Beth Campion, director of pharmaceutical sales for Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ four-hotel San Diego metro market, has a ready set of questions.
“If it’s an investigator meeting I know they’re going to have food and beverage caps, and I ask what they are. I also ask if there are international attendees,” she says, because the attendee whose country has the lowest F&B cap rules. “Plus, international visitors need visas, so we have to then get them [visa] paperwork.”
Planners will build flexibility into contracts, but then hoteliers must build operational flexibility in as well, Campion says.
“Most pharma meetings are put together in a short time, so how the meeting looks three weeks out and how it comes to fruition is based on what training, what technology they need to showcase,” she says.” Your operations team needs to know that changes may come down so there’s not frustration.”
For example, pending Sunshine Act regulations, which will require breakdowns of everything a doctor consumes, will make even a simple headcount for meals more last-minute, says Elizabeth Winstanley, director of pharmaceutical sales at Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
“Doctors will start opting out of lunch,” she says. “[They’ll say] ‘I’m not going to have a $30 lunch because it’s going to be on a website that I had a $30 lunch.’”
Finally, Campion urges planners to be clear about whether a product launch is involved—which, since it requires FDA approval, adds further uncertainty to both contracting and operations.
“If it’s a launch, be up front and let the hotel take the risk with you,” she says. “If there’s any way to be flexible with dates, let us know when you’re bidding the RFP.”
