SEC Championship games are obviously big business for the cities that host them. Tell us about how you decide where to take the games each year.

CM: We award championship events through a bid process. For football, we have contracts in place at the Georgia Dome through 2017. For basketball, we have sites through 2019 and baseball will continue to be at Regions Park [in Hoover, Ala.] for the next five years. We work years in advance to try and solidify these sites. It’s beneficial to us financially to do that and also to get a handle of the facility and get a good idea of what’s out there. For instance, for men’s basketball, we stay five years out at all times. Interested cities will contact us and ask for a bid package that’s always ready to go. In four to six weeks, they return it. We consolidate bids, present them to the conference’s athletic directors and committee, and vote.

What are you looking for in host cities?

CM: We look at everything in a city from the facility itself to the locker rooms to playing surface to hospitality space. In addition, we look at surrounding hotels to serve as team hotels and look at ease for fans to get in and out of the city. We rely a lot on local organizing committees, sports commissions and CVBs.

What does your planning staff look like?

CM: We have 30 staff members. Some work in championships full-time; others work in other full-time positions. Some work with media relations. We all wear a lot of hats when championships roll around.

KPS: I’m in my 16th year with the SEC. Before this, I worked at Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort with front desk, group housing and convention services. I work a lot with hotels [for the SEC events], but I don’t do everything that works with hotels. I also plan our annual meeting in Destin and special events.

You organize football, basketball and baseball championships. What’s the easiest one to plan?

CM: Believe it or not, football is probably my easiest event. We’ve been at the Georgia Dome since ’94, and the biggest difference is that it’s virtually a one-day event and the basketball tournament is four. It’s about to be a five-day tournament. There’s a good bit more involved. It’s the same thing with baseball. We just expanded our bracket to a 10-team format [with the addition of two more teams to the SEC Conference]. It will be a six-day tournament this year. We will work through the night on Sunday through Monday to have the stadium ready to go on Tuesday morning. It’s the length of those events that make them hard to plan. With football, the teams come in on Friday for practice at the Georgia Dome, they play the game on Saturday and they’re gone.

The football and baseball championships don’t move around to different cities much, but basketball does. Why is that?

CM: For football, that time of year, we need to have an indoor facility. Atlanta has proven itself to be the city to host that event. Basketball differs somewhat because there are so many nice facilities to choose from. Most years, we’ve been in Nashville and Atlanta, but we’ve done Tampa and New Orleans. Memphis has the FedEx Forum, and Orlando has a nice facility with the Amway Center. We like to pick a city where the facility has entertainment and places to eat right there in walking distance.

There are a lot of people who love sports, and would love the opportunity to work in sports. What do you love about your job?

CM: After months and sometimes even years of preparing for an event, then getting on-site and seeing the student athletes and fans having a good time at the event that you helped plan and put together is pretty gratifying.

KPS: I enjoy that it’s not the same every day. I do a lot of the same things year to year, but I don’t do the same things day to day. I interact with our

bowl people, universities and the NCAA. There’s always a new challenge or a new opportunity that I wasn’t doing last week. I enjoy that it changes.

You never really have the issue a lot of planners have: getting attendees to return.

CM: No, for football, we have around 20,000 tickets that are sold publicly, and our renewal rate is 98 to 99 percent.

KPS: You see people [at the football championships] that have pins from the last 20 tournaments they’ve attended. Year after year, they’re going to go because they appreciate college athletics. They look forward to that every year.

Do you ever get to just be a fan?

CM: I don’t get to really personally enjoy the actual game that’s being played. All I’m thinking about are the potential things that could happen or what’s going on. At the same time, it’s gratifying to see it all come together.

KPS: A lot of my planning happens in advance. It’s a frenzy up until the game. Once it begins, [I] can take a breath and sit down and look around and appreciate the work that it’s taken to get to that point. I’ve always been a college sports fan, but never much of a pro sports fan. I love college baseball, and I try to enjoy the games when I can.

Know what you want before you begin the negotiating process and stick to it. It can become frustrating to both parties when a contract has to be revised multiple times. The primary negotiating points to address with the sales manager include: getting the preferred dates and meeting room rental; knowing estimated costs up front; receiving concessions on ancillary expenses such as electrical, crowd control and Internet; bringing in outside food and beverage; and addressing key contractual clauses such as cancellation, indemnification and deposits.

Preferred Dates and Meeting Room Rental
Convention centers determine the value and priority of your event based on the number of hotel rooms booked, meeting space needed, F&B requirements and ancillary services needed. The more valuable your event, the more likely you are to get your desired date. Convention centers use different tools to determine value. The Ontario Convention Center, for example, uses the Economic Impact Worksheet, which determines the economic impact of the event based on figures conducive to the Ontario market, and the ROI Worksheet, which determines how the event impacts the bottom line revenue of the center based on the history of a center. This information is invaluable leverage for you. (You can download both worksheets here.)

When you understand the value of your event on both the global scale for the city and the micro scale for the convention center, this gives you a huge advantage at the negotiating table to secure your preferred dates. In the event the preferred dates are not available due to another booking, always ask which dates provide the most value for your event, which will enable you to negotiate even further.

