UK vs EU Decision Matrix for 2026 Events

One-page worksheet for comparing a UK shortlist and an EU shortlist on the same brief. Public-source assumptions only. Fill it in by hand or export to your sourcing tool.

1 · Event basics

Field	Your event
Working title
Target date / window
Attendee count
Origin mix (UK / EU / Global %)
Per-attendee budget (EUR or GBP — specify)
Format (board / SKO / association / incentive / other)

2 · Shortlist comparison (3 UK candidates + 3 EU candidates)

Venue	City	DDR / 24-hr (specify currency)	Capacity OK?	AV ready?	Score /10
UK candidate 1
UK candidate 2
UK candidate 3
EU candidate 1
EU candidate 2
EU candidate 3

3 · Cost-adjusted normalisation

Step	UK column	EU column
Quoted total (in local currency)
FX rate applied (specify date)
Normalised total in EUR
Per-attendee EUR equivalent
Variance vs other column (%)

4 · Friction inventory

Item	UK	EU
ETA / visa for EU attendees	Required from 8 Apr 2025 (Home Office)	Not required for EU↔EU
A1 social-security form for short-term work	Required (HMRC + EU)	Required (EU coordination)
Estimated friction cost per attendee (your estimate)
Last-minute-registration risk

5 · Scoring rubric

Score each candidate /10 on:

Cost-adjusted total vs budget (3 pts)
Capacity and room-type fit (2 pts)
AV / hybrid capability (1 pt)
Attendee accessibility / friction (2 pts)
Reference quality / past clients (1 pt)
Sustainability / certification (1 pt)

Reading the totals:

≥8 — issue full RFP and shortlist for site visit
6-7 — request clarifying quote; conditional shortlist
4-5 — hold as backup option
<4 — drop from shortlist

6 · Final decision

Field	Outcome
Selected venue
Reason (one line)
Date of selection
Approver

Want this filled in automatically? Easy RFP normalises GBP/EUR, runs the scoring rubric, and keeps the audit trail. Free for your first event.

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Sources: ONS Overseas Travel and Tourism dataset (ons.gov.uk); ICCA Country and City Rankings 2019 and 2023 (iccaworld.org public PDFs); BVEP and UKCAMS 2024 (businessvisitsandeventspartnership.com); ECB GBP reference rates (data.ecb.europa.eu); UK Home Office ETA guidance (gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta); HMRC A1 guidance (gov.uk). The decision tool and rubric are indicative for shortlisting only — confirm with venue-level quotes before contracting. Full methodology and underlying numbers: easyhotelrfp.com/blog/research/brexit-uk-conference-market-2026.