By Lee Campbell, account manager
As simple as it sounds, writing a Request for Proposal properly can save time and offer invaluable information to a vendor who is trying to gather information in offering services that fit your needs. When providing thorough information, it gives the vendor knowledge of your organization which helps them understand your overall objectives.
The following are items that should be included within your preferred spreadsheet document of request to ensure a respectful and fair quote for hotel services:
- Provide basic organization information
- Full association name and acronym
- Address
- Website address
- All appropriate phone numbers
- Offer specific days or patterns of flexibility for dates
- Establish attendee attendance numbers
- Offer sleeping room requirements
- Day pattern
- Room type needs
- Number of rooms for each peak night
- Total rooms requested
- Offer a tentative schedule of events
- List by day
- Include event names
- Basic room setup requirements
- Concessions (Desires of the organization)
- What are your “Must Haves”
- Keep in mind for negotiation:
- What would you “Like to Have”
- What are your “Tradables”
- Keep in mind for negotiation:
- Request a rebate of each room sold back to the master account
- Request a commissionable rate back to your organization
- What are your “Must Haves”
- Offer historical information
- Dates of past events
- City locations of past events
- Facility used of past events
- Total sleeping room pick up
- Total registered attendees
Using this basic format in providing information to a hotel vendor will save time and decrease the amount of back and forth questions asked as they put together a proposal that will be a fair start to negotiating a final agreement. Remember, everything is negotiable!
Want to know more about association management? Contact us at info@imiae.com to find out more about what IMI Association Executives can do for your organization.