As for room rental, keep in mind the cost generally includes the setup of the meeting rooms and labor costs. Many convention centers charge additional for chairs, tables and basic staging. It is wise to ask upfront what the meeting room rental includes so you know how to begin negotiations.

Estimated Costs
One of the biggest frustrations for planners is receiving a cost estimate a few months before an event with unexpected charges. Always ask for estimated costs in the proposal stage to gain an idea of what they may be. Ask for the center’s rules and regulations along with the proposal, which contain information about almost every cost to expect depending on the nature of your event.

However, the planner is responsible for providing the convention center with the best information possible so accurate pricing can be determined. The information should include the number of attendees and the projected timeline of the meeting agenda. That’s what determines the number of hours the center has to remain open and the labor needed to provide the services. It also minimizes surprises for speakers by providing appropriate needs for workshops, breakouts and keynotes, including audiovisual, tables and chairs, and display collateral.

Ancillary Expenses
For convention centers, ancillary income such as crowd control attendants, ticket takers and security are not moneymakers due to the cost of labor. Still, planners should negotiate concessions on these expenses. The number of crowd control attendants needed depends on the demographics of your audience. If it is a group of professionals, fewer crowd control attendants will be needed than for a youth group, where more will be needed.

If another event is in-house alongside your event, ask if similar costs can be shared between the two events. Also, ask for reduced pricing on electrical by reiterating the other revenue streams the event is bringing to the convention center, which may include food and beverage and Internet revenues.

Food and Beverage
Many convention centers have exclusive contracts with catering companies that provide all food and beverage services. A few convention centers, especially those managed by SMG, have in-house catering departments, which tend to be more flexible because there are no maximum buyout dates usually associated with exclusive food service companies such as Centerplate and Aramark.

However, it’s your right to bring in your own F&B, though there will still be a cost since you are taking away from the center’s revenue stream. Generally, it is a per-person cost. If you have the center cater it, know the value of your F&B. Applying a 33 to 40 percent profit to the revenue will determine the bottom-line revenue. Propose this cost to the center, being sure to mention it is pure profit without labor costs involved.

Key Contractual Clauses
Be sure to have your in-house counsel review the contract prior to addressing the following clauses to provide you a clearer understanding of what these clauses means, how they impact your event/organization and how you can address them realistically.

Cancellation: The cancellation clause protects the convention center in the event that you cancel a meeting and the center has to recoup losses if it’s unable to rebook the space. Most clauses are based on gross revenues. Negotiate the clause to be based on projected profits instead of gross revenues. Profit is the income that impacts bottom-line revenue. In the event the convention center does re-book the space, make sure it refunds the difference in revenues. Also, be sure to include language in the contract that protects you if the center brings in an event of higher value than yours. Hold the center responsible for finding another venue that is comparable, and have them pay for all of the reprinting cost of brochures and other  marketing materials.

Indemnification: Indemnification is securing against loss or damage, and this clause is typically one-sided in favor of the convention center. Planners can propose language that the group will indemnify the center “except to the extent that the injury results from the negligence or willful misconduct of the center, its employees, agents or subcontractors.” Another option is to ask for similar language from the center, since your organization could be included in any litigation that was generated by an employee of the center.

Deposits: Many centers request a deposit with the signed contract to bind the signed agreement and continue holding the space for your event. In some cases, the deposit schedule is unrealistic since your event may be three to four years away. The best way to address this issue is to discuss a deposit schedule that fits both parties’ needs. First discuss the amount due at signing the agreement, another percentage due in, for example, 24 months and 18 months prior to the event date, and the final amount due the year of the event.

Need to Know
When negotiating convention center contracts, it’s important to keep these two facts in mind:

1. Hotels and convention centers negotiate contracts differently. Hotels negotiate contracts based on room nights and F&B. Guest rooms provide hotels with 73 to 75 percent profit per guest room. Food and beverage averages a 35 to 40 percent profit. Hotels are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and revenue is generated during that time. Convention centers negotiate contracts on very different terms. Their profit centers are meeting rooms, electrical and parking, or costs offered complimentary at hotels. The reason is because convention centers are not open 24 hours a day. If there’s no event booked in a facility, no revenue exists, even though labor costs still exist. Therefore, convention centers charge for ancillary fees because these costs have to be covered somehow.

2. Most convention centers (98 percent, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study) are funded by the transient occupancy tax paid on guest rooms by travelers. However, some convention centers are funded by a city’s general fund, competing with other city entities such as schools, libraries, law enforcement and fire departments. The convention centers funded by the general fund are often more expensive than other convention centers, but they are typically more flexible with ancillary fees such as cost of crowd control and trash removal. It’s important that planners understand how a center is funded to know what ancillary fees can be negotiated.

Amita Patel, CHSP, is an experienced hospitality executive with a focus on high level strategic sales and marketing, brand awareness and collaborative partnerships.

Q. Why do I need to set up “sub-blocks”? Can’t I just put everyone on one block? Wouldn’t it be easier to manage?
A. By allocating sub (smaller) blocks, you can better manage your inventory. For example, staff rooms may be at a discounted rate. Members may get a hotel preference compared to non-members or exhibitors. By setting up smaller sub blocks, you can easily see where each of these groups are relative to pick up and you may add or re-allocate where some groups may not be performing and others are in need of additional rooms based on demand.

