Featuring insights from GoGather CEO Brian Kellerman and Hopskip CEO Sean Whalin
In today’s fast-moving events landscape, delivering standout experiences requires more than good logistics—it requires strategic thinking, creativity, and strong partnerships. During our recent webinar, Sean Whalin, Co-founder and CEO of Hopskip, sat down with Brian Kellerman, Co-Founder and CEO of GoGather, to explore what today’s most successful planners are doing differently.
From choosing the right venue to navigating real-time challenges, this conversation was packed with practical takeaways for anyone responsible for planning events that truly resonate.
Start With the “Why”
As Brian put it, every memorable event starts with purpose. Getting leadership buy-in early ensures the event aligns with broader business goals. When planners have clarity on why the event is happening, they can design moments that feel intentional and drive real connection.
Venue = Experience
Sean and Brian emphasized that the venue does more than check boxes—it sets the tone. The right venue reinforces your goals, meets logistical needs, and elevates the overall experience. It’s not just about space—it’s about the vibe. Does it match the energy you’re trying to create?
Design With Humans in Mind
With in-person events making a strong comeback, attendees crave more than just sessions—they want connection. Brian shared how thoughtful programming, unexpected moments, and time for networking all contribute to events that feel human and unforgettable.
Relationships Matter (a Lot)
Great events don’t happen in a vacuum. Sean and Brian underscored the value of strong relationships, especially with your venue partners and local vendors. Those trusted relationships become your secret weapon when challenges pop up (and they will).
Stay Flexible, Stay Informed
Even the best-laid plans hit snags. Brian shared how coming to the table with multiple options helps leaders stay flexible. Understanding venue logistics deeply and leaning on trusted partners can keep your event on track, no matter what gets thrown your way.
Think Beyond the Ballroom
Attendees remember how an event felt. That means thinking beyond the agenda about how attendees will move, gather, and unwind. Whether building in local flavor or creating inviting spaces to recharge, every detail matters when designing for engagement.
Lean Into Community
Brian closed by saying, “Don’t go it alone.” Whether you’re new to planning or a seasoned pro, tapping into your community—peers, partners, platforms like Hopskip—can surface creative ideas and help you stay ahead of the curve. Kellerman encourages planners to lean into their community for support.
He observes that many event planners naturally tend to work independently, but he advises, “Build that community. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.” Reaching out to partners, peers, and industry experts can lead to innovative solutions and enhance event outcomes.
Conclusion
From aligning stakeholders to sourcing the perfect venue, today’s most impactful events are rooted in clarity, creativity, and collaboration. At Hopskip, we’re proud to support planners with tools that simplify sourcing, streamline communication, and help turn vision into reality.
To learn more about GoGather and connect with industry leaders like Brian Kellerman, visit gogather.com and engage with them on social media platforms.
This is a guest post by Barbara Dunn, Attorney & Meeting Industry Expert. This article shall not be considered legal advice. Readers are advised to consult their legal counsel.
So we all have them – “pet peeves” – that is. They are the things that drive us crazy, though we often don’t want to admit them to others. Well, when it comes to hotel contracts, I have developed a certain set of pet peeves that have grown in length and importance over the years.
The following is a sampling of those pet peeves, what they are, why they are important, and how to avoid them.
Why Consistent Terminology Matters in Your Hotel Contracts
Is it a “contract” an “agreement,” or a “letter” – at the end of the day, it does not matter what you call the document – what matters is what the document says.
Does the document include the key terms (“material”) – dates, room block, rates, etc. – and did the parties mutually agree on those terms? Assuming those elements (along with some other legal requirements — capacity to contract, consideration, etc.) are met, you have a legally binding document regardless of what it is called.
However, when the document is “named” (typically in the introduction paragraph), that name should be used throughout the document. So once a “contract”, always a “contract”, once an “agreement”, always an “agreement”, etc. I also recommend that once a term is defined, it should be used with a capital letter, e.g., “this Group Sales Agreement (“Agreement”) is dated….” Then, thereafter, in the document, it should be referred to as “Agreement” vs. “agreement”. Similarly, references to the “group” and to the “hotel” should also be used consistently and, once defined, used with a capital letter as well, such as “XYZ Company (“Group”)” and “the Palm Tree Hotel (“Hotel”).”
While this pet peeve may seem “trivial”, there certainly is the possibility that failing to use terms consistently can expose the parties to interpretations which were not intended.
This is particularly troublesome when it is likely that the people who negotiate the hotel contract may not be the same people when it’s time to perform the contract. If a term such as “group” is used inconsistently, for example, it opens up the possibility of the contracting group arguing that the “group” is really not the “contracting group” and, therefore, whatever obligation in the contract is not their responsibility.
Fortunately, a global search and replace feature easily avoids this pet peeve when preparing the document. But nothing substitutes for careful proofreading before the contract is signed!
How Sloppy Drafting Can Lead to Costly Contract Disputes
Wrong terms, wrong names, wrong dates – all of which I see too often in contracts. For example, if the hotel is issuing a new contract for a group and is basing it on another group’s contract, all references to the other group’s name should be updated to the new group. While some might say that we all meant that it was “this group” and not the “other group” when push comes to shove, the parties who negotiated the contract have moved on to different jobs long ago. Now, what was understood as what the parties meant was that they were arguing about it before a judge or an arbitrator.
Also, dates are often listed incorrectly – sometimes they are missing a month, day, or year, list a date from a previous contract, or include a date that has already expired.
Again, careful proofreading is critical to ensuring that the parties understand the key dates under the contract, such as the cut-off date.
Also, it is all too common to see gaps in dates in cancellation fee schedules. So, for example, if the cancellation fee schedule provided that the cancellation fee between the date of signing and July 31, 2020 was 25% of total room revenue and then the cancellation fee between December 31, 2020 and June 30, 2021 was 50% of total room revenue, what is the cancellation fee for the “gap period”, i.e., August 1, 2020 – December 30, 2020? I doubt the parties intended that there would be no cancellation fee during that time period, but this type of sloppy drafting exposes the hotel to the group making that very argument.
The Importance of Properly Syncing Amendments with Agreements
A term often used incorrectly in the contracting process is “addendum.”
An addendum is a document which is attached to a contract (at the time the contract is signed) which provides further detail as to an item referenced in the contract.
For example, under “Function Space”, the contract may state that the hotel is obligated to provide the group with such function space as outlined in Addendum A to this contract. Then, Addendum A details the dates, times, room names, room sets, function type, and any fees. If, after the parties sign the contract, they want to make a change to the contract, the proper term for the “change document” is an “amendment” — not an “addendum.”
Setting aside my pet peeve on the terminology, the real issue is that when a contract is amended, the parties often do not properly amend all applicable provisions in the contract. For example, if the group reduces its room block, the amendment likely needs to include more than just the new room block. It will need to include references to all other provisions in the contract that were tied to the original room block, e.g., room block attrition and total room revenue. So if the minimum room block was listed as an exact number (let’s say 780 – the hotel is giving the group a 20% cushion for slippage) and the room block is reduced, the new minimum room block should be listed instead of 700 (the new minimum based on the 20% slippage. Otherwise, the group is bound to 780 as its minimum room block for purposes of attrition.
