We at Meetings Today know that among all the other elements of executing a fabulous event, planners must keep an ever-keen eye on the bottom line. Not going over budget and actually saving money, of course, is ideal.

And so we set out to gather a bunch of wonderful—and valuable—budget tips from eight key industry players, who offered their expertise on saving bucks in categories ranging from F&B and technology to off-site events and entertainment.

Location/Host Venue/Guest Rooms

Joan Eisenstodt

Chief Strategist
Eisenstodt Associates
Washington, D.C.

1. It begins with destination and site selection. Start by learning what the current taxes are and what they may be by asking if there are city council, state legislature or other initiatives—such as building a new stadium—that may raise taxes or add fees to your guest room charge, F&B amounts or others.
2. Calculate all budget figures using “++” (tax, service charge) or “+++” (tax, service charge, administrative fee). Or ++++- taxes that may include local, state and tourism, service charge (or gratuity), administrative fee and resort or hotel fees. Without those, you will have only base prices and not know the actual amounts your group will be charged for F&B, audiovisual, meeting room rental and other services.
3. Negotiate to include a review of all bills daily, each day of your meeting, in your contracts with hotels and vendors, and that all banquet and other checks must be signed by an authorized signer. You want to protect your master account against rogue charges and signers!

Food and Beverage

Tracy Stuckrath, CSEP, CMM, CHC

President and Chief Connecting Officer
Thrive! Meetings & Events
Atlanta

1. To help determine your spend, make sure you get consumption reports from your previous events to compare what was ordered to what was actually eaten. Be sure to include any specialty meal requests as well. If you ordered them and they went uneaten, you wasted not only food, but also your budget.
2. How many rooms are booked for the night of the opening event, and how many attendees are departing the day of your closing event? No need to order food for attendees who won’t be there. If your food functions are not “required” attendance, during registration online ask attendees which ones they’ll be attending and then reconfirm it when they pick up their badges.
3. Working with the chef offers a variety of cost-saving opportunities. Not only do they know what’s in season and about local options that may be more cost-effective, they also know what other groups will be in-house having events on either side of your event. “Ganging” menus with other groups—using the same dishes for multiple events—allows for larger bulk orders and potentially lower costs. Chefs can also guide you to less labor-intensive menu options. Do you really need the action station or would extra servers at the buffet keep attendees from piling on more than they can actually eat?

Arlene Sheff, CMP

Hospitality Industry Consultant/Instructor
Strategic Meeting Consulting | Irvine, Calif.

1. Instead of planning a closing luncheon, you may choose to give hotel restaurant meal vouchers to attendees. Many attendees will not utilize the voucher.
2. Do not negotiate for an attrition number on food and beverage—negotiate for a minimum food and beverage contract amount instead. That way, you can disburse funds where needed.
3. Purchase the cheapest continental breakfast on the menu and provide additional items such as individual yogurts, individual cereals, etc., on consumption.

Off-Site Events

James C Monroe, CMP, CSEP

Owner
J Monroe Designs
Dallas

1. You don’t necessarily want the most unique venue, but the one with the most experience producing off-site events. That venue will have knowledge, equipment and trained staff, and will require the importing of fewer amenities, therefore reducing costs.
2. Off-site venues require that you bring in your own caterer, or provide planners with a selection of approved caterers to choose from. If the latter, select a caterer that has a large inventory of equipment. Otherwise, in your invoice, equipment comes under “RENTALS” and can be a significant amount. The key to making the appropriate selection is to know what your budget is and share it with the caterer. Don’t ask the caterer how much dinner will cost; tell them what you want to spend and ask for menus in that price range.
3. Use a special event checklist when choosing an off-site venue. Anything you forget or that gets left off costs money and becomes a budget problem.

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Entertainment

Nancy Trosclair, DMCP

President
Destination New Orleans
Kenner, La.

