- Build a solid, meaningful business relationship with Center personnel in a positive and knowledgeable manner and negotiating leverage can be increased. Negotiating leverage is greatly determined by the size of your events and the number of events that you book at the same Convention Center.
- Study publicly owned Centers’ guidelines thoroughly. Negotiations at publicly owned Centers are extremely limited (but not impossible) as legislative and regulatory boards predetermine pricing and regulations which cannot be changed. Privately owned Centers are more amenable to negotiating.
- Some hotels (particularly those near to or connected to a Center) have been known to “subsidize” Center costs for conferences because they want your hotel business – if they know that you frequent that area often with events. This will not be offered upfront, you need to inquire at your chosen hotel.
- Flexibility with conference dates allowing the Center to fill in some gaps in their calendar is helpful. The ability to use “marginal” dates (around holiday times, for instance) will give you more negotiating leverage than at other times, but think this through carefully as it may not be advantageous for your attendees.
- Go to the Convention Center’s website. Look at their calendar of events and try to select dates that need to be filled, if possible, to increase your negotiating efforts. Determine if any competing events are scheduled on or near your selected possible dates, and if so, rethink your dates.
- Familiarize yourself completely with the Center website. Print all pertinent Center information, including floor plans, policies, sample contract, area attractions, rules and regulations, exhibitor regulations, parking facilities, transportation information, contact information for Center staff, etc. and create a well-organized, special notebook dedicated to all details of your conference .
- Research hotels near the Center and call the sales offices to reserve room blocks on a first refusal basis to be certain you have accommodations for your attendees over your event dates. Use different levels of hotels for your attendees’ selection. Do not sign any contracts at this time.
- Scope out your conference on the printed floor plans detailing sessions, exhibit space and all other needed space you would like to reserve. (Colored markers will define your needed space easily) Call the Center sales office and discuss your plans and space needs with them.
- Let the Center know of your reserved hotel room blocks. (Some Centers require this information upfront to determine the seriousness of your booking). If the Center has the dates and space needed, reserve the space and ask for a license agreement (contract).
- Call the hotels where you’ve reserved room blocks and ask them to send you contracts. Negotiate a disclaimer in all contracts that if either the Center or the hotel(s) become unavailable, the associated contract(s) may be terminated (“Unavailability of facilities” clause)
- Go to the Center for a Site Visit and pay close attention to everyone and everything everywhere – take copious notes of your visit. Question anything you do not understand or observe. Keep a positive attitude.
- Read the license agreement more than once, slowly and vigilantly while preparing your case for negotiations. Make a list of desired changes, deletions or amendments to the agreement and be able to discuss them intelligently and logically with Center personnel.
- Negotiate a “Termination/Excuse of Performance” clause which can contain broader language than a traditional “Force Majeure” clause to cover unexpected, unforeseeable occurrences over your event dates.
- Move-in and Move-out should be free; meeting room rentals are sometimes waived. Negotiate comfortable dates and amounts for all deposits and have them put into an interest-bearing account that accrues to your group unless you cancel.
- Mutual indemnification is usually difficult to achieve, but it is necessary, reasonable and fair. Try to negotiate responsibility only for damages or losses directly caused by your group. Or, negotiate to limit the amount of indemnification to the amount of insurance carried by the group.
- Insurance requirements: Know the amount of liability involved. Most Center agreements include the type and amount of insurance required and the naming of the Center as an “additional insured.” Add to the agreement that the Center will be responsible for acts and omissions of their employees and for defects in the premises and equipment they provide.
- Negotiate to inspect the premises with facility management before Move-In and after Move-Out to verify any damages. Only damages that are attributable to your event and discovered during this final inspection can be charged to your group.
- Utilities at the Center are negotiable. Full light, air conditioning and heat are usually a part of show days, but not during move-in or move-out. Negotiate the amount of utilities you need along with the charges for same. Negotiate the remedy for interruptions in any of this service that is within the control of the Center.
- Cancellation damages: If a Group reduces or cancels, the Group will be assessed 100 percent of the rental involved as liquidated damages by most facilities. These damages can be lessened if the Center is able to re-let the leased Premises. The amount received by the Center will offset the Group’s liquidated damages due. Other Centers use payment scales according to dates of cancellations.
- Remove any clause that allows the Center, at its sole discretion, to reserve the right to reassign a Group’s space within the facility with an equal or greater amount of space during any time frame. The Center should not be able to reassign any space unless it occurs with written permission from the Group within any time frame whatsoever.
- Event Security amount and costs are not negotiable and Groups usually must pay from the first hour of move-in through the completion of move-out. Additionally, the Center can provide total Security or a Group can choose from Center approved agencies for this service. Group pays the total cost.
Nancy A. Norman, president of Boston's the norman group llc and author of the successful books, Contract Addendums With Negotiation Techniques That Work! and RFP GUIDE, has been actively dedicated to the hospitality industry for over 35 years. She has served on numerous corporate boards, including the boards of Meeting Professionals International New England, The Professional Convention and Management Association, the San Diego California Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board, the National PCMA Leadership and Governance Committee and the Convention Industry Council APEX Contracting Panel and APEX Green Meetings Committee.