I had a client change the dates of its meeting – pushing the meeting three months ahead of the original meeting dates. The parties signed an amendment to the contract as to the new dates and room block, but they failed to amend the cancellation fee schedule which included dates based on the original meeting dates. As fate would have it, the group then canceled their meeting and a dispute arose over whether the cancellation fee was truly based on the original meeting dates (which would mean the group would pay a larger cancellation fee) or whether it was understood that those dates should have been adjusted as well with the date change. This dispute could have been avoided altogether with a proper review of the contract.
Bottom line, when amending a contract, look closely at each provision in the contract and ask yourself whether the change(s) being made will impact that particular provision. If so, that provision should be updated and included in the amendment.
Beware the “Dangling Counteroffer”
Many of you probably remember grade school grammar class and the dreaded “dangling participle”. Well, I now often refer to what appears to be a contract but is really as counteroffer as a “dangling counteroffer”.
So how does this happen?
It happens when the parties are busy negotiating the contract and fail to recognize that the document offered by the hotel and the document signed by the group are not a “mirror image” (identical) to one another.
Remember Contracts 101, an offer has to be accepted on the exact terms it was made – otherwise, it is a counteroffer that needs to be accepted on the exact terms on which it was made.
For example, the hotel sends the group a signed contract, and the group makes handwritten changes to the contract, initials, and dates for each change, and signs the contract. The hotel receives the document back but never countersigns it — so essentially, it has not accepted the group’s counteroffer.
Silence is not acceptance.
What likely occurs is that the hotel sees the group’s changes and determines that they are acceptable to the hotel without communicating that to the group.
Many years ago, I had a client who had the exact same thing happen to them.
Signed contract from a hotel.
The group changed room blocks, rates, and other provisions.
Signed it and sent it back to the hotel.
Then, never heard back from the hotel.
Years went by, and the parties saw one another at various conferences, all the while stating that they were looking forward to meeting at the hotel.
Then, one year out, a new board of directors comes on for the group, and they determine that they don’t want to have their meeting at the hotel and instead want to move their meeting to another hotel – thereby raising the question, “How much is the cancellation fee?.” When I received the “contract” in order to answer this question, I noted right away that the parties did not have a contract: they had a dangling counteroffer.
The hotel never countersigned the contract.
So we took the position that the group was “withdrawing its counteroffer” and gave notice to the hotel. The hotel challenged the group and sought cancellation fees, which it claimed were due under the contract. However, the hotel could not enforce those damages because there was no contract. The parties resolved the dispute, but ultimately, if challenged, a judge or arbitrator would likely review the facts and take the position that the parties “believed” they had a contract and that “belief” was enough to entitle the hotel to monetary damages for the group’s cancellation. Still, those damages would likely be much less than the cancellation fees listed in the hotel contract if it had been a true contract.
Turning One-Way Street Provisions into Two-Way Agreements
Hotel contracts are often fraught with provisions such as “hotel reserves the right to…..reassign function space, raise prices, reduce the room block, etc.” Essentially, it’s a one-way street – the hotel has the unilateral right to do something to the group without the group’s permission.
So, the goal is to revise all “one-way street” provisions to “two-way street” provisions by changing provisions such as “reserves the right to reassign group’s function space” to “the hotel may reassign group’s function space if the group gives the hotel consent to do so.”
The key with any change is to have the mutual agreement of the parties, but if the contract allows for a one-way street, that one-way street is enforceable.
Why Handwritten Changes on Contracts Can Put Your Event at Risk
Last, it should go without saying that my top pet peeve is handwritten changes on a contract.
While handwritten changes, if done properly, may be enforceable, the likelihood is that they are not enforceable.
Why?
Because often the handwritten changes are not countersigned by the hotel (thereby becoming a dangling counteroffer as noted above) or the changes are illegible (and the person who made the changes no longer works for the group).
The bottom line is that if you have handwritten changes, ask that the contract be updated to reflect them. The goal is to have one clean contract that both parties can follow and enforce.
So, the next time you review a hotel contract, put your organization in a good position by avoiding these pet peeves of mine.
Barbara Dunn is a lawyer and trusted advisor to meeting professionals. With more than three decades of experience, Barbara helps her clients navigate negotiations and finalize effective contracts for their meetings and events. Barbara is the owner of her own law practice, Barbara Dunn Law PLLC, following her tenure as a capital partner at the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg. Barbara can be reached at barbara@barbaradunnlaw.com
This is a guest post by Barbara Dunn, Attorney & Meeting Industry Expert. This article shall not be considered legal advice. Readers are advised to consult their legal counsel.
Mind your manners.
That is a statement that many parents say to their children as they are growing up and learning how to interact with people. Yet, with almost a daily dose of news involving sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior by individuals, many organizations have begun to consider whether they need a code of conduct to avoid problems at their meetings. The issue is whether this reminder to “mind your manners” will effectively prevent individuals from engaging in bad behavior during meetings and, if they do, provide a clear path of action for the organization sponsoring the meeting.
While a code of conduct will not prevent individuals from engaging in inappropriate behavior, it does serve to set the tone for the meeting. As such, it is a good idea for organizations to consider developing one.
The Impact of Alcohol & Substance Use at Professional Events
At the outset, it is important to note that among the many reasons meeting attendees engage in inappropriate or bad behavior at meetings is that they are consuming alcoholic beverages during the meeting and related events. The more alcohol the individual consumes, the more likely the individual will engage in inappropriate or risky behavior.
This cause and effect has presented many challenges to organizations over the years.
Do they stop serving alcohol at their meetings? Or limit the amounts of alcohol served? Or simply have cash bars? These are all questions that an organization must consider.
While alcohol may lower a person’s inhibitions and make people feel more comfortable networking with others, the risks to that person, to other people, and to the organization are great. As such, every organization should evaluate its risk regarding liquor liability and related issues.
In addition to alcohol, many states now permit the recreational use of marijuana. This legalization may cause people who may not have otherwise tried marijuana to try it for the first time and, as such, cause that person to engage in inappropriate or risky behavior. Here again, any organization sponsoring a meeting in a state that has legalized the recreational use of marijuana must consider its effect on attendees’ conduct.
Regardless of whether inappropriate behavior is caused by alcohol, marijuana, or other factors, there is no place in meetings for such behavior.
8 Essential Components of an Effective Meeting Code of Conduct
The following are considerations for an organization in developing a code of conduct for its meetings:
1. What is the purpose of the meeting?
The organization should communicate the purpose of its meeting on its website and in all materials relating to the meeting. It is of key importance to highlight the professional nature of the meeting.
2. What is the expected behavior during the meeting and related functions?
The expected behavior should be framed based on the meeting’s stated purpose. For example, if the meeting’s stated purpose is to create a professional environment for networking and marketing opportunities, then the expected behavior should be consistent with this purpose.
3. What is the expected dress for the meeting?
It is important to be specific in terms of what types of dress is expected and dress which is not acceptable.
4. What if an individual engages in inappropriate behavior?
The code should provide that the organization will address instances of inappropriate behavior appropriately.