Q. Why is it important to integrate registration information to housing/reservation info?
A. Two main reasons. 1, When the systems are integrated, the common info (name, address, etc.) most often will pre-populate to the reservation system eliminating the need to re-type it. This makes it easier to make a reservation at the time of registration. 2, Statistically when the systems are integrated, in-block reservations increase by as much as 25 to 30 percent and the pick-up will happen earlier.

Q. How do you determine what concessions to request? For example, If you have 5,000 room nights, what should the hotel comp be?
A. There really are no standards. Some concessions appear to be great but in actuality may not be as good a value. This varies with the meeting, venue, demand during the meeting dates in your city/venue. The key to concessions is to identify what value items are important to the group. For example: Comp rooms at 1:50 as opposed to 1:40. Looks good on paper, but if you have 500 room nights, you gain 25 more room nights. Sounds like a lot, but 10 percent on F&B, AV or power may yield a higher dollar return.

Q. Will hotels let you put that clause in typically? I’ve had push back.
A. Hotel clauses need to be vetted thoroughly by your legal or a competent authority. Once accepted by a major chain property (Marriott, Hyatt, etc.), these become much easier to get accepted at other properties within their respective brands. The “My legal won’t accept this” can’t be used in most cases when it’s been accepted previously by another in the chain.

Q. How do you get hotels to do the audit? We work internationally and we put wording in the contract that they must do so, but we receive push back when we ask them to audit, thus missing out on revenue. They think the job is too big and they usually claim they don’t have the staffing to do so.
A. Get it in your contract. This is a common practice and we’ve never had a hotel push back when we state that there will be an audit post-event and that credit will be given to those identified. Don’t budge on this. There are processes in place at the hotel level to accommodate this need.

Q. How is using a housing partner different from using a hotel’s “Passkey”-type system?
A. It’s all about focus. Most hotels/CVBs that will provide housing do it as an accommodation, not as their primary focus. That having been said, you don’t often get the “Turbo charged” version. Not that the system is dialed back, with a housing provider, you get the experience, system capabilities knowledge and PRIMARY FOCUS on housing to maximize your goals and objectives.

Q. Are there any cut-off date trends?
A. The more time to fill your block, the better. And if you capture and can share history of late pickup, you’ll have a much better chance of getting a shorter window prior to your event. Optimally, 30 days is the hotel “standard” and two weeks is the preferred.

Q. What percentage books after the cut-off date?
A. Studies have shown as much as 30 percent. Integration with registration can reduce this percentage.

Q. What incentives have you seen that get more participants to stay in the group block?
A. Athletic events use a “stay-to-play” model, where a participant must stay in the block to play in the event. Others offer a monetary penalty if someone is not in the block, or some offer a discount on the program to their exhibitors if they prove they have stayed in the block.

Q. Is it necessary for housing systems to have their own app for mobile devices like iPhone or Android?
A. No, it is not required nor needed. The Passkey system recognizes a mobile device and directs the user to a web-based, mobile-device optimized website. They are still on the Internet but the size and format of the screen is better for mobile devices and takes up less memory.

Here are a few questions you need to answer to determine if you should consider cancellation and interruption insurance:

◗ Does your show/event generate a significant amount of your annual revenue?

◗ Would a sudden, last-minute and significant downturn in attendance (5 percent or more) substantially impact your organization’s financial status?

◗ Could your organization cancel an event and not be significantly affected by the loss of profit?

All of these questions relate to the financial viability of the sponsoring organization. For those unfamiliar with this type of coverage, it protects your revenue—not your profits. Here’s an example, based on some very real stories:

You produce an annual event with 2,500 attendees. Each registrant will pay $500 for registration. Your event has a trade show component; 150 exhibitors each pay $2,500. And don’t forget your sponsors: Add another $500,000. Between all of the above, you’ll generate $2.125 million in revenue. Your profit will be based on the difference between what you spend to produce the show and your
revenue—an estimated $1 million.

Close to the start of your program, there is a health issue—say swine flu or SARS. Remember SARS? Your host city has a high number, or the highest number of documented cases.

A renowned medical agency publicly recommends, “Don’t go there because there’s a chance you may get sick.” It isn’t an epidemic, but suddenly your attendance starts falling. You’ve already contracted and committed based on 2,500. Now it may be 1,700 or as low as 1,200. Your revenue projections now look like you may break even at best. If you purchased an event cancellation/interruption policy, you can now get a good night’s sleep. Here’s why: The insurance will protect your top-line revenue. You’ll be able to pay your bills, protect your income and remain financially intact. A claim of this magnitude will take a while to settle and requires an enormous amount of documentation and substantiation.

There’s a reason we don’t drive without insurance: risk. Ask yourself how much risk you’re willing to accept for your association, organization or company. The premium for this type of coverage is expensive. You have to plan for it, budget for it and apply for it each time you want it. It may not be best for everyone, but this is where you need to do your homework, assess your risk, discuss the upside and downside, and be prepared to live with your decision.

