Salon du Bourget: an evening on the Seine to host your clients and partners

During the Salon du Bourget, the days are packed: meetings on stands, demonstrations, negotiations. That leaves the evening, often the only time you can really talk to a client, a prime contractor or a foreign delegation. Paris, a short distance from the site, offers a setting that exhibition halls simply cannot: a privately hired boat on the Seine.

We have already covered fringe evenings for trade shows and hosting international guests in general terms. This article takes a complementary angle: that of exhibitors and aerospace groups who need to organise an evening linked to the Salon du Bourget, with its own constraints of travel, timing and capacity.

Why host your Bourget guests on the Seine

The Salon du Bourget takes place in June, every other year, at Le Bourget airport, north of Paris. It brings together delegations from all over the world: airlines, equipment manufacturers, subcontractors, public bodies and investors. Many come for only a few days and stay in Paris.

A privately hired boat meets several practical needs of a B2B reception:

• A venue that makes an impression: the Seine, the quays and the monuments are part of what your guests hope to see of Paris, without giving up a whole day to it.
• A closed, controlled space: only your guests are on board, which makes confidential conversations between partners easier.
• A format that is simple to organise: welcome, catering and atmosphere are all in one place, with no need for multiple transfers.

Journey time between Le Bourget and the boat

This is the question that determines everything else. The Le Bourget site is about twelve kilometres from central Paris. The actual journey time depends above all on the hour: at the end of the day, traffic heading into Paris can be heavy, especially as the show generates its own flows of visitors and shuttles.

To make your schedule more reliable, we recommend that you:

• allow a comfortable margin between closing your stand and boarding, rather than a tight timetable;
• arrange group transport (coaches or chauffeur-driven vehicles) for delegations, rather than leaving everyone to fend for themselves;
• test the journey in advance at the planned time, and check the traffic and access instructions issued by the show organisers;
• choose a boarding quay that is accessible from the north of Paris and close to your guests' hotels.

The choice of quay is settled with us beforehand: some boarding points are easier to reach by coach, while others are more convenient for guests walking back to their hotel. We will tell you the journey times to allow for, depending on the quay chosen.

Seated dinner or cocktail: which format to choose

The right format depends on the aim of the evening and on when your guests arrive.

A cocktail dinner (buffet-style canapés and finger food) is ideal when you want to encourage networking: guests circulate, introduce themselves and talk to several people. It is the best-suited format for an evening bringing together clients, partners and internal teams. It also copes better with staggered arrivals, which are common after a day at the show. To find out more, read our article on choosing between a seated dinner and a cocktail.

A seated dinner is preferable for a smaller group, such as an official delegation or a decision-making committee, with a carefully planned seating arrangement and time set aside for speeches. It demands greater punctuality: boarding must take place within a precise window for the service to run smoothly.

In both cases, bear your international guests in mind: dietary requirements, religious restrictions, time zones and travel fatigue all influence the menu and the pace. A lighter meal and smooth service are often better received than a long, multi-course menu.

Capacities: yacht, barge or moored boat

Our fleet covers a range of group sizes:

• Yachts (2 to 30 guests): for a board-level dinner, a small delegation or a confidential discussion with a strategic client.
• Barges (40 to 250 guests): for a reception for clients, partners and teams, as a cocktail or a dinner. Our guide to choosing a boat for a key-account client evening goes into this in detail.
• Moored boats: a useful option if you want an unusual venue without sailing, for example for a more static evening with speeches or demonstrations.

Size the capacity to the number of people who will actually attend, not the number of invitations sent. At a trade show, attendance varies with the day's unforeseen events. A boat slightly larger than necessary leaves room to move around; a boat that is too tight spoils the experience.

Booking lead times to plan for

June is a very popular time in Paris, with its long evenings and numerous corporate events. During the week of the Salon du Bourget, several groups are looking for reception venues at the same time: the most suitable boats go first, particularly the large-capacity barges.

Our advice is to start planning several months before the show, as soon as your dates of attendance are known, and to send an enquiry as soon as you have an idea of guest numbers. A late request is sometimes still possible, but the choice of boat, quay and time slot narrows. Our page on how far ahead to book a boat in Paris gives general guidance, and the one on booking in high season applies to June as well.

Planning the running order of the evening

A typical running order, to be adapted, might look like this: group transfer from Le Bourget, welcome at the quay with a guest list, welcome drink, boat departure, cocktail or dinner service while sailing past the monuments, a short speech from the host, then return to the quay and transfer to the hotels.

A few points to settle with us beforehand:

• the guest list and any access or security requirements;
• the timing of the speech and the sound equipment needed;
• the menu, special diets and drinks, taking into account the diversity of your guests;
• the return time, so that everyone can get back to their hotel without difficulty.

By sending us the number of guests, the date, your preferred departure point and the format you have in mind, you will receive a clear proposal, with a boat, a quay and a time slot that fit your programme at Le Bourget.