5. What if an attendee is the victim of inappropriate behavior?
The code should address the method for reporting instances of inappropriate or bad behavior. Some organizations may want to consider having an “ombudsman” person or desk to make it easy for people to report any concerns.
6. What is the process for reporting, reviewing, and addressing complaints of inappropriate behavior?
The process should be referred to in the code but then expanded for staff so that everyone knows what to do when they see people engaged in inappropriate behavior or have it reported to them. Of utmost importance is to ensure confidentiality and due process. The organization should have its legal counsel to draft or to review this process.
7. What are the repercussions on an individual who has engaged in inappropriate behavior?
The code should state that individuals who engage in inappropriate behavior will be subject to removal from the meeting without refund and possible prohibition from attending future meetings.
8. How will the organization communicate and/or address inappropriate behavior to other attendees, its stakeholders, and the public?
This is an important aspect of the code, which should be detailed to the organization’s staff. This includes social media postings, other meeting announcements, and the organization’s website.
So when it comes to minding your manners, a little coaching and teaching now and then doesn’t hurt. Organizations should be proactive when working to avoid instances of inappropriate behavior rather than being reactive following occurrences of such behavior.
When in doubt, always mind your manners!
Barbara Dunn is a lawyer and trusted advisor to meeting professionals. With more than three decades of experience, Barbara helps her clients navigate negotiations and finalize effective contracts for their meetings and events. Barbara is the owner of her own law practice, Barbara Dunn Law PLLC, following her tenure as a capital partner at the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg. Barbara can be reached at barbara@barbaradunnlaw.com
How a Midwestern city is reshaping the meetings and conventions experience from the heart out. This is a guest blog post by Visit Milwaukee.
A Game-Changing Destination at the Center of It All
If you want to understand what’s happening in Milwaukee right now, start with Baird Center. Fresh off a $456 million expansion, this isn’t just a bigger convention center — it’s a bold statement about what it means to meet in the Midwest. The footprint has doubled. The skyline views from the rooftop ballroom stretch for miles. And the smart, sustainable design choices — from bird-friendly glass to a solar roof and stormwater systems — tell you everything about the city’s forward-thinking spirit.
But what makes Baird Center feel especially Milwaukee is how deeply personal it is to the city itself. The We Energies Foundation Art Collection that lines its walls is more than décor; it’s a love letter to the community. Fifty-six original works from mostly Wisconsin-based artists give attendees a crash course in the soul of Milwaukee without ever leaving the building. It’s an experience layered with authenticity — an unexpected, but entirely fitting, blend of art, architecture, and hospitality.
And while the stats are impressive — over 1.3 million square feet of total space, 52 breakout rooms, and a rooftop terrace built to wow — what’s most exciting is what this venue represents: a city that is proudly owning its place on the national stage, not by trying to be somewhere else, but by doubling down on what makes Milwaukee, well, Milwaukee.
A Downtown That Delivers More Than a Meeting
Of course, meetings don’t end at the convention center doors. In Milwaukee, they spill out into a downtown that feels made for exploration. This is a city with an almost cinematic walkability — where you can leave your breakout session and, within minutes, be strolling along the RiverWalk, catching live music, or tucking into a James Beard-nominated restaurant. And you’ll quickly notice: people here aren’t in a rush to get somewhere else. They’re already exactly where they want to be.
This is a city of lake views and local beer gardens, of neighborhood corner taverns and rooftop cocktail bars. It’s a place where the dining scene surprises first-time visitors with its bold creativity — the same scene that wowed Top Chef during Season 21’s filming here. And it’s a city with serious sports energy, where the buzz of a Bucks game or the vibe of a Brewers tailgate easily becomes part of your event’s story.
Milwaukee’s compact downtown is dense with possibility — over 200 locally owned restaurants, 15 museums, and a cultural calendar packed year-round. But perhaps most importantly for planners, it’s easy. Easy to get to (just 10 minutes from the airport). Easy to navigate (no car required). And easy to fall in love with.
A City on the Rise, with Its Heart Intact
Milwaukee isn’t just having a moment — it’s building momentum. The expanded Baird Center is just the beginning. New luxury hotels like The Trade (directly across from Fiserv Forum) bring fresh accommodations to the city’s thriving Deer District. New venues like FPC Live — a 4,500-capacity music space coming in 2025 — and the Iron District MKE — a transformative soccer stadium and entertainment development slated for 2026 — point to a city that’s investing in both its future and its visitors.
But what meeting planners find here isn’t just infrastructure — it’s partnership. This is a city where collaboration is second nature. Where the CVB team knows the local vendors by name and where community pride runs so deep, locals genuinely want your event to succeed.
Milwaukee has proven its chops on the national stage — hosting the DNC in 2020 and the upcoming RNC in 2024 — but it hasn’t lost its neighborhood soul. It’s big-city energy with Midwestern heart. It’s a destination that delivers the experience today’s attendees want: authentic, vibrant, creative, and connected.
Bring your meeting to Milwaukee, and you’re not just booking a venue — you’re tapping into a city on the rise, with its heart exactly where it’s always been.
New Hotels & Venues in Milwaukee Meeting Planners Should Know
Milwaukee’s growth isn’t slowing down. In fact, it’s accelerating.
Recent & upcoming highlights:
The Trade Hotel (Autograph Collection): Luxe accommodations across from Fiserv Forum and steps from Baird Center.
FPC Live Venue (Opening 2025): A 4,500-capacity concert space bringing new energy to the Deer District.
Iron District MKE (Opening 2026): An 8,000-seat USL soccer stadium, hotel, dining, and retail — future home of the Milwaukee Pro Soccer Club.
Easy to Get Here. Easier to Love.
Milwaukee’s location makes it a smart choice for regional and national meetings alike.
90 minutes north of Chicago
Within a day’s drive for 1/3 of the U.S. population
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) just 10 minutes from downtown
35+ nonstop routes
Amtrak service right to downtown
Lake Express ferry connecting to Michigan
A walkable, bike-friendly, compact downtown
Translation: Attendees will spend less time commuting and more time connecting.
Why Meeting Planners Keep Coming Back
The secret sauce in Milwaukee? The people.
Milwaukee is a city where hospitality comes naturally, where event professionals work as true partners, and where meeting planners can count on dedicated, experienced support from Visit Milwaukee’s team every step of the way.
Services include:
Venue sourcing & site visit coordination
Off-site activity planning
Marketing assets & attendee promotions
Transportation & logistics guidance
Local vendor connections
10 Reasons to Meet in Milwaukee
Let’s recap — why is Milwaukee the Midwest meeting destination to watch?
The newly expanded, sustainability-forward Baird Center
A convention campus with multiple unique venues
A walkable, safe downtown brimming with restaurants & attractions
A nationally recognized food & beverage scene
Easy regional access & excellent airlift
Hotels for every style & budget
Art, culture & lakefront beauty baked into the experience
Sports, music & entertainment around every corner
Neighborhoods full of local stories & authentic charm
A CVB team that treats your event like their own
Milwaukee isn’t just ready for your next meeting — it’s ready to exceed expectations.
