Financial planners may give up – MEET

Contractual benefits cost the hotel $0

go through Jaelyn Fisher

Ask anyone working in meetings and events how they’re currently feeling about the pandemic and its impact on the entire hospitality industry, and you’ll likely hear that these four years have been both the longest four years and the fastest four years—and the effects are still being felt today.

While much of the pre-pandemic advice regarding procurement and contracting meetings and events still applies, the current situation demonstrates that the market has shifted from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market, forcing buyers to become more creative and flexible in their procurement and contracting processes.

As a planner, you want to ensure that you demonstrate to stakeholders the value your conference or event brings to the end user in order to maintain the longevity of your event. Additionally, if you are a third-party planner or agency, it is even more important to demonstrate the value you bring in terms of signing contracts and increasing offers on behalf of your clients. What’s the point? Every offer you ask for counts and may not only secure repeat business for years to come, but it may also prevent a client from defecting to your competitors.

The following is a list of benefits that should be requested in every hotel contract, because if they are accepted, it costs the hotel nothing. I do want to point out that “zero cost” – from a hotel sales perspective – means that if these benefits are approved, the hotel will not spend money internally (additional staff, resources, food and beverage, rooms, meeting space, etc.) or externally (marketing, commissions, third-party audiovisual equipment, etc.). And, it’s also worth noting that every hotel situation is different, so it’s always worth asking…the worst answer is “no.”

Ask about items already on site

Asking for items that are already on-site to be provided to your meeting at no charge is a great start. This includes: free WiFi in guest rooms and meeting spaces, discounted parking (only in hotel-owned parking lots/garages), free daily access to the hotel fitness center (does not include access to the spa), individual access to the executive lounge, and display of your group/meeting’s conference name on internal displays/reading boards (to increase brand awareness).

Demand for better contract terms

Once you have requested all the “free services” from the hotel, you should then evaluate the terms of the hotel’s standard contract. Ask to adjust the group cut-off date from 30 days to 21 days, and ask if substitutions can be allowed before the check-in date. Ask if the turnover rate can be changed from per night to cumulative for the group’s stay. Ask to add a “rebooking” clause in addition to the cancellation clause. All of this will help your group avoid huge losses.

Consider adding these clauses

Depending on the size of your group, the length of the project, and the amount of labor required for these activities, you may want to consider asking for concessions from the hotel if they do not impose too much labor on the hotel. When one of the following is added to the contract, the hotel already has on-site staff in the relevant department, and in most cases the hotel will not assign additional staff to handle the request; existing staff completes the task and the team pays additional fees. Consider asking for waived package handling (and storage) fees, waived room storage fees, and free use of outside audio-visual equipment and other vendors.

Expand existing resources

Understand the needs of the group, and if there is an opportunity to use an item for two purposes, consider asking to use it two or more times for the cost of one, taking into account the size and requirements of the group. If you anticipate that the group will arrive in large groups well in advance of the event, or are arriving from abroad and need luggage storage, ask for free luggage storage. Many times, this is a small banquet space that is not being used (and unattended). Does your board want to hold a small meeting? If they have outlets on site, consider asking if they can use one of them during a time that is not open when they want to meet; this avoids meeting space fees and provides a larger, more private workspace. Finally, consider reusing food and drinks during morning or afternoon breaks (as long as they are still safe to eat). Re-plating pastries from breakfast to serve during the morning break, or re-plating leftover cookies from lunch to serve during the afternoon break can save money by reducing the cost of purchasing additional items for these breaks, and also prevent food waste.

Bottom line: It’s still a seller’s market, and all signs indicate that won’t change significantly as we head into the end of the year. While this means tighter restrictions on free nights, turnover compensation, and cancellation clauses, there are still many offers that can help make your meeting or event profitable. As many people know in negotiations: It’s never a bad idea to ask.

Meet

Jaelynn Fisher is a staff writer based in St. Louis.