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Thursday, September 29, 2016

What is the value of a hospitality client?


What is the value of a hospitality client?


Hotels and convention centers value customer feedback on the services and experience of each group.  Every convention is different, with varied levels of expectations from the contracting group as well as the services provided by the facility.  Evaluating the event afterwards to assess where there were problems and how to address them in the future is vital if a facility and a Service manager want to perfect their professionalism and enhance their ultimate success.  Billing and the event after it occurred was reviewed, now as a member of the Convention Services team, I have been asked to do a post-convention report evaluating how well our facility provided for the contracted services. 
            Based on the Service Manager’s notes from the event at the Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel, there were several things which went wrong.  Originally we anticipated there would be 2,000 people in attendance, but only 1,500 attendees showed up.  Due to this sudden change the following occurred: total F&B counts dropped for lunch with only 1,280 attendees on Wednesday; the video equipment was not working properly during the luncheon for the speaker on Tuesday; and there was no staff available in the AV office from 9a-11a on Wednesday.
            The original anticipation of 2,000 attendees would have generated a revenue for F&B in the amount of $1,005,000.  Due to the sudden change of 1,500 attendees showing up and only 1,280 attendees on Wednesday for lunch, the new F&B total was only $719,848 (Marriott International, 2014).  The price difference of $212,800 would have to be paid by the client to compensate for the loss of the hotel.  Our hotel’s F&B policy states a $150 labor charge will apply to all catered meal functions of less than 25 guests, but the client will not have to worry about the fee since their total is greater.  However, the policy states the expected number of guest cannot be reduced by more than 10% (200 guests) at the time we receive the guaranteed number of guests, and the client had a difference of 500 attendees.  The guaranteed number of guests for all F&B functions must be submitted to the event management department by 12:00p three (3) business days prior to the date/time of the function.  If the guarantee is not received by the cutoff date/time, we will assume the expected number of guests noted at the top of the BEO or the expected number of guest submitted ten (10) working days prior to the event as the guarantee (Marriott International, 2014, Para. 1).  Since the client did not inform us of this change in advance according to the contract they signed, they have to commit to the policy and still pay the anticipated original price. 
The video equipment was not working properly during the luncheon for the speaker on Tuesday which caused a lot of frustration to the speaker and the attendees who could not understand what was being said.  The AV equipment should have been tested properly prior to the event to see if any malfunctions were present, and the AV technician should have rectified the problem right then and there if it was possible.  If it was not possible to be repaired in-house then an outside vendor should have been called so the clients’ needs were met.  It was very unacceptable and unprofessional on the hotels part in regards to no staff being available in the AV office from 9a-11a on Wednesday, and compensation needs to be given to the client in a credit for the balance owed for F&B. 
In order for these mishaps to not occur when planning future events, some changes need to occur before we lose business when the clients inform others.  Some changes needing to be made to ensure future success of such an event is fully communicating to the client/planner what the contract means, and having them clarify they fully understand their obligation to maintain the required attendance and the percentage allowable for decrease in numbers.  If the client does not fully understand, it is our responsibility to ensure everyone is on the same page and happy with all decisions before they sign their names on the dotted lines.  You can also do follow-up phone calls before the contract deadlines to verify there are no amendments needing to be made. 
The hotel may need to update their AV equipment if they continually have this problem after the AV Technician has done all they can to repair the malfunction.  Also, having a backup or AV Technician Assistant on-site can help if the AV Technician is not available during normal operating times.  This ensures the hotel stands up to their 100% satisfaction guarantee, and the client is happy and returns for another event.  When the client is happy they may also refer your services to others they network with, thus generating constant revenue and increasing clientele for your company. 

References

Events (2014). Marriott International. Retrieved from:

General Information (2014). Marriott International. Retrieved from:

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