If you are planning on organizing a conference, then you must make sure that you are ready to not only provide great content but also great comfort to all the participants. Conferences are a great place for people to come together and discuss policies; however, uncomfortable settings can make it difficult for participants to use their full potential, and can further harm the conference atmosphere as well.

Here are five tips on how to organize a great conference:

1. Great Content: Make sure that the topic the conference is being hosted on is very interesting. If you are arranging a conference for a specific industry, then try and get well-known people from within it to come and talk at the event. Make sure you pick a Chairperson who understands the topic and is able to make conversation on it, as well as motivate other people to participate in the conference.

2. Proactive Participants: When deciding on a method to get participants to register, make sure you attract the best people. Having people at the conference who are aware of and interested in the topic will make it easier for the conference to become a success. Also, Make sure you advertise the conference through different media to get a wide coverage.

3. Good Food: Nothing destroys a conference as quickly as either bad food, or lack of water. Humans don’t function well when hungry or thirsty, so make sure you talk to the event organizer beforehand about the food that will be provided. Make sure that the food provided has variety and is good in quality. Furthermore, also cater to incorporate any dietary restrictions some participants might have (like vegetarian options).

Make sure food is provided at regular intervals with snacks and coffee in between as people like to eat something every four to five hours. Provide enough time in agenda for everyone to get food and enjoy it fully before rushing back to the conference sessions.

4. Friendly Service: If you have volunteers helping you, make sure you train them to be very friendly and gracious to all the guests. As the participants will be working all day long, there are chances that they might become shot-tempered or rude when being asked for changes in rooms or other issues that might occur. Nothing will make them angrier or unhappier than a volunteer who is rude to them. Since these participants are your guests, make sure you treat them graciously throughout their stay.

5. Lodging and other extras: If you are providing overnight lodgings, check the rooms to make sure they are clean and have proper heating or cooling systems. Tell participants who will be staying over their room numbers when they register, and tell them of any hotel facilities or restrictions (all keys at reception, no phone calls from etc) so that they have full information with them.

Other than rooms, also consider what other things you can provide to your guests. It might be possible to get snacks or drinks company to sponsor the conference so you can give participants free snacks other than the ones the hotel provides. It is also nice to get a little reminder of the conference, so consider getting t-shirts, key rings, or mugs made depending on the demographics of the participants.