CONFERENCE COST-CUTTING CONCEPTS - 222 Budget Cutting Ideas
©2000 Corbin Ball Associates

Listed below is a compilation of meeting planning cost cutting ideas pickup up over the years. Thanks to Louisa Davis, CMP/CMM who contributed a number of them.

NEGOTIATION, GENERAL:

1.      Good negotiations are the KEY to major cost savings!

2.      Don't over-negotiate -- both sides need to win. Seek a FAIR contract!

3.      It is not in your interest for the hotel to lose money on you.

4.      Everything is negotiable, BUT everything has a price.

5.      When making a concession, this is a good time to ask for a counter-concession.

6.      Always maintain your "walkaway" power -- if you don't have a choice of vendors, you are not in a strong negotiating position.

7.      Use "feel, felt, found" formula to help to overcome obstacles. (“I know how you FEEL, others have FELT the same, but have FOUND when doing XXX that it has worked out successfully.)  Trying to understand the other side, and empathize with them, breaks down the negotiation walls.

8.      Manage your negotiation time -- 80% of the concessions are made in the last 20% of the time.

9.      The person under the greatest time pressure generally loses in negotiation.

10. Never reveal it if you have a deadline.

11. Make your offer low but flexible.

12. Get all that you negotiate in WRITING!!!

13. Budget a 10% contingency. This will take care of unforeseen costs (strikes, weather, etc.)

14. Never sign a contract unless you agree with it in its entirety. Cross out or edit clauses with which you do not agree, initial them and get the supplier to initial his or her agreement.

 HOTEL/ MEETING LOCATION/ SITE SELECTION

15. Use the web for research and expediting the site selection process. Two excellent sites to start with are: www.plansoft.com and www.eventsource.com.

16. Let the local CVB’s do the work in setting up a site visit --  letting them do the leg work and saving you costs.

17. Work with the hotel national sales offices to set up site visits   -- if you book multiple meetings with the same chain, they will help relay the value of your meeting to the individual property.

18 . Make sure that the cancellation clause is reciprocal. Contract offers are inherently one-sided -- it is your job to balance it out. The cancellation clause is a perfect example.

19. Develop long-term relationships with properties and chains you often use. Negotiate volume discounts.

20. Ask for a cash discount for payment on-site.

21. <![endif]>Develop a detailed RFP and ask for everything up front including:

a.      1:30 or 1:40 comp rates

b.      airport transfers

c.      early check-in times

d.      late checkout times

e.      complimentary coffee and tea in the rooms

f.        complimentary meeting space, storage space

g.      no package receiving charges

h.      continental breakfast in the meeting room

i.        extended-stay rates

j.         free local calls

k.      free office space

l.         free or reduced parking for VIPs and staff

m.    health club access

n.      late cutoff dates

o.      reduced room rates for staff, speakers

p.      upgrades for VIPs and staff

q.      welcome gifts and notes

r.        electrical

s.      discounted exhibit space

22. Use third-tier cities or local destinations than can offer more bang for the buck.

23. Add a clause in the hotel contract that states you will not pay the final invoice until you have received a detailed post-convention evaluation from the property.

24. Know the value of your group! Track pickup, no-shows, single/double occupancy, F&B, outlet usage, etc

25. Research the rack rates and group rates. Call the toll-free line or reservation desk to get this information.

26. Use a video camera to tape your site inspections – to help remember the property.

27. Keep accurate records of full time registrants, part-time, exhibitors, no-shows, guests.

28. Use competitive bidding and let each property know you are doing so.

29. Know the supply/demand cycle of the hotel and city -- try to book in the soft periods to give more negotiation leverage.

30. Learn all you can bout the hotel: current occupancy rate, current rack rate, current group rates

31. Use shoulder periods.

32. Work with the hotels to fill their “hot dates” or meeting space “holes.”

33. Book meetings near holidays (Easter, Labor Day, etc.).

34. Be flexible with your arrivals and departures. Can you move from a Tuesday through Thursday to a Saturday through Monday meeting?

35. Analyze the cost savings of air-fare requiring a Saturday-night stay.  It may not be cheaper than paying for the extra room night plus the applicable per diem

36. Consider weekend meetings if the hotel's demand is lower then.

37. Offer the possibility of repeat business if this is a legitimate option.

38. Be conservative in your room block estimates -- paying for unused rooms is costly.

39. Depending on the group, sacrifice room rate for more concessions in food and beverage area, and meeting room charges.