This city is redefining what it means to meet in the Midwest: bold, creative, connected, and completely unforgettable.
This is a guest post by Barbara Dunn, Attorney & Meeting Industry Expert. This article shall not be considered legal advice. Readers are advised to consult their legal counsel.
With much focus on provisions such as services, fees, cancellation, and force majeure, many event professionals may be bleary-eyed by the time they reach the end of the contract. Yet often at the end of the contract are the “boilerplate” provisions which could be very costly to the group. As such, it is critical for event professionals to watch out for these clauses and know which issues to flag and to address in contract negotiations.
Prevailing Party Attorney’s Fees
The general rule in the United States is that each party pays for its attorney’s fees unless they agree otherwise in a contract. In contracts, the other party will often include language addressing the payment of attorney’s fees, such as the following:
“In the event of any dispute involving this Agreement, the prevailing party is entitled to recover its attorney’s fees and costs from the non-prevailing party.”
While this language may seem innocuous, its effect is anything but innocuous. Though softly worded, the provision has a significant impact: the losing party pays the winning party’s attorney’s fees and costs in addition to its own attorney’s fees and costs. This provision often rears its head in settlement negotiations, with the other side saying that they will be the winner, and therefore, if a settlement is not reached, the other side will be paying double the amount of attorneys.
Documents Incorporated by Reference
So the contract is the contract, and the group can be bound by nothing else—correct?
That statement may, in fact, be false if there are provisions in a contract that incorporate other documents merely by referring to such documents by reference. Often, the language will be included as follows:
“The terms of this Contract, together with the policies and procedures of the Facility, shall constitute the parties’ entire agreement.”
Again, while this provision may appear innocuous on the surface, its impact can be costly for the group.
When I see this type of provision, I will frequently ask my clients whether they have received a copy of the Facility’s policies and procedures. If they have not, I recommend they do so and ensure that they agree with all terms included in the document because the group will be bound to its terms by referring to the policies and procedures as indicated above. If the group agrees with the terms, then the language can remain in the contract; however, the group will want to modify the provision to state “the policies and procedures of the Facility as attached” so as to ensure the group will not be bound to modifications to the provision.
One follow-up point on this issue is that when I ask whether the event professional has received a copy of the policies and procedures, many event professionals will tell me that they asked the Facility for a copy. The salesperson told them that the policies and procedures are not written but instead determined by the Facility on a case-by-case basis. If that is the case, the provision should be removed as the group cannot be bound to terms of which it has not been notified.
Controlling Documents
While the parties work hard to ensure that the contract fully addresses all issues that could arise, it is often necessary for the parties to later sign an addendum to the contract that modifies the contract provisions. These modifications often relate to key items such as the room block, rates, or function space.
It is anticipated that when these additional documents are signed, their terms will supersede and replace the terms of the contract, yet that may not, in fact, be the case if the contract includes the following provision:
“If there is any inconsistency between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of any addenda, the terms of this Agreement shall control.”
As such, this provision will often set up a battle of the documents. This is especially true if the addenda later states that if there is any inconsistency between the terms of this addendum and the terms of the Agreement, the terms of this addendum shall control. In order to avoid this battle, groups should work to remove the provision noted above and include the language noted in this paragraph in any addendum, which provides that the terms of the addendum will be controlled.
Dispute Resolution
Just as with any happy beginning, organizations and their customers do not often anticipate anything other than a happy ending. Yet, if disputes arise after the contract is signed, any dispute resolution provisions that may be hiding out in the contract’s fine print may prove costly for the group.
While there are many ways to resolve a dispute, many event professionals may not know which method is the best for their organization.
Is litigation, mediation, or arbitration best for the group?
While opinions on which method differ, one thing is certain: each method has its own advantages, disadvantages, and costs. It is important that the group review dispute resolution options with its legal counsel before it agrees to them in the contract. Often, the language in the contract makes the chosen dispute resolution provision the only way of resolving the dispute, such as the following:
“Any disputes arising out of the terms of this Agreement shall be resolved by arbitration according to the Commercial Rules of Arbitration of the American Arbitration Association. The determination of such arbitration shall be final and may be enforced by courts.”
The above provision makes arbitration the only option for resolving disputes, so the group cannot pursue a claim in its local courts or submit it to mediation unless the other party agrees otherwise.
The best way to manage these provisions is to seek direction from the organization’s legal counsel before the contract is signed regarding which dispute resolution method is best for the group.
So the next time your eyes get bleary, and you are eager to gloss over the contract’s fine print, stop and focus on these important provisions. What may be included in them may be costly for the group and waive any savings the group is experiencing in the contract.
Barbara Dunn is a lawyer and trusted advisor to meeting professionals. With more than three decades of experience, Barbara helps her clients navigate negotiations and finalize effective contracts for their meetings and events. Barbara is the owner of her own law practice, Barbara Dunn Law PLLC, following her tenure as a capital partner at the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg. Barbara can be reached at barbara@barbaradunnlaw.com
In today’s competitive hospitality landscape, managing RFPs efficiently can make the difference between thriving and merely surviving. Yet according to our recent webinar poll, 65% of hotels have no reliable way to track who they lost their business to, while sales teams waste countless hours responding to unqualified leads that never convert.
Enter Hopskip—a specialized hotel RFP management platform designed specifically to solve these pain points. Unlike all-in-one event management systems that try to do everything, we focus on doing one thing exceptionally well: streamlining the hotel sourcing process for both properties and planners.
“At Hopskip, we lead the industry with an 80% conversion rate overall of RFPs sourced to booked within the platform,” explains Luke Whalin, Co-founder. This success stems from a difference in our approach: every planner sending RFPs through Hopskip is a paying subscriber, creating a natural quality filter that ensures only serious inquiries reach your sales team.
For hotels looking to optimize their group sales process, increase conversion opportunities, and gain valuable competitive insights, understanding how a dedicated hotel RFP management platform differs from traditional solutions is the first step toward winning more business.
Solving the Top RFP Management Challenges for Hotels
Hotel sales teams face several critical challenges with traditional RFP processes. Let’s explore how a specialized hotel RFP management platform addresses these pain points:
Wasted Time on Unqualified Leads
Unlike platforms that offer free access to planners, Hopskip implements a subscription paywall for all meeting planners. “Every planner sends your hotels an RFP; they are paying an annual subscription,” explains Whalin. That paywall acts as a quality filter.” This ensures that every RFP you receive comes from a planner with serious intent and budget commitment.
No Competitive Intelligence
Hopskip’s Premium features provide immediate visibility into your competitive landscape. For each RFP, you can see which competing hotels received the request, who submitted proposals, and even the average room and F&B rates being offered across all RFPs. This intelligence allows you to position your property strategically rather than guessing at competitive rates.
Mystery of Lost Business
Our poll showed that 65% of hotels can’t track who won business they lost. Hopskip eliminates this blind spot by automatically sharing which property won the business, along with average room rates and F&B estimates from the winning proposal. This valuable insight helps inform future pricing strategies and competitive positioning.
