Once you have decided that you are going to hold an event in Porto, you will have to decide first if you need a DMC (Destination Management Company) and secondly, who would be the best DMC for your event. So, let’s look at these things in turn.

 The truth is not every event needs a DMC – for very simple events which are going to essentially just be held in a hotel, perhaps a DMC is not necessary, but generally there is nearly always some level of complexity once an event has more than a handful of participants and pulling the disparate elements of an event together is what DMCs specialize in. When you hire a DMC, you should get three services in one – first you get access to their knowledge of local suppliers (they should know who is reliable, who is good value for money, which are the best hotels, which are the less well-known but atmospheric venues, fun things to do in the local area and so on) – in short they are the local people who know where to go to give you the very best of your destination. Second, the DMC has to pull the entire event together, making sure that the meeting rooms are booked at the right time, that the pick-ups from the airport are orchestrated, that the band has the right sound system etc. etc. And finally, the DMC should be there with you for the duration of the events troubleshooting issues, dealing with extra requests and essentially running the whole show.

So, what is so good about Porto Events as a DMC, I hear you ask? Well, we have 15 years of experience in the sector (which given that Porto has only really been on the corporate events map for about 16 years is saying something!) and we know Porto and northern Portugal like nobody else, because we are above all a local DMC and not part of a larger international group which can be run at arm’s length. This means that whilst having had the fortunate experience of working with the very best hotels, caterers, restaurants, event venues, musicians, photographers, decorators, transportation companies and so on, we have also had the misfortune to work with the not-so-good side of the of the industry – as a result we have a trusted list of suppliers who we work with again and again, because we know just how good they are. In fact, we like to think that our knowledge of the very best suppliers to the events industry is the second most important thing that we can bring to your event….

The most important thing that we can bring to your event is the level of organisation and attention to detail that we bring. Of course, all DMCs will say that they are well organised (that is after all a major part of their job), but all we can say is that we prioritise detailed planning and attention to detail above all else when we work on an event. There are a lot of moving parts when running an event and so a lot of things that can go wrong. Our event planning is first and foremost all about the less glamorous side of events – spreadsheets. Yes, we love a spreadsheet at Porto Events and we like to share all the details of an event with our clients, so that we can make sure everything aligns with their expectations. That means that the event planners we employ on our team are the kind of people who thrive on details and whilst the creative part of planning an event is also important, we would never employ a creative member of staff who could not be trusted to get the details right.

This then is our case for us to be your DMC in Porto – we know the city and the event eco-system as well as anyone and we will break our backs to make sure that nothing is left to chance in the planning and implementation of the event. The perfect blend of local-knowledge, experience and fastidiousness! If you are interested in sharing your ideas about holding an event in Porto, the just give us the chance to share a spreadsheet with you, to show what we can do…