How To NEgotiate The Best Deal With A Hotel
Posted on 18. Jan, 2010 by Debra Thompson Roedl in Seminars
When trying to negotiate the best deal with a hotel for a seminar, the most important element is the ‘man of the house’ or in this case the hotel manager. It is he/she that determines how often the floors should be swept and how his staff should be dressed up. He is the man, and if you’re good he can be your best friend in the negotiation process.
Talk to the manager directly if you really want to fork out the best deal there is. Ignore the marketing executives when negotiating, no mater how badly they insist on taking full control. Show them you mean business.
Try negotiating a deal with the hotel when business is typically slow. This is the time when hotel mangers start to get desperate, especially the inexperienced ones. Take full advantage of this by popping out of the blue with an offer on the table.
Before scheduling an appointment do proper research. Inquire for prices at other similar hotels as well as the target hotel for available packages. Check the hotel’s dealing history; it would be extremely useful if you talked to a company or person who has dealt with the hotel previously. The tips they provide are priceless, which includes key figures you should talk to as well as the do’s and don’ts when dealing with the ‘man’.
When negotiating always remember the small details. Look at the whole picture, from the conference rooms all the way to the catering services. Try to get bargains or discounts when you are negotiating a huge deal, for example, when negotiating for the executive conference room inform them that you will only accept their price statement if only they waive 30 per cent off the catering services.
It is also important to note that the more you pay, the better the deal. Hotel managers would be more accommodating if you held your seminar for a couple of days or more. When they smell business, they get desperate. Holding a seminar for more than one day invariably means that the hotel is bound to receive several more room reservations for the night. Take advantage by pushing them for more waivers, but also act as a customer that is bound to return for more business in the future.
Be sure to evaluate the facilities offered for the seminar. If you find unnecessary equipment like extra microphones or podiums, cancel them off the list. Also, if you find any facilities or equipment which do not live up to your expectations such as dirty toilets or computers which have limited capability demand for a waiver or a free upgrade.
It takes a lot of skills and guts to face the main in charge demanding for the ultimate deal. You’ve got to know the system well, how everything is done and the human characters in the game. Exploit each element in the system and expect a hefty revenue.
