Venue value: tips for getting the best deals.

• Author: Zak, Karen
• Position: CONVENTIONS/MEETINGS: SPECIAL SECTION

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There are many ways to approach negotiations when selecting a meeting facility or hotel for your next meeting or event, but a few tricks of the trade to consider may save you time and money.

Most cities have a peak season or reoccurring special events that utilize all the venue space and hotel rooms in town. Knowing these dates to avoid can save you money, as space will be at a premium. On the other hand, if you are trying to draw participants nationwide, you may view these special events in your desired area as an enticement for participants to enjoy the festivities and therefore increase attendance. It depends upon the purpose of the event and your overall budget. The local chambers of commerce and visitor bureaus provide online calendars of events that can be helpful in determining what is taking place in your desired location.

SPACE THE DATE

The first rule of thumb is to never broadcast a firm date before you have secured space or at minimum know from preliminary research that you have options. On occasion I am contacted by organizations in a panic because they have advertised the dates for their next conference, agreed upon in a board meeting, only to find out there is no space available to accommodate the group due to a "city wide" (mega-event that takes all the space) or numerous competing events already on the calendar. It is possible to still locate space, but you are not in the driver's seat and may be forced to accept a higher rate or change the dates.

The most advantageous position to be in is to select several dates that will work for your event. Communicate with the facility that you are flexible if one of the dates will provide you a better value.

ASK FOR BIDS

Competitively bidding out the meeting or event with several locations and venues will also yield the best value. A good place to start is with your local convention and visitors bureau (CVB) or a professional meeting planner. They will both develop a profile of your group, distribute a RFP (request for proposal) to all the facilities that meet your criteria and collect competitive bids. The CVB will provide you with a nice neat package of all the responses for your review and evaluation in an unbiased manner. A meeting planner will go the extra step and actually chart all the responses in an apples-to-apples comparison matrix and consult with you on the best value. They will also conduct additional negotiations and request considerations on your...