Case
Client
This regional investment group has a diverse membership that spans a wide range of ages, backgrounds and interests. Their annual meetings are comprised of both business and social elements. and the location alternates between an in-state venue and a more exotic destination each year.
Problem
Over time, it’s become difficult to find new and exciting venues for their in-state meetings, leading to an erosion in attendance. The leadership decided to experiment by changing their dates to align with a holiday weekend to see if that would boost attendance.
Strategy & approach
Over time, most groups evolve patterns or traditions relative to their meetings. Establishing norms, like always meeting over the same weekend, can be useful for groups. But, they can also cause meetings to become stale and repetitive.
When introducing change, it’s even more important to protect your group from negative consequences that may result. For example, by changing to a holiday weekend, resulted in much lower attendance than usual for this group.
Fortunately, we were able to mitigate damages for this client by negotiating and contracting for flexible terms and resale strategies in advance which virtually eliminated their liability to the hotel for underperformance.
Tools & methods used
- Distribute electronic RFP to solicit competitive bids
- Negotiate knowledgeably and assertively with full transparency
- Advise client of their options and obligations using financial models
- Vigorous contract negotiation and review
- Track relevant deadlines to ensure benchmarks are met
