Planning events: tips for hoteliers

The secret to hosting a successful event is all in the planning. Timing, budget, speakers, and attendees are all important, but finding the right venue doesn’t happen by accident. A great way to kick off your event planning is by finding a venue that will treat your guests and your event will as much importance as you do.

From pre-planning stage, all the way through to negotiating the right price for your event, these tips will help you find the perfect venue for your next event. And for hoteliers, this what you should have in place to ensure you’re the ideal choice for someone’s next event.

Pre-planning

For organisers: Start by choosing a date which won’t clash with other events. Depending on the audience you hope to attract you’ll need to consider the festive, school and seasonal calendars, as well as other industry functions.

Once you’ve decided on a certain date, look for locations where you could hold your function and research possible venues. Your company may have preferred venues for events, or be open to starting negotiations with new suppliers. Your company’s history, or promise of future business, may help you negotiate a better price with your chosen hotel.

For hoteliers: To make it easy as possible for potential organisers to see when your function areas are available, consider having a calendar booking system on your website. If you would rather bookings were not made online, then just have a calendar checking system where they can type in the dates they’d like and the calendar will tell them if there are any availabilities that day.

Finding a desirable venue

For organisers: There are many factors involved in choosing the right venue for your event. Start with online research, and by asking colleagues for recommendations. Things you’ll need to consider include your audience demographic, time and expense to reach the venue, on-site facilities, and local attractions.

Imagine yourself as a potential guest. How likely is it that you would say yes to attending a function at this venue?

For hoteliers: Your marketing department should ensure they are focusing on the places your target market are looking for venues like yours. For example, online search optimisation (search engine optimisation and pay-per-click strategies) is an essential aspect of any venue’s advertising and promotion. You should also ensure that your website reflects your hotel, both in terms of style and quality.

First contact

For organisers: Once you have a shortlist of possible venues, you need to determine which one best caters for the needs of your event. Draw up a Request for Proposal (RFP) outlining your needs, and submit it to your chosen hotels. The RFP gives the hotel a clear outline of what you need from them. Use your RFP as a reference point when negotiating with your preferred hotel, but allow yourself to be flexible on some items.

Your RFP should include your:

• Preferred and optional dates.
• Expected number of guests and the types of guest rooms they’ll require.
• The number and capacity of meeting rooms you’ll need and when you’ll need them.
• Budget range.
• Catering expectations.
• Special events or activities connected to your event.
• Complimentary requirements.
• Any special requirements particular to your company or your target audience.

For hoteliers: It would be wise to have a document available to your booking/reservation department with a comprehensive guide to all of the potential answers to the above list. It should be relatively simple for staff to convey cost projections according to requirements, what can be done within the budget range provided by the organiser, and if you are able to provide the estimated number of guests.

Negotiating with your chosen venue

Be prepared to negotiate on a few items in your RFP to get the best from your budget and the best service for your guests, as hotels do expect a bit of negotiation on different items.

Start with the seven common items event planners negotiate on to get the best deals.

For organisers:

1. Exercise your corporate power
   By offering to hold multiple events at one location, or with one hotel group, large companies can often gain substantial discounts on their annual event planning budget.
2. Prioritise your guest rooms
   Guest rooms offer a better profit margin for hotels than meeting rooms. If you can promise to book a larger block of guest rooms, you may find the hotel is more flexible on meeting room space and even catering expenses.
3. Take advantage of existing deals
   Your company may have existing deals with your preferred hotel. Ask in-house what your sales team is paying for hotel guest rooms, and try and get the same low rates for your event.
4. Ask about outsourcing
   If the hotel does not have the equipment/facilities that you require, ask about what outsourcing options are available and if the hotel has a preferred source. Usually this will ensure the outsourced equipment/service is of a reliable nature, and you may be able to have it included in the hotel budget.
5. Get your timing right
   There are few industries as vulnerable to the calendar as the travel sector. If you can, keep your event dates and accommodation requirements flexible. Moving your event from peak season to shoulder season is likely to save you money. Also consider that hotels can usually guarantee you more space and cheaper rates if you book during the low season. A change in season may also work better for your guests since the money you save on accommodation can be spent in other areas to make your event even more memorable.

For hoteliers:

1. Offer discounts to big corporations
   Offer event planners/corporate event coordinators discounts to encourage them to use your hotel/hotel chain exclusively as their venue of choice. By doing this you are more likely to gain multiple bookings during the year that will more than make up for the revenue lost through the discount.
2. Prioritise your guest rooms
   As guest rooms offer a better profit margin for hotels than meeting rooms, have deals on facility discounts if a certain number of rooms are booked. Alternatively, you could also offer catering discounts.
3. Keep record of existing deals
   Make sure you have comprehensive records documenting any existing deals your hotel may have with a corporation/an event management company. That way your quotes and negotiations will be based on previous dealings with the organiser.
4. Have a preferred outsourcing provider list
   Unless your hotel has everything that your potential clients could want, it’s a good idea to have a list of service providers you are happy to refer an event organiser to. As well as making your venue more appealing to the organiser, you could use this as an opportunity to negotiate a referral commission with the service provider.
5. Have timing allowances
   As always within the hospitality industry, the time of year something is occurring can have a huge impact on the fees that a hotel charges to host an event. For example, to hold a Christmas party will cost more (both for the hotel and the organiser) than a corporate meeting in the middle of the year.

   Make sure you have made the correct cost projections for the date range given by the organiser, and keep track of where your occupancy rate is in regards to whether you will give a slightly higher discount in order to ensure you get given the job.

About the author

From producing to directing, editing to live events, Shaq Abboud has had extensive experience across multiple channels of communication. Over the years he has produced radio ads, corporate videos, TV commercials, online videos, marketing strategies, documentaries, cinema ads, live event broadcasts and business presentations solving communication challenges for clients across Australia. Now with over 12 years of experience in the industry, he is Creative Director at Scope Productions, a creative boutique video production and event management company.