How to Manage Arrangements and Negotiate Hotel Contracts

1
How to Manage Arrangements and Negotiate Hotel
Contracts

• Michelle Beckner Bourke, CMP
• Director of Meetings
• NCMA Leadership Summit 2005
• Charleston, South Carolina
• June 17 18, 2005

2
Overview

• Identify the purpose, goals and timing of the
  proposed meeting/event
•  Develop of planning check list
•  Develop a budget
•  Develop an outreach plan
•  Logistics plan  
• Post Conference/evaluation

3
Identify the purpose, goals, audience and
timing of the proposed meeting/event 

•  
• Purpose
• Annual Chapter meeting-a year in review,
  Educational seminar, Fundraiser Banquet,
  Committee Meeting

4
Identify the purpose, goals, audience and timing
of the proposed meeting/event

• Goals
• To educate, to train incoming chapter leaders,
  to vote, to update, to network, to raise funds.

5
Identify the purpose, goals, audience and timing
of the proposed meeting/event

• Audience
• In coming chapter officers, chapter membership,
  planning committee members, all inclusive
  (members and non members, officers and non
  officers).

6
Identify the purpose, goals, audience and timing
of the proposed meeting/event

• Timing
• Dependent on need, or required action, etc.

7
Develop a planning timeline

•    Start with the event date and work backwards
  from that date
•   Fill in the deadlines that are action based
  (deposit due, registration open, speaker
  presentation due date, room block deadline,
  reminders/confirmation letters sent, food
  guarantees due)

8
Budget Considerations

• What is the goal of the event?
• To make money?
• To break even?

9
Budget Expenses

• Advertising/printing
• Speaker expenses
• Speaker thank you gifts
• Signage
• Food and Beverage
• Audio Visual
• Internet/phone
• Room rental
• Supplies (namebadge, holders, copies, books)
• Contingency (in the event of attrition or special
  needs)
• Comp registrations (lost revenue and cost
  coverage of materials and food/beverage)

10
Budget Expenses, Continued

• When establishing a budget for an event, go to a
  similar hotel that you have worked with in the
  past and ask them for current food/beverage and
  A/V pricing. This will provide a good estimate of
  cost.
• Do not forget to add in the charges.

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Budget

• Always ask for the current sales kit with menu,
  a/v and other charges to be sent to you prior to
  signing the agreement. You should include a
  clause that states that the costs offered in the
  sales kit, dated .will be in effect for your
  event.
• Once you determine what your budget goals are,
  you will now know if a hotel is attainable, or if
  an alternative setting is a better option.

12
Develop an outreach plan and registration process

• Meeting Invitation/announcement
• Objective
• Attendees
• Date, time, duration
• Location (city state phone website, security)
• What to bring/wear
• Agenda/highlighted presenters
• Cost of program and what is included in fee
• How to register
• Contact (name, phone and e-mail)

13
Develop an outreach plan and registration process

• Registration form should include
• Emergency contact information
• Special needs are not dietary, but rather
  hearing, sight or access requirements that must
  be accommodated.

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Types of Facilities to hold Meeting

• Corporate Facilities
• Military Bases
• Restaurants
• Schools
• Community Center
• Fire Houses
• Hotels/Conference Centers
• Library meeting rooms

15
 Types of Facilities to hold Meeting

• Considerations with alternative facilities
• Security access
• before/after hours access
• location/convenience to members
• audio visual availability
• catering in house/use of kitchen?

16
Types of Facilities to hold Meeting

• Utilize the contacts that your Chapter
• members have.
• Alternative meeting facilities can be a cost
  effective way to hold chapter functions.

17
WORKING WITH A HOTEL

•  
• Issue an RFP
• Please see handout

18
Working with a Hotel

• Understand what is important to your group
• In order to successfully negotiate, you need to
  be able to be flexible.
• If you are reasonable in the negotiations stage,
  you will get more out of the facility throughout
  the planning process.

19
Working with the Hotel

• WHO DO YOU WORK WITH ?
• Catering Manager Negotiates contracts for
  groups with meeting room and food/beverage
  programs. Catering contracts are not as
  negotiable as sales contracts.
•  
• Sales Manager Negotiates contracts for groups
  with sleeping rooms, meeting rooms and
  food/beverage programs.

20
Payment options

• Deposit payment at time of Contract
• Direct Billing/Master Account Billing
• (have to qualify, usually a minimum revenue)

21
Payment Options

• Typical Deposit required at time of contract
• Typical catering contracts will require a full
  pre payment of the estimated amount, specified in
  the agreement. Some catering agreements will
  allow some negotiation in the deposit schedule,
  especially if you have a credit card
  authorization form completed and on file.

22
Payment Options

• Alternative Apply for direct billing
•  list of facilities (full name, address, phone
  number and name of contact)
•  dates of the program
• amount paid
• officer responsible for the finance of the
  chapter
• bank information.

23
Payment Options

• Alternative Apply for Direct Billing
• The hotel will require these details, normally at
  least 45 days in advance, in order to do a credit
  check and establish a direct billing account.
• If accepted, typically the payment will be due 30
  days after the event ends.

