Frequently Asked Questions

Miscellaneous Questions

The lost and found is located at the Welcome Desk in the lobby of the Student Center @ Houston Hall, or at 215-898-4636.

We have ADA entrance maps for each of the buildings within Space and Events.

Check out this resource guide for information on other event spaces and vendors on campus.

Unfortunately, this means we are unable to accommodate your event for the time & date you’ve requested. We assure you that our team has checked all potential options in our portfolio of spaces. Please refer to our resource guide to other event spaces & vendors on campus & their contacts.

Prior to Your Application…

Penn organizations may submit a room reservation application online. Your application is not a confirmation; the events team will reach out with confirmations, denials, or requests for more information.

This depends on the time of year:

  • 10 business days during the academic school year.
  • 7 business days during the summer.
  • We encourage you to submit your application as soon as you have the required information to ensure you receive the best fitting space for your event needs.
  • Complex events (conferences, banquets/gals, guest speakers, etc.) may require more coordination time.

You can confirm the availability of our spaces using the Room Reservation Request Form on our website. Enter your desired event date, time, and capacity to view the available spaces.

Spaces are listed with their floor plans and capacities under the Spaces page on our website.

Space and Events can reserve certain classrooms on campus only after the University of Pennsylvania Registrar’s Office has released the classroom schedule for the current semester.

Student Group~ Any student organization registered with the Office of Student Affairs ands listed on pennclubs.com 

Faculty/Staff~ Any Penn organization made-up of majority Penn faculty or staff.

External~ Any organization that is not directly affiliated with Penn.

That depends! If your application is missing crucial information, an Event Coordinator may reach out to you with additional questions or your application may be rejected. Additionally, missing information will result in a longer processing time. If you are unsure whether you are ready to submit your application, reach out to our office at (215) 898-5552.

  1. First, we receive and review your event application for space availability. 
  2. If we are able to accommodate the request, an assigned event coordinator will reach out to discuss the following details: Please have this info ready 
    1. Budget  
    2. Room layout  
    3. A/V needs  
  3. You and the event coordinator will discuss all the details listed above and build your reservation.   
  4. Our partners in Visual Sound will reach out to you and discuss your technical needs (if any).
  5. Our office will send out your estimate and a Client Agreement including our terms and conditions for your event organizer to sign and return to our office.  
    1. At this stage if there are any estimate discrepancies, or changes to your event, they must be completed at this time. 
  6. Once we receive the signed client agreement, we will send you a space confirmation letter!
    1. Any changes made after we receive a signed client agreement will require a new signed client agreement and may incur an emergency setup fee.

Please be aware that applying for space is NOT confirmation. We do not advise you to advertise your event before working with our team and receiving a space confirmation letter from our office.

The cost of the room per day, and the chairs needed for the event. Room rental is a flat-rate per day cost, not hourly. Tables, linens, in-room AV, etc. is an additional cost.

  • Main Hall requests must be made at least 3 weeks before the event date. Less than 3 weeks may result in a denial at the discretion of the ULSE Team.
  • Main Hall has specific union rules; please reach out to an event coordinator if you are interested in reserving the space.
  • Main Hall events, on average, have a minimum cost of $3500.
  • Payment for Main Hall Events must be made 5 business days prior to your event.

Prior to Your Event…

Please allow at least 10 business days during the academic school year and 7 business days during the summer.

  • We encourage you to submit your application as soon as you have the required information to ensure you receive the best fitting space for your event needs.

If your reservation application has been accepted and you were assigned an Event Coordinator, they can arrange for a tour. If you have not yet submitted a reservation application, please call our front desk at 215-898-5552 to schedule a tour.

We may be able to accommodate storage space for events, but we ask that you arrange this with your assigned Event Coordinator as we have limited storage space.

Our event coordinators are happy to help you select furnishings for your needs. As a general guideline, a café table seats 4 people, a 6′-rectangular table seats 6 people, a 60″-round table seats 8 people, and a 72″-round table seats 10 people.

That depends! If the primary purpose of your event is to socialize, it’s likely you should register the event with University Life. Events with alcohol must always be registered; dry social events happening in off-campus residences or at third-party venues should also be registered. Other dry events on campus such as organizational meetings, grab-n-go-giveaways, speakers, etc. do not need to be registered with University Life. 

Events that are not registered—or, unregistered events—that are visited by UPPD and/or the Event Observers will be shut down and accountability measures will be discussed.

For information on policies, please visit our policies page. If you have unanswered questions, please call our office or reach out to your assigned Event Coordinator.

University-funded organizations will be required to provide a 26-digit University budget code prior to the event.

Payment may be made in cash, money order, cashier’s check, or credit card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or Debit Card).

Please refer to our Policies for details on payment policies.

During Your Event…

Our Building Manager can assist. Please call the Building Manager on duty at 215-399-6019