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Negotiating
Power: NACADA
makes every attempt to secure very competitive rates for attendees.
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If at all possible,
obtain bids from 3 or more hotels.
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Always portray the
selection process as very competitive. Never let the property
think they are your only or even favorite option.
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Know your history.
The Executive Office will have what history is available of
sleeping rooms and meeting rooms used. E-mail matteson@ksu.edu
to obtain the current Regional Conference History database
for your region.
Prepare
& Send a Bid Request:
See the Forms/Samples section of this
handbook for the Hotel Bid Cover Letter, Hotel Bid Specifications
and the Hotel Site Inspection List. The Bid Specifications outline:
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what meeting space
is needed
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what food functions
you anticipate
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how many sleeping
rooms are needed each night.
The rate hotels
quote are based on the projected revenue from this spec
sheet, so be as accurate as possible. Be conservative
on food functions
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Send the bid request
to several properties. They
will reply with general information, including a sleeping
room rate and dates available.
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Choose the best 2
or 3, then contact the Executive Office to send the best selections
a copy of the NACADA hotel contract. When it is possible,
we like to use our standard contract so we know that the needs
and protections for the Association are covered.
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Select dates
that are convenient for your participants and at a time when
the hotel needs your business. Always give the hotels more
than one option to glean the best rate.
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Some hotels
give better rates on different days of the week or times of
the month.
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Avoid holidays,
religious celebrations & other major local and area events.
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Consider starting and ending times that correspond
with the travel needs/times of most attendees.
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If they are flying,
consider starting after noon to give them the morning
to fly without having to come a day early.
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Also, consider
Friday/Saturday meeting to give them the option for a
Saturday night stay-over that usually reduces airfare.
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If most participants
are within a 2 hour drive, consider starting at 10 a.m.
and ending at 3 p.m. on the closing day.
Guest
Room Block: The number
of rooms you block each night depends on several factors.
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When
your actual program begins. (8 a.m. start will influence
people to come the night before, but noon start may reduce the
need for rooms the night before.
- The days of the week. Some may
want to stay the weekend or return to work quickly.
- Distance most people travel to get to
the site.
- The location. Locations influence
whether people want to add a day or two for sight-seeing.
- Consult with Diane Matteson at the Executive
Office before promising a certain number of rooms. Previous
year's statistics can help in this estimation process.
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Hotels
will often impose penalties if you do not use the entire room
block, or if you reduce food functions.
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Inform
the hotel that NACADA does not expect to pay for meeting space
and that any exceptions would have to be approved by the Executive
Office.
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The outline
of how many rooms you need that hold a certain number of people
should be general enough to allow flexibility for the program
committee, yet specific enough to allow the hotel to determine
if it is possible to meet your needs.
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A tentative
schedule outline will help the hotel know if they can accommodate
needs.
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Be
very conservative in what food functions you schedule.
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Examine
menus, but, remember, hotels may deviate from those printed
menus if you give them a budget figure and ask them what they
can provide for a certain amount of money.
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It is better
to add on food functions, than to promise a lot at the beginning.
Hotels often impose penalties for cancelled food functions.
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At
a minimum, ask for a complimentary suite for the meeting planners,
a complimentary room for the keynote speaker and the Executive
Committee member. You may
not get all of these.
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Hotels
often offer one free suite and then 1 free room for every 40
or 50 room nights used.
Other
items to ask for are:
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Free parking
- Free health club access
- VIP amenities for those you list
- No access charges for phones
- Free phone at registration desk
- Door prize gifts, such as a free weekend
stay
Researching
Possible Sites
- Ask members in the area to recommend
hotels where they have had successful events.
- Contact Convention and Visitor's Bureaus in the cities you
are considering.
- Provide the Bureau with the prepared
prospectus and ask which properties would be able to fulfill
your needs OR contact properties directly if you are familiar
with the area.
- When the hotels respond, evaluate
each property based on rates, location, and layout of meeting
facilities and sleeping room options.
- Narrow your list to 2 or 3 for site
inspection visits
Inspecting
Possible Sites
- The Conference Chair/Committee and
the Region Chair should rank the best properties and narrow
it down to two or three.
- Then a request goes to the Executive
Office to send contracts to those 2 or 3 properties to see which
can give them the best deal.
- When this information is completed,
the Region then determines which contract they want signed and
the Executive Office will send copies of the final contract
to the Hotel and the Conference Chair.
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