24
Insurance

• Should the facility require proof of insurance,
  please contact Sam Smith at (ssmith_at_ncmahq.org),
  and provide him with the following details
•        Date of program
•        Nature of program
•        Location of program
• (at least 2 weeks in advance of the program)

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Food and Beverage (Catering Requirements)

• Catering requirements should be submitted at
  least 3 weeks in advance.
• The hotel should return your meeting
  specifications into their format, which is known
  at the Banquet Event Orders (BEO).

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Food and Beverage (Catering Requirements)

• Carefully review this document to ensure that the
  details are correctly stated.
• These BEOs are the hotels instructions, and all
  hotel staff members refer to these documents.
• It is important to make sure that you have your
  event listed correctly.

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Food and Beverage, Continued

• 1.  Be sure to understand when the food
  guarantees will be due, usually within 48 to 72
  business hours prior to the event.
• 2.  An overset is the number of people the
  facility will set tables and places for the above
  guarantee. This amount varies from 0 to 5 or
  more the industry average is 3 .
• 3.  You will usually be billed for the guaranteed
  number or the number served, whichever is
  greater.

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Catering Cost Controls

• Find out what service charges and/or gratuities
  will be added to the price of the meal and taxed,
  to avoid any surprises.
• Don't compromise on quality. If your budget is
  restrictive, review the number of food functions
  you are planning and consider buying non-package
  breaks.
• Ask your catering contact to work with the Chef
  on options within your price range.
• Tie your menu in with that of a larger group or
  to the restaurant specials.

29
Selecting Audiovisual Equipment

• Ask the AV company's representative to walk
  through the space with you. This person will be
  able to explain how best to use the space.
• Build into your budget the AV set up charges.
  Many facilities will charge for this set up time.
• Most often when you use more than one microphone,
  you will also need to have a mixer and sometimes
  auxiliary speakers-depending on the house sound
  available at the facility.

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Meeting Seating

• Problem Solving seating in a semi-circle or a
  circle
• Training u-shaped seating to allow equality and
  interaction, classroom is more formal
• Decision Making Conference seating
• Food Function with presentation crescent rounds

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Meeting Seating

• Hint
• If the actual room is important, add that as part
  of the agreement. Most hotels will agree to add
  the room name to the agreement terms.

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Meeting Seating

• Ask your contact to make a drawing of the room
  set and submit that to you in advance, so you
  know how things will look
• before you arrive
• Ask for a pre-conference meeting
• with the hotel

33
Hidden/not so obvious costs to watch out for

• Tax on room rental
• Tax and gratuity on all food/beverage and
  Audiovisual costs
• Additional surcharge for holding food functions
  under a certain number of people (ie 50)
• Patch fees/surcharges for bringing in outside
  equipment
• AV Set up time and tear down
• Charges for pads of paper, candy, tablecloths
• Handling charges for boxes

34
Speaker Communication

• Communicate with speakers/presenters what
  equipment will be made available to them during
  their session.
•  

35
Speaker Communication

• Understand if they will have an online
  demonstration.
• This internet connection request will usually
  require advanced planning with the hotel,
• and can be a cost consideration.
• If the internet request is not within your
  budget, you can recommend that the presenter save
  an offline copy. This is not as interactive,
• but will offer a good alternative

36
Speaker Communication

• Ask the presenter (s) to bring a back up copy.
• Have a back up copy with you.
• Ask the presenter what format they will be using
  as a back up (many computers will have a CD drive
  or a disk drive-not both, most newer computers
  will have a USB port).

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Speaker Communication

• Give the presenter the profile of the audience,
  for instance (about 50 NCMA members from the XYZ
  Chapter. This chapter is comprised mostly of
• Defense and Aerospace Contract Managers
• with an average of 15 years experience).
•  
• Ask the speaker for permission to reproduce and
  post on the website any materials that were
  presented.
• Allow at least 10 minutes for Q A.
• Get the audience involved.

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Helpful tips

• Turn off the screen saver and make sure computer
  
• does not hibernate
• Know the password of the computer used in the
  session
• Battery power on laptop check in advance
• Try to avoid too much animation in the
  presentation slides
• Avoid using too many types of fonts and too many
  bullets

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Helpful Hints, Continued

• Font size should be at least 20 point font, for
  audience members to see the information clearly
• Keep information concise, follow the 7x7 rule
• (no more than 7 words per line and a maximum
• of 7 lines per slide)
• Light colors on a dark background or visa-versa.

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Helpful Tips, Continued

• Bring a hard copy of the presentation and as a
  back up plan, in the event of
• technology break down.
• Overhead
• Flip Charts (small groups)

41
Evaluation

• Educational events, not fundraisers of
• chapter updates
• Ensure that it can be filled out quickly and
  easily
• Provide a numerical rating system
• Leave a box at the rear of the room or at the
  registration desk with a sign evaluations
• Keep evaluation forms anonymous

42
Summary

• Identify the purpose, goals and timing of the
  proposed meeting/event
•  
• Develop of planning check list
•  
• Develop a budget
•  
• Develop an outreach plan
•  
• Logistics plan (core planning team)
•  
• Post Conference/evaluation
•  
•  
•