Experts interviewed for this article offered the following tips for meeting planners to increase their negotiation leverage:
- To obtain the best negotiations vantage, know the value of the business you want to book and be open with suppliers about your objectives and budget.
- To determine the most favorable rates, submit RFPs to hotels and other suppliers through an online site selection service.
- Consider destinations off the top tier for budget-friendly rates and value.
- Partner with your procurement department to negotiate annual concessions from suppliers.
- Outsource logistics to specialists, thereby freeing staff for more strategic meetings tasks.
- Reduce the number of suppliers. Create preferred supplier programs for better cost control.
- Contact the national sales offices of major hotel companies if you have several meetings to book. Use a partnership approach in negotiations; a sort of “what’s best for both of us” position.
- Look at the big budget picture, not just single expense items like airfares or hotel rates. If airfare is the major item, consider boosting overall value by selecting alternative hotel sectors at your destination of choice.
- Acquire knowledge—from industry educational sessions, consultants, associates and peers—about staging successful virtual meetings such as webinars, webcasts, audio conferencing and virtual worlds events. Focus considerations about objectives and costs on message content, not the medium.
- Automate as many planning and implementation tasks as possible to improve staff efficiencies and productivity.