THE EVENT PLANNER’S GUIDE TO HOTEL AND VENUE SOURCING

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THE EVENT PLANNER’S GUIDE TO HOTEL AND VENUE SOURCING

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TAKE A BREATH:

WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE STARTING LINE OF SOURCING ................................................3

THE WHO AND THE WHAT GOES WHERE?

HOW TO CREATE AN RFP + KEY TERMS ....................................................................................5

DIGGING DEEPER:

REVIEWING AND COMPARING RFP RESPONSES + CONTRACT TIPS ..............................6

LET’S GET DIGITAL:

HOW ONLINE TOOLS CAN SAVE TIME AND MONEY ............................................................7

LUCKY 13 BEST PRACTICES JUST FOR YOU...........................................................................8

INTRODUCTION

The pressure is on. Multiple people asking you questions at once. Hundreds of

attendees — with high expectations - sounding their opinions. And executives waiting

to see if this event brings in the right bang for its buck. It’s a high-stakes world for event

planners; and this doesn’t even cover what goes on before the event takes place.

Event coordinators / planners rank among the top 10 most stressful jobs1, which isn’t

surprising when you consider the mountain of tasks necessary to put on meetings

and events. One of the first steps is deciding when and where all of these attendees

will come together. Hotel and venue sourcing still remains a complex task for event

planners and, especially for newcomers or occasional planners, can sometimes be

uncharted territory.

In this white paper, you’ll uncover how to navigate the sourcing process from start to

finish with tips and best practices from experts in the industry. If you’re a novice, use

this as your guide to embrace sourcing and launch into each step of the process.

And if you’re more experienced, comb it for insights on improving your approach and

methods. Let’s get started…

1. The Most Stressful Jobs of 2014, CareerCast, January 2014

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THE EVENT PLANNER’S GUIDE TO HOTEL AND VENUE SOURCING

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TAKE A BREATH: WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE STARTING LINE OF SOURCING

FIRST, DECIDE WHAT IS MOST CRUCIAL FOR YOUR EVENT

Visualize what you want your meeting and event space(s) to look like and summarize

everything you need to make the event a success. Here is a starter list to reference for

each meeting and event:

CREATE YOUR REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

This is your chance to be precise and forthcoming with your prospective hotels and

venues – seize this opportunity! By being upfront with your needs and including as

much information as possible, you will save yourself time as well as the suppliers.

RESEARCH VENUES

Thanks to technology, we have the advantage of fast access to researching hotel and

venues online. You can quickly access service levels by looking at Yelp, and other

sites, for reviews and feedback by actual customers. Use online map searches to see

the location and nearby areas as well.

SEND OUT YOUR RFP

The most important rule of thumb is to ensure your RFP is easy-to-read and respond

to. This makes your business more attractive and may increase a YES response from

hotels. Secondly, whenever possible, be flexible! From meeting dates to event room

setup, allowing some wiggle room could lead to cost savings. Alternatively, be open

in your RFP if you have strict dates that cannot be moved.

DON’T SIGN A CONTRACT WITHOUT…

Triple check to make sure all of your terms and conditions are included. This means any

upgrades, free amenities (Ex: free Wi-Fi), complimentary rooms, ability to bring in outside

vendors (if needed), etc. If you have corporate terms and conditions, this is the time to

attach them. And ALWAYS make sure you and the hotel have dually-signed copies.

Check out a hotelier’s “dream RFP” example!

+ Quantity of rooms needed

+ Square footage needed for each

meeting space

+ Setup dates and times (early setup for

rehearsing)

+ Will you need to store items?

+ Internet requirements/availability

+ Sleeping room blocks needed

+ Shoulder vs peak nights

+ Functional space and room setup

+ Ceiling height requirements

+ AV requirements

+ Food and beverage plans

+ Parking / transportation

+ Rooms types (Suites,Double/Double,

Staff)

+ Early check-in / late check-out

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We asked buyers on LinkedIn for their advice on RFPs and they were unanimous — be open, be honest and share info!

Cara Tracy, CMP, CMM:

The most important thing on both sides — planner and supplier — is open, honest communication. The planner should be clear about their needs, budget, etc. up front and the supplier should be up front about what they can offer, any possible issues, etc.

via MPI’s Meeting & Event Discussion Group

Daryl C Taylor, CMP:

Please make sure that the 5 W’s (who, what, where, when and why) are incorporated in your RFP. This is the information that is needed for the vendor to develop the ‘how’ in answer to the RFP.

via PCMA Global Meetings Community

Joshua Grimes, Attorney at Grimes Law Offices, LLC:

Planners should make their RFPs as comprehensive as possible, including a thorough description of the event, any per diem rate caps imposed by their organization, requested concessions, and contract provisions they will insist upon. Providing this information up-front in the RFP will allow suppliers to provide a proposal tailored to the planner’s needs. It will also likely speed up contract negotiations once a supplier is selected, because many of the important contracting points will also have been considered.

via MPI’s Meeting & Event Discussion Group

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THE WHO AND THE WHAT GOES WHERE? HOW TO CREATE AN RFP + KEY TERMS

When it comes to RFPs, apply the rule of three:

EVENT DETAILS — include your meeting or event name, the event date(s), and the

types and quantities of sleeping rooms needed per day.

