2011 Top 30 Tips For Planning The Perfect Off Site Corporate Meeting At A Hotel

2011 Top 30 Tips
For Planning The Perfect
Off Site Corporate Meeting
At A Hotel

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you time and save your company money while making your life
easier, please call Nancy or Leeann at 480-991-4125 or
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www.meetingsconcierge.com

2011 Tops Tips For Planning The Perfect
Off Site Corporate Meeting At A Hotel

1) Always ask for upgrades to suites at the group rate.
Ask for as many upgrades as you have VIP's to take
care of. Hotels will offer this if you ask.

2) Make sure the group rate quoted is for either single
(1 person) or double (2persons) in the room.

3) Ask for the group rate to be available 3 days prior to
Nancy Nachman, CMM, CMP
arrival as well as 3 days after the group's departure
date. This will help you to provide the negotiated www.meetingsconcierge.com
Nancy Nachman | LinkedIn
group rate for any guests needing to arrive before the
official group arrival date as well as take care of those
who need to extend their stay after the group's
departure date.

4) No early departure fee. Many hotels are trying to
insert an Early Departure Fee in hotel contracts. Do
everything possible to not agree to this.

How could one possibly know, especially in the case of
an emergency, that one may have to depart prior to the
scheduled group's departure date.

Hotel started to insert this clause as a means of not
losing revenue for those guests who, by their own
whim, decide to leave before the group's scheduled Nancy Nachman, CMM, CMP
departure date.
This term is vague (not able to guarantee if someone
would have to leave unexpectedly) and contract terms
can't be vague; it's the law.

5) Negotiate when rooming list is due, also known as
the Cut-Off Date in a hotel contract. Most do 30 days
prior to arrival. If that does not give you enough time
to get a rooming list to the hotel, and you can't give a
complete rooming list until perhaps 3 weeks prior to
arrival, note this in the contract.

This is a catch-22. Closer to arrival you may have a
need to increase the room block and perhaps the hotel
will be unable to accommodate that request if they are
nearing or sold out.

Always try to negotiate to be able to get the negotiated
group rate for any late reservations that come in after www.meetingsconcierge.com
the cut-off date.

Not all hotels will agree; each one is different, and it
always just depends upon supply and demand and the
relationship you have with a hotel.

6) BE AWARE: Hotel room rates on the internet are
usually only for a few rooms and they change
constantly depending on inventory needs. Do not go
by what is on internet if you need a block of rooms for
a corporate meeting.

7) Hotels consider you to be a "group" if you have 10
or more guestrooms per night. With 10 or more
guestrooms per night you are able to negotiate group
rates.

8) Hotels make the most revenue from the guestroom
rate. If a room costs $200, about 25% of that rate
($50) goes to cleaning the room and replenishing www.meetingsconcierge.com
amenities, etc. Therefore, about 75% of a $200 room
rate ($150) is profit.

There is more flexibility in negotiating room rates than
food prices.

9) Hotels do not make much revenue from catered
banquets. If a lunch costs $100, about 75% of that
cost ($75) goes toward the purchase, preparation and
serving of the food. Therefore, about $25% of a $100
lunch ($25) is profit.

10) Where a hotel makes a bundle is on the
beverages, especially alcohol which has the highest
mark-up. There is less flexibility in negotiating food
prices than room prices.

11) Overnight and valet parking costs can't always be Nancy Nachman, CMM, CMP
negotiated. Not all hotels own their garages.
12) Make a Wish List of things that are important to
your group and what you need and ask for those items
and not what you do not need or won't use.

Here are some cost items you will see in your hotel
contracts. Some are negotiable and others may not
be. Just ask.

Again, what you get usually depends upon your
relationship with the hotel, and moreover, how much
past or future business opportunities your business
represents to the hotel; resort fees, housekeeping,
bellman tips, internet access charges.

13) Attrition means "what-if". What-if I promise you
100 rooms per night, and upon arrival my group only
has 78 rooms per night. Your organization will pay the
difference, called attrition.
Attrition should always be given a % amount of Nancy Nachman | LinkedIn
allowable decrease of total room nights. For example:
X Hotel allows Y Corporation to reduce total room
nights by 15%. If you guaranteed 100 room nights you
would only be responsible for 85 room nights (15%
allowable attrition).

14) And, negotiate that if the hotel is sold out during
the nights of your stay (meaning they were able to sell
the rooms you did not utilize), then the hotel will not
charge your company attrition.

15) Some customers like multiple year contracts if you
hold the same meeting every year and you like the
same hotel for each year's meeting.

If you want a multiple year contract make sure in your
cancellation clause it states that if all is not acceptable
for the 1st meeting (based upon hotel performance /
your guests feedback) you can get out of the future www.meetingsconcierge.com
contracts.

Or before you depart you will sign contract for year 2 if
all is good.

16) Meeting rooms- things to ask the hotel. Hopefully
the hotel has a good diagram and meeting room
dimensions chart on their website.

17) Find out about whether or not there are windows or
pillars or solid vs air walls in the meeting rooms they
intend to place your meeting/banquets (can you hear
through the air walls?).

18) Find out the ceiling height, room dimensions (not
just square footage - long, narrow rooms are not fun).

19) Find out which other corporations are booked in
the meeting rooms next to you and decide if that is
acceptable or not. www.meetingsconcierge.com
20) Will you be sharing any common space/will other
meetings think your buffet breakfast is for them?

21) Be sure that none of your direct competitors meet
at the same time as your meeting.

You have to ask the hotel to be sure and give the hotel
a list of your direct competitors that you do not want
meeting in the hotel at the same time. 22) Do the
meeting rooms back up to a noisy area of
banquets/back of the house?

23) Ask for discounts on A/V? Is there an in-house
A/V company or outside contractor? Is there a charge
to bring in your own equipment or your own A/V
company?. If you bring in your own A/V company is
there someone on staff to help? Is there an additional
cost to do this?

24) FIND YOUR CONFERENCE SERVICES MGR Nancy Nachman, CMM, CMP
DAILY TO REVIEW CHARGES. Do not wait until you
are ready to leave to review the charges. Meet at end www.meetingsconcierge.com
each day to review what worked and anything to be Nancy Nachman | LinkedIn
tweaked for next day.

25) If they do not meet with you, get something from
them, like a plate of cookies in addition to your AM
break. If they mess up ask for something back.

26) How are the meeting tables set? What space
does group need? Always try to get no more than 2
guests to be seated at a standard 6 ft banquet table for
classroom style seating.

27) If you want a certain meeting room put it in the
contract. If the hotel wants to change the meeting
room they need to first get your approval and then if
you can move they should give you something for it
(plate of cookies on the house at the break).

28) Hotels are not in the credit business and many
now ask for hefty pre-paid deposits from the time the
contract is signed and then leading up to arrival day,
with most of the costs pre-paid prior to arrival. Nancy Nachman, CMM, CMP

29) Ask if there is a discount for prepaying with a Nancy Nachman | LinkedIn
check vs a credit card?

30) Find out the terms of the final payment and see if
the hotel will agree to direct bill your company for any
remaining costs or do those costs need to be paid
prior to departure.

2011 Top 30 Tips For Planning The Perfect Off Site Corporate Meeting At A Hotel

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2011 Top 30 Tips For Planning The Perfect Off Site Corporate Meeting At A Hotel