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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