1. First and foremost, buy local! No matter your location, there are talented people right in your backyard. Many of these entertainers are struggling to make a name for themselves. So find them and build relationships that will be beneficial to you both. An important consideration for popular local bands is to plan your event during the week. Avoiding peak days, such as Friday and Saturday, can often save money.
2. When working with musicians/bands, get the most for your money by considering alternatives to the typical live performance that requires equipment and sound systems. If the situation allows, work with acoustic music such as a jazz trio or a guitar player. Not needing a sound system and engineer will save money. Also, if you book a large dance band, ask if they will offer a smaller acoustic offshoot of the band to play during the cocktail portion of the event. You can often negotiate this into the price of the full performance.
3. A DJ is a versatile and affordable alternative to a band. DJs will provide a variety of music appropriate for cocktails, dinner and dancing. If you can find a DJ who also owns some dynamic LED lighting, you may negotiate it into the DJ package. Lighting is often the most affordable addition to an event, but with the most dramatic impact.
4. For less-expensive entertainment options with big impact, consider:
   • Photo booths and green-screen options with lots of props for group participation
   • Caricature artists and psychic readers
   • An artist who paints your event live on canvas, which gets attendees involved, and the group will have a great takeaway that they will appreciate when it’s hanging in the office afterward
   • Interactive games such as pool, horseshoes, bocce ball, beanbag toss and casino games
   • Mixology stations with a local bartender creating popular regional cocktails, which can be fun, and most of the cost can go right into your F&B minimum

Technology

Johnny Moore

Director of Event Technology
Markey’s Rental & Staging
JW Marriott Indianapolis

• Before an audiovisual company can accurately estimate labor costs for setting up a general session room, they’ll need to know when they can access the room. Room access at 11 p.m. the day before an event is a lot different than 8 a.m. the day before the event. With late evening access, you should expect some increased labor costs. The difference between labor rates for straight time and double time can be thousands of dollars.
• It’s important to let the audiovisual company know what you liked and didn’t like about your previous event. The last thing they want to do is repeat last year’s technical problems and service issues If you’ve had past challenges, tell your provider what happened and ask them to come up with a plan for avoiding it. An experienced audiovisual provider will have multiple options for solving issues.
• Whenever I am asked to prepare a quote for Wi-Fi Internet costs I always start with the same question: “How will the connection be used?” Will the keynote presenter ask the attendees to vote or Tweet? Will the attendees only use the connection to check email? Will attendees mostly check e-mail during breaks? Knowing the answer will help your Internet provider better understand how to service your event and provide an accurate estimate. Most of the time the connection is only needed for basic Web browsing and e-mail—we call this a basic or standard connection. This type of connection requires minimal speed/bandwidth, which should result in lower costs.

Phillip C. Ridley, CMP

Registration and Housing Manager
American Society of Anesthesiologists
Schaumburg, Ill.

1. Planners should research and find technology that makes meetings more affordable and exciting. For example, use the QBall or Micball to minimize the cost of microphones, and wireless Bluetooth cabling to reduce the use of expensive power cords and strips that can easily eat into an audiovisual budget by several thousand dollars.
2. Planners should begin a dialogue with their hotel partners and develop a clause that helps identify the specific bandwidth for general guest usage. First, negotiate reasonable rates for Wi-Fi connectivity and dedicated bandwidth. The clause can include a set amount the group will pay to cover up to a specific amount of connections per day for the duration of the meeting, along with exclusive use of the hotel’s in-house audiovisual provider. This clause will also determine what the hotel’s network’s dedicated bandwidth will be if you’re contracting for a meeting that’s several years in the future. Because technology is constantly changing—and so will the costs related to connectivity and bandwidth—this type of clause will prevent increased cost that could be imposed after the contract has been signed.
3. There are new alternative products for speakers to use to present their content, including NovoPro from Vivitek or StarTech.com, which will streamline collaborative presentations. Be sure to comparison-shop to find devices that will work best for your group’s requirements. Such wireless devices can range in price from $1,000 to $4,000.

Speakers

Brian D. Palmer, CMM
President
National Speakers Bureau
Libertyville, Ill.

1. Rather than trying to find someone who is a perfect fit with your theme, seek out the best speakers in your price range and select from those the one who is the best fit with what you’re trying to accomplish. Your results are apt to be better.
2. Don’t leave it to chance that someone will be competent on your platform. Watch their video or see them live. Hope is not an effective component of a sound speaker selection strategy.
3. Making great deals involves some risk and the possibility of being turned down. You are far more likely to get a “yes” to a definitive, written offer than to questions such as, “Will you negotiate?” or “Will you lower your fee?”