Industry associations—the American Society of Association Executives, Meeting Professionals International and Professional Convention Management Association—have researched numerous providers and options and will serve as a great first step in determining which is best for you. So, take the time to make a well-informed decision.

The Speaker and the Scandal
Just three days after entering into a contract with a keynote speaker, a nonprofit organization learned on the national news that the speaker was involved in a scandal alleging he engaged in illegal and unethical behavior. The group quickly made an assessment of their options, including cancellation of the speaker contract. Unfortunately, the contract did not include cancellation for this specific reason; the group would have to pay a cancellation fee. After discussing the issue with the speaker’s bureau, the bureau agreed to allow the group to apply its contract and fee toward another speaker.

While the group was pleased the speaker’s bureau understood its concerns and addressed them regardless of what the contract stipulated, the key takeaway from this story is that it is important to have strong language in the speaker contract regarding the group’s right to cancel for issues or concerns involving the speaker. Typically in speaker contracts, there is a broad right for the speaker to cancel for reasons such as illness, death of a family member and even “overriding professional obligations,” but this right is one-sided. By converting these provisions to mutual rights, the group will be in a better position to protect its interests with this important investment.

No Rooms at the Inn
Three weeks before an annual meeting, the planner for a professional society learned the luxury brand hotel scheduled to host her group’s meeting would be undergoing exterior renovations and unable to provide sleeping rooms to the group. The hotel proposed that since it could still host the function space, it would transport attendees to and from the hotel by bus to a nearby limited-service hotel.

The hotel’s proposal was unacceptable, so the planner worked to secure rooms and function space in another luxury brand hotel. Meanwhile, the organization advised the original hotel that due to its inability to provide sleeping rooms as required, it was in breach of its contract and therefore all obligations were terminated and the hotel would be legally responsible for all monetary damages incurred by the group to move its meeting.

The summary of damages included the difference in room rates and food and beverage prices between the original and alternate hotel; costs to notify the attendees of the change in location and update the website; and attorney fees to review the contract for the alternate hotel. Documentation of the charges was also provided. Following review and discussion of the damages, the original hotel accepted the summary and made a payment to the group for its damages.

Although this story has a happy ending, the group could have put itself in a stronger position with the original hotel by including a provision in the contract that addressed the possibility of the hotel’s cancellation. That provision would include a detailed listing of those categories of items and costs for which the hotel would need to pay monetary damages if it could not provide the rooms or function space required by the contract.

Party of Two for the Ballroom?
Two weeks before an annual sales meeting, a corporate meeting planner discovered the ballroom reserved for her company’s general session programs also had been reserved by another group and would not be available for her company’s use. Although the contract did not state the hotel could move the group’s function space, the hotel made the change anyway. When challenged, the hotel stated that the change was made because the group would not be using its minimum room block; therefore, the hotel found another group that would replace revenue at the hotel. The alternate space being offered by the hotel was inferior in terms of size, location and amenities.

While the group continued to challenge the hotel’s right to move its function space, it contacted its decorator about the alternate space and whether it could be made to work for the general sessions. It could. Negotiations then began over what the group would receive from the hotel as a result of the change. In addition to paying the group’s additional costs to move the general session (including decor, lighting and signage), the hotel agreed to waive more than $20,000 in room block attrition fees the group would have been responsible for under the terms of the contract. So in the end, while not happy about the alternate space, the meeting went from a financial failure to a financial success due in part to the hotel’s change in function space.

There are two key learning points from this story: First, make sure hotel and convention center agreements include language requiring the hotel or center to obtain the group’s prior consent to any function space reassignments. Second, when any challenge such as double booking of function space occurs, remember that sometimes it can be a good thing. Often, the group gains leverage to negotiate financially beneficial concessions.

Underdeparted and the Snowstorm
How does a snowstorm in the Northeast affect a meeting in Florida? When attendees from an earlier meeting are unable to travel back home to the Northeast. That’s what happened to one group a few years ago. When attendees arrived in Florida for their meeting, they learned the hotel was unable to provide their sleeping rooms or function space because the previous group did not check out as scheduled due to a storm that left them stranded.

Once alerted to the problem, the hotel worked to secure sleeping rooms at a neighboring hotel. The hotel also was able to provide function space to the group. Ultimately, the holdovers were able to travel home and the group was able to move its sleeping rooms back to the hotel.

This issue of being oversold—or, as one hotelier put it to me, “underdeparted”—can be a major disruption to a group’s meeting. And yet despite efforts to put strong language into hotel contracts, these situations still arise from time to time and need to be managed from a practical standpoint outside of the contract.

End of Story
So the next time you hear a story from a meeting professional about something going wrong at a meeting, don’t think the same thing can’t happen to you. Think instead of what you would do to make sure the problem never arises in the first place. Heed the old saying, “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.”

For hotels, the reduction of booked rooms and meeting space offers a more realistic view of remaining inventory. Assuming a group is maintaining an appropriate sleeping rooms to function space ratio, remaining rooms and function space can be packaged for sale to another group.