40. Avoid taking "all space." Leave the hotel something to sell.

41. Reduce the number of breakout rooms needed, saving AV and setup costs.

42. Use the same room with two setups. For example, use the room classroom-style for the course, and banquet-style for the serving lunch and for breaks. Put up the screens or use plants to divide the space.

43. Avoid using the full registration area (same logic)

44. Cut down on the number of breakout rooms. (Possibly, have small breakouts at night.)

45. Avoid numerous meetings on pre- and post-convention days.

46. Use "first refusal" to reserve auxiliary function space. You can hold the space that you might need, and then choose to give it back to the hotel if they need it.

47. Have hotel pay comp room credits to master account if the rooms are not needed by staff.

48. Cut the number of comp rooms and VIP amenities required.

49. Swap the comp suite for additional staff rooms (often 2-3 rooms)

50. Negotiate a staff discount (20-50% of the group rate) for XX rooms.

51. Use simple meeting room setups.

52. Standardize room sets to reduce or eliminate the need for room resets (for convention centers).

53. Work with hotels existing inventory of equipment (tables, chairs, easels, etc)

54. Cut down on schoolroom-style setups for some of the rooms -- they take more labor, more space, and are slower to turn around to another setting compared to theater style.

55. Encourage double occupancy with spouses -- this bring more people (more business) to the hotel and increases the value of your group.

56. Reduce late checkouts making it easier for the hotel to accommodate incoming groups.

57. Negotiate a formula for figuring future year prices -- "Room rates not to exceed x% per year" or "an xx% reduction from the existing rack rate at that time of the year."

58. Negotiate F&B cap on price increases for future years.

59. Negotiate free staff parking.

60. Negotiate free airport pickup for staff.

61. Negotiate one free mic per meeting room.

62. Negotiate deposit clause out of the contract – or at least that the deposit will be placed in an interest-bearing account.

63. Negotiate use of paging units, portable radio or cell phone for the meeting manager or staff.

64. Limit authorized signatures and don’t accept charges signed by unauthorized people.

65. Learn the tax laws for both your business location and the location of your event. You could be eligible for tax breaks that you are not claiming.

66. Negotiate sliding-scale rates with the hotel.

67. Cash in your comp rooms for the suites first.

 FOOD:

GENERAL:

68. Give the catering manager/convention services manager your budget and let him/her create your menu.

69. Build up your F&B totals with on-site meals and functions for other contract concessions.

70. Lock in the menu prices. If the hotel will not provide a specific menu in advance, at least agree that the menu prices will not increase more than a fixed percentage per year.

71. Negotiate special menus breakfasts, lunches, dinners at a discounted fixed rate.

72. Order as much as possible by “consumption.” Uneaten food and drink can be returned and not charged. This works well with soda and packaged foods like potato chips, but can also be done with perishables.

73. Re-use food if possible. Cover uneaten Danishes and doughnuts from the coffee break and provide them with lunch or in the exhibit hall.

74. Work with the chef to create a special meal at low cost. Deal with the chef directly. Challenge him or her to work with your meeting’s goals and concept. The chef will know what is in season and what is grown or produced locally and can be very creative if given the opportunity.

75. Find out the chefs flexibility in adding on to a guarantee, then guarantee low and add.

76. Guarantee low at 48 hours and raise it at 24 hours.

77. Negotiate a higher overset or to pay only for the actual cost for those not showing.

78. Encourage the chef to use lower cost in-season items.

79. Hold food functions in hotel to eliminate transportation costs.

80. Negotiate in inclusive prices. -- this reveals the full cost of what you will be paying and it psychologically it works for you as it sounds like some much more.

81. Carefully monitor past history for making meal guarantees. -- track covers served, gallons of coffee unused, etc.

82. Carefully monitor and make notes of consumption -- was all the coffee drunk? were all the pastries eaten? etc.

83. Always remember the "no-show" factor -- often 10%, and make guarantees accordingly.

84. Keep an ongoing record of actual numbers served at all you food functions to determine your group's historic no-show.

85. Take into account the location of your convention, and how it will affect your counts.

86. Meet with the Convention Service Manager daily for a bill review and sign-off. It is much easier to clear up and billing mistakes or misunderstandings then and it simplifies the last day as well.