EVENT SPACES — submit information for rooms needed for general sessions,

breakout sessions, meals, happy hours, etc., along with room setup information and

the number of estimated attendees.

EVENT CONDITIONS — know what you must have to make your event a success and

include that in your request. The more specific you can get about your requirements,

the better.

Need help building your event specifics? Keep these thoughts in mind:

+ Destination vs Stay-cation? Either way, be sure to narrow this down to three cities at

the most.

+ Type of meeting — This will affect the hotel category and price ranges you want

to open your RFP to. Think about company trainings vs client-facing meetings (i.e.

low-end vs high-end events).

+ What amenities and services are important to your event? Not just inside the hotel

but for offsite activities, if applicable, as well.

+ Do you have any brand preferences?

+ Most importantly, limit your search to 5–8 hotels per RFP. This will show the hotels

you are serious about considering their property.

5 KEY TERMS TO KNOW

RFP vs eRFP — an electronic request for proposal (eRFP) is processed entirely online

with prepopulated fields to help complete the RFP quickly and easily.

F&B — better known as Food & Beverage and likely at some point to drive up

unexpected costs. Consider setting a low minimum with the hotel or soliciting

sponsors to find savings2. Read about affordable F&B case studies here!

Sleeping Rooms — estimated number of rooms you anticipate needing to

accommodate your attendee’s or guest’s stay for your event.

Shoulder Days — the days before and after your event in which attendees or guests

might arrive earlier or later for related activities. Examples: optional golf tournaments

or certification course prep.

Attrition — the percentage you can stray from your original order with the hotel before

you would be responsible for damage payments.

Get 5 RFP Tips Now!

Did you know…

RegOnline® online sourcing tools

simplify the process of finding the

perfect hotels and venues for your

event – including simple tools to craft

your eRFPs.

2. F&B on a Budget, Meetings & Conventions, December 2013

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DIGGING DEEPER: REVIEWING AND COMPARING RFP RESPONSES + CONTRACT TIPS

Good news! Your RFP responses are rolling in… now what? Here are the questions you

should review while you’re comparing them. It’s not always apples-to-apples so keep

your budget and list of must-haves top of mind during this step.

1. Can they accommodate your dates? Or if you had room to be flexible on dates, is

the cost savings worth the new proposed dates?

2. What is the cost across the package? Factoring in sleeping rooms, F&B, rental

fees, shipping fees (collecting and holding packages), fees for Wi-Fi (one set

fee vs pay per person). Is anything comped? Also, look carefully at rules and

restrictions. For example, if the hotel is part of a union, you might be working with

certain time and task constraints.

3. How far is the hotel or venue? This is relative to what is most important to you,

your executives, your attendees, etc. Is your preference to be closer to a main

airport? City attractions?

4. Which amenities are the most attractive? Whether a world-class golf resort sways

your decision or a top-notch business center for your attendees to use, look at which

hotels and venues can help create a memorable experience for your attendees.

5. How do their guest ratings and reviews compare? As we mentioned during your

research step, look on Yelp or other sites to see what other customers have to say

about the property. And, talk to other people in the industry to see what they think

about the venue’s reputation.

Next, pick the top 2–3 hotels and contact them with any follow up questions and/or to

inquire about an in-person site tour or virtual tour.

ONCE YOU DECIDE ON YOUR HOTEL OR VENUE, CONSIDER THESE TIPS BEFORE

FINALIZING YOUR CONTRACT:

+ Negotiate on the first payment. Try to scale down (example, 10%) upon signing to

leave a cushion for long-term planning costs.

+ Be knowledgeable about attrition clauses — the target profit amount for hotels on

rooms is about 75% of the room rate and the target profit window on F&B is around

25%–35%. Be sure to limit your liability to the portions of the rooms or F&B that

would be considered lost profit. Get an in-depth guide to room block management

and avoiding attrition charges here.

+ Understand your rights of termination for cause: emergencies where neither

party has control, construction, change in management company or ownership,

bankruptcy, conflicting booking/competitor, etc.3

3. Guide to Meeting Management Chapter 4, Experient, September 2000

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LET’S GET DIGITAL: HOW ONLINE TOOLS CAN SAVE TIME AND MONEY

Do I really want to take the time to learn something new? A common question asked

by those in demanding jobs, such as event planning. But if something can save you

time and money, it is likely worth the effort.