At the same time that planners are being leaner, hotel contracts are getting meaner. Hotels have tightened up terms as a result of the financially devastating cancellation and attrition situations they encountered during the past two-plus years. While there is some flexibility in terms of attrition percentages and food and beverage spend, cancellation fees remain consistent: If a cancellation occurs, the group will be responsible for a sizeable portion of the room and food and beverage revenue. Yet groups continue to press to include language requiring the hotel to resell rooms and apply credit to the group, as well as crediting a percentage of paid cancellation fees to a future meeting.

Most in the hospitality industry agree this “new normal” is a good thing, since both planners and suppliers can maximize their revenue generation and minimize expenses. And they believe it’s unlikely there will be a return to the meetings of pre-2008.

So with these leaner and meaner contracts in mind, what are some tips and strategies you should consider for your next contract negotiation?

Be flexible. By considering whether your organization might be able to adjust the time of year or pattern of your meeting, you can reap financial savings and concessions.

Be realistic. Accurately determining the sleeping rooms and function space will protect your company against financial liability associated with attrition and cancellation fees. You also build credibility with the hotels you work with, who won’t be holding rooms that might be sold.

Be aggressive. Remember the No. 1 rule in negotiation: If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Ask for adjustments to contract terms that might represent a savings or might be an incentive to build attendance or get people to stay at the hotel.

Be generous. By considering additional meetings and revenue opportunities for the hotel, such as booking multiple meetings at the hotel or moving food and beverage functions that were scheduled at other venues to the hotel, you’ll also realize significant financial savings and benefits.

Be brand loyal. In this age of branding and competition, loyalty to hotel brands is a major benefit to groups. National sales offices recognize and value such brand loyalty and encourage their franchisees to do the same, which often means a standard contract across all properties within that chain, which includes previously negotiated terms.

Barbara F. Dunn, Esq., is an attorney and partner in the St. Louis office of Howe & Hutton Ltd., a law firm specializing in the representation of organizations in the meetings, travel and hospitality industry.

Like so many of you “road warriors” out there, I have learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to airline travel these days. In the last few months, travelers struggled to cope with a multitude of flight cancellations in the wake of the volcano eruptions in Iceland and severe weather across this country.

In addition to inconveniencing so many passengers, the recent airline flight cancellations had a significant impact on the meetings industry.

We had a number of clients contact us to say that their meetings had been affected as a result. Some were unable to hold their meetings, as they could not get their attendees to destinations. Others arrived at their destinations but found that no rooms were available because previous groups had not been able to depart and stayed over as a result. In other instances, function space was not available because a previous group had extended or adjusted its meeting times.

This brings up the burning question: What are the duties and rights of a group when a flight cancellation impacts a meeting? The short answer is: It depends on what the contract says, if anything, about transportation interruptions.

Provisioning up

A group’s duties will be evaluated against the contract’s force majeure provision. A force majeure provision should be included in each and every contract signed in connection with a meeting. There are three components I focus on when reviewing the provision. First, I review the grocery list of items that could occur such as acts of God, weather, strikes, wars, threats or acts of terrorism, travel advisories or diseases. It is important to ensure that transportation interruptions or flight delays or cancellations are included on the list. It is also important to include a catch-all provision at the end of the list such as the following: “or any other cause beyond the parties’ control.”

The second and most critical component is the standard of impact. If any of the items on the list occur, what has to happen to performance in order to trigger the protections of this provision? Does performance have to be rendered impossible? Or illegal? Inadvisable? Commercially unreasonable? Depending on what requirement is included in a contract, a group may have a difficult time exercising its right to cancel the agreement without liability. Standards such as “inadvisable,” “commercially unreasonable” or “materially affected” make it easier to invoke protections for a group, especially with respect to flight cancellations. Another option is to specify a certain percentage of attendees who would be discouraged from attending the meeting. Based on surveys of passengers affected by flight cancellations, this option offers another way of establishing that a group has met the requirements of the provision.

The third and final component is defining what will happen if a group could cancel its contract without liability due to force majeure but chooses to perform the contract anyway. The provision should state that in such an event, the hotel will waive room and food and beverage attrition fees related to a smaller meeting and honor any lower room rates. For example, if the flight cancellations meant that only 50 percent of a group’s attendees could travel to the meeting, the force majeure provision may give the group the right to cancel the agreement without liability but the group can elect to hold the meeting and not be subject to attrition fees for a lower utilization of its room block.

A group also may want to consider purchasing event cancellation insurance for its meeting. Typically, the following are considered “covered events” under the policy: adverse weather conditions, non-appearance of a principal speaker or entertainer, terrorism (but only to the extent an event meets the policy’s parameters in terms of proximity and timing), labor disputes, airline cancellations due to adverse weather conditions or labor disputes, and floods. Typical exclusions include financial cause or lack of support for an event, war or military action, government action and terrorism outside of the bounds of the policy. By having such insurance in place for revenue-producing meetings, a group can ensure that no matter what the liability under the contract, its revenue from the meeting will be protected.

