Black Meetings and Tourism

Black Meetings & Tourism June/July 2009 : www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com scenarios for the hotelier and her client. She's not afraid to ask for what she wants. For example, often the supplier will hand a meeting planner menus with a set of prices. McArthur almost never accepts the menus, instead giving the hotel what her groups need and the amount she's willing to spend. For larger groups she's often asked the hotel to throw in the cost of an opening reception and her group will pick up the tab for dinner. McArthur has also had success negotiating down room rates and eliminating those annoying fees like resort taxes. She was quick to point out in today's marketplace food and beverage costs are almost as high as room rates and she is not afraid to ask for some breaks in this area as well, "there's a big- ger margin for negotiation here," McArthur says. Another area of cost savings for McArthur is audio and visual equipment. She has a couple of companies in her hip pocket that can bring in equipment for a quarter of what a typical hotelier might charge. If the supplier does- n't work with her she won't hesitate to make her own arrangements. Bland also mentioned she has a phenomenal list of vendor resources as well as some of her own personal resources to drive down costs. For example, she has a laser printer that she's donated to a group on more than one occasion to cut printing and duplication costs. Bland has a fixed pricing model in place with her vendors. Fixed pricing allows for better cost controls. Many of McArthur's large corporate clients feature what she termed "high volume movement" attendees. People like doctors and lawyers who might not all arrive on the same day for an event or need to make multiple stops or frequent itinerary changes. When it comes to high volume air travel, she usually outsources this task to a travel agent, who understands the nuances of travel and reservations. It also helps if the travel agent is a high vol- ume agent who might be able to negotiate or at least find better rates. The associations she represents have smaller budgets than her corporate clients. For these clients she will negotiate directly with the air carrier saving somewhere between five and ten percent as compared to the typical air travel arrange- ments. On the facilities front, Bland has often used venues other than those provided by a hotel, especially government facili- ties where available. She has found the pricing much better in many cases. Haymore, Bland and McArthur all mentioned the impor- tance of working with the local convention and visitors bureau. The mission of the CVB and the supplier are some- what different allowing the CVB to use their leverage to solve problems or negotiate better terms. In closing, solicit the consul of your fellow professionals and share ideas. In tough economic times knowledge will help you weather the Perfect Storm. 38

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