Money Monday: Completing a detailed and accurate Request for Proposal
Completing a detailed and accurate Request for Proposal (RFP) can be a big time and money saver! By filling out a RFP, you not only make sure that your organization and committee are on the same page, but you also send consistent information to prospective facilities, destination management companies and convention and visitor bureaus. A detailed RFP document saves you the time of having to repeat the same information, over and over to all prospective parties. When completing and RFP make sure to include the following information with your normal meeting specs:
· Name of the event, name of the company, company web-site and a brief company description or profile
· Meeting history including date, location, room rate, food & beverage spend and room pick-up
· Requested rate and food/beverage minimum
· Locations being considered
Some planners are hesitant to share their rate or food & beverage spend from previous years. They are concerned that either hotels will bid high if they see the customer’s rate is higher than their group selling rate OR they will not provide a proposal at all because there previous year rate was significantly lower than what the proposed hotel is currently selling. You can avoid this dilemma by honestly disclosing your history and including what rate & food/beverage minimum you are looking for. Hotels may be able to provide a much lower rate than they normally would sell at if they see your food/beverage spend is high. As any basic negotiating training class will teach you, make sure you “set the anchor!”. Tell the hotel what you want and let them work for it!
Helping you stay on top of money saving techniques and take your events from ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY! DeMarse Meetings Delivers Events Outside The Box! Let Us Inspire You!!