What Makes Hopskip’s RFP Management Platform Different
Hopskip stands apart from traditional RFP platforms in several fundamental ways that deliver clear advantages to hotel partners:
Specialized Focus on Hotel Sourcing
Unlike comprehensive event management systems that tackle everything from registration to attendee management, Hopskip is laser-focused on one thing: being the best at sourcing hotels. This specialization allows for deeper features specifically designed for the unique needs of hotel sales teams and meeting planners engaged in the RFP process.
Exclusive, High-Quality Leads
“We are never free to planners,” emphasizes Whalin. When you get a lead from Hopskip, you know that the planner and their RFP are high-quality and high-converting.”
Even more importantly, these leads are exclusive to Hopskip and do not overlap with other platforms like Cvent, providing a completely new channel for business opportunities.
Key Features That Save Hotels Time and Win More Business
Hopskip’s hotel RFP management platform includes several powerful features designed to streamline operations and increase conversion opportunities:
Comprehensive Hotel Profiles
Create detailed property profiles that pre-populate proposal information. “By building out your space, including the rooms here, not only does the planner see this as a capacity chart on your profile, but when you assign your space, you can do it from a drop-down menu,” explains Whalin. “It’s incredibly quick.”
Unlimited Team Access
Hopskip provides unlimited logins for your entire team at no additional cost. “We do not charge for logins. There’s no reason every single seller shouldn’t have their own login,” notes Whalin.
Real-Time Engagement Notifications
On premium versions, sellers receive immediate notifications when planners actively review their proposals. “The seller assigned to the lead will be notified via email in real-time when the planner reviews their bid,” Whalin explains. When you get that notification, I always recommend that you come into the messenger and shoot them a message because you know they’re actively in Hopskip and reviewing.
Win/Loss Reporting
Gain valuable insights into every piece of business, including who won when you didn’t and the average rates from the winning proposal. This information helps inform future strategies and provides valuable reporting metrics for ownership and management.
The Game-Changing Market Availability Feature
One of Hopskip’s newest features, Market Availability, fundamentally transforms how hotels can engage with RFPs in their market, even when not initially included:
Respectful of Sales Team Bandwidth
Unlike traditional lead generation approaches that require full proposal development for uncertain opportunities, Market Availability allows a quick response. “Something a hotel seller can do in 10 minutes or less. So the hotel seller’s bandwidth is being respected,” Whalin notes.
Strategic Timing for Maximum Impact
The feature integrates seamlessly into planners’ workflow, appearing when they most likely need additional options. “Inevitably, when that planner gets turndowns, they get high rates, or most commonly, stakeholders say to widen the scope. Now they can go down here and say, ‘Oh, the Acme Hotel, never even thought about them. What a great rate, availability, request for proposal.'”
Proven Results
According to Whalin, hotels using this feature have seen “lead generation increases by 87%,” making it a powerful tool for properties in competitive or oversaturated markets.
Getting Started with Hopskip’s Hotel RFP Management Platform
Taking advantage of Hopskip’s hotel RFP management capabilities is straightforward:
Step 1: Complete Your Hotel Profile
The most important first step is building out your comprehensive hotel profile. “Please, everybody, fill out that profile,” emphasizes Whalin. “It’s going to save you so much time responding, make it way easier, and make your profile look how you want it to as well.”
Step 2: Ensure Lead Assignment Processes
Establish clear protocols for lead catchers to assign RFPs to appropriate sales team members.
Step 3: Respond Through the Platform
All proposals must be submitted through Hopskip to maintain the integrity of the process and ensure planners can use the platform’s comparison tools. “If you send the planner a PDF or anything like that, you are highly diminishing your chances of winning the booking and being considered,” warns Whalin.
Step 4: Utilize Available Support
Hopskip provides comprehensive support through its chat feature. “Our live support team is based in North America. They’re open from 8 to 9 Eastern and typically respond in less than a minute,” explains Whalin. This ensures quick resolution to any questions or challenges.
Get Ready to Transform Your RFP Management Approach
In today’s competitive hospitality landscape, hotels need every advantage to maximize group business opportunities. A specialized hotel RFP management platform like Hopskip delivers:
Higher-quality, exclusive RFP opportunities from paying planners
Significant time savings through completing your profile information
Competitive intelligence to inform strategic pricing decisions
Clear visibility into booking outcomes, even when you don’t win
Expanded reach to planners who might otherwise overlook your property
As our poll results showed, 61% of hotels want better budget information from planners, while 65% have no reliable way to track lost business. Hopskip’s focused solution addresses these exact pain points, providing the tools and insights needed to improve your RFP response strategy.
By adopting a specialized hotel RFP management platform designed specifically for the unique challenges of group business development, your property can improve conversion rates, reduce wasted effort on unqualified leads, and gain valuable competitive intelligence that drives strategic decision-making.
Ready to experience the difference a purpose-built hotel RFP management platform can make for your property? Schedule a demo to learn more.
This is a guest post by Barbara Dunn, Attorney & Meeting Industry Expert. This article shall not be considered legal advice. Readers are advised to consult their legal counsel.
Have you ever worried about something happening only to find that it did not happen and something else you did not worry about happened instead?
Whether in life or in your organization’s meetings and events, planning for the unexpected is critical. The approach should be to hope for the best but plan for the worst and hope that because you have a plan, the worst will not happen.
In today’s climate, hotel occupancy is rising, and future business prospects are bright. While we all benefit from a booming meetings industry, this increase in demand with a limited supply of hotels puts organizations at a disadvantage. The unexpected is happening increasingly in today’s seller’s market, and meeting professionals should prepare for those occurrences. Following is a summary of some unexpected occurrences that have affected my group clients.
Shield Your Event from Unexpected Hotel Cancellations
If you are toiling under the assumption that a hotel would never cancel a contracted meeting, that mindset needs to change. There has been a significant increase in hotels canceling on contracted groups in the last few years. Often, the reason for the cancellation is that the hotel will be replacing the group with a significantly more lucrative group with the promise of multiple meetings. Further, many of these cancellations occur very close to the group’s meeting dates, making the search for an alternate hotel more challenging.
The key to preparing for this unexpected event is to include strong language in the hotel contract addressing cancellation by the hotel. Such language would allow the group to recover direct damages (all costs associated with finding an alternate hotel), indirect damages (the second tier fallout from the cancellation, e.g., as a result of the change in hotels, the group loses sponsor), and attorney’s fees – the last two which you only get if it is specified in the contract. Here’s a sample provision:
Cancellation by Hotel – In the event of a cancellation of this Agreement by the Hotel not otherwise permitted under this Agreement, the Hotel shall pay Group for all direct, indirect, and consequential damages, expenses, attorney’s fees, and costs incurred by Group on account of such cancellation including, but not limited to, staff time and travel expenses to secure an alternate location for the Event, incremental room rate and airfare differential, function space rental, and airfare differences, and long-distance telephone, postage and printing costs, attorney’s fees.
If you haven’t included this language in your contracts, do not worry. The law provides for recovery of direct damages in the event of a breach but the group will be able to have more costs covered if this provision is included in the contract.
Secure Room Block Flexibility
Many of you have become accustomed to hotels being willing to increase the group’s room block at the group rate. Those days are definitely gone or are significantly limited. With the hotel likely able to sell rooms at rates higher than the group rates, additional rooms will likely be offered at a higher rate. Legally, the hotel is not required to offer more rooms than contracted at the group rate.
