What To Consider When Selecting Conference Facilities

Photo courtesy of amy_kearns on flickr

Your conference facility is the heart of your meeting.  It’s what the attendees will remember, the good, the bad and the ugly. And it will always, always definitely be remembered. Especially if problems arise and things don’t go as planned. And as we know the best laid plans…

All of us have a number of items on our “needs” and our “wants” lists that we think should be included when shopping for the perfect conference facilities.  You are not alone. Every meeting planner I have worked with has had a specific wish list of conference needs that, when booking conference  and meeting facilities, they want included. And more times than not planners will insist they be part of the deal before they will sign on the dotted line.

What to Remember When Choosing Conference Facilities…

Conference Facilities and conference room facilities… What are you looking for?

A meeting planner’s list of needs and wants can be long and involved.  The list can include assignment of a specific conference services manager, the number of break out rooms required, the location of general session rooms, union or non-union venue, over all layout of the hotel & conference facilities,  in house suppliers utilized and on and on the list can, and will, go.

With so many boundaries, it is important to look at the big picture and weigh the conference facility with the actual needs and wants of the meeting. Take the time to really understand what your meeting needs are and what is important to the overall success of the meeting.

Conference Facilities … Compromise and Negotiate…

Photo courtesy of Froggymay on flickr

After you’ve taken the time and opportunity to determine the scope of the conference and what the genuine needs are. Once you know what is available, and of course what is included at the conference facilities you have short listed, you will be able to compromise on your list(s) based on what is actually best for the conference. It can sometimes be humbling but it is always important to compare what the real needs are with the wants, as they are almost always different.

You will then be in the prime position to negotiate, looking at what the hotel conference  facilities offer and what you require for the success of the conference. These days your salesperson at the conference facility should have the power to add, to move around and to replace what is included in the proposed package. Negotiate the terms that you want and that are best for your conference.

So don’t be shy, speak up, take the time to really look at what you want and let it be known. We won’t always get everything we want but we can get more than we think. As a meeting planner once told me, Success is in the Details…