If you want to plan a party, what better way than to go online and use a party planning service? We wanted to scope out some of the best choices for you and when we landed on the Party Spot website, we loved how festive it looked! There seemed to be plenty of resources and fun features here, but read on for the 4-1-1 below.
What’s New?
- Party Spot Shop-Shop for fun party supplies such as thank you notes, pastel disposable cameras, cake serving sets and decorations.
Star Reviews Favorite Feature:
PartyPros-Get expert advice about how to pick vendors such as photographers, bands, DJ’s, caterers and florists. You have access to contract guides and expected tipping among other useful information like ‘questions to ask’ before you hire a vendor to work your party!
Party Spot Features:
- Extensive vendor search
- Hundreds of party-planning articles and guides
- Party Spot Shop
- Slideshows of party themes and party items
About Party Spot:
Party Spot was created by the same minds who established TheKnot.com for wedding planning and PromSpot.com for putting together a fabulous prom night. Unlike many top party planning sites, Party Spot only really provides useful information on budgeting, creating a guest list, choosing a party theme, etc.
Using Party Spot:
If you want articles, you can find them easily from the main page where they are organized by party type. You can access any of the articles without having to register at the site. These articles range from guest and host etiquette to how much to tip the bartender at a party. However, if you want to delve into the vendor search, you'll need to sign up. To find a vendor, you simply click one of the 25 options – band, caterer, photographer, etc. - and select your party location from the pull-down menu. When the results appear, you can click on the vendor's name to see their contact information and a brief message describing their service.
Planning with Party Spot:
Party Spot's articles are useful during the pre-planning period, when you're just thinking about throwing a party. But, when you're actually in the planning stage, you need more than information: you want tools that will make your job easier. The vendor search is helpful, but limited options are available depending on where you are located. For example, not one caterer was listed for the entire state of Indiana. On the other hand, you can find more than 60 photographers in Los Angeles.
Pricing:
Party Spot is free to use. Vendors do have to pay to advertise on the site, but the rates vary. On the bright side, you won't find any other advertising on the site.
Customer Support:
Party Spot does have a FAQ's page with 8 questions, but 6 of those questions are about “cookies.” You won't find much help here if you have a question about the site. You can find some contact information under the “About Us” link, but it's geared towards advertisers or users who have comments not for customer support.
After a long time of searching, we did finally uncover an email address for member support in their privacy policy. We sent an email to the address with a question we had about the site, but did not receive a response. This was pretty disappointing. However, we realize they are more of an informative party planning site and not a full-fledged party planning service, so less than efficient customer support is to be expected. If you're an advertiser, you have plenty of contacts, though!
Upside:
Free. Lots of great articles for pre-planning a party.
Downside:
Lack of customer support. No useful party planning tools. Limited vendor selection.
Summary:
Party Spot may link you to a shop where you can buy party supplies but it won't do much else to help you plan your party. Yes, the articles are great and are very helpful, but they won't help you manage your guest list, track your budget, or create invitations. The best party planning service sites combine helpful information with useful planning tools – Party Spot is lacking in the latter. Plus, their poor customer support and limited number of vendors for some locations didn't help them when we had to compare party planning services.