My recommendation to address this unexpected development is to include language in the hotel contract, allowing the group to increase its room block at the group rate. While these rooms will be based on availability and likely be subject to a maximum increase, they will be offered at the group rate. Here’s a sample provision:
“Group reserves the right to increase its room block by up to 10% on a space available basis at the group rate.”
This provision is among those that do not “hurt” to include in a hotel contract if the unexpected occurs.
Prevent Unwanted Function Space Reassignments
After you have done all the research, site visits, and function space layout (with room names included, which is always recommended) for the hotel, the last thing you might expect would be for the hotel to reassign your organization’s function space.
More and more organizations are experiencing this occurrence because the hotel is trying to accommodate other businesses. To make matters worse, most hotel contracts include a provision permitting the hotel to reassign the organization’s function space without their consent.
In order to be in the best position if this reassignment occurs, I recommend organizations ensure that their hotel contract does not include the provision noted above but instead includes a provision that requires the organization’s consent to the reassignment. Here’s a sample provision:
“The Hotel shall not reassign any of the function space listed in the attached Function Space Agenda without the prior written consent of the Group.”
Remember that if you see language that says the hotel will “notify” or “consult” with the organization regarding function space changes, that language is not as strong as “consent” and can leave the group vulnerable to reassignment.
If function space is reassigned regardless of the contract language, organizations should ensure that the alternate space is equal to or better than the contracted space. The hotel will provide financial concessions to offset the organization’s costs and inconvenience.
Contract Clauses for Technology Failures
I often say that today’s “fingernails on a chalkboard” is that the hotel’s wireless Internet service is not working. Many planners have heard complaints about that from attendees with two or three mobile devices that they want to use during the meeting. Yet these breakdowns in wireless Internet service or overcapacity of users/devices often occur, rendering organizations helpless to recover service during the meeting.
I recommend including language in your contract which specifies the bandwidth and capacity of the hotel’s wireless service. The provision would also require the hotel to address service interruptions and accommodate the group for outages promptly. Here’s a sample provision:
“Hotel represents and warrants that its facility, equipment and services meet with Group’s technology requirements and that its wireless Internet service will function in proper order and speed as may be needed by the Group. The Hotel shall also provide industry standard protection for Internet, network (including network segments) and physical IT security to provide reasonable expectations for data confidentiality, privacy, integrity, and availability. Should there be a failure to meet Group’s technology requirements during the Event, Hotel shall work to correct any such problems immediately and at its cost. Any costs incurred by the Group in connection with remedying technology problems shall, at Group’s option, be paid by Hotel or credited to the Master Account.”
From a practical standpoint, I recommend that groups with heavy internet requirements plan ahead for the possibility of an interruption in wireless Internet service and have a backup plan to provide such service if necessary.
Managing Food and Beverage Allergy Risks
With the presence of food allergies on the rise, many organizations often overlook the possibility of food allergies or at least overlook allergies beyond peanut allergies. While each individual is expected to monitor the food they eat at a meeting and ensure such food is free from allergic ingredients, attendees have become accustomed to organizations inquiring about food allergies (which is recommended) and selecting menu items that do not contain these ingredients, far too many organizations do not ask about food allergies or if they ask, they are not prepared to properly accommodate those allergies.
Organizations can include language in their hotel contract to ensure the hotel will assist the group with compliance to address these unexpected allergies. Here’s a sample provision:
“The Hotel shall work with Group to ensure attendees with food allergies are appropriately handled by the Hotel’s catering department. Such assistance includes offering menu selections which avoid specified ingredients, ensuring the food to be served is labeled, and listing the foods ingredients below the food name.”
From a practical standpoint, planners should be prepared on-site if an attendee suffers a food allergy reaction. As with any other medical situation at meetings, the organization should be prepared to respond appropriately and train onsite staff to do the same.
In summary, expect the expected and the unexpected. Plan for common and uncommon issues in your organization’s contracts and undertake practical measures to ensure an expected or unexpected occurrence will be addressed in the best interest of the organization.
Barbara Dunn is a lawyer and trusted advisor to meeting professionals. With more than three decades of experience, Barbara helps her clients navigate negotiations and finalize effective contracts for their meetings and events. Barbara is the owner of her own law practice, Barbara Dunn Law PLLC, following her tenure as a capital partner at the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg. Barbara can be reached at barbara@barbaradunnlaw.com
Do you ever feel like finding the perfect hotel for your next business event is like searching for a needle in a haystack? You’re not alone.
Recently, GoGather CEO Brian Kellerman chatted with Sean Whalin, CEO and co-founder of Hopskip, about how venue sourcing is evolving. Whether you’re a planner, hotel, or sales affiliate, their conversation offers valuable insights for navigating sourcing hotels and venues for events.
The Headaches of Sourcing Hotels for Business Events
Let’s be honest – finding and booking the right venue can be a real pain. Many planners face these challenges daily:
The Scattered Information Problem: There is no single source of truth for venue information. We’re all piecing together options from different sources, relying on what we’ve learned over the years.
Proposal Format Chaos: Why does every hotel chain use a completely different template? Comparing options feels like trying to match apples to oranges.
Spreadsheet Overload: Raise your hand if you’ve spent hours copy-pasting data from proposals into spreadsheets to make sense of your options. (We see you!)
The Client Presentation Scramble: Transforming all that raw data into something presentable for clients or executives? That’s a whole other challenge.
“I think we’ve all been there,” notes Kellerman. “Explaining to stakeholders why one property costs more than another when the proposals look completely different is incredibly frustrating.”
Strategic Contract Negotiation in the Hotel Selection Process
The discussion offered valuable insights for both planners and suppliers on approaching the negotiation phase more strategically:
For Event Planners:
Strategic Shortlisting: After reviewing initial proposals, narrow options to 3-5 properties before investing time in detailed negotiations
Proactive Contract Requirements: Include specific contract language requirements upfront in RFPs to set clear expectations early
Risk Assessment Focus: Pay particular attention to attrition, cancellation terms, and hidden fees that could significantly impact the budget
Complete Cost Visibility: Request fully itemized breakdowns of all charges, including taxes, service fees, and mandatory surcharges
For Hotels and Venues:
Transparency Builds Trust: Properties that provide comprehensive cost breakdowns upfront establish greater credibility
Quality Over Quantity: Detailed, thoughtful proposals stand out compared to minimal responses
Yes, Technology and People Skills Need to Coexist
One of the most refreshing parts of the conversation was how both leaders resist the idea that technology means losing the human touch.
“Technology helps strengthen relationships and create new ones,” Whalin pointed out. “Tech doesn’t replace — we will never replace that human element.”
The sweet spot in venue sourcing seems to be where:
Technology handles the boring, repetitive tasks that drain your energy
Your expertise shines when evaluating the feel of a space and how it fits your event
Digital tools connect you with venues you might have missed otherwise
Your relationships with industry pros (those NSOs, GSOs, CVBs, and DMOs we all know and love) remain as valuable as ever
Think of it this way: technology frees you up to spend more time on the parts of the job that actually need your human touch.
