Conference planner template and conference planning template
- Sellable capacity, plenary seats less complimentary places
- 360
- Breakout seats per session slot
- 320
- Share of the plenary that the breakouts can seat, percent
- 80.0
- Blended ticket price at that early bird share
- $455
Every figure on this page is worked out from the inputs you enter, by the method stated below it. Lanyardo publishes no venue directory, no speaker list and no industry cost per head: the defaults are a worked example to replace with your own numbers, and the delegate count is always yours.
The figures above start from a worked example (360). Change any input and the answer updates as you type.
Download the Conference planner template and conference planning template worked example (CSV)
A conference planner template is the one page the rest of the plan is built on: how many delegates the venue can actually take, how many the breakout rooms can seat at once, what a ticket is worth once early bird and full prices are blended, and what the event earns if it sells out. This template works those from what you type, the plenary seats, the breakout rooms and their seats, the early bird share and the two prices, and the complimentary places for speakers, sponsors and staff, because the plan that starts from the plenary capacity without taking those off is the plan that oversells.
Sellable capacity is the plenary less the people who do not pay
Speakers, sponsors' delegates, staff, volunteers and press all sit in the plenary and none of them bought a ticket. One in ten is a common share and it is an input here, not an assumption. The number left is what the booking system should be told, and what the budget's ticket income should be worked on.
The breakout share says whether the programme can split
Four rooms of eighty seat 320 at once against a plenary of 400, which is a breakout share of 80%; the remaining delegates have to be in a plenary session, in the exhibition or at coffee during that slot. A share below about 60% means the programme cannot run parallel tracks for everyone, and the programme builder on this site should be read with that figure.
The blended price is what the budget should use
Forty percent of delegates at the early bird price and sixty at full is a blended price that is neither, and the budget worked on the full price overstates the income by the difference. The template prints the blended figure and the ticket revenue at sellable capacity, which is the ceiling on ticket income before sponsors.
Conference planner template and conference planning template: common questions
What if we have a third price tier?
Fold the late tier into the full price at its expected share, or run the template twice. The purpose is a realistic blended price, and two tiers are enough for most events to get within a few dollars of it.
Should complimentary places come off the breakout capacity too?
Speakers are usually in the room where they speak, and staff are rarely in any session, so the breakout share is worked on the full room counts. If your sponsors bring large delegations who attend sessions, take them off the breakout seats by hand.
Does this save the plan anywhere?
Not on its own. The template computes in your browser and sends nothing anywhere. Lanyardo Pro saves the plan against the event and carries the capacity into the delegate list, so the booking target is one number in one place.
Where the constants in this tool come from
FTC, CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide: what a registration and ticket email must carry.