The layout of a venue can play a huge factor in whether the venue is successful or not. Leisure, entertainment and hospitality venues come in all shapes and sizes and some can be highly specialised so unfortunately there is not a one size fits all rule for design and layout. However, there are general rules which can be used as a starting point for a typical venue's layout.

Before decisions are made in regards to construction or refurbishment of a venue, many questions need to be asked to ensure the functionality and aesthetics of the venue. The following are some questions that could be considered:

• Do the facilities in the proposed venue compliment or compete with each other?

• Is the layout of the proposed facilities likely to increase or decrease operational costs?

• Are there aspects of the facility that are not going to give an adequate return on investment?

• Have the quality and aesthetics of the bathrooms been given the attention they require?

• Are there any hazards in the layout that may potentially cause patron or staff injury?

• Has patron traffic flow been considered?

Club and Pub design:

It is often considered good practice to have the gaming room located in the middle of the venue with many of the other facilities branching off from this area. This is particularly important in regards to the designated outdoor smoking area (DOSA), cafe and bathrooms. The DOSA, cafe and bathroom need to be immediately accessible from the gaming room with no need to transit through other facilities in the venue to reach them. By having a cafe next to the gaming room, gaming patrons can obtain relatively cheap coffee and snacks throughout the day as opposed to having to wait until meal times for bistro/restaurant facilities to be open.

Any TAB and sports bar facilities should be located away from the other facilities in the venue as they tend to be loud and messy and can disturb patrons not wishing to participate.