Before signing a hotel contract for an offsite meeting, it pays to double check these 5 important items are spelled out in the agreement. You may have emails confirming your requests, and you may have had conversations with your sales person to confirm your wishes, yet when it comes to contracting, certain items may be missing. It is prudent to carefully review the contract, before signing it, to be absolutely sure these 5 important items are included.

  1. Name and address of the hotel. Between signing the contract and your group’s arrival, things can change. Management companies can switch from one brand to another, sales managers may leave a hotel, and your organization’s meeting planner can change, too. It’s always a good idea to have the name and address of the contracted hotel listed on the cover page of the contract so all parties are in the know, at all times.
  2. Day of the week, Month of the Year, Calendar date, and the Calendar year. There have been numerous times when this incredibly important detail is left out of a contract, and even one day can drastically shift what the hotel and your organization are anticipating as arrival and departure day. There is nothing more valuable than making sure the day of the week, the month of the year, the calendar date and the year are spelled out for both guestrooms and the meeting agenda, day-by-day. 
  3. Attrition based on total rooms, not rooms per night. Hotels offer attrition based on rooms per night. This is not acceptable. For example, Day 1 you have 20 rooms, Day 2 you have 100 rooms, Day 3 you have 20 rooms. The total rooms are 140. If a hotel offers 20% attrition, you are responsible for 80% of the rooms contracted. It is in your favor to be able to reduce total rooms (140-20% = 112 nights). Because, if Day 1 & Day 3 you meet the 20 rooms contracted, yet on Day 2 you fall short, you want to be in control of reducing total rooms, not rooms per night. It’s in your favor to have attrition based on total rooms, not per night
  4. Upgrade menu selections rather than pay meeting room rental. In hotel contracts the Food & Beverage Minimum clause states that if you do not meet the minimum, you will pay the difference in meeting room rental. Never, ever agree to this. Rather, increase the amount of food you are serving and upgrade menu selections to meet the minimum.
  5. No Relocation. It is imperative that none of your guests are relocated to another hotel if the contracted hotel is sold out. It happens all the time; hotels oversell and run short on rooms and everyone expected to arrive will not get a room. Make sure in the hotel contract there is a No Relocation clause stating this request. If a hotel will not completely agree, then at least request this; Guests of X Corporation/Association will be the last guests relocated should the hotel be sold out. Lastly, there are occasions when a hotel will not agree to this clause. In this case, make a list of items you must have should any of your guests end up being relocated, such as a) relocate to the closest hotel with the same ranking (4-star), b) complimentary transportation to and from the contracted and relocated hotel, c) rooms credited to your contract for all room nights guests are relocated, d) first option to return to contracted hotel when hotel becomes available, e) upgraded room upon returning to the contracted hotel, f) a letter from the hotel’s general manager apologizing for the situation, and g) double hotel points for to the displaced guest for their inconvenience. Lastly, work closely with the hotel’s conference services manager, in case any of your guests are going to be relocated, to choose which guests get relocated.

Planning meetings can be a lot of fun, yet being aware of the nuances that can make or break you and your executives and your guests’ happiness comes with the responsibility of being the meeting planner.