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Booking a Hotel for Your Event

Hotels specialize in one-stop shopping for special events, since facilities and staff are already at your service.

Hotels have several built-in advantages for accommodating groups of various sizes. They generally have several banquet areas, in-house food and beverage provisions with chairs, tables, linens and table service on hand, established coat-check areas and rest room facilities, plus staff that deals with large groups on a daily basis. The flip side may be a some lack of flexibility in the menu choice and decor.

When pricing an event at a hotel, you generally have to consider the cost categories of food and beverage, staff, and extras. Prices are generally based on head count and quoted in terms of food and beverage costs per person. If a meal is being served, there are usually no additional fees charged for room rental or staff, unless extra staff is requested.

About hotel beverage service

Hotels generally do not allow clients to bring in their own liquor for reasons relating to sales tax requirements and other considerations. If you have particular beverage requests—you are hosting a special wine or beer tasting, for instance—arrangements may be made through the hotel in a variety of ways. The hotel may be able to purchase what you need through their own distributors, or if you are bringing in a special selection, the hotel may buy it and sell it back to you at cost plus a small percentage and perhaps additional corkage fee.

Be sure to get a list of what the bar will stock for your event, and stipulate the specific brands and varieties of liquor, wines, beers, mixers and nonalcoholic beverages you want. Determine how costs will be assessed in advance. Will there be an open bar? For how long? Will cost be determined per person, per hour or by actual amount consumed? The latter is usually most economical.

Extras

Many hotel banquet staffs assist in event planning, but the more services they provide, the more you will likely be charged. Be specific about what you want in terms of flowers, table settings, decor and special considerations. If you do not want to use the standard hotel linens or table service, others can be specially ordered, but at extra cost. Check with the hotel staff about bringing in the florist, decorator, special-effects specialist or entertainment of your choice.

If you have more than the standard audio/visual requirements, ask your hotel representative about speaking directly with the A/V technicians employed by the property.

Be specific about how much staff you require. If you want more than the number generally provided, you will be charged additional fees. Rest room attendants will most likely be extra. Inquire about coat-check facilities and if you want coat-check gratuities to be included in your bill or charged individually to the guests.

Contracts and payment

Read all contracts carefully to determine what exactly is covered in the costs. Make sure you account for taxes and gratuities. Also review cancellation policies. Find out what additional costs you will incur if the number of guests attending varies from the number you guaranteed in the contract. Check on how long in advance you have to guarantee the head count—sometimes a facility will hold you to the first number you stated when booking the space even if your final head count is much smaller. Others let you change the figure up to 48 hours in advance. (A word of advice: when stating the initial head count, give the minimum you think will be attending, but make sure that the room is large enough to accommodate your maximum to allow your guest list to expand if necessary.) Also, make sure that you know how long you can use the room and if there are overtime charges for the space or the staff after a specified amount of time.

Terms of payment vary from establishment to establishment and with the specific client. Often you are required to pay 50 percent upon signing the contract and the balance by the time of the event, although provisions are sometimes made for billing the balance after the event, within a prescribed period of time.

Menu Planning Checklist

When discussing the menu, be specific about what is being served, and how and when it is going to be presented.

Will there be butlered hors d'oeuvre or a buffet?
Specifically, what foods and how much will be offered?
Will the meal be presented buffet style, or will guests be served at the tables?
Will plates be prepared in the kitchen and then brought out or will individual portions be served to guests by waitstaff attending the tables?
Will guests have a choice of entree?
How many courses will be presented and how much time allotted between courses?
What beverages will be served with the meal?
Will there be open bar service before the meal? For how long? What type of bar?
Will open bar service continue through the meal? After the meal?

Banquet Room Checklist

If there is a room rental charge, how much is it?
Is it negotiable?
What is included in that fee?
What is the ambience of the room? Is it clean? Does it smell smoky or musty?
What is the rest of the property like on the way to the room?
How will tables be arranged?
What kind of linen and table settings will be used?
How many chairs will be placed at each table?
Where are the bar, rest rooms, coat check, etc., in relation to the room? Are they adequate? Is service staff included?
Is there elevator service?

Event Planning Pointers

Value-add strategies when holding events at a hotel

• Choose off-peak times of year when hotels are short of business.
  
  
• Be open about other properties you are considering and what prices they are willing to offer. Be sure to be honest though—such information is easily verified.
  
  
• In choosing food and service arrangements, generally buffets with food stations are less expensive than full-service sit-down meals.
  
  
• Consider brunch instead of dinner.
  
  
• Plan less expensive bar arrangements: have a short cocktail hour or have a wine/beer only bar. Try to negotiate price by actual consumption rather than by the head or hour.
  
  
• Try to pay for coffee by the gallon instead of by the person at break-out times for meetings.
  
  
• Don't assume that just because a hotel has a relationship with a vendor—florist, decorator, cake baker, etc.—that it will be less expensive to use that person.
  
  
• Know specifically what you are paying for, including labor (cashiers, coat-check personnel, waitstaff, etc.).