How AI Is Entering the Hotel Sourcing Conversation
The discussion got really interesting when the topic turned to AI (because, let’s face it, what conversation doesn’t include AI these days?). Here’s how artificial intelligence might actually be useful in hotel venue selection:
What AI Could Do For You:
Play fortune-teller with hotel rates: Get estimated prices for markets and seasons before you even send an RFP
Be your contract wingman: Spot those risky clauses and negotiation opportunities that might slip past tired eyes
Compare venues holistically: Look beyond just price to evaluate proposals based on the full picture
Consider the intangibles: Help weigh those “X factors” that sometimes make the difference between a good venue and the perfect one
The good news? Both leaders agreed that AI should help you make better decisions, not replace your judgment. Your expertise isn’t going anywhere.
How to Choose Tech That Actually Helps Your Venue Search
If you’re eyeing new technology for your hotel sourcing process, Whalin offered three simple questions to ask:
Will it support my relationships? Or will it create awkward barriers with the hotel and venue partners you’ve worked hard to build?
Will it actually save me time? Or will I spend more hours learning and maintaining it than I save?
Is the pricing crystal clear? Or are there surprise costs hiding in the fine print?
As Whalin said, “Technology should be an efficiency booster; it should not detract or do the opposite.” That’s a pretty good litmus test for any tool you’re considering.
Who Benefits When Hotel Sourcing Gets Smarter?
The conversation made it clear that everyone wins with better hotel selection technology:
For Event Planners:
Less time wrestling with spreadsheets
More venue options you might have missed otherwise
Better data to back up your recommendations
Client presentations that impress
For Hotels and Venues:
Leads that actually match what you offer
Less time wasted on proposals that go nowhere
Better insights into what your competition is doing
Simpler response processes that free up your sales team
For Sales Organizations:
Clearer visibility into what planners really need
More valuable hotel recommendations
Stronger partnerships with the properties you represent
Real data on what’s working in your market
As Kellerman said, “You get out what you put in.” Whether you’re a planner, a hotel, or a sales organization, thoughtful engagement with new tools pays off for everyone involved.
What’s Next for Hotel Venue Sourcing?
As the conversation wrapped up, both leaders agreed that the future looks brightest for those who blend:
The irreplaceable human touch that builds trust and understanding
Smart technology that eliminates tedious tasks
Data-informed decisions that replace guesswork
Open, honest communication between planners and venues
Kellerman shared a perfect example: his team recently discovered fantastic hotel options in Cabo San Lucas they’d never considered before on Hopskip despite years of experience in the destination. Technology didn’t replace their expertise – it enhanced it.
5 Takeaways to Improve Your Venue Sourcing Right Now
Want to level up your hotel selection process? Here are 5 practical nuggets:
Embrace helpful tech – The right tools can transform your venue search from overwhelming to manageable.
Demand true cost transparency – Get those all-in prices upfront to avoid budget surprises later.
Blend digital and personal – Use technology to handle the data work while you focus on nurturing relationships.
Review contracts strategically – Identify potential issues before they become expensive problems.
Keep an open mind about AI – These emerging tools might help you find your perfect venue match.
Planners who implement these approaches will likely spend less time on administrative tasks and more time creating exceptional events in venues that truly fit their needs.
This is a guest post by Barbara Dunn, Attorney & Meeting Industry Expert. This article shall not be considered legal advice. Readers are advised to consult their legal counsel.
With the continued growth in the size and scope of conferences and trade shows and the trend for organizations to host their conferences and trade shows together, many planners may be finding themselves for the first time having to work with a convention center as a venue rather than holding the conference or trade show at a hotel.
Convention center license agreements are not often “user-friendly” documents to review. Many are quite lengthy and vary from one another.
As most convention centers are owned by governmental or quasi-governmental entities, such as cities, additional constraints, and regulations exist when negotiating such agreements.
While there are a myriad of legal issues surrounding convention center license agreements, the following are my top 6 legal issues to address in convention center license agreements:
1. Confirmation of Space, Dates, Times, and Rates
License agreements should include a detailed summary of the space to be utilized by the organization, including the room names, dates, and times from move-in through move-out. It is important to note that the center may not reassign any of the contracted space without the organization’s prior written consent.
Further, the agreement should also detail the rates for such space. Some centers offer flat fee rates, while others base rates on total square footage. Most offer discounts based on food and beverage expenditures (see 2 below). If the rates are based on total square footage, it is typical to exclude office space and other non-revenue-generating space from such calculations.
2. Exclusive Services
Planners should carefully review which services are exclusive to the center—meaning that those services may only be provided by the center’s vendors. Often, these are safety-related services such as rigging, electrical, and plumbing, but they can also expand into non-safety services such as food and beverage, business center services, computer rentals, and floral.
Planners may find success in negotiating out of exclusives for non-safety services. Note that the organization will need to enter into separate contracts with each vendor. Getting copies of those contracts before signing the convention center license agreement is often helpful.
The Essential Hotel Contract Guide for Event Planners
Master the complexities of hotel contracts with expert guidance from leading hospitality attorneys representing groups and hotels.
Most convention centers offer license fees discounts based on the total amount of food and beverage expenditures, which is an incentive to host food and beverage events at the convention center rather than the hotels.
These provisions are often not clearly written, so planners should take extra care to ensure they fully understand them.
Also, if the group will have sponsors or affiliate groups (“ICWs”) holding food and beverage events at the center, it is important to ensure that any revenue generated by the ICWs is credited toward the group’s total food and beverage expenditure.
4. Insurance
License agreements often contain very detailed insurance requirements that are much different from those required by hotels.
It is important to provide the organization’s insurance broker with a copy of such requirements before the contract is signed to confirm that the organization can meet the requirements.
If not, the organization can try to negotiate changes to these requirements before the contract is signed.
5. Indemnification
While many planners are accustomed to mutual indemnification clauses in hotel contracts, mutual indemnification provisions in convention center license agreements are a rarity.
Often, the centers are restricted from indemnifying the organization due to state or local laws because a governmental or quasi-governmental entity owns the center. Having said that, it is important to always ask that the indemnification clause be made mutual as more and more centers are offering some level of mutual indemnification. Also, it is critical that the organization’s attorney review the indemnification provision, which obligates the organization to indemnify the center.
There are many tricks and traps in such provisions that are important to identify and try to revise, such as “sole” indemnification.
6. Rights of Cancellation
Just as with hotel contracts, there are many reasons why an organization would need to cancel the license agreement.
One reason may be for business reasons – in other words, the organization decides not to host the event. License agreements typically include a sliding scale cancellation fee provision similar to those in hotel contracts. Often, there is no provision that the center re-license the canceled space and, if it does, credit back cancellation fees to the organization, so it is important to ask for such a provision.
It is also important to include the instances in which the organization would need to cancel the license agreement without liability, including force majeure, construction, labor disputes, or unavailability of headquarters hotel(s).
For force majeure, the provision is often one-sided, meaning it only applies if something happens to the convention center—not if the organization or its attendees cannot travel to or use the center. Thus, the provision needs to be mutual and should include a reference to performance being “commercially impracticable” in addition to (or in lieu of) being impossible or illegal.