Invoking Walk Clauses

A group’s rights under a hotel contract in the midst of transportation interruptions also will be governed by the contract. In this instance, however, what the contract says is often not as important as dealing with the practical issues. For example, if a prior group has not departed due to flight cancellations, a hotel may not have enough rooms to honor your group’s reservations. In the event that guests overstay their reservation dates, a hotel generally has two choices: evict the guests or assume a new contract exists and charge the guests on a day-to-day basis. Since eviction is a rare consequence in the event of overstay (eviction is a consequence in the event of a guest’s violation of law or hotel policy), hotels typically treat the overstay as a new contract. That said, a hotel has no other option but to relocate the incoming group’s guests. Since a hotel room reservation is a contract, a hotel must provide alternate accommodations to the guest. That may mean “walking” the guest to any other hotel or, if a contract includes a “walk” clause, the terms of that clause will govern in such an event. It is important to include parameters in the clause such as the type of alternate hotel (nearby and equal or better quality), and reimbursement of transportation to and from the hotel and an alternate hotel as needed. Some groups request that guests be returned to the hotel as soon as possible and receive upgraded accommodations along with an apology letter.  Bottom line, if it appears likely that a walk situation will occur, a group must monitor a hotel’s relocation practices to ensure they meet the terms of the contract.

Maximizing Rights

As life imitates art, I recently found myself in a walk situation caused by bad weather in another part of the country. While it appeared that the hotel had appropriately followed walk procedures, its method of dealing with guests who were being relocated was less than professional. Front desk managers were not adequately trained in basic customer service in such a situation and, as a result, many attendees were upset about the situation. In order to avoid this outcome, planners should work with a hotel’s front desk staff to ensure attendees are treated appropriately.

With regard to function space, a group’s rights are governed by the contract but once again, if a previous group does not vacate the space, the incoming group has the practical problem of securing its required space. As compared to sleeping rooms though, a group should have more leverage to insist that a hotel move a previous group. Function space is rented on a daily basis for specified hours. If a group exceeds the hours it reserved, a hotel has the right to remove the group from the space.  Again, it is important for an incoming group’s planner to work closely with the hotel to ensure that this situation does not arise in the first place.

Planners can undertake a number of measures both in and out of the contract to ensure that if transportation interruptions occur, they will be properly poised to minimize their duties and maximize their rights.

What is “force majeure,” anyway?
The French term means “superior or irresistible force.” The purpose of a force majeure contract clause is to protect parties in the event that a part of a contract cannot be performed due to causes that are outside the control of the parties. Typically, force majeure events include acts of God, superseding governmental authority, civil strife and labor disputes. In the world of meetings, the force majeure clause was catapulted into the spotlight following the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Since then, the clause has become the topic of much debate centered around: the listing of calamities that could occur; the standard of impact such a calamity has to have on a party’s performance in order to excuse such party from performing the contract; and the net effect if such party chooses to perform the contract despite force majeure. Read more about contract negotiations and terminologyat ConnectYourMeetings.com.

Barbara F. Dunn is an attorney and partner with Howe & Hutton Ltd. in the firm’s St. Louis, Mo., office. She specializes in hospitality law and is a session speaker at the 2010 Connect Marketplace in Louisville, Ky., Aug. 12-15. For more information, visit ConnectYourMeetings.com.

A meeting planner in Washington, D.C., sees a loose bolt on her exhibit panel. She picks up a wrench to fix it and a union laborer standing nearby sees her and reports a grievance to his supervisor. A florist in San Francisco attempts to carry centerpieces up a hotel loading dock and a Teamster stops him. The meeting planner who hired the florist must pay union laborers to perform this service.

While these scenarios may seem far-fetched, they are based on actual experiences faced by planners holding events in cities with unionized labor. While union regulations vary from city to city, an understanding of the venue’s guidelines will allow you to budget and reduce your organization’s liability to union grievances.

Before contracting a hotel or convention center, ask if it utilizes a union labor force and specifically which departments are in the union. While banquet servers and bellmen may be under a union contact, conference services managers and administrators might be non-union. If the venue does employ union laborers, inquire as to whether the union contracts are expiring or up for negotiation. Labor disputes could cause a disruption in services, a strike and public demonstrations outside the venue, all of which can affect your meeting.

Your salesperson might downplay any union negotiations to make a sale or not know the full extent of disputes, especially if the salesperson is located in another state. It is best to perform further research outside the venue’s report. The official hotel guide of the Hotel Workers Union, Unite Here, provides a list of hotels that are at risk of dispute or on strike. You should also perform an Internet search on the property. Search with the venue’s name followed by the words “labor dispute boycott strike” or “picket lines protests union” to learn of any existing or pending labor disputes. You can also call the local branch of the Hotel Workers Union and ask if they are currently engaged in any labor disputes in hotels in your chosen city. Unite Here provides a list of branches per city at unitehere.org/about/locals.php.

Include a union clause in your contract to further protect your organization, even if you find that union contracts are not up for negotiation and no disputes are pending. Most force majeure clauses include strikes and labor disputes. However, it is wise to add language that allows you to cancel the agreement and receive a refund of all deposits should a dispute or strike occur within two weeks prior to the start of your event or at any time during your event.

