Can you explain what a no-walk penalty clause is? This clause is inserted into a venue agreement (hotel/conference center) to protect you/your group from being moved/relocated when you have a signed agreement. There are times when a venue will decide to accommodate a larger group by moving your group out so they can have the space. This is especially true if you are working with smaller groups. This clause is inserted to make sure that does not happen to you.
Do you have the hotel provide you a contract and then make changes to it? If so, do you make the changes on the contract or write it up separately? It is always possible, and always recommended, to do an addendum to a signed contract to reflect changes to the program operation—function space and timing adjustments, room block (outside of attrition), terms and conditions etc. Make sure that all changes are exact and encompass all changes to the original contract. It is not a binding contract until all parties have signed it.
What are "meeting 911 numbers"?
Meeting 911 numbers encompass my personal list of emergency contacts who will be called upon in the event of an incident requiring immediate action. This list includes my 24-hour travel desk, main hotel and DMC contacts, including personal cell phone numbers, security personnel/company, local hospitals, FedEx Kinko’s, and the U.S. embassy if in a foreign country.
Any way we can get a sample brand and ownership clause to add to contracts? Brand Change Clause
Hotel will promptly notify Client if there is a change in brand management of the Hotel prior to or during the program, Client shall have the right to cancel this contract without liability upon written notice to the hotel.
Ownership Change Hotel will promptly notify Client if there is a change in ownership of the Hotel prior to the program dates. Client shall have the right to cancel this contract without liability upon written notice to the hotel.
Or try this…
Hotel Maintenance
At the time of the Event, Hotel must be the same condition or better than it was at the time this Agreement was executed. In addition, Hotel must maintain its current “star” or “diamond” rating. In the event that Hotel’s rating is lowered or Hotel is sold or changes management contracts prior to the Event, Client may terminate this Agreement upon written notice with no liability of any kind, and Client shall be entitled to a refund of all amounts prepaid to Hotel within thirty (30) days of receipt of cancellation notice by Hotel.
Do you have an example of Staff Rules of behavior? Yes, we are providing one for all who attended the Webinar. See the document I’ve included on Staff Rules.
Got stuck with attrition costs last time I used a vendor. Want to go back next year but eliminate all attrition costs. How do I approach the vendor?
To be honest, asking to eliminate guest room attrition all together isn’t really fair to a hotel. Better to ask for the highest percentage you can get, book very cautiously based on your pick-up this year, and watch the reservations like a hawk. You may stand a better chance of eliminating Food and Beverage attrition—especially if you have solid history this year.
Where can I find a glossary of meeting terms such as CSM, RFP, etc.?
You’ll find a helpful glossary of common terms and acronyms on the Convention Industry Council’s website http://www.conventionindustry.org/glossary/main.asp
I'm an independent planner. I just had a nightmare with registration for a client. It was a VIP event with assigned seating—he was making changes up to two hours before the event. Registration was a disaster but I let him bully me. How would YOU have handled it? Sorry to hear about that. This has happened to all of us at one time or another. I actually had this exact scenario happen with a group of 950 pax with assigned seating on the first night of a major product launch. The client made so many last-minute changes to the seating that literally when the doors opened, the only seats we knew were correct were the six VIP tables. The doors opened, my staff was stationed throughout the room and within six minutes everyone just sat themselves wherever they wanted! Those six minutes were some of the most stressful I have ever encountered and of course we could not blame the client. In the future, we established a cutoff and told the client that no more adjustments could be made and held to it. Give yourself an extra hour of play with the deadline—and stand by it—explaining that this is the only way to insure the smooth operation of the seating plan.
Speaking of money, I've had an offer from an outside audiovisual firm for a quote $6K less than the hotel; never gone outside, but excellent references for the outside firm; do you have any recommendations of what to do? What else to ask from the vendor? It is always a good idea to get a competing bid from a vendor outside the hotel. I recently did this and found the pricing to be 50 percent less than the hotel provider. Make sure you send written details to each vendor outlining specific equipment needs, set up and breakdown times, staff requirements, rehearsal times, etc., so that you are comparing apples to apples. Ask what kind of concessions they would be willing to make if you are not sure what to ask for specifically—put the onus on them to come up with some good ones. Ask for references, as always, from groups with similar requirements. Do they have a late-night emergency number? Have they handled VIP speakers in the past (assuming you may have a big name—or just a big ego—booked)? Are they familiar with the hotel or venue you are working in? Will you have the same team on each day? Just make sure that the difference in price between the in-house and outside provider is not due to a difference in quality or quantity of equipment, different staffing or set-up times, etc. It is possible that the hotel will levy a charge for you to bring in an outside company, but even with this, you will likely still pay less.
What precautions would you recommend if there is no funding for site visits?
I am finding that we have to fight harder to preserve this line item in the budget. This is quite shortsighted on the part of management when you think of the possible repercussions of booking the wrong hotel, function space, venue, suppliers, etc., because you did not have the opportunity to actually experience them. If you have been unable to obtain approval for a site, the recommendation would be to strengthen your professional network so that you have people you can go to for first hand recommendations; obtain references from the hotels, DMCs and other service providers of groups similar to yours; and check as many reputable online sources as you can to find out as much as you can about the places and services you are planning to book. Make sure you stay on top of your service providers and make it clear what your expectations are. If their initial responses to you are lacking in terms of detail, timing or quality, cut them loose earlier rather than later. Pricing can always be negotiated but if a supplier can’t seem to answer initial questions in a timely and accurate fashion, it usually doesn’t get better the deeper you get into the project.
There is no good substitute for a hands-on site visit. Try to minimize the cost of the site visit by obtaining complimentary rooms, special site inspection rates for other services, combining the site with another trip, etc., and then bring this revised pricing to management and see if monies can be found for this important building block of the program.
