Meeting News - March 10, 2008 - (Page 67)

MN Webcast Report Strike better deals with hotels, convention centers, and CVBs lanners with a love for the negotiating table are few and far between, but knowledge and a few tricks can make even the most anxious of negotiators come away winners. During a Virtual Meeting World panel entitled “Strike Better Deals with Hotels, Convention Centers, and CVBs,” panelists discussed the paths to a successful negotiation. Elizabeth West, MeetingNews’ editor-in-chief, started with a common-sense approach. “I’m a big believer in having more knowledge than the other person,” she said. Know your group history and influence, as well as details about vendor events or ancillary spending that may not be reflected on the master account. West also recommended tracking down information about other groups in the area and asking planners for those groups about their group sizes, room rates, what they found most and least negotiable, and how far in advance they planned their programs. To the furthest extent possible, planners should work on obtaining information about the hotel, such as its highest areas of profit, or what the property’s revenue goals are, and how the group’s program might be able to mesh with those goals. For Fred Mitzner, vice president of Conference Direct, the route to a successful negotiation begins with transparency. Mitzner is a big believer in disclosing some details about what another hotel, city, or venue is offering and asking competitors to match or better the offer. “Hotels are quickly able to match what their competitors are doing,” he said, adding that the strategy has worked for him on room rates, attrition, and other issues. He also has had success asking hotels to match web specials offered by other properties in the area, and stipulating that a city will only win an event by waiving attrition fees at all overflow properties. P Mitzner also recommended researching via search engines. “It’s almost like Deal or No Deal,” he said, because it allows planners to see if they got the best possible rate.As an example, Mitzner used the search Webcast Survey Says What type of facility to do you find most difficult to negotiate with? Resorts 14.2% Convention centers 38% Conference centers 9.5% Downtown hotels 38% Source: MeetingNews and Successful Meetings Virtual Meeting World Webcast poll of 290 responding registrants words “Hilton,” “Washington,” and “meetings,” and the results pages included a variety of links to meeting registration materials with rate information. “Even if the meeting has come and gone, you can still go onto the website and see what their room rate was,” he said, adding that it’s important to consider that the rates could have been negotiated years ago. Law School “There are three contract clauses that can make or break a conference,” said Ben Tesdahl, with Powers, Pyles, Sutter & Verville in Washington, DC: attrition, force majeure, and cancellation. “I have had clients pushed to the point of bankruptcy” because of poor negotiation on these points, said Tesdahl. Tesdahl recommended the room block be adjustable each year leading up to the conference and that planners work to make the F&B minimum adjustable. After all, should a 700-person event suddenly become a 600-person event, there is a significant difference in the required amount of F&B. Planners should also learn whether room taxes are part of the attrition damages, and “you should argue against taxes unless required by law,” he said. When it comes to force majeure, Tesdahl noted that there are four major risks of unexpected cancellation often not mentioned in a hotel’s clause: forecasted bad weather that never arrives; reduced transportation availability due to strikes, fuel shortages, or similar matters; disease outbreaks, such as SARS or bird flu; and a terrorist threat that never materializes. While most contracts will include war or a terrorist act,“what they mean is an actual act of terrorism in the city,” Tesdahl explained. Planners should build in language to the effect that if the government announces a possible act of terrorism that keeps people from coming, the group is covered. If a group is forced to cancel, Tesdahl suggested looking for ways to reduce damages. For example, if a property offered 20 free staff rooms, a planner should ask if the hotel can reduce what the group owes by 20 rooms since the hotel was not going to make money on those rooms. Both West and Tesdahl noted that cancellation penalties should always be calculated on the basis of lost profit, not on lost revenue (which includes the total cost and profit). That’s a golden rule for planners, whose organizations should never be penalized for costs such as food and beverage, guest room maintenance, and other services that are not incurred when the event —Kinley Levack doesn’t happen. r NOW OPEN Sandpearl Resort presents 25,000 square feet of premier meeting and conference space, elegant accommodations and 700 feet of shoreline to oﬀer experiences on Clearwater Beach. A NEW SPIRIT OF SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS 500 Mandalay Avenue • Clearwater Beach, FL 33767 • (727) 441-2425 • (877) 726-3111 • coral_12111 meeting news footer 1 1 Sandpearl.com 7/13/07 5:25:47 PM www.meetingnews.com March 10, 2008 MeetingNews 67 http://www.mimegasite.com/mimegasite/events/webcasts.jsp http://www.virtualmeetingworld.com http://www.virtualmeetingworld.com http://www.Sandpearl.com http://www.Sandpearl.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - March 10, 2008

Meeting News - March 10, 2008
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Advertisers Index
MN Webcast Report
Successful Meetings University
Live from the Forum
PASSPORT: Guide to Int'l Marketplace

Meeting News - March 10, 2008