Consider also adding a clause that requires the hotel to notify your group within 10 days after it becomes aware of any labor disputes involving the hotel and its employees. The clause should include notification of the expiration of a negotiated labor contact or the filing of an unfair labor practice charge by a union, which often leads to a dispute.

Once your contract is in place, it’s time to research the union’s regulations and uncover any additional fees that may be imposed. If you are using the venue’s exclusive service providers, they are fully aware of the regulations and will work with the local unions to ensure compliance. If you are using an outside production company, for example, make sure it has worked in the city previously and has an understanding of the guidelines.

Increased fees often come into play when your event requires union labor for longer than an eight-hour period, on holidays or weekends. Check with the venue to see what staffing guidelines are in place and how you might alter your schedule to reduce fees. For example, union servers might be restricted to three hours for a breakfast or lunch shift and four hours for a dinner shift, including setup and teardown time. If you request that the linens are placed on the tables 1.5 hours before your dinner begins so your florist can bring the centerpieces, you’ll have only 2.5 hours to set up, serve and tear down your dinner and chances are you will go into overtime. In this case, see if the florist can deliver the centerpieces at the same time the venue is setting up the overall tables.

If your program requires dedicated staff, taking them away from their regular schedule, you may incur additional fees as well. For example, if you require dedicated room service staff for your VIP executives, which means the servers would not garner gratuities from other guests, a hotel might then require a flat “attendant” fee to compensate for the lost income.

Always ask hotels if the unions will agree to negotiate fees for certain services. For example, hotels charge a certain amount per item for room deliveries, an amount that goes to the bellman as a gratuity. If you place an envelope on top of a box, that can count as two items. Try to negotiate a bundled fee based on the overall amount of deliveries. If you have a multi-year contract with the hotel or your program is generating a significant amount of revenue for the property, the hotel might be more willing to waive the fees for your group and pay the union staff out of its own budget.

By carefully researching the property’s union guidelines and strengthening the contractual language against disputes, you can successfully manage an event at any union facility.

Monica Compton, CMP, is an event specialist with Pinnacle Productions Inc., based in Atlanta, Ga. She has 18 years experience as a global meeting planner, managing a variety of programs.

When reviewing a speaker or entertainer contract, planners should ensure the following items have been considered and properly addressed in the contract.

By Barbara Dunn

PRESENTATION/PERFORMANCE
o Name and description of the presentation/performance
o Date, arrival time, starting time, duration and location
o Environment and equipment for the program, e.g., an appropriately lighted, well-heated or cooled, proper place, with an adequate audio-visual system, maintained and operated as required by law
o Obligations of the speaker/performer, e.g., mandatory dress rehearsal or attendance at a post-program reception
o Requirement that the speaker/performer make a conscientious effort to communicate and cooperate with the sponsor’s contact person regarding customizing the presentation/performance to the sponsor’s goals
o Due dates for handouts and other materials
o A provision that the material presented by the speaker will be timely and presented to the best of the speaker’s ability: Often these types of provisions also state that the speaker may refer to notes during the presentation, but will not read any substantial portion of the presentation from a prepared text.
o A requirement that the sponsor provide the speaker with written evaluations concerning the speaker’s presentation

COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES
o Fee to be paid to the speaker/entertainer, including any deposit or prepayments; some contracts state that the final payment is due upon completion of the presentation/performance.
o Speaker/performer’s expenses: Who makes the travel, hotel and ground transportation arrangements; are there any limitations on class of air travel; what is the reimbursement policy relative to receipts and expense reports?
o Is the speaker/performer acting as an independent contractor? Are they solely responsible for any and all federal, state and local taxes and fees imposed in connection with their services, and the procurement of and payment for any and all necessary licenses and insurance?

TERMINATION
o The contract might state that neither party may terminate the agreement or it might state that either party may terminate the agreement with a certain amount of notice.
o Will the speaker/performer, their bureau or agency assist the sponsor in securing an alternate speaker in the event the agreement is terminated by the speaker/performer? Some contracts also require the speaker/performer or their bureau or agency to pay the costs of notifying attendees of the new speaker/performer.
o An Act of God or other force beyond the parties’ control: Generally, this type of provision allows the parties to terminate the contract without liability and requires that any deposits be refunded to the sponsor.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
o Can the sponsor use the speaker/performer’s name, picture and title for purposes of promoting the program/performance?
o Does the sponsor have the right to audiotape, videotape or photograph the presentation/performance? If so, are their limitations on the use/distribution of the reproduction? Is the author granting ownership in the work (assignment) or granting permission to use/distribute the work (license)?
o Can the speaker/performer’s use the sponsor’s name and logo? Generally, this type of permission grants the speaker/performer the option to use the sponsor’s name and logo so long as their use is limited to promotion of the program/performance.

RISK MANAGEMENT
o Sponsor liability: The contract should state that because the speaker/performer is an independent contractor, the sponsor will not be liable for any acts, omissions, statements or commitments of the speaker/performer, nor will either of them be liable for any injury or loss suffered by the speaker/performer or those making claims through the speaker/performer.
o Does the speaker/performer’s representation and warranty provide that none of the material contained in the presentation/performance will violate or infringe upon the proprietary or statutory rights of any person or entity, or constitute an invasion of anyone’s right to privacy, and that the speaker/performer will not libel, slander or defame anyone in making the presentation/performance? These types of provisions typically also state that in the event the speaker/performer is alleged to have engaged in any conduct, which, if true, would constitute a breach of such warranty, the speaker/performer shall defend, indemnify and hold the sponsor, its officers, directors, employees and agents, and each of them, harmless from any and all claims or causes of action, including court costs and attorneys’ fees, resulting from such conduct.