BREAKFAST:

87. Have more lower cost continental breakfasts, and fewer full plated meals.

88. Order just breakfast breads/coffee rather than full continental.

89. Have breakfast meetings instead of lunch or dinner.

90. Cut Danish in half and order fewer.

91. Use breakfast breads (i.e. banana breads) instead of generally more expensive muffins or Danish.

LUNCH/DINNER:

92. Collaborate with chef to use same menu as other groups in house.

93. Reduce meal portions: 6 oz. rather than 8 oz. meat portions.

94. Consider an upgrade "break" to replace a meal function, rather than eliminate the meal altogether.

95. Eliminate the soup and only have the salad as a starter.

96. Eliminate meals from the registration fee, and have registrants book and pay for separately.

97. In convention centers, use lunch tickets coupons (worth $5 off meal at the concession stands) rather than box lunches. This often will save even the tax and service charge -- as it is going through the concession service.

98. Use box lunches rather than plated.

99. Required a banquet redemption ticket, so members must exchange coupon for an actual diner ticket in order to get more accurate counts.

100.         Use room service for food functions involving small meetings (cheaper, no guarantees, etc.)

101.         Skip the dessert, salad or soup. Dessert can be served at breaks.

102.         Ask which other groups are using the hotel at the same time. You may be able to have the same menu, thereby gaining economies of scales that can be passed on in cost savings to you.

RECEPTIONS:

103.         Use more filling and cheaper pasta stations and nacho stations instead of individual hors d' oeuvres.

104.         Use cheese trays, and veggie trays rather than more expensive individual hors d' oeuvres.

105.         Consider after-dinner dessert/coffee reception rather than more drinking.

106.         Don’t use plates (limits consumption)

107.         Butler serve hors d' oeuvres -- it is more elegant and it reduces consumption.

108.         Put hors d'oeuvres station against wall.

109.         Negotiate VIP reception instead of a full meal for organizational VIPs.

110.         Try staffed food stations, such as stir fry stations and pasta tables -- this adds to the visual interest and slows consumption.

111.         Avoid shrimp, oysters and other expensive delicacies.

112.         Compare a la carte vs. per person pricing on a spreadsheet.

BEVERAGE:

113.         Buy your coffee, tea and decaf in bulk or by the gallon – this usually is the least expensive way to go.

114.         If you are able to, buy soft drinks in bulk and have your staff or self serve.

115.         Wine and cheese, instead of cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.

116.         Offer ala carte cash wine with dinner.

117.         Give people something to do during cocktail parties -- they will drink less.

118.         Use cash bars.

119.         Use drink tickets (2 max./person).

120.         Inventory the bars before and after the event.

121.         Negotiate bottle prices rather than per drink or per person (for larger groups).

122.         Never use unlimited consumption plan -- this is almost always the most costly way to go.

123.         Find a local winery or microbrewery to sponsor your liquor costs. You may have to pay a corkage fee but this will be substantially lower the paying full costs.

124.         Insist on posi-pour spouts for liquor (or jiggers) to prevent over-pouring.

125.         Never allow free pouring of alcohol.

126.         Use 1 oz. shots rather than 1.5 oz.

127.         Minimize salty snacks as they increase beverage consumption.

128.         Use keg beer rather than bottle.

129.         Don't have the music too loud. This makes it difficult for people to talk -- driving them to drink instead of conversation.

130.         Shorten reception times -- 1 hour to 1½ hour max.

131.         Do not announce last calls for drinks.

132.         Provide and encourage non-alcoholic alternatives.

133.         Go for sodas rather than more expensive mineral waters.

134.         Go for domestic rather than import wines/beers.

135.         Use house brands rather than premium.

136.         Eliminate alcohol altogether. Or eliminate hard liquor and mixed drinks. Serve only soft drinks, juices and beer and wine.

137.         Ask the hotelier if a discontinued wine label is available that can be consumed at a reduced rate.

SUPPLIERS:

138.         Research your hotel suppliers.—the competition? how busy is the market? is it busy season? How many years in business?

139.         Bid out just about everything! Don’t let any one supplier think he or she is your    only choice.

140.         Use the same decorator/drayage company for exhibits.

141.         Get free registration set-up and free hall entry units from decorator.

142.         Use hotel chairs/tables instead of decorators for any non-exhibitor set.

143.         Used skirted tables instead of renting secretarial desks for on-site offices.

144.         Use hotel props instead of renting from the outside.

145.         Use Convention Visitor Bureau (staff, maps, flyers, restaurant services, etc.)

146.         Use shuttle buses instead of large buses (sometimes cheaper)

147.         Use official freight company to get free freight.

148.         Bid out signage.

149.         Schedule security guards carefully (Don't let them do it for you.)

150.         Limit number of handouts.

151.         Use outside photocopy service for large quantity copying.

152.         Track your busy registration times and staff accordingly.

153.         Carefully bid temp. staff schedule -- book according to demand.

154.