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In our last post we talked about the buyer’s market in the hotel market. That said, you still need to go into any negotiation with your homework done. Preparation is key. Understand your strengths and weaknesses, such as regarding dates/rates/space. For example, do you want the event held in the venues high season/low season/shoulder season? Are you negotiable on this? Non-peak dates, even at luxurious properties, will be less expensive. What about the day of the week: business hotels are busiest during the week, while resort hotels are busiest during the weekend. Go into the negotiation with an understanding for the other party’s perspective. What are their priorities/deadlines/pressures? Develop a list: what are must haves, like to haves, gifts; and keep focused on the goal. So, maybe they offered you free coffee, but what you really care about is the room rate. They’re dangling free limo service, but perhaps you need more breakout rooms. Another important tool is to share your historical data, this will show your worth and value to the hotel and make them more interested in your business. Ideally you should look at three properties to compare offers. Choose the one that gives you the best deal, whatever that means to you. (more…)

It’s the evening of the first day of your company’s most important conference of the year. Everything’s gone smoothly so far and you’ve finally got some free time to do a little schmoozing at the evening reception party. As you enter the reception there’s a hushed crowd gathered around a man lying face down on the floor. A co-worker rushes over to you. The man tripped on a power cord and is unconscious. He’d been drinking. An ambulance is on its way. Are you protected if the man decides your company was somehow liable?

In a society where people sue for millions over missing pants and hot coffee, it’s imperative to be proactive and take the necessary risk management steps to limit one’s exposure to financial liability. ITEX has put together some guidelines for you to consider when conducting your next conference. (more…)

Hello everyone and welcome to our blog!

The IT Exchange group is a dedicated group of marketing professionals with over 40 years experience. We have set up this blog as a forum for a free exchange of ideas. We hope you will visit and participate often.

Our first entry pertains to negotiating hotel contracts. I’m often amazed to learn that many conference hosts don’t write their own hotel contracts. I’m further amazed that many of them don’t even negotiate special terms and/or concessions for their groups. Ideally, a contract should be mutually beneficial to both parties. But if the host company permits the hotel to draft the contract and stipulate all the terms, will it be mutually beneficial? Not necessarily. It’s important for conference hosts to become more involved in the contract process. Industry experts predict a 14% increase in conference costs collectively during 2007 and 2008. What have you noticed in your contracts? (more…)