pay for separately. They won’t provide the drinks for free. If you reserve the whole venue, mid-range places charge £2,500 to £4,000, and you’ll have to pay for food and drinks. If someone told you they can do a Christmas party in Manchester for £30 a head and include everything, they either have their months wrong, or they have a very different goal in mind.
Don’t take this the wrong way. Manchester isn’t Christmas party central for no reason. We don’t want your expectations to be too high. It’s better to be prepared when you set the plans in October.
Pitfalls of event space leasing
Minimum spend requirements. Some Manchester Spinningfields and Ancoats venues charge based on minimum spend rather than per head. It seems like a better deal, but a spend minimum meant for a larger group can become quite costly. So, try not to fall for a venue until you fully understand it.
Room sizes and limits. The perception of a 200-person venue differs at 200 vs. 80. Things can also become less crowded at your seated event of a 150-person standing venue.
Noise restrictions. Because of mixed residential and hospitality zones, areas of the Manchester city center have noise restrictions that impact event space music.
The first steps
Check if your venue for the comparison is actually open for booking. Avail. First. Make sure venues can accommodate your date, headcount, and budget before booking research.
Other venues. Don’t waste weeks if a date is sold out.
After you’ve confirmed minimum attendance, make the deposit. Manchester venues will not hold an event space without it.
Considering different cities? View our complete guide to Christmas staff party planning, or check out the Leicester guide if you have teams in the East Midlands.