Conference and banquet Charleville Cork
Negotiate your way to a great conference venue or meeting place…..
Alternative meeting space Carrick Cineplex
There are great deals to be found in Event Venues in Ireland right now, so it is the perfect time to book a conference meeting or event . There is great value for money to be got in arranging conferences, meetings or events, hotels and venues are willing to negotiate their rates, however, do remember that it needs to work for both sides, if you negotiate too much and leave tight margins for the hotel, servicing of your event may suffer.
Finding the right venue is time consuming, so if you are time short – you can outsource it to a venue finder for free…. and/or follow this advice which has been gained after many years of working in the industry.
Conference Venue options Cork
• Don’t accept the first rate quoted, ask is that the “rack rate” or your best rate and see what is on offer.
• Weekend conferences tend to be better value if you are booking a business hotel. Otherwise you will run into the problem of not being able to book a Friday or Saturday because of wedding bookings.
• Generally book off peak – January and February, March if booking in a tourist area, on a Monday at any venue or during the summer for business hotels.
• You will have most negotiating power on the meeting room rental if there are sufficient tea/coffee breaks, meals and such other revenue generating opportunities for the venue.
Try meeting in a cinema!
• Be clear from the beginning as to what you require, give as much detail as possible so that you can get an accurate quote, there is nothing worse than getting a surprise add on to the bill because every detail was not communicated – for example is the screen and projector included??
• If you book a number of events throughout the year, let the venue know, if you consolidate your conference or event bookings with the one venue you will have more negotiating power.
• If you have accommodation needs, even less than 10 rooms, be sure to communicate that. Hotels have larger profit margins on selling their guestrooms over food margins.�
• Drink is the next best profit margin for a hotel, so if your crowd will enjoy a few drinks in the hotel, make sure to let them know!
• A great way to encourage more networking at an event is to arrange a drinks reception the night before or after the event, perhaps get it sponsored. Venues will look favourably on this as it is a great revenue generator for them.
Finding the right venue is paramount to any event, even though you may be planning a conference or event on a budget, if you get the venue wrong, the event will not be as effective, will not lead to the desired result and so be a waste of the valuable event budget.
There will be more tips next post!
If found this article of interest, you should check out the following articles –
How to arrange a conference on a shoe string budget!
How to decide on the best set up style for your conference
For tips and advice on venues in Ireland, feel free to contact me -
Ciara Feely
Venue Finder
www.FindaConferenceVenue.com
Ciara <at> Find a conference venue <dot> com.
353 (0) 26 21015 (Ireland)
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Does anyone have any more tips on negotiating with hotels or venues for Conferences, Meetings or events??
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