Join us to learn the best tips on how to work with hotel sales departments to get the lowest rates and maximum concessions for your clients. Talking points to include: group contract negotiation, corporate rate negotiation, the pros/cons of working with National Sales departments, when it is best to work with net rates and when commissionable rates are best, and easy RFP technology solutions.

1. NEGOTIATING WITH HOTELS The most important trip you may take is meeting people halfway. -Henry Boyle Speaker: Lisa Morris

2. NEGOTIATION Definition: Bargaining (give and take) process between two or more parties (each with its own aims, needs, and viewpoints) seeking to discover a common ground and reach an agreement to settle a matter of mutual concern

3. CREATIVITY / THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. -Albert Einstein

4. GROUP CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS • Concessions • Attrition / Cancellation • Hidden Fees

5. CORPORATE RATE NEGOTIATIONS • Estimated Volume • Security Needs / Concerns • Meeting Space Capabilities • Value Adds • Net Rates vs. Commissionable Rates • RFP Process

7. TRAVEL JEOPARDY Travel Acronyms True or False Group Contracts Hotel Brands Hotel Rewards 100 200 300 400 500 100 100 100 100 200 200 200 200 300 300 300 300 400 400 400 400 500 500 500 500

8. Travel Acronyms for 100 RFP

9. Travel Acronyms for 100 Answer What is Request for Proposal?

10. Travel Acronyms for 200 GDS

11. Travel Acronyms for 200 Answer What is Global Distribution System?

12. Travel Acronyms for 300 HSIA

13. Travel Acronyms for 300 Answer What is High Speed Internet Access?

14. Travel Acronyms for 400 BAR

15. Travel Acronyms for 400 Answer What is Best Available Rate?

16. Travel Acronyms for 500 LRA

17. Travel Acronyms for 500 Answer What is Last Room Availability?

18. True or False for 100 A full service hotel always has an on-site restaurant

19. True or False for 100 Answer What is True?

20. True or False for 200 A “Sales Coordinator” is able to quote you a reduced group rate for sleeping rooms

21. True or False for 200 Answer What is False?

22. True or False for 300 A hotel can 100% guarantee early arrival without buying the room from the night before or increasing the rate

23. True or False for 300 Answer What is False?

24. True or False for 400 When a hotel is under a brand ‘flag’ such as Hilton Hotels, the hotel is corporately managed

25. True or False for 400 Answer What is False?

26. True or False for 500 Typically, the best time to negotiate a group rate with hotel sales is right before the end of the month

27. True or False for 500 Answer What is True?

28. Group Contracts for 100 The document needed to insure that all rooms are pre-keyed and pre-registered prior to the group arrival

29. Group Contracts for 100 Answer What is a Credit Card Authorization Form?

30. Group Contracts for 200 The baggage handling fee charged by union hotels when groups arrive together

31. Group Contracts for 200 Answer What is Mandatory Porterage?

32. Group Contracts for 300 The two commonly accepted forms of payment for a group contract

33. Group Contracts for 300 Answer What are Credit Cards and Direct Bill Application?

34. Group Contracts for 400 The only way to protect clients from the inconvenience of renovation.

35. Group Contracts for 400 Answer What is a renovation contract clause?

36. Group Contracts for 500 The literal meaning of “Force Majeure”

37. Group Contracts for 500 Answer What is “Greater Force” which is also known as “Acts of God”

38. Hotel Brands for 100 The Extended Stay hotel known for its ‘Cupboard’ with an honor system for purchasing food, drinks and supplies as well as complimentary coin laundry

39. Hotel Brands for 100 Answer What is Candlewood?

40. Hotel Brands for 200 Aloft, W, Sheraton, Four Points Sheraton and Westin are all part of this Hotel Collection

41. Hotel Brands for 200 Answer What is Starwood?

42. Hotel Brands for 300 The hotel chain that asks what your ‘guilty pleasure’ is when they answer the phone

43. Hotel Brands for 300 Answer What is Kimpton?

44. Hotel Brands for 400 The full service hotel brands that offers comp internet as long as the guests sign up for their Preferred Guest program

45. Hotel Brands for 400 Answer What are Omni and Fairmont?

46. Hotel Brands for 500 The hotel chain known for their brilliant marketing campaign to have a branded “cookie’ on arrival

47. Hotel Brands for 500 Answer What is Doubletree?

48. Hotel Rewards for 100 The Hilton Hotel reward program

49. Hotel Rewards for 100 Answer What is Hilton Honors?

50. Hotel Rewards for 200 The Starwood Hotels reward program

51. Hotel Rewards for 200 Answer What is SPG or Starwood Preferred Guest or Star Points?

52. Hotel Rewards for 300 The Hyatt Hotels reward program

53. Hotel Rewards for 300 Answer What is Hyatt Gold Passport?

54. Hotel Rewards for 400 The IHG Hotels reward program

55. Hotel Rewards for 400 Answer What is the Priority Club?

56. Hotel Rewards for 500 The Carlson Hotels reward program

57. Hotel Rewards for 500 Answer What are Gold Points?

58. Final Jeopardy Name the top concessions/value adds that should be negotiated in group contracts. You must get 5 of the possible answers correct.

59. Final Jeopardy Answer What are….? • Comp Internet • Comp breakfast • No porterage fees • 1 per 15 Comp rooms • Comp local calls • Comp guest laundry • Club level access • Comp social hour • Comp upgrades group rate • Comp Microwave/refrigerators in all rooms • Comp parking for cars or buses

60. Q & A / FINAL THOUGHTS Everything you want to know about hotels but were afraid to ask. Ask away…