MISCELLANEOUS
o Prohibitions against the speaker/performer assigning his/her rights and duties under the contract without the sponsor’s prior written consent
o A provision that the contract may be amended only in writing and signed by both the sponsor and the speaker/performer
o A provision stating that a waiver by either party of any term or condition of the contract or any breach of the contract will not constitute a waiver of any other term or condition or subsequent breach of any term or condition of the contract
o A provision stating that the contract constitutes the entire understanding of the parties and supersedes and replaces all agreements, oral or written, between the sponsor and the speaker/performer relating to the presentation/performance

Here’s help improving your abilities in this area.

By Susan Friedmann

1. Know Your Needs. Skilled negotiators start with a detailed plan of exactly what they need from their negotiations. Why not follow their lead? Take plenty of time to thoroughly understand what you want and need from the potential supplier. Formulate lists of items that you’re willing to compromise and concede if necessary. Know your budgetary constraints and how they will effect your discussions.

2. Do Your Research. Doing research is a key strategy in your negotiating arsenal. Find out as much as you possibly can about your potential supplier. Know what your business is worth to them. Understand their business – the peaks and valleys. The more they want your business during a slow period, the greater your negotiating clout.

3. Rehearse Your Opening. Your opening words set the tone for the discussions that follow. Just like an actor with his opening lines, the first words out of your mouth set the stage for the rest of the performance. Make certain that you know exactly what it is you want to say. Craft the words so that your message is clear and concise. Then spend time rehearsing your lines. You want your opening conversation to be word perfect.

4. Ask Powerful Questions. Asking powerful questions is an essential skill for every negotiator. It not only provides you with strong information on which to build your case, but it also creates opportunities for breakthroughs in your discussions. Questions are the most powerful search engine to help you tap into critical information and make evaluations and final decisions. But, like everything else, they need planning. Each question you ask directs the action that follows it. Take the time to map out what questions you need to ask to get the results you want from your negotiations.

5. Become an Information-Monger. Even though you’re asking powerful questions to get some heavy-duty information from your opponent, you want to continually be probing for more. Listen to what’s being offered and at every opportunity, be curious and ask for clarification and more information. Become an information-monger, never being satisfied until you have exactly what it is you want from the discussions.

6. Be a Champion Listener. So much of successful negotiating comes as a result of great listening. Listening to what people do and don’t say. People often tell you a lot about themselves. The problem is that we just don’t hear them because we’re so caught up in our own thoughts. When you take time to listen to people, they’ll tell you about their positions, problems, qualities, likes and dislikes. And, you don’t even have to ask them. They do it naturally just in the way they talk. Listen for any sense of urgency to close the deal. Perhaps they want your business to fill quotas. We were given two ears and one mouth; use them in that ratio to help your deal-making.

7. Create a Positive Mood. Negotiating in a friendly and congenial atmosphere helps create a more receptive mood. Set the stage with some “getting to know you” talk. Make direct eye contact as you speak to your potential supplier. Tell them one or two personal stories that they might relate to. Your goal is to establish an atmosphere of trust and honesty. Don’t just jump straight into your negotiating babble. Rather, take time to develop a friendly rapport so that your opponent feels comfortable speaking with you. You’ll both work together more productively in a relaxed environment.

8. Be Prepared to Walk Away. This incredibly potent strategy is possibly one of the hardest for negotiators to actually implement. How it works: when you really want something badly enough, and you aren’t happy with your opponent’s offer, you simply walk away from the negotiating table. One of two things can happen. One, your opponent will concede to your wishes, or, two, your opponent will let you go your own way. Remember that if you want to use this strategy, have a second potential supplier “in the wings.” If you don’t, you’ll likely be left out in the cold fending for yourself.

9. Know the Styles. Read any book on negotiating and you’ll quickly learn that there are many different styles and techniques to help you through the negotiating minefield. Make a point of familiarizing and learning ones that fit your style of doing business. In addition, learn about the different behavioral styles, what kind of information they need, and how they approach negotiating. For example, an analytical type needs tons of data to help in the decision-making process, whereas a more controlling, dominant type only want the facts. Recognize people’s differences and use them to your advantage-it’s all part of the negotiation game!

10. Exercise Silence. The old saying “silence is golden” is particularly true around the negotiating table. Negotiating mavens know that when discussing a deal, the first to speak loses. To be successful, it’s not wise to dominate the conversation. In fact, the more you talk, the more information you’re supplying your opponents. So exercising silence will help prevent you spewing out unnecessary stuff. Your silence will also help create the perception that you are a thoughtful and methodical decision-maker.

Susan Friedmann is author of the book “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and owner of The Tradeshow Company, offering consulting services for meetings and trade shows.