Operating within an ever-changing meeting and event industry landscape is full of numerous twists and turns. Negotiating an optimal contract, selecting superior concessions and confirming each meeting detail can leave even the most experienced planners with numerous questions. Hear from Mayfair House Hotel & Garden about some of the best ways to ensure your next meeting or event goes off without a hitch.
Mayfair House Hotel & Garden is an iconic and eclectic hotel located in the heart of Coconut Grove, a Miami neighborhood. Honoring the local artistic spirit and embracing the lush surrounding landscape, Mayfair House Hotel & Garden offers an artist's heart with a provocative spirit. Utilize the practical and pragmatic tips below in finalizing your next meeting or event at this sensual eden hotel.
Share your budget.
Often, during the discovery phase, a hotel salesperson will ask the hotel rate budget for your meeting. Salespeople are not asking this question to necessarily match your budget. For example, if the group rate is $250 over the dates of your meeting, two possible scenarios can happen:
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You provide the hotel your budget of $350 and they still quote the $250 rate OR
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You provide the hotel your budget of $209 and the salesperson immediately goes to work to figure out how to make it happen for you.
Quoting group clients above the group rate ceiling does not benefit the hotel because they will potentially lose integrity with their clients, they won’t be able to sell the remaining rooms at the hotel and they won’t be able to stay competitive to the group rates in the market.
Need a Lower Rate? Let’s get creative.
Having flexible dates is the best way to get the rates you are looking for. While a hotel may not be able to offer your budgeted rates for groups arriving on Tuesday or Wednesday, if you have flexibility within the same week to arrive on a Sunday or Thursday you will likely get to your price point. Alternatively, if you have offsite meetings, consider instead having a few at the hotel. This will allow the salesperson to use your meeting spend as leverage on your behalf when negotiating the rate.
Finally, if you cannot move even one meeting to the hotel, Mayfair House Hotel & Garden is able to create transitional experiences for your group's arrivals and departures that will assist with increasing your overall spend and lowering your group rate.
Forgotten Concessions: What to ask for that can make a real difference.
In the era of resort fees, it is always a good idea to ask resort fees to be waived. However, outside of this sometimes obvious concession, these forgotten options can go a long way toward a client’s bottom line.
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Confirmed menu pricing – attach a copy of the current catering menu to your agreement as an addendum and guarantee this pricing.
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Above and beyond complimentary rooms – with just a little bit of math, your hotel will agree that offering a few additional complimentary overnights on top of your complimentary ratio is warranted with your overall spend.
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Soft dollar concessions – These are concessions that hotels have little to no cost in offering such as Wi-Fi, any owned parking, suite upgrades, spa services, service credits and more. Knowing the difference between a hard and soft dollar concession can make all the difference in a negotiation win for meeting planners.