In reply to Morten Rand-Hendriksen.

Wording is everything. Even in your comment you use the words "After Hours", There is no after hours, its still part of the event, it is just the Social part, so let's call it what it is - a social.

People did not leave, because everyone knew they were going to get served a proper meal. In fact the time between the last talk and the dinner being served, the bar was open, the retro and board games were out and people paid for drinks themselves or waited around.

On reflection, I guess one thing we could do is keep the tea and coffee station open till dinner was served.

It's all about engineering the atmosphere and social culture you want from your attendees. This is why our ownous was on the retro and boardgames.