Caveat Emptor

The famous expression caveat emptor is of course Latin for “let the buyer beware.” It’s an important motto to remember as event planners prepare for meetings. There are hidden costs everywhere.

Quite often, meeting planners focus on room costs. Naturally, getting a great hotel rate is always an attractive benefit for attendees and meeting planners alike. But make sure to review your contracts thoroughly before signing anything. You may find that the prices of other goods and services are higher to make up for the low room rate.

If you are planning a conference that will be held in a different calendar year, and you are being shown menu prices from the current year, make sure that you get it in writing that the current prices will be honored and you won’t get a surprise  increase at the last minute. Additionally, make sure you investigate Food and Beverage gratuity and taxes in the state where you are having your meeting. Once upon a time, the combination of gratuity and taxes could be as high as 25%. Recently at a meeting in Dallas, the combination was an incredible 39%.

Many hotels have a “hotel production guideline” in place for several reasons. It’s used to not only protect the hotel property but also as a motivator for you to use their staff for your production. It’s in this area where meeting planners can often get nickel and dimed. I’ve seen hotels require companies pay for a hotel employee to supervise the load in and out of equipment and charges for the house lights up controller.

There are plenty of ways that you can work out a better deal in the contract negotiating phase. For example, consider Internet access as hotels will sometimes charge $100 per line per day. People expect Internet access at a conference; it’s not optional. If you pay $100 per line, your final cost will be huge.  Consider asking for a bulk rate for Internet access instead of a per line fee.

There are signs that the economy is improving. Hotel rates are creeping back up to pre-recession levels.  If you are planning a meeting where attendees have to sign up and pay a fee your commitment to meeting your room block numbers can be scary as travel budgets are still under heavy scrutiny. Include in your contract as high an attrition percentage as possible and ask to have your cut-off date be close to the event as attendees are signing up later to attend.

Don’t be afraid to work with the hotels on room rates, menus, production fees, attrition rates and cut-off dates. Hotels want your business as much as you want to get a good deal.