Private is the most elastic word in this trade. It is used for a room with a door, for a curtained corner of a restaurant, for a floor of a bar that the public can still walk through, and for a whole building closed to everybody but you. Those are four different products at four prices, and the advertising for all of them looks identical.
Ask three suppliers for a price
Is a private event venue near me really private? Three questions that settle it
Is there a door that closes. Will you seat or serve anyone else in this space while our event is on. Does the route to the lavatories or the smoking area take our guests through your normal trade, or yours through ours. Ask those three and the word private resolves into something specific. Venues answer them readily because they are used to being asked, and a venue that will not answer them plainly has told you the answer.
What exclusive use of a whole site costs
Closing a venue to everyone else means it must earn its entire day or night from your booking, so exclusive hire is priced against what the venue would otherwise have taken. That makes it expensive on a Saturday in season and often surprisingly reasonable midweek or out of season. It also makes the quote sensitive to the date in a way that a room hire is not, so ask for two or three dates priced rather than one.
Semi private, and when it is the right answer
A semi private space with a good screen, its own bar service and a route that does not cross the main room is frequently the best value booking in this market, because you are paying for separation rather than for the venue's whole night. It is the wrong answer for a speech, for a first dance, or for any event where a stranger walking through would spoil the moment. Decide which kind of evening it is before you shop, because it halves the shortlist.
Questions people ask about private event space
What does a private hire venue actually offer?
Anything from a room with a door to a whole building closed to the public. Ask whether there is a door, whether other customers will be seated in the space, and whether routes cross, and the word becomes specific.
Why is exclusive hire so much more expensive?
Because the venue must earn its whole day or night from one booking. That is why the same exclusive hire is expensive on a Saturday in season and much more negotiable midweek or out of season.
Are semi private party venues near me good enough?
Often, and it is usually the best value in the market. It is not good enough for speeches, a first dance, or any moment a stranger walking through would spoil.