According to Aberdeen Group, organizations using an end-to-end meetings and events

management technology solution experience 60% cost savings (vs orgs that don’t) and

deliver 36% more meetings with a satisfactory level of “emotional” ROI.4 Yet, only 18% of

SMB organizations are currently leveraging technology. Why is that?

In a recent survey led by i-Meet and ACTIVE Network, about 40% of event planners

shared they liked to manage RFP tasks on their own (rather than use a 3rd party or

professional sourcing tool).5 But taking a deeper dive into the data revealed that using

online sourcing tools showed time savings: 42.1% of event planners said it took one

week or longer to receive an RFP response — but of those who reported using online

sourcing tools, 90% said they receive a response in less than a day.

Take a look at real-life examples of organizations that have saved time and money

with event technology solutions:

+ Unitron: 90% time savings by switching to online automated processes

+ MPI Kansas City Chapter: gained 100% planning efficiency

+ Centris Group: cut down 1-2 weeks of work to just hours and saved up to 65% on promos

+ Anheuser Busch Brewery Tours: 15% attendee and revenue growth

+ Denver Catholic Biblical School: saw a hard dollar benefit of $90K annually

Although there may be a hesitancy to learn something new or loosen control over

event management tasks, the progressing technology trends in the meetings and

events industry are proving this will be the way of the future. Corbin Ball, CMP, CSP,

professional speaker and consultant focusing on meetings technology, provides great

insight to this stating, “The rate of technology change is accelerating with thousands of

ideas, apps and innovations bubbling up to help meeting planners, exhibitors, venues

and other meeting participants to do their jobs better.”6

4. Managing the Evolution: Meetings Management for the SMB Organization, Aberdeen Group, October 20125. What RFPs Mean to SMBs: Turning Headaches into Solutions for Event Planners, ACTIVE Network &

i-Meet, July 20136. 14 Meetings Technology Trends to Watch for 2014, Corbin Ball, December 2013

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LUCKY 13 BEST PRACTICES JUST FOR YOU – POST THIS ON YOUR DESK

Insights provided by Barbara Heisser, Event Marketing & Tradeshow Manager

at Lanyon Inc. Heisser oversees over 50 shows annually, including industry and

customer events.

Narrow down the top 3 locations you would consider; thinking about weather, easy

access to transportation, attractions of interest, near the airport or city center, etc.

Whenever possible, be flexible. This could be your key to unlocking savings.

Provide as much information as you can in your RFP, including things like

attendee breakdown and demographics so hotels understand how to best

accommodate them.

Request precisely what you need for meeting space and sleeping rooms; the

amount of people per hotel room and meeting room square footage, ceiling

heights, AV needs, etc.

When reserving meeting space, schedule extra time for setup and breakdown.

Call out the meals you’ll need provided within the RFP and try to get separate

meeting space for lunch and breaks. Be as specific as possible (i.e. windows,

outdoor, view).

Know your budget for overall event costs and sleeping rooms.

Inquire about any construction or upcoming changes to the property.

Be specific about F&B minimums, rental fees, meeting room fees, resort fees, etc.

Know that you can ask the hotel to hold the space if you’re interested but want

to negotiate. You will not be bound until you sign the contract and typically get

the first right of refusal.

For large meetings, ask for a discount on sleeping rooms or suites, comped

rooms for VIP guests, complimentary wireless or other amenities.

Let the venue know if your company requires contract review by legal and plan

for that time.

Plug in key contract dates in your calendar that you’re bound to — such as

sleeping room reservations, deposits, etc.

Barbara HeisserEvent Marketing & Tradeshow Manager Lanyon Inc.

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About Lanyon Inc.

Lanyon Inc. is the leading provider of cloud-based software for the Meetings and

Events industry and Transient Hotel Programs. Leveraging more than 40 years of

industry experience, Lanyon enables thousands of associations, small to midsize

businesses, and enterprise organizations around the world to drive efficiency,

engagement, and growth from their meetings, events, and travel investments.

Clients include 70 percent of the Fortune 500, 80 percent of the Business Travel

News Corporate Travel 100, and more than 100,000 hospitality suppliers. For more

information, visit www.Lanyon.com.

LANYON INC.

104 Decker Court, Suite 200,

Irving, Texas 75062

Tel 855-228-4838

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CONCLUSION

Remember, the hotel and venue sourcing process is a give-and-take relationship with

suppliers. Each side is working toward the goal of creating a partnership and providing

great event experiences and business opportunities. The more RFPs you have under your

belt, the more comfortable you’ll be in organizing your tasks and timelines; and knowing

how (and when) to get what you need for your meetings and events to be successful.