Planning Guide

The Notre Dame Conference Center offers complete venue and conference service support. Our professional event planners can coordinate, on an a la carte basis, such aspects as accommodations, guest registration, campus check-in, food service packages, and more. Each meeting is unique; our goal is to help you, the event organizer, succeed. Let the Notre Dame Conference Center take responsibility for logistics so that you can focus on the content of your conference or meeting.

Getting Started

It is never too early to start planning! While the required amount of planning time depends on the size and complexity of the event, early arrangements can ensure the availability of popular campus venues and resources.  Contact the Notre Dame Conference Center now to schedule a meeting to share your vision with a NDCC coordinator, or view our  staff page if you would prefer. Listed at the bottom of this page are some questions designed to help you prepare for our initial meeting, and our services page has a summary list of the planning services we offer.

Meeting Important Deadlines

To ensure adequate time for preparations, the NDCC asks you to adhere to several deadlines:

  • Housing information: at least 1 month prior to the event
  • Menus for meals and break times: at least 2 weeks prior
  • Final number of guests: 3 business days or 72 hours prior


Setting Dates

The first task of the Notre Dame Conference Center coordinator is to help you find dates on which the appropriate resources are available for your event. We can then place holds on venues for you. Since the Friday-to-Sunday weekend calendar pattern is most popular and books first, Sunday-Tuesday may be a good alternative. For summer events, please note that academic coursework takes precedence and that hotel and residence hall space fills quickly. Again, please contact the Notre Dame Conference Center as early as possible!

Arranging Services and Spaces

The Notre Dame Conference Center offers many services to you and your guests. From advertising to making hotel reservations, you can find a complete list on our  services page. Similarly, the Notre Dame Conference Center has a diverse range of venues for your event. Learn more about our meeting spaces and their configuration on our facilities page.

Managing a Budget

Your coordinator can help you establish a working budget for your event. This budget should include items such as meals, refreshments, outside services, and advanced tickets for speakers. If your event will include international guests, the Notre Dame Conference Center can help you develop a travel budget reflecting uncertain world affairs and volatile airline fares as well as the longer processing time for international payments and reimbursements.

For those events with tight budgets, the Notre Dame Conference Center will seek creative ideas to minimize costs. You might consider a cross-disciplinary approach, combine your event with other seminars, workshops, or undergraduate classes, or capitalize on incentive pricing for off-peak dates. Your coordinator can help you brainstorm other options.

Planning to Succeed

Your Notre Dame Conference Center coordinator will work with you, or your designate, in every step of the planning and implementation of your event. Effective communication is essential for a successful event. All communication comes through your coordinator, thereby decreasing oversights and errors. The goal of the Notre Dame Conference Center is to let you relax and focus on content.

Asking the Right Questions

Reading and considering the following questions may help you use this site and the services of your event coordinator most effectively:

  • What will your meeting look like?
  • What is the envisioned size and shape of your meeting?
  • What are the optimal spaces needed?
  • Will your group be meeting entirely in plenary or general session?
  • Or, will there be concurrent sessions or break-out groups?
  • How many guests will need overnight accommodations?
  • How many are international visitors?
  • What is unique about your event? (e.g., simultaneous translation, technical needs, scientific needs, book exhibits, poster sessions)
  • What calendar pattern do you need?
  • Are there special events within your discipline that need to be avoided? Or keyed from?
  • Where and when did this group meet last?
  • What kind of budgetary demands will there be and how is the meeting to be funded?
  • Will it be entirely supported by registration fees?
  • Is there outside funding available?
  • Does your scholarly association have policies in place that will impact your needs?
  • Are there University funds already in place?
  • What kind of assistance will you need in identifying budgetary resources for your meeting?