It is also critical to include a construction clause that requires the center to notify the organization of any planned construction and its plans to ensure there will be no impact on the organization’s meeting. If the parties cannot agree on such plans, the organization should have the right to terminate the license agreement without liability.
Other rights to cancel without liability to address in the license agreement include strikes or labor disputes at the center and the unavailability of the organization’s headquarter hotel(s).
Just as every hotel contract may differ, convention center license agreements are much the same and require careful review by the organization and its legal counsel.
One final note: Many convention centers have very detailed policies and procedures or guidelines for using the building. It is important for the organization to review those along with its decorator to ensure there are no concerns that would impact the conference or trade show.
As always, be careful out there!
Barbara Dunn is a lawyer and trusted advisor to meeting professionals. With more than three decades of experience, Barbara helps her clients navigate negotiations and finalize effective contracts for their meetings and events. Barbara is the owner of her own law practice, Barbara Dunn Law PLLC, following her tenure as a capital partner at the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg. Barbara can be reached at barbara@barbaradunnlaw.com
This is a guest post by Barbara Dunn, Attorney & Meeting Industry Expert. This article shall not be considered legal advice. Readers are advised to consult their legal counsel.
You have probably heard the saying, “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.”
While many meeting and event professionals work hard to anticipate problems that might arise during their meetings and events, the reality is that often, the biggest challenges are those that cannot be anticipated or planned for before the meeting.
What can planners do to plan for the unexpected challenges?
The following are four true stories of challenges faced by meeting and event professionals, how they were resolved, and what could have been done to avoid or minimize the problems that ensued.
No Rooms at the Inn
Just three weeks before its annual meeting, the meeting planner for a professional society learns that the luxury brand hotel scheduled to host her group’s meeting will be undergoing exterior renovations. As a result, the hotel will not be able to provide sleeping rooms to the group.
The hotel proposed to the planner that since it could host the function space, it would transport attendees to and from the hotel by bus to a nearby limited-service hotel. Knowing that the hotel’s proposal was unacceptable, the planner worked to secure rooms and function space in another luxury brand hotel.
Meanwhile, the group advised the original hotel that, due to its inability to provide sleeping rooms as required by the contract, it was in breach of its contract. Thus, all obligations were terminated, and the hotel would be legally responsible for all monetary damages incurred by the group to move its meeting.
Once the alternate hotel was secured, the original hotel was advised of the summary of the monetary damages incurred by the group due to the hotel’s breach. Those damages included the difference in room rates between the original and the alternate hotel, the difference in food and beverage prices between the original and the alternate hotel, costs to notify the attendees of the change in location, costs to update the website, and attorneys fees to review the contract for the alternate hotel. Documentation of such charges was also provided. After reviewing and discussing the damages, the original hotel accepted the summary and paid the group for its damages.
Although this story has a happy ending, the group could have put itself in a stronger position with the original hotel by including a provision in the contract to address the possibility of the hotel’s cancellation. That provision would include a detailed listing of those categories of items and costs for which the hotel would need to pay monetary damages if it could not provide the rooms or function space required by the contract.
The Speaker and The Scandal
Just three days after entering into a contract with a keynote speaker, a nonprofit organization learned on the national news that the speaker was involved in a scandal that alleged that he had engaged in illegal and unethical behavior.
Once the group learned of this development, they quickly assessed their options, including canceling the speaker contract. Unfortunately, the contract did not allow the Group to cancel for such reasons; instead, the group would have to pay a cancellation fee.
After discussing this issue with the speaker’s bureau, the bureau agreed to allow the group to apply its contract and fee toward another speaker. The group accepted this proposal and contracted with another speaker.
While the group was pleased that the speaker bureau understood its concerns and addressed them regardless of what the contract said, the key takeaway from this story is that strong language in the speaker contract should be included regarding the group’s right to cancel due to issues or concerns involving the speaker.
Typically, in speaker contracts, there is a broad right for the speaker to cancel for reasons such as illness, death of a family member, and even “overriding professional obligations,” but this right is one-sided. By converting these provisions to mutual rights, the group will be better positioned to protect its interests with this important investment.
“Under-departed” and The Snowstorm
How does a snowstorm in the northeast affect a meeting in Florida? When the attendees from the meeting before are unable to travel back home to the northeast. That’s just what happened to one group a few years ago. When it and its attendees arrived in Florida for their meeting, they learned that the hotel was not able to provide their sleeping rooms or function space because the group before did not check out of the hotel as scheduled because they were unable to travel home to the northeast.
Once alerted to the problem, the hotel secured sleeping rooms at a neighboring hotel and provided function space to the group. Ultimately, the holdovers could travel home, and the group could move its sleeping rooms back to the hotel.
This issue of being oversold — or, as one hotelier put it to me, “underdeparted” — can be a major disruption to a group’s meeting. And yet despite efforts to put strong language into the hotel contracts, these “underdeparted” situations will still arise from time to time and therefore need to be managed from a practical standpoint outside of the contract.
The Essential Hotel Contract Guide for Event Planners
Master the complexities of hotel contracts with expert guidance from leading hospitality attorneys representing groups and hotels.
Just two weeks before its annual sales meeting, a corporate meeting planner discovered that the ballroom reserved for her company’s general session programs was now reserved for another group and would not be available for her company’s use.
Although the contract did not state that the hotel could move the group’s function space, the hotel made such change anyway.
When challenged on this change, the hotel stated that the change was due to the fact that the group would not be using its minimum room block, and therefore, the hotel found another group who would replace revenue at the hotel.
The alternate space offered by the hotel was inferior in size, location, and amenities.
While the group continued to challenge the hotel’s right to move its function space, it contacted its decorator about the alternate space and whether it could be made to work for the general sessions. Following such discussions, the group determined that the alternate space would work for the group.
Now, the negotiations over what the group would receive from the hotel as a result of this change began.
In addition to paying the group’s additional costs to move the general session (including decor, lighting, and signage), the hotel agreed to waive more than $20,000 in room block attrition fees the group would have been responsible to pay under the contract terms. So, in the end, while not happy about the alternate space, the meeting went from a financial failure to a financial success due in part to the hotel’s change in function space.
There are really two key learning points from this story.
Make sure that hotel and convention center agreements include language which requires the hotel or center to obtain the group’s prior consent to any function space reassignments.
When any challenge such as the double-booking of function space occurs, remember that sometimes that challenge can be a good thing. Often, it gives the group leverage to negotiate concessions which will be financially beneficial to the group.
So, the next time you hear a story from a meeting professional about something going wrong at their meeting, don’t just think that the same thing can’t happen to you — think of what you would do to make sure the problem never arises in the first place.
Barbara Dunn is a lawyer and trusted advisor to meeting professionals. With more than three decades of experience, Barbara helps her clients navigate negotiations and finalize effective contracts for their meetings and events. Barbara is the owner of her own law practice, Barbara Dunn Law PLLC, following her tenure as a capital partner at the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg. Barbara can be reached at barbara@barbaradunnlaw.com