Understanding hotel contract language is essential before the agreement is signed.  Equally valuable is adding additional clauses to save you from being caught off guard, and instill confidence knowing the hotel is contractually obligated to fulfill your requests. When requesting a contract for a meeting, ask hotels to incorporate these items into the agreement.

No Relocation

“If the hotel is sold out, none of the guests with X Corporation will be relocated.”  Under no circumstances do you ever want to find out the hotel will have to relocate any of your meeting attendees, and be aware, this happens a lot, especially as hotels worldwide are running highest occupancies in history. Protect your guests by including a No Relocation Clause in hotel contracts; 

There are times when hotels will not completely agree, so request this instead; “If the hotel is sold out, guests of X Corporation will be the last guests relocated.”  Work closely with Reservations to be sure none of your guests are relocated should the hotel be sold out.

No Construction/Renovation

“The hotel confirms there will be no construction or renovations in the hotel or on the surrounding streets over the dates of X Corporations meeting.” It would be unpleasant having your guests arrive at a hotel whose surrounding streets are torn up, or the hotel façade is covered in scaffolding, or the Spa/ Restaurant/Bar is closed for renovation.  To avoid having this happen, include a No Construction/Renovation Clause in hotel contracts.  There are times when construction/renovations pop up after you’ve signed the contract. Should this occur, include an “out clause” in this section; “If construction/renovations greatly interfere with the purpose of this meeting, hotel agrees to release X Corporation from the contract without liability”.  You may need to define, or come to an agreement with the hotel, as to what “greatly interfere” means, or spell it out; noise, dust, street/restaurant/spa closures, etc.

No Competitors

“Hotel agrees that none of X Corporation’s direct competitors, A, B, and/or C, will be meeting in the hotel over the dates of X Corporation’s meeting.” Never, ever would you want to be taken by surprise to find  your direct competitors are also meeting in the hotel at the same time! Make sure to have a No Competitors Clause in the contract.  State by name the direct competitors in this section to be sure hotels’ comply with this very important additional contract clause.

These three little nuggets of knowledge will save you from being caught off guard, and instill confidence knowing the hotel is contractually obligated to fulfill your requests of the Three Hotel Contract “Must Haves” for Meetings & Events.