Best Practices for Site Selection

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From large-scale trade shows to smaller conferences, choosing the right destination and venue is critical. In a recent webinar, two site-selection experts — Kim Paine, vice president of Site Selection Services, and Enrique Juarez, a sales and marketing executive at Prestige — shared tips for how to find the right location for your next gathering. Watch the full webinar now, and read on for some highlights.

Site-selection essentials

The most important part of the site-selection process is understanding your — or your client's — budget and choosing a city that will work within that frame.

"Location and accessibility are obviously big factors," said Paine. "Everybody's time is super valuable these days, and a lot of times people want to make sure that they're not having to take multiple flights."

Choosing a city that is less expensive but requires that a layover during travel could directly impact attendance.

"It's a fine balance between picking the right destination and having the right cost-value for your program," she added.

If an event is taking place at a hotel, the next factor to evaluate is the service quality.

"Doing a site inspection is almost a nonnegotiable," Paine said. "What you see in pictures and on the website may not necessarily be what you'll experience at the hotel."

As a former hotelier now on the planning side, Juarez always checks one area in particular on a site tour: the restrooms.

"The space could be perfect but then the restrooms are not well-kept," he said. "And if the bathrooms are not well-kept, then how is the rest of the operation going to go?"

When it comes to venues, capacity is king

"Capacity is the one that sets the foundation — amenities and service quality elevate the experience for all of us," said Juarez. "We're going to make sure that we prioritize audio/visual, breakout space and layout, making sure that it's functional."

Even though capacity charts often are listed online, site inspecting the space is very valuable, as it allows planners to figure out if there's extra elbow room or if there are any obstacles that the space presents.

"Ask before the site visit if they could set one of the rooms," Paine advised. "If you're working with a ballroom that has a pillar in it, you can have the banquet rounds thrown down and be able to sit in those spaces and make sure there aren't any line-of-sight issues."

Common contract mistakes

In recent years, prices have skyrocketed and budgets have gotten tighter, making negotiating contracts more critical than ever.

"Anybody who has negotiated a contract in the last few years knows that there are fees everywhere — junk fees, service fees, extra fees," said Paine. "Something that's really important is going through and scrubbing the contract and really understanding what those fees are." Then, she advises, make sure there's a clause saying that those fees can't be increased… even if your program is a year or two out.

Another element that she looks at is the resale clause, where groups can get credit for unused rooms if the hotel sells them to other guests.

"Any rooms that are resold should be credited back to the customer; otherwise they're charging you attrition penalties and they're reselling the room," she added, which really is double-dipping by the hotel.

Paine's final piece of advice for negotiating contracts is requesting a rebooking clause.

"If you can, work to get a rebooking clause put in the contract, ensuring that your meeting space can't be changed," she said. "Because most contracts will say that the hotel has the right to move your meeting space when, in reality, you picked this hotel based on the meeting space that was offered in the contract."

On the other hand, under no circumstances should a property be allowed to cancel a gathering.

"I would never let a hotel have a cancellation clause in it," said Paine. "I will normally nix it, or it would be very high penalties to keep a cancellation-by-hotel clause in the contract."

When working on a contract, Juarez prioritizes having clear expectations, transparency and documenting all verbal agreements.

"The most important thing is having an open dialogue with the hotels, and remembering that we're here to collaborate and that it's a win-win for both parties," he said.

Building rapport

Having a win-win mentality also is vital for managing relationships with vendors and other partners at the venue.

"When you go on-site and you make demands, and you're not nice to the sales people or to the service people, they're not going to want to do stuff for you," said Paine. "I'm very much of the mindset that you go in and everybody's treated equally and you're all in this together."

In addition to doing a site inspection, Paine also recommends doing a preconference meeting to get to know the banquet staff, the A/V team, etc., noting "they're the people who are going to make or break your event."

Site-selecting for accessibility and safety

It's also important to evaluate a destination in terms of both accessibility and safety.

"If you have a program that you know has a lot of ADA or accessibility needs, it's critical for you to go to the hotel and make sure that the ramps are there and it has enough ADA-compliant rooms to meet your needs," said Paine.

It's equally important to find out the accessibility requirements of attendees: Put those questions in the registration form, so the hotel can be prepared.

The meetings industry is definitely a small world, and using your connections as a resource to get the inside scoop on how safe a city feels also can be extremely useful.

"We keep our relationships open with a lot of different meeting planning companies because obviously we can't be in every city and know every hotel everywhere in the world," Paine said.

In addition to your internal network, Juarez suggested reaching out to convention and visitor bureaus and industry associations like Meeting Professionals International with local chapters, as well as using destination management companies if any element of an event is off-site.

Incorporating local culture

Another factor to consider during the site-selection process is the local culture.

"We're definitely in an experience-driven society where everybody wants to see new places," said Paine. "A lot of companies are looking to involve local organizations and… you can bring in some of those elements that really give a 'wow' effect to the meeting."

Even if the agenda doesn't allow for an off-site excursion, planners can partner with nearby businesses, farmers, artists or musicians to give the conference an authentic touch.

"It'll enhance the attendee experience, but then it will be great for your own publicity because people are going to post about it, they're going to talk about it," she said.

First class on a budget

Everybody is trying to cut costs nowadays and to do so, flexibility could be the key.

"[Have participants] arrive a day earlier, or arrive a day later," Juarez advised. "You will be very, very rewarded by hotels and you will see the difference in pricing."

Planners also can connect with CVBs to inquire about any rebates or special incentives they might have, and if multiple offers can be bundled together.

Before signing a contract, make sure that what you expect to pay aligns with what the actual costs will be.

"Your food-and-beverage minimum can be $100,000, but when you really start putting in the menu items from the hotel, you might not be able to feed your people for less than $150,000," said Paine.

Once the pricing is figured out, get those numbers set in stone so that there are no surprises once you're locked in.